The Seventh Prince Runs Away from Awkward Situations Chapter 70

"You were an unnecessary character to the protagonist."

Thinking about it, the guy followed me around even while knowing I wasn't the owner of the prophecy.

It felt like I had finally found the cause of the uneasy feeling I had every time I looked at him, but I didn't feel refreshed in the slightest.

"I think I was still quite kind to you."

I opened my mouth toward the youthful face staring at me without an ounce of guilt.

"Do not be angry. Since I only made the best choice as well."

At the guy's brazenly calm answer, I was lost in thought for a moment.

Am I angry?

Because the guy interfered with me? Or because I was betrayed or something similar by the guy?

No, rather than being angry, this is.......

"I don't understand."

At my sincere words spoken like a whisper, the opponent frowned.

"Did I perhaps misjudge you all this time? You do not understand this simple situation? Are you saying you do not understand this situation where I tried to keep you because you would be both a danger and a help to the owner of the prophecy, or do you not understand me?"

The guy burst into a hollow laugh as if absurd and asked.

"I'm saying I don't understand that your goal and your actions don't match."

At my answer, the young Imperial family member shut his mouth.

"Just by keeping me, there's no guarantee I'll help the owner of the prophecy, and if you thought I knew too much, you shouldn't have interfered vaguely like this but killed me clearly. There would have been plenty of opportunities."

"......."

"The fact that actions and goals don't match means you're lying. And right now, your lie doesn't seem to make you a better person in particular."

Even though I asked about a few contradictions, no answer came back.

The guy and I hadn't had a long conversation until now.

The situation was like that, and when an appropriate situation was created, neither the guy nor I felt the need for it.

Because I was someone who would leave anyway, and the person the guy was looking for was someone else.

I thought of it as a relationship waiting to burn out slowly like a candle wick reaching its end.

If only the guy hadn't poured oil on it, I thought we would naturally drift apart.

Eventually, I had no choice but to throw the question I had forcibly turned off my interest into the guy.

"What do you gain by eliminating the Imperial Family? Why are you trying to eliminate them?"

"I have nothing to say to you."

It was a firm refusal, but I didn't think that guy would answer obediently either.

"Fine, let's do as you say."

"What?"

At the sudden concession, the guy's eyebrows twitched.

"I said I'll follow your threat. Today we are meeting the owner of the prophecy together."

At my unexpected agreement, the guy looked at me with a puzzled face mixed with relief and suspicion.

"It's the first and the last time. Today is the first and last time you can meet the owner of the prophecy."

Although it was instantaneous that all those emotions were unified into anger.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"Because when I meet the guy, I'm going to tell him to kill you first right away."

It wasn't particularly difficult.

Just saying that that small squirrel is an Imperial Family member hiding his identity would be enough.

The current Ratel was suspicious, had no composure, and showed no mercy in his methods.

Above all, he hates the Imperial Family.

To the guy, the suspicion of 'perhaps' would be a seed that must never sprout.

"......."

Unexpectedly, it seemed El also agreed with my opinion.

The small Imperial family member did not refute my words but glared at me silently but fiercely.

But I wasn't scared.

"You're not saying you'll kill me anymore."

It was certain.

For some reason, the guy cherished me.

But I wasn't happy or thankful that the guy didn't wish for my death.

Because it looked no different from cherishing a precious tool saved for later use.

Moving according to the guy's intention without knowing anything didn't suit my temper either.

"Now tell me. What is your true identity, and what is the reason for keeping me alive and sticking me to Ratel."

I stared without a word at El who was biting his lip and glaring at me repeatedly.

Watching his face turn white moment by moment, there was no time to be bored, but it wasn't a situation to wait long either.

I didn't know when Dito would arrive, and if Ratel didn't arrive on time, all plans would go down the drain.

"If you're planning to drag out time......."

"I."

The moment I opened my mouth to urge the guy, this time El blocked my words.

With a face like he was about to die soon.

Literally, the guy's face was white as a sheet as if he would have a heart attack right away.

To the point where I wondered if he was really dying like that.

No, wait, something is really strange?

"Hey, wait a minute......."

Faster than I could stop the guy, his mouth opened.

"I, am the very first...... Urgh!"

Without even being able to continue a few words, what the guy spat out was a lump of dark red blood.

That wasn't the end.

Every time El spat out a word one by one, an unusual amount of blood flowed out of his mouth along with it.

To the extent that it looked like the blood was trying to block the guy's mouth.

What is it? Weren't Imperial Family members supposed not to die easily?

My hand moving on its own was faster than my head following the question.

I caught the guy collapsing forward, unable to handle the blood gushing from his body.

And I covered the mouth of the guy trying to continue speaking somehow.

Sticky blood flowed down between my fingers.

"Ugh......."

