The double life of a count’s bastard

Chapter 27

Thwack-!

A louse snatched Russo’s hand halfway.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but this is the child of one of our top members. I don’t see any reason why Master Russo would be interested in a child like this, and…….”

It was Rosita.

He was of young blood, much younger than she was, but he was of the Slater family, of all places, and she didn’t want to mess with him.

Rosita’s eyes twinkled and she asked in a whisper.

“Do you need pocket money?”

She smiled seductively. Enough to make any man swallow hard.

The corners of Russo’s mouth turned up.

“Pocket money?”

“Oops! I’m sorry, Master Rousseau, I was thinking too quickly and made a mistake, hahaha!”

The corners of Rousseau’s mouth twitched upward, and Cory, who was quick on the uptake, quickly came to his side.

He thrust a thick pouch of money into Russo’s hand.

“I know it’s small, but please take it.”

“I didn’t expect this…… but I’ll take it for the sake of the gesture. I’ll put it to good use.”

Cory and Rosita exchanged glances and gave small nods at Russo’s smirk.

“Look at you, you little bastard, you’re a year older, and now you’re trying to rip me off? Haha! I’m so proud of you, I’m so proud of you!

Rosita and Corey had different thoughts as they watched Russo furiously stuff the money into his pocket.

“If it’s not enough, please bear with me this time. We’ll be more careful next time!”

“Whatever.”

Rousseau nodded dryly, and Rosita, not wanting to see any more of this, gave Cory a look that told him to quickly wrap things up and leave.

“Master Russo, you must understand that we are on a tight schedule and have to work diligently at night. Next time, we’ll not make a mistake like this, hahaha!”

Cory said and was about to walk away.

“Well, since you’re busy, I’ll just make a quick check and go.”

Rousseau forced the child’s face up from its still-downward position.

He looked like any other seven-year-old anywhere, with blue eyes, golden hair, and a featureless forehead.

“What on earth do you think you’re doing? I told you, she’s a child of the upper echelons, and I don’t know who you’re looking for, but she’s not the child Master Russo is looking for.”

Rosita’s nerves were more frayed than usual as she spoke, pressing down on her emotions.

“Really? He’s not the one I’m looking for? I’m sure he’s a good one…….”

Russo furrowed his brow in disbelief, which made Rosita look at him even more incredulous.

“I don’t know who you’re looking for, but I’m pretty sure it’s not him, so I’d prefer it if you didn’t interfere with us anymore, because if you do…….”

“If?”

Rosita swallowed hard as Russo stood there, staring at her, and said she would tell your father about today’s events.

Russo smirked at her interruption.

“Why, are you going to run to your father and snitch on him?”

“What kind of frivolous…….”

Rosita shook her head without changing her expression.

“I don’t care, so do what you want. By the way, is it okay to take a child like this on such a rough ride? Isn’t this…… child abuse?”

“It’s not child abuse, it’s just that as a child of the top, this child’s future dream is to become a top. It’s a kind of early education, ho ho ho.”

“Ahhh~ Early education? Of course, I’ve been wielding a sword since I was a sniveling little thing.”

Frowning at the memory of the past, Rousseau once again scanned the group at the top.

There were four more children besides the one at his side, but they all looked at least three years older.

At most, they were all under ten years of age, which seemed a bit unnatural for a group that was so obviously at the top.

“Are they all in early education?” I asked.

“Some are, some are being paid and escorted to safety.”

Rousseau nodded, not wanting to ask any more questions because it was all too possible.

“All right, then. Just one question. I’ve heard that some human traffickers have been coming in and out of the Slater estate lately. Do you know who they are?”

Rosita’s eyes widened at Russo’s question.

“Oh, my God, there are bad guys like that in the world these days, and they’re coming in and out of the Slater estate? My God, they’ve got big livers!”

“Haven’t you heard?”

“Of course not! We’re Rosita Top, and we don’t talk to scoundrels like that.”

“Well, there’s no way Rosita Top would have anything to do with those bad guys. Don’t you think?”

“Of course not! If I ever hear of such scoundrels, I’ll be sure to tell the Count.”

Rousseau shook his head at Rosita’s words.

