If You Tell a Pickpocket to Save the Male Lead

Serious gazes were directed at Ciello. The flustered Ciello raised her hand.

“No. It’s not like that. I apologize.”

The people’s gazes were withdrawn. Noah gratefully received the orb and stood up from his seat.

“Thank you for believing in me.”

“Yes. It’s reassuring. I hope to see the liberation of Peregrine with my own eyes.”

“For the liberation of Peregrine.”

People saluted. Ciello, noticing the atmosphere, awkwardly saluted as well. The elder smiled as if she found her action admirable and spoke.

“Ciello, stay here for a while. I have something important to tell you.”

The people left the room. The elder gestured towards Ciello.

“Ciello. Come closer.”

Ciello hesitated and pulled a chair to sit next to the elder. The elder placed her wrinkled hand on the back of Ciello’s hand.

“There’s a lot I want to tell you…but I’m holding back because of this old woman’s stubbornness.”

“Grandma…”

Ciello’s eyes turned red again. Whether they liked it or not, they had been clashing like a family for a long time. Even though she had become an information merchant elder, her affection for her remained unchanged.

“Is the Duke still at that mansion?”

Ciello nodded her head. The elder murmured in a strangely regretful voice.

“I see. The Duke is left alone again.”

“Alone? He has so many attendants.”

The elder chuckled and spoke to Ciello.

“Ciello, you know what I mean, don’t you?”

“…”

The elder laughed and patted Ciello’s hand.

“Yes. Seeing you talk like that even though you know, I understand your feelings.”

“You don’t understand.”

At Ciello’s grumbling, the elder laughed out loud.

“I told you before. I will reveal his identity to you.”

“Right. Why don’t you tell me?”

The elder looked at Ciello with a smiling face. Ciello shrugged her shoulders.

“Well, I’m not that curious.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Ah, really…”

Ciello pinched the elder’s arm but it was a harmless pinch. The elder laughed and coughed.

“I’m sorry, Ciello. Perez must follow the will of the Peregrine royal family. So please understand my silence.”

“Huh? Why the royal family all of a sudden…”

At Ciello’s question, the elder chuckled and lay down.

“It’s nothing. I’m getting sleepy.”

“Ah, you always only say half… Can’t you just tell me everything? I’m not smart.”

“Well, I know that very well.”

“Really, because you’re sick, I can’t even get angry.”

Ciello glared at the elder’s bent back and slowly hugged her.

“Get well soon, Grandma.”

“Oh, it’s hot. It’s hot.”

The elder laughed and waved her hand. Ciello chuckled and got up.

Ciello, who left the room, walked down the corridor lost in thought.

‘What does the elder’s words mean? Why did she suddenly talk about the royal family? Did she receive a command from the royal family? But all the royals should be dead.’

Ciello wondered if there was something she didn’t know, but she didn’t want to read a difficult history book.

“Should I ask Noah? He’s smarter than me.”

‘Of course, most of the people in this castle are smarter than me.’

Ciello thought and laughed to herself. Then she heard Noah’s voice from a room across the corridor.

“Noah? Are you there…”

Ciello stopped in front of the door. Noah, who she saw through the slightly open door, was having a serious meeting with people.

“…so there will be no additional purchase of lethal explosives.”

“Then how is the remaining budget allocated?”

“There is a high possibility of assassination threats, so all members must have personal defense firearms. Also, we need to move in a direction to protect the detached palace more thoroughly.”

“Public opinion is also important. If we emphasize the fact that the first princess and our Liberation Force have been in contact for a long time and gather support from Peregrine, wouldn’t it be helpful?”

“But we need to make sure that the imperial citizens don’t feel resentment towards the princess because of this…”

Ciello couldn’t understand all of the content, but she watched them with a curious face. After a while, it seemed like the meeting was over and people got up from their seats.

Noah finished tidying up after everyone had left and came out of the meeting room. Ciello, who had been lingering in front of the door, slipped into the room and spoke to Noah.

“You really have a lot of work, don’t you?”

Noah, with a tired face, looked at Ciello and smiled.

“Ciello? Did you have a good talk with the elder?”

“Yeah. Give me that. I’ll help you.”

“It’s okay. It’s heavy.”

Noah shook his head and hugged his share of the documents, but Ciello quickly took a few of the items on top. Noah laughed.

“Thank you.”

The two of them inserted the minutes of the meeting in order. After finishing tidying up, Noah asked first.

“Do you want to talk?”

“Yeah. I was curious about something.”

“Curious about what?”

Noah held the door and looked back at Ciello. Ciello nodded and came out of the room.

“Is there any surviving royal family of Peregrine now?”

“What? No way.”

Noah shook his head as if it was ridiculous.

“The royals all died in the war. The last prince bravely risked his life in the war, but he was tortured so horribly that his body couldn’t even be found.”

The two of them went down the stairs. The first floor was mainly used by the princess’s attendants and the Liberation Force, as it was difficult for the princess to go up and down the stairs in a wheelchair.

“There wouldn’t be any hidden children, would there?”

“Yeah. The prince was unmarried. Especially our Peregrine, unlike the licentious imperial guys, didn’t have multiple wives or husbands, and strictly observed chastity. And before marriage, that…what is it.”

Noah scratched his head a few times as if he was embarrassed and then stopped talking.

