Young Master, Please Put Some Pants On! - Chapter 61

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

Chapter 61

“Ice cream?”

Remembering that Kermanomon liked desserts, Mellis led him to the shop. On a wooden menu board, the varieties were simply written in white chalk.

“I’ll have chocolate flavor. What about you, Grand Duke?”

“Well, anything is fine with me.”

“Then one chocolate and one vanilla, please!”

When Mellis held out two coins, Kermanomon raised one eyebrow and stopped her.

“Why are you paying for this? Never mind, put it away.”

“You already bought me clothes earlier, so I’ll buy the ice cream!”

“The clothes were a reward, remember? And what money do you even have? Don’t spend money on unnecessary things, save it and buy snacks later.”

“I earn good money!”

Indignant, Mellis opened her wallet and showed him a thick bundle of bills. However, Kermanomon glanced at the bundle of bills and let out a small snort.

“Really now, whose wallet do you think all that money originally came from?”

“Ah…”

She had momentarily forgotten since she always received checks from Malcolm, but her employer was strictly speaking Kermanomon. However, Mellis didn’t back down at all and blocked his way.

“Then if I pay, it’s the same as you paying! Here’s the payment!”

At her unreasonable logic, Kermanomon looked dumbfounded as if he couldn’t believe it, but soon smiled faintly as he received the ice cream.

“Fine. I’ll gratefully enjoy it.”

Mellis’s mood improved along with his smile, and she hummed a little tune. The moment she took a bite, the rich chocolate flavor spread in her mouth – it was indeed a very delicious ice cream as expected.

The two of them, each holding an ice cream, wandered around chatting about trivial things when suddenly his steps slowly came to a stop.

“…”

“Grand Duke?”

When she turned around, Kermanomon had stopped and was staring intently at something. Feeling puzzled, Mellis turned her head to follow his gaze.

There was a human family walking down the street, holding a child’s hand.

‘Did he become uncomfortable because of the humans?’

What a human-hater! While Mellis was flustered and reading the situation, the child came into her view. The child, who appeared to be just over ten years old, had bright blonde hair and emerald green eyes.

‘Could it be that what the Grand Duke was looking at was…’

“This is my niece Francine, and no matter how I think about it, she seems to be the child you’re looking for, so I came to introduce her.”

“As you can see, she has dark blonde hair and green eyes, and she’s also skilled at handling healing power.”

She suddenly recalled what Count Pegunia had said at the New Year’s festival. A woman with blonde hair and green eyes. It wasn’t a particularly common combination, but it wasn’t that rare either. She had momentarily forgotten due to getting used to the drug, but when she thought about it, her own true appearance was the same.

If he was looking for a human woman with blonde hair and green eyes, she needed to know the reason for certain.

“Do you know them?”

Only then becoming aware of her, Kermanomon’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. However, he shook his head as if it was nothing.

“I was just a little surprised because they resemble a child I know.”

“A child you know, Grand Duke? Isn’t that child human?”

When Mellis asked innocently with eyes that showed she knew nothing, a troubled expression crossed Kermanomon’s face. After pondering something for a moment, he opened his mouth with a quiet sigh.

“Do you remember when Count Pegunia introduced his niece to me before?”

“Yes.”

“Actually, there’s a human child I’ve been searching for years.”

It was the moment Mellis’s prediction hit the mark. Kermanomon briefly chewed his lips as if he didn’t know where to start.

“I once owed my life to a child about that size. I was severely injured in battle and isolated, when a fearless child approached me and healed my wounds. Despite being so young, their skills were incredibly proficient.”

“….”

“I was in their care for about ten days, but one day they just disappeared. Later, I heard news that a massive landslide had occurred nearby and an entire village had vanished. That was where the child lived.”

At such a horrific story, Mellis unconsciously covered her mouth carefully with both hands.

“I couldn’t even find the child’s body. Everyone said the child must have died, but I….”

Kermanomon trailed off with a devastated expression. No matter how skilled in healing arts one might be, there was no way to survive a landslide massive enough to bury an entire village. Especially not a young child around Garulus’s age.

“So I still find my eyes drawn to similar children.”

“I see.”

“It’s been over 10 years now. If the child were alive, they would have come to find me. Now I can only vaguely recall their face, which makes me feel even more sorry.”

News of him searching for a human child quickly spread across the entire continent, and soon people like Count Pegunia endlessly brought similar women to try to win his favor.

However, each time he confirmed it wasn’t the child he was looking for, he only fell into greater disappointment. Mellis opened her mouth with a cautious voice filled with sympathy.

“But what if that child really did come to find you and you both failed to recognize each other?”

“That’s impossible. My mark remains on that child.”

“Mark?”

At her question, he slightly opened his mouth to show his fangs.

“Bite marks. I can sense them just by being nearby, so there’s no way I wouldn’t recognize them even if they were right in front of me.”

“Ah….”

At the same time, Mellis recalled how he had immediately dismissed the woman Count Pegunia had brought. They say pureblooded beastmen never let go of prey they’ve marked, and it seemed that wasn’t just a metaphorical expression.

It was true that she felt sympathy first for his eyes that had fallen into deep contemplation. To think that he, who hated humans so much, had been searching for a human for years without forgetting.

“I’ll help search diligently too!”

“Forget it. Don’t go lurking around humans and end up getting hurt.”

‘But I am that human.’

However, since she couldn’t voice that aloud, she could only nod her head.

Just then, Kermanomon suddenly raised his head and looked somewhere again. Annoyed by his attitude of constantly looking elsewhere after even getting ice cream from her, Mellis stood on her tiptoes and followed his gaze.

“What now? What kind of human is it this time?”

“What human? I just felt like someone was watching us. Maybe I was mistaken.”

Where Kermanomon was looking was a group of young women with curious gazes. They were blinking their eyes in admiration of Kermanomon’s appearance.

“…Is it predator instincts? Or just excessive self-consciousness?”

When Mellis muttered with narrowed eyes, he flicked her forehead lightly as if incredulous.

“Ow! Why did you hit me!”

“Why are you being so cheeky lately? I barely tapped you, such dramatics.”

“Dramatics! I think my forehead is dented now!”

Though Mellis rubbed her forehead vigorously as if to prove her point, Kermanomon ignored her with a small snort. It was while the two were bickering and walking around downtown.

“Grand Duke!”

At the nasal, high-pitched voice, Kermanomon’s movement came to an abrupt halt.

“Ah, of all times….”

Soon after, a woman in a splendid dress approached him from afar with a bright smile.

“Grand Duke! It’s been so long. How wonderful to meet you in a place like this.”

“I don’t think it’s been that long.”

“Oh my, what kind of hurtful thing is that to say!”

Even at Kermanomon’s trivial words, the woman burst into giggles and covered her mouth with her fan.

At her blatantly obvious display of affection, Mellis, who had been watching the scene, showed a dazed expression. The woman was a stunning beauty who drew admiration at first glance, and she was shamelessly flirting with Kermanomon.

‘Ah, I think she’s someone I saw at the New Year’s festival. Was she Marquis Sabrina’s Daughter?’

She was definitely one of the women who had been throwing flirtatious glances at Kermanomon. Since she had been hiding behind Kermanomon the whole time, she couldn’t remember clearly.

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