The double life of a count’s bastard

Episode 33

The most secretive region of the continent is undoubtedly the Northern Mountains.

Stretching endlessly to the left and right and boasting impossibly high heights that no one dared to climb, the Northern Mountains were practically a forbidden zone that could never be crossed by human power.

A great natural wall.

If the entire Northern Mountains were a giant wall that blocked the northern region and beyond, then the Inkeran Mountains were the only gate that could penetrate the Northern Mountains.

“Hmph, hmph, hmph, hmph, hmph, what a mountain. Buy, man, catch.”

Rousseau gnashed his teeth at the ruggedness of the Northern Mountains, which would never allow humans to set foot on them.

The Inkeran Mountains were no ordinary mountains, but compared to the Northern Range itself, they were fresh blood.

As much as Rousseau was struggling, so were the others.

Jason, who was leading the way, was panting heavily, and though he was not speaking, Hans was also sweating profusely, his face and body covered with sweat from the exertion.

“What a bastardised tangle; I shouldn’t have gotten involved in the first place.”

Sir Coach grunted as he continued to climb the mountain, supporting his entire body with his sword.

Rousseau wanted to scream at him to stop, to stop cursing and blaming himself, but he couldn’t.

“I don’t have the strength.

It was hard enough to gasp for air, so he might as well take one more breath if he had the energy to yell.

While everyone else in Rousseau’s group was struggling like they were going to die, Elle was riding up the mountain as if she were at home.

Elle had always been shy, nervous, and anxious, but once she entered the northern mountains, she was a different person.

He was like a fish out of water, and at one point he was even humming a little tune.

“Hmph, hmph, hmph, hmph, Master, I’m not here, are you sure?”

Jason asked breathlessly, and even Hans and Sir Coach turned to stare at Rousseau.

Three of the four places Rousseau had marked on the map were empty.

There was nothing left.

They’ve all been struggling up here like it’s the last time.

Rousseau swallowed hard as he felt the heat of the eyes staring back at him.

“Ma, I’m right; how many times have I told you?”

“Then why is your voice shaking?”

Jason asked, his eyes narrowing.

“Should I… here or just draw my sword?”

Hans fiddled with the handle of his sword and muttered.

“The pickling is harsh, but it’s no place for a wretch, and there’s no one to come and shed tears for me.”

Lord Coach glared at Rousseau as he spoke of the place.

“These people!

Rousseau cringed at his companions’ reactions and glared at them.

It was Rousseau, not anyone else, who was having the hardest time since entering the northern mountains.

“I hope this is the right place…

Not because he was afraid of his companions, but because he was having such a hard time, he hoped and hoped and hoped that this was the realm of the elves.

It was thanks to his precognitive dreams that Rousseau was able to mark the four places on the map with confidence.

The Master Elf Prosecutors, who had appeared in human society in a show of overwhelming force, had warned him strongly, declaring the areas he had marked off-limits to humans.

So Rousseau was convinced that his markings were infallible.

‘That’s seven years from now, so… surely it’s not in one of these places now?’

Rousseau was so sure of himself that he felt a shiver of anxiety run through his body, giving him goosebumps.

He’d walked into the northern mountains, confident that he could bring Elle home, only to end up in the middle of nowhere.

I couldn’t even imagine what Hans, the bad-tempered knight, and Rousseau, the fearless Sir Coach in his final years, would do.

Luckily, Rousseau’s desperate wish reaches the heavens.

Puff-puff-puff-puck!!!

With a sharp sound that pierced through the wind, dozens of arrows pierced the ground beneath the group’s feet.

“Humans, stop right where you are!”

A shrill voice filled with hostility rang out.

“Elle!!!”

A beautiful female elf appeared, tears streaming down her face.

“Mom!!!”

Elle ran towards her, tears streaming down her face.

It was an emotional reunion, but Rousseau and his companions were too choked up to say anything as the pressure built up around them.

Even Sir Coach, a sixth-ranked knight, stood stiff and rigid, his fingertips twitching slightly.

“Are you okay, Elle? Did nothing happen?”

Elle replied, tears streaming down her cheeks at the mother elf’s words.

“The humans… those humans made me… heh heh heh!”

Elle’s outburst of sorrow was echoed by her mother, who was equally teary-eyed and sympathetic, and she turned to look at the Russo and gave them a look colder than a midwinter blizzard.

“What? Why are you looking at us like that? We’re the ones who saved your daughter!

Rousseau wanted to shout, but he couldn’t even open his mouth to speak due to the momentum that was enveloping his entire body.

“Capture them all!”

“Now, wait, there’s a misunderstanding…!”

“Shut all their filthy mouths!”

The mother elf’s rage-filled shouts had Rousseau and his companions tied up from head to toe and mouth to mouth, unable to resist or utter a single word.

“Master! What has happened? I knew it! I’m crazy! I have no one to trust!

“Damn it! I shouldn’t have given my knightly honour to a wretch!

Hehe. This is why you have to watch out for falling leaves in your later years! What a waste of a life to get involved with such a scoundrel!

Everyone in the group was cursing at Rousseau with their eyes, very badly.

‘Come on! This is all a misunderstanding! This is a misunderstanding! Hey, Elle! Say something! Say something straight. Why are you crying?!!’

