This Emperor Is Running a Marriage Scam - Chapter 2

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 2

I firmly grasped the Child’s hand, stood up, and smiled at the men.

“Thank you for looking after my little brother.”

“Uh, well…”

The men exchanged glances and hesitated before eventually scratching their heads, turning around, and grumbling.

“Tsk, take better care of the kid. What kind of world are we living in these days.”

“Of course. I lost sight of him for just a moment. Thank you, thank you!”

I bowed my head in greeting and didn’t take my eyes off them until the men completely disappeared, then looked down at the Child.

“Listen. You almost got kidnapped.”

“Huh…”

The Child stared at me with a truly incredulous look. He seemed about to say something as his lips twitched, but soon pressed his mouth shut and turned red all the way to his ears.

Since I told him he almost got kidnapped by those seemingly kind men, he must have been shocked.

I quickly picked up the Child and patted his back soothingly.

“Don’t worry, Nuna will help you. What’s your name? How old are you?”

“Br…”

The Child closed his mouth once, then spoke again.

“Baron.”

“Baron?”

“Baron Eldit, seven years old.”

I was startled when I heard the kid’s name.

“What, you have a surname?”

“…Why? Is it strange to have a surname?”

“No, that’s not it. If you have a surname, that means you’re a noble.”

“That’s right.”

‘No wonder he had such a noble bearing.’

I tried to recall if a child named Baron had ever appeared in the novel.

But no matter how much I thought about it, there was no such name.

He might be someone who contributes to making kidnapping incidents known to the world, but it seemed he didn’t appear in the original work.

‘Wait. If this kid is a noble, could I get some reward for finding the child?’

I didn’t save the kid hoping for a reward, but if I could get money or identity verification, life would become much easier. If he’s a noble, his identity would be verified, making it easier to find his home too.

But my expectations were brutally crushed.

“I… don’t have mom and dad. I don’t have a home either.”

When I asked when and where he got separated from his family and where his home was, the answer left me dumbfounded.

“The Royal Court said family extermination? Execution? Title stripping and property confiscation. My nanny left me at an Inn saying she’d go out briefly and come back, but she didn’t come.”

“…”

Baron’s eyes showed no emotion, and his voice was calm. It seemed he had already been hurt so much that he’d reached a level of numbness.

‘You’ve also suffered a lot from having the wrong parents!’

At an age when he should be growing up receiving all the love in the world, what a fate to be wandering around without home, temple, or parents, and even encountering kidnappers.

Something surged up from within my chest.

“Ahem, I’m sorry.”

“Huh? For what?”

“I think Nuna asked unnecessary questions. You were upset, right? Sorry.”

At my sincere apology, Baron looked flustered and slightly lowered his head.

“N-no. It’s okay.”

Baron’s cheeks were slightly red.

Was he embarrassed about receiving an apology from an adult?

I tilted my head for a moment, then understood on my own.

Well, this world wasn’t exactly kind to children. This might be his first time receiving an apology.

But anyway… what should I do with this kid?

* * *

Since I couldn’t raise this kid myself, I worried and eventually took him to the government office, where an employee told me to take him to an Orphanage and gave me directions. It was about a thirty-minute walk.

As I took the child’s hand and came out onto the street, Baron asked me.

“Are you going to send me to an Orphanage?”

“There you’ll be able to meet adults who can help you better.”

I held Baron’s hand.

“Let’s go for now. If your legs hurt while walking, I’ll carry you.”

“…”

Instead of answering, Baron just rolled his eyes around before asking me.

“Couldn’t you just abandon me and leave?”

“Hey, you need to say things that make sense!”

I crouched down, grabbed Baron’s shoulders, and met his eye level.

“If I leave you behind, those kidnappers from earlier will take you.”

“I’m not scared.”

Despite my serious talk, Baron snorted.

Oh my goodness.

“No way. You don’t know what happens when you get taken, that’s why.”

“What happens?”

I recalled the original novel.

“You’d be thrown into magic stone mining, or sold to pirates, or sold to nobles… anyway, you’d become a slave.”