“If such a thing is revealed, they would immediately lose their right to succession due to the ascetic atmosphere.”

“That’s interesting…Anyway, I understand.”

Ciello muttered. Then what did the elder mean when she said she had to follow the will of the royal family?

“Ah, is it something the book of prophecy commanded?”

Ciello mumbled to herself. Noah looked at Ciello with a puzzled look.

“Huh? Suddenly a book of prophecy?”

“No, it’s just that there’s something I don’t understand about what the elder said.”

“Usually, you’ll understand what the elder meant later on. Don’t worry too much.”

“Uh-huh…”

The two of them went down to the first floor and headed to the courtyard. Unlike the beautifully decorated backyard of the Duke’s Mansion, which was the epitome of tranquility, the courtyard of the detached palace was chillingly desolate. Noah kicked a stone and spoke.

“But it’s better after coming out. Phew. Everyone’s been waiting and throwing backlogged issues at me…”

“Everyone’s eyes were intense, weren’t they? Should I call you elder now?”

“Ah, don’t. Really. What am I?”

Noah shook his head vehemently. Ciello chuckled. Noah groaned again and stretched.

“I can’t adapt because the imperial castle is too stuffy. I prefer the buildings of Peregrine.”

“Really? I’ve never seen it, so I don’t know. How is it different?”

At Ciello’s question, Noah hummed and recalled.

“The old Liberation Force’s hideout was in the style of Peregrine. I lived there for a short time when I was young, so I don’t remember well. Anyway, it’s not this high and stuffy feeling…”

Noah casually squatted down and started drawing the shape of a house with a twig. Although his skills were not great, one could tell that the low body contrasted with the roof end that soared into the sky.

“The house is low like this. Because it’s made of wood, it feels open inside.”

“Wood? That’s interesting.”

“Yeah. Originally, there were quite a lot of forests in the land of Peregrine. So they built all the houses with wood. Our hideout couldn’t do that much though…”

Noah looked at the shape of the house with affectionate eyes. Ciello muttered.

“Will I be able to go there someday?”

“Of course! Definitely.”

Noah stood up abruptly and nodded vigorously.

“We’re already discussing the border line after the separation independence with the princess. Clothes, houses, food. We’re going to revive all of Peregrine’s culture. There’s even an executive who’s solely in charge of that.”

“That’s amazing…”

Ciello looked at Noah with admiring eyes. Noah explained a little more about the Liberation Force’s plan with a proud face, then cut off at a suitable point. Then he casually asked.

“Hey, Ciello. If our work ends well, would you like to return to the land of Peregrine with me?”

“Uh…to the land of Peregrine?”

Ciello asked back with a slightly surprised face. Noah coughed awkwardly.

“Why are you so surprised? You, after all, have nowhere to go in the empire.”

“That…is true.”

Of course, Estribal had a mansion in the Ponz Kingdom that he had bought for her share, but it was a bit awkward to live there now.

[When the work is over, you will leave for a foreign country. You must never come back.]

As she recalled Estribal’s cold and rational voice, her heart wavered. It would be better for her to live in the land of Peregrine than to go to an unknown country. Reading Ciello’s expression, Noah spoke more assertively.

“Of course, it will be hard at first, but everyone will welcome you. It’s amazing just to be chosen by Serpiente, and you’re going to help with the independence, right? So let’s lead Peregrine together…”

“Uh, that, Noah.”

Ciello interrupted Noah’s words.

“I’ll think about going to Peregrine. But I can’t lead.”

Noah swallowed hard as if he was tense. Ciello laughed and scratched her head.

“I’m a fool…so, yeah.”

“Huh?”

At the unexpected reason, Noah looked at Ciello with a surprised face. Ciello shrugged her shoulders and answered.

“I couldn’t even understand half of the liberation plan you just explained to me. How can I lead anything?”

“Ah, Ciello. You really…”

Noah laughed pleasantly at Ciello’s honesty.

Noah was born between his mother, who was an imperial noble, and his father, who was a member of the Liberation Force. This fact enraged Noah’s grandmother, who killed his father, and afterwards, his mother also joined the Liberation Force.

Resembling his mother with bright hair color, he was also criticized, but Noah became a key talent of the Liberation Force with his excellent abilities. After losing his mother to the hands of the empire, he followed the elder as a substitute for his parents.

After being named as the elder’s successor, Noah became stricter with himself. Even if he didn’t know something, he would nod first and find the answer himself, and if he was given a task that was beyond his abilities, he would first try it and then train himself to the extreme to ultimately succeed.

It was a proud journey, but of course, it was not an easy one.

So, at first, he was taken aback by Ciello, who always spoke honestly about her feelings. But gradually, he was drawn to her unpretentious attitude. While he was with Ciello, he felt like he was just Noah himself, not the leader of the Liberation Force.

“But I’ll cheer for you from the side.”

Ciello chuckled and raised both thumbs up. But her eyes were still swollen.

Noah felt sorry for her and was a little angry. And then.

“…I feel encouraged.”

“Then. You can do it…”

Noah stopped walking.

“Ciello.”

Ciello looked back at him. Noah took a deep breath and opened his mouth.

“That cheering. Can you do it by my side?”

“Huh? I said I would.”

“No.”

Noah, who had been standing a little distance away from Ciello, took a step closer to her.