Russo argued back, looking desperately at El, who was crying in her mother elf’s arms.

“My poor baby, how scary and hard it must have been for you. Sleep soundly in your mommy’s arms.”

A light flashed from the mother elf’s hand, and the crying Elle fell asleep.

“Hey!!! Wake up, little one, wake up, wake up!!!

Russo’s wide-eyed glare at El made the mother elf stare at him even more coldly.

“Lock him in the forest cave!”

With those words, the mother elf turned and walked away, leaving a cold breeze in her wake.

* * *

“Ho ho ho. Glad to see the misunderstanding cleared up.”

The mother elf, whose gaze was colder than a midwinter blizzard, smiled as brightly as the sunshine on a warm spring day.

Rousseau barely managed to keep the muscles in his face from twitching at the words of El’s mother, the Elf Queen Rohaem.

“Misunderstanding? Misunderstanding?

Rousseau, who had been imprisoned in a dark forest cave that looked like it was haunted by ghosts, was furious at the mother elf’s attitude as she tried to snap at him with the word misunderstanding.

‘You’ll have to suck it up. This isn’t Slater territory, and if you throw a temper tantrum here, you’ll be…’

Rats and birds die without realising it.

Rousseau realised that maybe she would be locked in that horrible forest cave until she died, a place she never wanted to be locked in again.

She is the queen, and no one else.

She must never forget that, depending on her mood at any given moment, she had the power to imprison someone of Rousseau’s stature for life.

“Misunderstandings are best when they’re cleared up, hahaha!”

Jason couldn’t hide his disbelief at Rousseau’s humanised smile as she sneered at the mother elf.

“You shouldn’t be so naughty. Here, you’ll get yourself killed before you even get a chance to make a sound.

Elves are beautiful and kind.

They are a race of forest people who love peace rather than strife, but that is only true of non-humans.

They are the result of evil humans who stole their homes, killed or kidnapped their brothers and sisters, enslaved them, and set fire to their peaceful forests and mountains.

For now, Elm alone has nothing to say.

Humans kidnapped the child of the Elven Queen and no one else.

Is that all?

They could have drained him alive, heart and all.

Even if Russo had saved her, the elves had no words to express their disgust with the humans themselves, since Elle would never have been caught up in such atrocities if she hadn’t been captured by them anyway.

Even now, look.

Most of the elves around him were glaring at Rousseau with axe eyes.

They were on high alert, suspecting that Russo’s group might be up to no good, planning something sinister.

It was wise, then, to keep the Elf Queen’s attention as much as possible for now, even if it made her stomach twist.

“Hahaha. Elle is so young, she can’t help but be curious. ”

The Elf Queen sighed as if the mere thought of it made her giddy.

Even for an elf who lived for 700 years, Elle, who was only seven years old, was bound to be a curious child, and that curiosity had led to her kidnapping.

How a child of royalty, let alone a common elf, could leave his escort and wander off into the territory was beyond him.

‘The kid must have been a pain in the ass, judging by the way he rolled his eyes.

Elle had been a shy little thing until she was captured by Rosita and brought back to the Northern Mountains, but as soon as she was back in her mother’s arms, she turned completely around.

It was clear to Rousseau that Elle was beyond the pale.

‘Come to think of it, my Lily is the sweetest girl in the world.

Rousseau’s lips curled into a smile as he remembered Lily’s sweet, adorable seven-year-old self.

“Mom, I think he’s smiling sinisterly!”

Elle exclaimed with a frown as Russo’s smile suddenly turned into a grin.

Rousseau’s brow furrowed at the way El referred to her saviour as “that guy,” like a reborn creature.

“Just that!

If it weren’t for the queen elf sitting next to him, he would have fed her honey chestnuts to dry her tears.

Rousseau smiled good-naturedly, as if she hadn’t had a sinister thought.

“Elle, I was only smiling because you reminded me of my sister Lily. There’s nothing worse than being misunderstood. Isn’t that right?”

The elf queen glared at him, especially at the emphasis on the word’misunderstanding’, and then laughed softly, as Rousseau was subtly pointing out your flippant behaviour.

“Yes, you shouldn’t be misunderstood, and how fortunate you are that I didn’t kill you on the spot.”

“…….”

The Elven Queen’s not-so-warning warning to not make any more of his mistakes only reinforced the idea that she was a scary woman in his mind.

“Regardless, the fact remains that you saved our El’s life, so I want to make sure that we repay you.”

The words Russo had hoped for came out of the Elven Queen’s mouth after a long time.

“I wouldn’t call it repayment, but since you’ve gone so far as to say so, I have one question.”

The elf queen nodded as if to say anything.

“Bern. Has he ever been here?”

“…….”

“…….”

At the question no one had expected, the Elf Queen, the elves surrounding her, Jason, Hans, and Sir Coach all turned to look at Rousseau with wide eyes.

Rousseau’s eyes never wavered from the Elf Queen’s face, demanding an answer.

“That’s right, Bern. He fell asleep here.”

“He, he???”

Bern was actually in a relationship with the elf queen?!

Even as Rousseau, I was stunned by the fact that I hadn’t thought of it at all.

“A lover I once loved to death.”

The Elf Queen shed another transparent tear as she remembered Bern, who must have died hundreds of years ago.