“A busy father shouldn’t have to deal with such rascals, and I’m relieved to hear that you’re not at the top of the list, Rosita.”

“It’s none of our business, but I’ll do some research on those scoundrels while I’m uptown.”

Rosita ducks her head prettily, as if it’s none of our business, and turns to leave.

“Let’s tear this one up one last time.”

Russo pulled a spellbook out of his arm.

“That’s……!”

Tsk-!

Before Rosita could finish her sentence, Rousseau forcefully tore the scroll in her hand.

Class 6 Cancel Magic Scroll.

A scroll that canceled all magic up to Class 6, it was the most expensive scroll among Class 6 magic scrolls.

Boom!

The scroll was torn apart, and a golden light spread out in waves around it.

“Ah, ah…… not…….”

Rosita’s eyes widened and she opened her mouth to speak, but before she could finish her sentence, the golden wave swept away and a change occurred.

The child whose face Russo had been checking out changed in rapid succession.

Her golden hair turned to dazzling silver, her blue eyes turned golden as well, and her otherwise plain appearance began to take on an air of mystery and beauty that made one’s eyes widen at the mere sight of it.

Both ears were pointed.

Long, pointed ears, never seen on humans, made it easy to deduce the child’s identity.

An elf.

If he had silver hair and golden eyes, he was a High Elf, a noble in Elven society.

“……!!”

Rosita, who was too stunned by the suddenness of the situation to open her mouth, and Russo, who was looking at her and raising the corners of his mouth.

“How big is your liver, and since you kidnapped an elf, a high elf at that…… don’t you have nothing but liver in your stomach?”

At Russo’s sarcastic tone, Rosita no longer hid her feelings.

She glared at Rousseau with venomous eyes and spoke in a lively voice.

“I don’t know how you know, you bastard, but you do know that this is your place to die, don’t you?”

As Rosita spoke, the knights and mercenaries from the upper echelons of the organization quickly formed a circle around Russo, blocking his escape.

Rousseau felt his entire body strain at the intense life force being directed at him at the same time, but he smirked lazily.

“Are you finally showing your true colors?”

“You should have just taken your money and gone home, there’s no way Count Slater would have entrusted you with a job like this…….”

As Rosita trailed off, Cory and the other members of the upper echelon began to look around with sharp eyes.

No matter how much they thought about it, they didn’t think Russo could have done this alone without fear.

“You’re right, Dad wouldn’t have left this to me, this is all my own doing.”

Rousseau giggled, and Rosita thought the man who had died of the fever and come back to life was even crazier.

She didn’t see the point in stalling any longer, so she glared at the knights.

“Kill him.”

Thwack-thwack-thwack.

The knights drew their swords.

“Wait, one last question!”

Russo shouted, raising his hand, and Rosita frowned as if there was anything more annoying than a human being.

“Where are you taking her, and the other children, to?”

Rosita was about to yell at him for his nonsense.

“The destination. The place where they take the hearts and blood of innocent children. That’s where we’re going, isn’t it?”

Once again, the atmosphere turned icy.

No, Rosita’s expression turned icy cold, as if cold water had been thrown on it.

Both of her eyes reddened at the same time, and her body radiated with a killing intent that was more genuine than momentum.

It was a different kind of killing than that exuded by knights and mercenaries, and for once, Rousseau had to swallow hard.

“……Who are you?”

Rosita no longer thought of Rousseau as a mere wretch. No, she couldn’t.

“Well, who is it?”

Rosita’s patience with Rousseau’s lack of seriousness was wearing thin as he continued to smirk and giggle.

“Kill him now!”

Rosita wondered how Russo knew her secret, but more than that, she felt it was important to get off the Slater estate, even if it was just for a minute.

“Maybe he’s connected to the Slaters, but there’s no way he’d be such a wretch as that! I don’t know how he knows, but…… you must die here!

Rosita had no choice but to kill Rousseau.

However, Rousseau didn’t stand there helplessly, raising his arms to block the sword that was about to slash at him.

Cha-ang!

“……?”

Was he wearing metal armor or something?

The sword-wielding knight questioned, but the armor was being worn on the outside of his clothes, not the inside.

