PDCOO Chapter 19

Places where he could ride a horse were manageable. The problem was narrow alleys. How embarrassing it was to run around on two legs asking everyone he met, 'Have you seen a gloomy large fellow?'—like some debt collector.

But now he could act like a knight catching ruffians.

Erich asked in his most confident voice.

"I'll ask the Lady as well. Have you by chance seen a tall man with black hair? He'll be somewhat shabby."

Lara didn't immediately think of Bertram.

Partly because Bertram had cleaned up while staying at Anna's house, but more importantly, to Lara, Bertram wasn't 'a tall person.' He transcended ordinary adjectives like 'tall' or 'short'—he was simply enormous. If Erich had said 'bear-like,' she'd have understood immediately.

Lara innocently shook her head and asked, "I don't know. What kind of person? A criminal?"

"No!"

"Oh my, you startled me. You're looking for someone who's not even a criminal?"

"...There are circumstances I cannot freely discuss. Please understand. But if you spot him, definitely let me know. We're staying at the inn by the square."

"Ah, I see."

Erich smiled bitterly.

Since he couldn't go around announcing everywhere that he was searching for a prince, this investigation that wasn't an investigation was struggling.

Having finished his role-play as 'a suspicious knight looking for a suspicious person,' Erich gracefully bowed before the country lady. Lara stared at him with a dazed expression.

"...You said the inn by the square? I'd really like to see you again."

"The inn by the square. I'll be waiting as well."

"But, 'shabby and tall with black hair' isn't much to go on. Don't you have anything else?"

"You'll know when you see him. He's really big. Broad shoulders too."

In Lara's imagination, the featureless 'Mr. Nobody' suddenly grew much larger. Big enough to recognize at a glance—she thought of Bertram.

With a somewhat uneasy feeling, Lara asked, "Don't you know his name? Is that a secret too?"

"...If you promise not to tell anyone else."

"I promise!"

"Yes. The person we're looking for is named 'Bertram.'"

Lara's face froze.

But Erich, pressed for time, didn't notice the change.

"I ask for your cooperation. Please remember 'Erich.'"

After Erich left, Lara rushed up the inn stairs. There was still one minute left, but this wasn't a situation to worry about that.

"Anna, this is serious! A suspicious person..."

Lara threw open the door and was once again flustered by the scene inside.

"What are you doing...?"

Why was Bertram shirtless with Anna reaching her hand toward him?

'Was thirty minutes... not enough?'

At Lara's scream-like question, Anna froze.

What was she doing?

Judging by the tone, she didn't seem particularly curious.

It was more like, 'How dare you do such things before my eyes.'

The answer to give back at times like this was obviously only one: 'It's a misunderstanding!'

About five minutes earlier, Bertram had confessed that the cause of his lost emotions wasn't injury but a curse.

It was the kind of statement that made you question his mental health, but the blue jewel in his chest that he showed by removing his shirt was definitely something that could only be explained by magic.

Embedded in his ribcage, turning purple like blood dropping into seawater each time his heart beat—a beautiful jewel.

What she'd seen days ago hadn't been her imagination.

Bertram explained about his curse.

"A sorcerer embedded this in my heart."

"They said it would take all my tears and laughter."

"Recently, when you called me 'cute,' this place felt tingly. Even though it's a part that should feel nothing."

When the word 'tingly' rose onto Bertram's tongue, the jewel turned red...

And the moment Anna unconsciously reached out her hand, Lara burst in.

Anna tried to say 'it's a misunderstanding,' but as always, honest Bertram spoke first.

"We were having a consultation."

"...What?"

"Beyond that, it's a personal matter, so I find it difficult to explain."

Bertram put on his shirt. Lara, staring only at Anna with her reddened face, hadn't seen the jewel embedded in his chest.

Anna belatedly said, "It's a misunderstanding!"

Lara said with coldly cooled eyes, "So it wasn't a consultation?"

"...No. It was a consultation. B-but more than that, why did you come up now when you said you'd give us free time! And what were you expecting us to do?"

"If, if you two are in one room together... Well, I did arrange the situation, but... uh, what? What can you do in thirty minutes?"

Lara's eyes spun round and round. Her face turned bright red too, and as Anna clearly saw what this younger friend was thinking, her face also flushed.

As misunderstanding piled upon misunderstanding, Bertram produced even more profound nonsense.