Even in the midst of that, the guy was struggling to open his mouth to continue speaking somehow.

"Stop it."

"Urgh......!"

"I said stop it!"

As the blood from the guy's mouth didn't stop, my voice rose without realizing.

"Don't open your mouth from now on. When answering my questions, nod your head or shake it sideways."

The guy's blurry golden eyes chased me.

And soon the guy nodded his head once.

"Is there a restriction on revealing your identity?"

Once again the head moved.

Nod.

"How far does the influence go? Can you lose your life?"

Nod.

The guy shook his head up and down again.

"......Can you tell the owner of the prophecy?"

No.......d.

Slowly but surely, the guy nodded his head once again.

Damn it.

A curse came out naturally.

I could vaguely understand what the uneasy feeling I had felt from the guy all along was.

Right, the guy really had no interest in anything other than the prophecy.

Neither me, nor other people's lives, and even his own life.

Feeling slightly despondent, I removed my hand from the face of the guy who had lost consciousness.

The face turned white as a sheet was quite a sight, but I didn't feel refreshed in the slightest.

Because my face reflected in the pool of blood the guy made was the same.

***

Flinn Piteos dies before the original story begins, that is, before Rasia vomits blood and dies.

The child's death that happened before the start of the original story might really not have been an accident.

It is before the protagonist starts his activities yet.

It also means there is no one in Abalan yet who can go against the words of the Imperial Family.

Could it be that Flinn Piteos in the original story before the protagonist appeared was the only child whom the Imperial Family's commands didn't work on?

He could have been killed by Dito who noticed that.

If so, even more so the guy shouldn't be here.

Perhaps having regained some composure, El looked around the room and frowned.

"By the way, who are those guys lying down like that?"

In the place the guy was looking at, men wearing black hoods were sprawled unconscious.

Beside them, several children who were likewise unconscious were lying neatly.

"Trash who kidnap and kill children helping Dito."

El blankly looked at the fallen men.

"It seems they are repeating what they did to Rasia to other children too."

"Right. And the protagonist will definitely come to stop that."

The guy has continued this experiment for quite a long time.

In the novel, he repeats this act both before and after the start of the original story.

Stopping this is the first meeting between the protagonist and Dito.

"So a commotion about Dito coming should have happened once here today at the appropriate time. The protagonist must arrive not too late. Or at least the protagonist arriving here first."

I tapped the guy's small head with my finger.

"Do you know now how twisted things have become?"

Since the Little Duke disappeared, Tollin must be searching every corner of the capital.

Since Dito is watching the Little Duke, he will come straight here.

If things go wrong, the Little Duke, the children, and even I could die.

El, who was shaking his head here and there avoiding my finger, snatched my finger.

"Then even more so you shouldn't blame me. Since it would have happened anyway even without the Piteos kid."

"What? What do you mean?"

Bang!

An explosion loud enough not to be ignored rang from outside the door.

Bang!

Bang!

And that too, consecutively.

At the gaze looking at him demanding an explanation, El laughed awkwardly.

"Because the kids held here are no ordinary kids."

***

Bang!

At the roar ringing through the hallway, the manager Gude cursed and moved his short and fat legs to open the door.

Smoke was already creeping up on the floor of the hallway.

The burning smell mixed with an indescribable bizarre smell pierced Gude's nose together.

What is this? Surely not an intrusion?

As the ominous thought crossed his mind, he, who could no longer delay time, rang the bell installed in his room once and threw his body out the door.

The more he walked down the hallway, the worse the smoke and smell became.

At a glance, it looked like a fire, but if so, there was no way to explain the explosions ringing through the hallway.

Moreover, if a fire really broke out, what on earth is this smell?

Bang!

As if not giving time to think deeply, the exploding sound rang once again.

Gude ran covering his two ears.

He was out of his mind, but this much was clear.

That this wasn't a natural fire but a fire someone started artificially.

The enemy isn't alone but many, and if they prepared multiple devices like this, the probability was high that they were skilled people with considerable wealth.

Compared to the trivial truth that the opponents were three brats whose blood hadn't even dried on their heads yet, it was an undeserved imagination.

"You idiots! What are you standing still for!"

Gude, who was running frantically, discovered the guys who were out in the hallway in confusion and shouted.

They, who barely came to their senses at his shouting, ran to Gude.

Stupid bastards.

Looking for guys who wouldn't cause trouble even if they died, in the end, only guys whose brains didn't work were gathered without exception.

Gude clicked his tongue and pointed to six guys who looked slightly less absent-minded.

"You guys follow me. And the rest guard this place. If you discover intruders, kill them without questioning anything."

Like that, four remained and six followed behind Gude.

Because Gude was a person who didn't realize that he himself was also one of the humans who wouldn't cause trouble even if he died.