A grayish, transparent liquid-like substance quickly covered Rousseau’s entire body, starting with both arms and ending with a full plate armor that completely enveloped his head.

“……armor!!!”

Pillars of light erupted from his toes and enveloped his entire body, light exploded from certain parts of his body, whirlwinds of wind enveloped his body, and so on.

The armor is unique.

Unlike ordinary armor, which must be painstakingly donned on a body part by part, the magic of the bard is in the way it is worn.

Therefore, the armor that wrapped around Rousseau’s entire body could not be explained unless it was a bard’s armor.

“So it’s not quite what the rumors…… said it was, that it was a family heirloom?”

The mere fact that Rousseau owned the armor was enough for Rosita to realize that things could change quickly.

The Earl of Slater’s character would be unlikely to give his precious gauntlets to a bastard.

“This isn’t Daddy’s chance, it’s my own, and the rumors aren’t wrong, I’m a home-grown bastard!”

Russo immediately lunged at the knight who had swung his sword at him.

“Where!”

As Rousseau crouched low and lunged for a foot strike, the other knight moved to the side and slashed his sword downward.

Even though Rousseau was wearing armor, he couldn’t overturn the basic difference in skill, and he didn’t think he could be defeated by a mere brute.

Kwazak!

‘It went in.

No matter how special the armor’s defense was, the damage that would be dealt to the opponent by such a heavy hand would be considerable.

‘Now kick him in the head……!!!

I hit him right on the shoulder, and his body should have fallen forward.

Why didn’t he go down?

“You panicked because you didn’t fall? There’s a guy who panicked and got his arm chopped off, and I wonder who he is?”

With a grunt, Rousseau drew his sword as if exploding the power he had condensed.

Chu-ak!

“……kup!!!”

The knight, who had narrowly missed, frowned at the deep slash across his armpit.

“What a waste. I could have made a clean cut.”

Rather than retort, the knight hurriedly stepped back to inspect the wound.

At the same time, two other knights rushed to his left and right.

“Damn it…….”

The wound was deep.

Still, it was a terrible moment that could have resulted in his arm being cut off, so the knights hurriedly began to apply hemostasis.

Rousseau, on the other hand, clenched his teeth at the realization that he hadn’t even managed to incapacitate one of the knights.

“Not yet!

Even though Hans had told him that he was undergoing rigorous combat training, he realized how difficult it would be to improve his skills in such a short period.

‘Even if I absorb the power of the Dragon Heart and wear the Excalibur,…… it’s useless if I don’t improve my skills!

It was a miracle that he was even facing a rank 5 knight at his current level, but Rousseau knew that it was only possible because his opponent hadn’t used his full strength.

Or not.

The other knights, seeing before their eyes that their comrade’s arm could have been blown off by the surprise attack, swung their swords with all their might, pressuring Rousseau.

Kaang! Kaang! Chae-ae-ang!

The two knights’ attacks alone made Rousseau dizzy, sparks flying as he allowed his sword to pierce every inch of his armor.

Excalaeon’s defenses held, but the time constraint, a fatal flaw, was tightening Rousseau’s leash, and he could take no more.

“Enough with the spectacle and get out of here!!!”

Rousseau’s nervous shout caused the eyes of Rosita and others, who had expected to see helpers, or at least some of Count Slater’s knights, around, to turn sharply.

With a rustling sound.

“I guess armor is good after all. You’re still alive after all these close calls that should have killed you.”

Coming from the mouth of the last knight to swear short-term allegiance, it’s a bitter pill to swallow.

“You’re more cowardly than I thought, I told you. As long as you don’t get your head cut off, I’ll do anything to keep you alive.”

The giggling asshole’s smile is completely out of character for the situation.

“I was trying to help, but you told me to stay still, so…… sorry!!!”

The butler in charge excused himself.

“This is why no matter how talented you are, you’re useless in the face of hard work, but when I was younger, I had a different way of handling the sword…… tsk tsk!”

A shoemaker who clicked his tongue and made a fool of himself.

Rousseau couldn’t believe it.

“……I’m the only one who’s urgent now, right? I’m the only one who tastes like porridge?! Holy shit!”

He couldn’t help but swear.

I can’t believe I have to fight to save my family name!

I wanted to beat the shit out of him.