"That's a note for your Master. I'll go with this kid, haha."
"No… please don't take Young Master…."
The Head Butler begged for the last time. The crimson-haired man shrugged nonchalantly and then mounted his horse again with Little Jean on his arm, "Don't forget to show the note to your Master, that young Archduke. I heard that he loves his little brother so much."
The Head Butler was breathing steadily, but he felt that his body was too weak to maintain consciousness. Slowly, he closed his eyes and fell into a deep slumber.
Meanwhile, the crimson-haired man spurred his horse, and he returned to his group, which had successfully killed all the Eau Saumont Palace guards.
Of course, it wasn't really a difficult task for them because they were highly trained warriors. Mere guards wouldn't stand a chance against them.
The warriors bowed their heads to greet their Prince, "Your Highness, everyone has been taken down, and we've kidnapped that kid. What will be your next step?"
"We shall return to our camp first, and I will tell you about the plan. But I've heard from the rumor that young Archduke really loves this kid, even though he is adopted. It's better if we can get something out of him," the crimson-haired man said.
He looked at the young man, presumably only a few years older than Little Jean. He was riding a smaller horse, but it didn't slow him down at all. He was well trained and was also holding a dagger. Although he didn't participate in this.
"Wolf, did you learn from our people? You need to train more so you can join them. We still need a lot of money until we can return to our kingdom."
The boy named Wolf nodded, but he said nothing. He was like the young version of the leader because they had the same crimson hair and similar bone structure.
The crimson-haired man shrugged, knowing that his little brother was very quiet, but at least he trained himself seriously.
Wolf was the most skillful with his hunting skill anyway, even better than the adults, so they had no worry about food.
They left the crime scene and then rode through the deep woods. They already have their path paved because they had stayed in this place for almost half a year right now.
They moved from one place to another because they were fugitives on the run right now. It had been two years since they left their kingdom.
The crimson-haired man led the warriors to their camp, and they tied their horses to the trees quite far from their camp.
They were staying in the middle of the forest, just right beside a river for them to drink and bathe.
"Prince Alric has arrived!" The people in the camp yelled as they opened the spiked wooden gate.
They had made a camp that also acted as their garrison in the middle of the forest. It was stealthy enough not to get noticed from far away, but it was also safe enough so wild animals wouldn't attack them in the middle of the night.
Prince Alric, the crimson-haired leader, passed the gate with a pink-haired kid who fainted in his arm.
His men surrounded him and asked, "Your Highness, what did you loot today? Who is that beautiful kid?"
"This is the Young Master of Archduchy of Eau Saumont. I'm not sure about his name, but he is very well-loved by his big brother, that young Archduke, Maximillien Eau Saumont. I want some ransom money for this kid. So we can get enough money to recruit more people."
The men were mesmerized with Little Jean's beauty, especially his rare pink hair that looked so soft and the fact that he smelled like strawberry.
Alric knew something bad would happen if he left Little Jean unprotected. He didn't want any big trouble, as long as they could get ransom money for this kid.
Thus he told his little brother, Wolf Dietrich;
"Wolf, carry this kid with you. Bring him to your tent. Keep an eye on him," Alric ordered.
Wolf nodded and carried Little Jean on his back. He walked alone to his tent. As the second prince, he had the right to have his own tent. He went in and put Little Jean carefully on his bed.
He checked Little Jean's breathing after making sure that he was perfectly fine. He sat on the ground, waiting for Little Jean to wake up.
Wolf was used to taking care of himself since he was a kid because he knew his condition. Even as a second prince, he was still a discarded prince from a kingdom that wanted to execute him and his big brother.
He had to be independent, so he wouldn't be a deadweight for his brother.
Wolf waited for hours. He thought this Young Master would wake up anytime soon, who would've expected that he still hadn't wake up after twelve hours straight.
Wolf was fully awake the whole time. He was a duty-based person. Even though he was only eight, he knows that he should uphold his duty because a duty meant that he was trusted.
After the whole twelve hours, it was already midnight, and Little Jean opened his eyes slowly. He looked around, trying to grasp his location right now.
He thought that he was still in Matthew's room because he fainted after seeing that monster.
But when he saw a white tent surrounding him and thin bedding, he realized that he wasn't somewhere familiar.
"Wu… where am I?" Little Jean asked.
"Wolf's tent."
Little Jean darted his eyes at the source of the voice. He saw a boy older than him, probably around Angel Raphael's age. He was sitting on the ground at the edge of the tent.
He had short, crimson hair, deep facial features even for a boy of his age, and he had a gaze as deep and sharp as a hunter.
"W—Who are you?!" Little Jean asked as he was startled and scared.
"Wolf."