Raising the Princess to Overcome Death

Chapter 146*: Betrothal - Insight (1)*

*146. Betrothal - Insight (1)*

"Get out. This estate now belongs to the Klaus royal family. It's not a place where people like you should stay."

The royal guard pointed imperiously. The boy, the target of this disdain, trembled, unable to bear the rising humiliation.

This is my home.

It’s my parents' legacy, the property our family has protected for generations.

But with months of experience, he knew that he was now in a position where he had to leave if told to, and bow his head to the ground if commanded.

Clenching his teeth, the boy turned away.

He felt wretched that he had to leave his home without uttering a single word of rebuttal to a mere soldier, but the guard's rude demands didn't stop there.

"Wait. Take off those clothes too."

The guard ordered the dirty beggars. The beggars, who seemed to have taken the clothes from the mansion, were wearing expensive clothes without much care.The beggar boys pouted. But since the clothes weren’t originally theirs, they took them off without hesitation.

The boy with crimson eyes couldn't bring himself to do that. He held back the tears of bitterness.

Eventually, with trembling hands, he removed his tan corsage. When he untied the strings and took off the bliaud, his thin, pale body in dirty undergarments was pathetically exposed.

While the other beggars found and changed into their rags, he was left in a daze with no clothes to change into, even though all the clothes on the floor were originally his.

Finally, Yuan lifted his head. Tears streaming down his gaunt cheeks, he recalled the events from months ago.

+ + +

"Mother! Father!"

Yuan shouted as he returned from a long journey. He ran through the ransacked mansion, looking for his parents, but there were no signs of them anywhere.

"What on earth happened here! You! Find my parents. Immediately!"

Yuan screamed shrilly.

But the servants and maids who had served him didn't respond. After looking around in bewilderment, a young man spat out harshly.

"Damn it. I knew it. They’ve gone bankrupt. No wonder the living expenses stopped coming."

"What do we do now?"

"What do you mean? The family's fallen, and the country's in shambles. We take what we can and leave."

"Can't you hear me? Go find my parents at once...!"

- Slap!

The servant turned to Yuan with cold eyes. He approached Yuan with long strides and slapped him across the face.

Startled by the sharp slap, Yuan held his cheek and looked up in a daze.

"Isn't that a bit much?"

"Not really. Just thinking about all the crap we've had to clean up for this spoiled noble brat makes my teeth grind. Hey. Your family's done for. This kid still doesn't get it."

"What... what are you doing! How dare you hit a noble...! I'll... I'll kill you..."

- Slap!

"What are you going to do? Huh? What are you going to do? Call for a knight while crying? They're all dead anyway."

The young man leaned in close, pushing his face near Yuan’s, poking his forehead with a finger. The expression he wore wasn't the smile Yuan was used to, but pure contempt.

The maid standing behind him spoke up.

"Stop it. Let's just pack our things quickly. We need to salvage whatever we can. It looks like someone’s already stolen most of it."

Scoffing, the servant turned away. He and the maid began to ransack the mansion, ignoring the trembling, terrified Yuan.

"Damn it. The jewelry box is gone too. Anything over there?"

"The display cabinets are empty. The paintings are gone too. Do you know anything?"

"Uh... let's check the kitchen. I saw the head maid sneaking in there."

The maid and servant hurried off. Yuan, pitifully, could only follow them around.

"What the... There's nothing here."

"It should be around here somewhere...? Ah! Here it is. Push it. It should jiggle a bit."

"It's really here. But how do we open it?"

"Are your muscles just for show?"

"Oh, right. We can just break it."

The young man looked around. He was searching for something to break the sturdy wooden wall when he noticed Yuan standing by the door, unsure of what to do.

"Why's he just standing there?"

"Ignore him and grab some tools."

The young man brushed past Yuan. The maid began fiddling with items around the slightly jiggling wooden wall, trying to figure out how to open it.

With the intimidating young man gone, Yuan spoke in a tearful voice.

"Do you think you can get away with this? My parents won't forgive you. So, right now... I'll forgive you if you bring my parents back."

The maid, standing on tiptoe to search an empty cupboard, turned her head.

Gone was the confident demeanor, replaced by a shrunken, pitiful boy. In fact, he was so young that calling him a child was more appropriate.

The maid’s heart softened. After all, he was the young master she had cared for over the years.

Three years ago, the king had died under mysterious circumstances. With the throne empty and the competition to claim it heating up, the count had sent his only son to the Jerome Holy Kingdom for safety.

At first, they traveled in a carriage, escorted by a mercenary group.

They visited nobles across the Jerome Holy Kingdom, and Yuan, as the heir to a prosperous count's family, was treated well.

But then the remittances stopped coming. A year passed as they ran out of gold and even silver coins, but they couldn't risk returning.

A civil war had erupted in the Aslan Kingdom.

"Are you telling me to ride in this tiny carriage? How dare you!"

Eventually, they sold the horses and the carriage.

They traded down to a smaller carriage, placating the complaining young master, hoping the war would end soon.

But there was no end in sight to the civil war. Out of money, the maid and servant had to make a decision.

They sold even the small carriage. With that money, they bravely joined a merchant caravan heading towards the Aslan Kingdom, and Yuan, enraged, shouted.