I excluded mentioning organ trafficking or being subjected to various illegal experiments, as that would be too shocking for a child to hear.

But upon hearing my words, Baron’s eyebrow rose in a very un-childlike manner.

“Are you sure? How does Nuna know that?”

His defiant attitude was so absurd that I let out a hollow laugh.

“This little one has quite an arrogant way of speaking. Are you interrogating this Nuna right now?”

When I pretended to flick his forehead, Baron’s eyes widened.

“?”

His expression looked like he couldn’t believe what he’d just experienced, and being a noble child by birth, even the gesture of flicking seemed unfamiliar to him.

Baron rubbed his forehead with his hand even though he wasn’t actually hit, then pouted and grumbled.

“It’s just that you spoke like you knew too well.”

“If a kid gets kidnapped, what comes after is obvious. Anyway, let’s go, I’ll take you there. Tell me if your legs hurt.”

“Tell you if my legs hurt?”

“We have to walk for thirty minutes. Since you’re young, it’ll probably be tough for you.”

I shortened my stride. It was to match Baron’s walking pace.

After walking like that for a few minutes, Baron looked up at me and asked.

“Nuna.”

“Yeah?”

“What happens if my legs hurt?”

“Huh?”

“Do we not go to the Orphanage?”

“What?”

“Because if my legs hurt, I can’t walk?”

“…”

This poor kid. It seemed he really didn’t want to go to the Orphanage.

“You have to go there to sleep safely, eat meals, and be protected by adults.”

“I don’t need protection.”

“What are you talking about, how old are you? You almost got kidnapped earlier.”

“But I said I don’t need it, didn’t I?”

“Really? How have you been eating and getting by until now?”

“Well….”

Baron closed his mouth.

“Wasn’t it hard?”

There was no answer to my repeated question.

I stared at Baron intently. After looking at me for a while, Baron soon blushed and averted his gaze.

“It, it was like that. I couldn’t eat properly, couldn’t sleep… Like Nuna said… it, it was hard.”

He didn’t want to admit it, but it seemed he had no choice. His inability to lie was cute and pure, making me chuckle.

Ah, it would have been really nice if I could take this kid with me and care for him.

“See?”

I slowly explained what would happen when he went to the orphanage, and Baron soon nodded with a dejected expression.

“My leg hurts… but I still have to go to the orphanage.”

Baron said his leg hurt, but looking at how he walked, it didn’t seem like his leg really hurt.

It seemed like he was just saying that because he didn’t want to go to the orphanage.

‘At this rate, the sun will set.’

There was no helping it.

I crouched down and showed Baron my back.

“Come on, get on.”

“Huh?”

“You said your leg hurts. I’ll carry you on my back.”

“…You’ll, you’ll carry me?”

“Yeah, or are you just going to walk?”

A brief silence fell. When I glanced back, Baron, whose face had turned red, hesitantly pressed his body awkwardly against my back.

“I, I, I have no choice. My leg hurts.”

I stood up carrying Baron on my back. But Baron’s hands were touching my back.

“You’ve never been carried on someone’s back before, have you?”

“…How did you know?”

“I can tell by your hands. You shouldn’t push against my back, you need to wrap your arms around my neck.”

“Huh? That close?”

“That way it’s not hard for me, so stick close.”

Baron wrapped his arms around my neck. Soon my back and the child’s body stuck together closely, creating stability.

“Good, hold on tight.”

I adjusted Baron on my back and started walking.

‘Sigh, I need to get home quickly to catch dinner before it gets dark. I wonder if the blankets I washed and hung out are dry by now?’

There wasn’t enough time to take Baron to the orphanage and do what I needed to do.

Feeling rushed, I quickened my pace.

* * *

After walking for a long time carrying Baron on my back, I spotted the orphanage. The lone two-story building was large in size, but even from a distance, it looked old and worn.

“What’s Nuna’s name?”

While walking toward the orphanage visible in the distance, I unconsciously answered Baron’s question, who had been quiet the whole time.

“Sojung Kim.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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