0&1 Ch 17.1

What Happened Next

Lowell Montblanc, the youngest son of the third generation of the Montblanc family, one of the three great merchant families of the kingdom, traveled to many countries with his father from an early age.

At the age of ten, he experienced his first love and realized where happiness in life comes from.

He enjoyed counting money like his father and wearing silk clothes and eating delicacies, but without love, all of that was meaningless.

Having realized the truth of life at a young age, Lowell traveled around the world, engaging in happy romantic affairs.

However, his father had a different opinion about Lowell’s outlook on life. “This good-for-nothing needs to be tied up somewhere,” was his father’s opinion, and Lowell spent most of his days trying to evade his guardian.

When Lowell turned fifteen, his father admitted that it was impossible to keep him tied down.

Having a servant follow him was a mistake. Every time he heard about Lowell’s exploits through the servant, his blood boiled.

Wouldn’t it be better to let him go with the promise that he would only get into accidents that could be cleaned up? For the sake of his mental health.

Lowell’s father suffered from heartburn as he pondered this.

And so, on his 15th birthday, Lowell received the gift of freedom to roam around without a servant.

Even though he was free without a servant, he was not really alone. There would be guards secretly following him.

Lowell could put up with that. He just didn’t like having people follow him around, making him look like a young master. Life needed romance and freedom, and those two things couldn’t be obtained while being restrained.

It was the same even with servants following him around. 

Like that person.

“Young master, are you going to buy that too? The bag I brought is already full, and there’s no room for more!“
”I’ll carry it.“
”No, please don’t. I’ll hang it around my neck.“
”It’s fine. If you carry it, you’ll attract attention.“

Two boys who looked like a noble young master and his servant were arguing on the market street.

The young master had a refined appearance and was considered quite handsome even by Lowell’s discerning eye, which had seen many beautiful people.

The servant appeared to be about the same age as the young master and had a cute face. In a prestigious family, even the servants were chosen for their appearance. Judging from his posture and clear speech, he seemed to be a servant of a high-ranking nobleman.

The young master and the servant were arguing about something trivial. The servant insisted that it was more noticeable when the young master carried the luggage, and the young master retorted that the servant didn’t even have enough hands to carry more stuff.

In Lowell’s eyes, the two were already very noticeable. He wondered how they could possibly go unnoticed.

Passersby glanced at them once before walking by. They were too striking to ignore. Moreover, they clearly looked like a noble boy and his servant. They were not the kind of people you would normally see in the market.

Dressed in fine robes, the knights stood two spaces away from the two.

Lowell’s guards were trying not to be noticed, but the knights didn’t seem to be making any such effort.

Even so, the two didn’t seem to be aware of the knights. It was as if the knights’ presence was as familiar as the surrounding air, or perhaps they were so absorbed in looking around the market that they didn’t even notice the knights.

Intrigued, Lowell approached the two quietly. Up close, the young man was even more handsome than he had appeared from afar.

His skin was clear, and his black hair looked soft. If Lowell moved any closer, he was sure the boy would smell nice too.

Meanwhile, the street vendor was trying to sell his wares at an unreasonable price.

“That’s one gold coin each.”

The young master picked up a cheap blanket.

“What about this?” The young master pointed to a huge stuffed bear.

“Only two coins,” said the vendor, trying to sound generous.

Lowell clicked his tongue. He saw the young master smile. It wasn’t a refreshing smile. It was more like a bitter smile.

The young master knew he was being taken advantage of.

He was a young boy from a noble family. The street vendor thought he had picked the perfect target.

“Dot, pay him.”
“Yes, young master.”

However, the young master called his servant without saying a word. Knowing the market price, even the servant, who was probably more knowledgeable than the young master, said nothing.

What was going on?

Lowell had several traits that couldn’t be changed, and one of them was his intense curiosity.

The young master and the servant seemed to have agreed to divide the luggage. But even when they divided it between the two of them, there was still a lot.

The young master, who was holding a huge stuffed bear and looking troubled, suddenly looked at Lowell.

Lowell flinched. Did he notice me?

No, he didn’t. The knight who had been standing behind Lowell, showing off, approached the young master.

A moment later, the knight returned with the huge stuffed bear tucked under his arm.

So, he knew he had an escort?

Lowell was getting more and more interested. The young master looked about Lowell’s age.

With the name Lowell Montblanc, he could attend most parties in the capital. He couldn’t get into parties hosted by the royal family, but Lowell wasn’t interested in such high-class parties anyway.

Lowell never missed a party that looked like it would be fun. Thanks to that, he was acquainted with most of the young nobles in the capital.

However, he didn’t remember seeing this young master at any party.

“This way?”
“Yes, young master. They said it’s straight down the main road.”

The young master and his servant, having sorted out their luggage, were now looking for the road.

Where are they going?

Without realizing it, Lowell followed the two. His startled bodyguard appeared.

“Young master, there are guards over there.”
“I know. I’m just going to take a look.”
“There could be trouble.”
“Just smooth things over. What are we paying you for?”

“Young master…” The guard groaned but ultimately obeyed Lowell’s orders.

The noble young master and his servant entered a building. It was an unexpected yet familiar place for Lowell

It was a building owned by the Montblanc Trading Company. Today, the Montblanc Trading Company was holding an auction here.

Was he a participant in the auction?

Lowell entered without hesitation.