"We were just discussing what could be done..."

"Stop! That's enough! Bertram, don't say another word for the next minute!"

Anna grabbed a pillow and beat Bertram's back vigorously. Bertram decided to obediently maintain silence.

With Bertram huddled in the corner holding the pillow as background, Anna finally regained speaking rights.

"Lara. What's the emergency?"

"Oh, right! I was so shocked I couldn't say anything. Someone's looking for Bertram!"

"What? What kind of person?"

"Someone claiming to be a knight... I think his name was Erich?"

Anna and Lara simultaneously turned to look at Bertram.

Bertram shook his head.

"I don't know that name."

As far as he knew, there was no knight named Erich in the royal castle. Bertram guessed he might be a man who'd received knighthood after Bertram left the castle.

"What did this Erich say about me?"

"He said you're big, black-haired, and shabby. And that you're not a criminal."

At the words 'not a criminal,' Anna sighed in relief.

Unaware of this, Bertram frowned slightly.

"Shabby...? Erich... I should remember that name."

"Ahaha, you were shabby! Though you're neat now."

"That's the problem. When searching for someone, it's natural to use appearance as a clue, but using relative descriptions that can change anytime, like neat or dirty, only makes tracking more difficult."

"Why are you worried about that?"

"Occupational habit."

"Oh right, you were an officer."

Bertram thought to himself: whoever Erich was, as soon as he returned to the royal castle, he'd advise Franz to 'properly educate new knights.'

"In any case, unwelcome news."

"Bertram, do you know what this is about?"

"I have expectations."

Three years since leaving the capital, Schleisen.

His uncle who'd taken the throne in place of his nephew must have been comfortable for about the first year, relieved the eyesore was gone.

But around three years, unease would start creeping in.

The emotionless monster prince's reputation was very poor. However, if the prince who'd fought for his country died while wandering the world, the insult 'are you even human' would fall on the uncle.

So probably to confirm survival and tell him to slowly come back, the uncle had sent a knight.

"It seems my uncle is looking for me."

"Family!"

Lara's expression cleared. When the detective-novel-like story of 'a knight tracking a wanderer' transformed into a realistic story, she seemed relieved.

"If he's sending a knight, he must be desperately searching! Will you return together?"

Lara asked the question.

But Bertram turned to Anna and answered toward her.

"Anna. Am I a burden to you?"

"What? Oh, no!"

"If I've been helpful to you until now, and if I haven't been a burden... could you help me?"

The form of help he wanted was one thing.

"I don't want to let go of this thread of change. Please allow me a little more of your daily life."

Meaning, let him return to the village together.

Anna found herself nodding without thinking.

Morning. Franz and his soldiers gathered at the table with tired faces.

The soldiers had walked around until late last night but found nothing. The unexpected obstacle was that residents felt more resistant toward soldiers than 'black-haired wanderers.' Residents openly avoided the soldiers, and even those who occasionally spoke would trail off and leave as soon as they heard 'we're not looking for a criminal.'

Franz frowned.

"This is the problem with going deeper into the countryside. They never meet proper authorities, so they don't trust authorities and only try to protect their own front yards."

"Should we officially request cooperation from the authorities?"

"Can't sell His Majesty's name in this backwater. Should we ask through the guards again?"

"We checked that. Most guards will be deployed to a village festival today, so they can't cooperate."

"This is why the countryside is hopeless!"

Franz picked up the jam jar. But like a nobleman with manners, instead of throwing the jam jar, he shook it roughly and poured the contents onto his bread. Erich, who hadn't yet spread jam on his own bread, wilted.

Having replenished his blood sugar, Franz spoke again.

"What kind of festival?"

"A pig festival. The highlight is a game of running away from a wild boar released in a pen."

"A game to weed out hot-blooded idiots. What's the prize?"

"They give the fattest pig."

"No chance His Highness would go to a festival. He avoids noisy places... and he has no reason to covet a pig."

Erich stammered a rebuttal.

"Might he use the pig for food? Pigs are good to eat."

"Nonsense. One pig will rot before His Highness finishes eating it. If His Highness understands the value of food, he wouldn't make such waste."

"The guards said His Highness was with two country women. If he has companions..."

"As if His Highness with that personality would make companions. He was probably just temporarily with women rescued from human traffickers."

The soldiers all nodded in agreement.