"How dare you treat me like this! You'll all be punished when we get back!"

Too young to understand the situation, the young master clung to his noble pride.

But the maid and servant endured. They suspected something had happened to the count's family but bore with his outbursts.

Their parents were tenant farmers tied to the count's estate far to the north, and if the count was still alive, they might face severe punishment.

But after enduring countless hardships to return to the mansion in Barnaul... this was what they found.

The maid approached the pitiful young master and advised him sternly.

"You need to change your attitude if you want to survive. You won't make it otherwise."

"What are you talking about? The attitude that needs changing is yours. Hurry up and find my parents..."

"Young master!"

The maid shouted.

Yuan pulled a small lever, and a rattling sound came from the wooden wall. The wall moved like a door, revealing a narrow storeroom filled with well-dried spices.

"Hey! I found it."

The maid called out to the servant. The servant, who had been wandering around searching for tools like axes that had all been taken, smiled with relief.

"This is more than enough. We can escape abroad with our parents and still have plenty left."

The servant grabbed a sack from the kitchen and began to stuff it with bundles of spices.

As the shelves in the small storeroom were nearly emptied, the maid tapped the servant's shoulder.

"Why?"

"Leave some behind."

"Why?"

The maid gestured behind her with her eyes. The servant frowned when he saw Yuan standing there blankly but complied with his girlfriend's request.

With the sack, they exited the desolate mansion. Yuan followed them helplessly but stopped short at the main gate, as if blocked by something, and shouted.

"Don't leave me behind!"

"What’s he saying? This wretched kid."

"Leave him be. He’s pitiful."

"Pitiful? This is all karma. The gods are punishing him."

"Please... I beg you. Please... Don’t leave me behind. I beg you."

Terrified, Yuan fell to his knees and pleaded, but the maid and servant didn’t look back.

+ + +

Driven out by the royal guard, Yuan left the mansion. Wearing a beggar's rags, he walked aimlessly.

At some point, his mansion had become a refuge for boys and girls who lost their parents in the war, and Yuan had lived with them for several months.

At first, he was beaten a lot.

Yuan, who had screamed at them to leave his house, was beaten by the boys and locked himself in a bleak room with old toys, crying for days.

Fortunately, the beggar boys and girls didn’t kick him out. Being pure-hearted, they extended a helping hand to Yuan, who couldn’t stand his hunger and crawled out.

One boy even sincerely apologized for hitting him.

The miserable touch of commoners.

Yuan didn’t want to admit it, but he realized he was no different from them now. He understood that he would have to live among such commoners from now on and showed them the remaining spices in the storeroom.

Though not much was left, the expensive and easily sellable spices provided them with means to survive.

But that was until today.

The civil war, which had lasted three years, finally ended. The Aslan Kingdom split into the Kingdom of Astin in the west and the Kingdom of Aster in the east.

The capital of the Aslan Kingdom, Barnaul, was slightly to the west and thus became part of the Kingdom of Astin. Naturally, the properties of nobles who supported the Kingdom of Aster were confiscated.

Yuan’s mansion was no exception. His parents had sided with the Kingdom of Aster.

How am I going to live from now on?

As Yuan wandered aimlessly after parting with his beggar friends, he came across a notice. It listed the names and achievements of the nobles, knights, and soldiers who had distinguished themselves in the fierce civil war, and among the densely written names were his parents'.

Not as honorees, but as a result of their deeds.

"Noel... Dexter."

The name of the knight who had caused a commotion in Barnaul throughout the long war.

In a civil war where it was impossible to tell who was on whose side, the capital was in constant turmoil. Many knights hid their identities and beliefs, diving into the fray, plunging the city into terror.

Among them, the most famous knight was Noel Dexter. Even Yuan, who was called the 'Butcher of Nobles,' knew that Noel Dexter had killed his parents.

Standing in front of the notice, Yuan was stunned. Something surged from deep within his chest, but the young boy couldn't identify what it was.

How long had he stood there? The boy in rags quietly turned and disappeared into the bustling crowd.

  *

"How did you know?"

Yuan asked calmly, fingering a costly crystal glass. He didn't even look at Leo Dexter.

"I saw you pick up radish pickles with your bare hands. And when I showed etiquette, you responded. Even though you said you couldn’t read... you’re a noble, aren’t you? Why are you hiding here?"

"Remarkable."

Yuan put down the crystal glass. Only then did he look at Leo and speak.

"I thought you were an impressive person, but to think you figured out my identity from such a small thing. I underestimated you."

Nobles did not eat common foods like radish pickles. It was beneath a noble's dignity to consume such food, meant only for survival, as commoners did.

But there were times when they had no choice but to eat such food. In those instances, they used their bare hands.

Using refined etiquette with such lowly food was truly embarrassing, so common food was eaten in a crude manner, like playfully picking at it.

Leo had discerned Yuan’s pride that he hadn’t yet discarded.

Tapping the glass for a moment, Yuan spoke in a low voice.

"It seems I must tell you my story. If you’re willing to listen."

Leo Dexter didn’t respond. But he folded his arms, and Yuan took it as permission.

On a night when everyone else had gone to bed, complicated glances passed between the two young men sitting across the dining table. One kept a wary eye, while the other’s gaze was turbulent.

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