Published at 13th of November 2020 10:49:52 AM
Chapter 152
The Reincarnated Princess’s Search (3)
He was the side character deeply involved in the former assassin Crowe’s route .
His first appearance came as a restaurant waiter in the game .
He had a gentle demeanour with a prince-like appeal and treated all women like a proper gentleman, and thus soon became well-beloved among the players .
“What’s wrong, missy? Is there something on my face?”
Because of my prolonged stare, he lowered his brows slightly and asked . Finally coming back to my senses, I immediately shook my head in denial .
“N-No! You just look like someone I know… I’m sorry . ”
“There’s no need to apologise . Rather, it was my pleasure to be able to talk to such a beautiful young lady such as yourself . ”
He smoothly replied with words that could easily be mistaken for a pick-up line .
But I knew that, for him, it was but a simple greeting, even without my knowledge from the game . Because his voice and expression didn’t change at all when he said it .
“Latte! Sorry, but can you help me with this?”
“Got it!”
He answered a voice that called for him from behind, before lightly waving at me and quickly disappeared behind the kitchen doors .
Yes, that’s right . His name was ‘Latte . ’ He used to call himself that way in the game too, so I don’t think I’ve mistaken him for someone else…
I believed it was a royal capital restaurant that Latte worked at in the game, which was a far cry from a remote village inn such as this . What on earth are you doing here?
Just as how Crowe became Nebel’s spy instead of remaining as Raptor’s assassin, was there something that caused this change as well?
“Is something wrong, Marie?”
Sir Leonhard turned to me with a worried look on his face . After replying with an ‘I’m fine,’ I turned back to my meal .
I’m curious, but thinking about it won’t give me any answers, so let’s prioritise the delicious food in front of me while it’s still warm and eat it with my beloved instead .
“Thank you for the meal . ”
The soup and bread combo was something to die for, but it was an even better feeling when you had no leftovers . My stomach was full to the brim and my body was nice and warm . Such happiness…
“I hope the meal was enjoyable . ”
As I bathed in happiness while rubbing my stomach, I heard a voice directed my way .
A cup was then placed in front of me .
“Please enjoy this after-meal tea . ”
Latte said with a smile .
“Thank you very much . ”
“You’re welcome . And here’s some for the cool-looking mister as well . I only really do this for girls, but I’ll make an exception for you this time since you’re with the little lady . ”
“I appreciate it, thanks . ”
Sir Leonhard received the cup with a bitter smile .
Thinking that Latte would leave, I stacked up the plates on a tray seated to the left of Sir Leonhard . With a curious face, however, Latte instead pulled up a chair and sat together with us .
“Do you mind if I share the table with you? It’s my lunch break now anyways . ”
He asked for permission but didn’t even wait for a reply . What a happy-go-lucky guy, or rather, it felt like he forced his way in . But the fact that he sat next to Sir Leonhard instead of me was gentlemanly of him .
Latte’s lunch consisted of stir-fried vegetables with a side of flat bread . Despite being sloppily put together, it looked delicious .
Contrary to his beauty, his eating style was pretty dynamic . With each big bite he took, the dishes soon dwindled .
I sat there dumbfounded with the tea in my hands . It was as delicious as the food that came before, but was considerably more addictive .
“Where did the two of you hail from then?”
Latte, who had finished his meal at record pace, asked .
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“We came from the royal capital . ”
I thought there was no reason to lie, so I didn’t .
If you get caught lying later on, it would only end badly for you, after all .
“Ah, I knew it! I thought the two of you seemed a bit proper than most, or perhaps more elegant was the right word . ”
“And where did you-”
“Using ‘you’ is a bit harsh, isn’t it? You can call me Latte . ”
Sir Leonhard’s question was interrupted by Latte’s hand gesture .
“I see . My name is Leon, and this is my sister, Marie . ”
“Leon and Marie, right? Yeah, nice to meet you too… Where were we again?”
Latte didn’t pay any particular attention as to why this brother-sister pair didn’t look anything alike .
No, it might be more accurate to say that he ignored the fact . He was usually clueless about the atmosphere between people, even in the game . Perhaps he didn’t go into it because he thought it might be a delicate topic .
Sir Leonhard responded and urged him on with his story,
“Oh, so were you born here, Latte?”
“I’m a stranger to these parts, actually . I wasn’t born in Nebel . I came to this village two—maybe three months ago looking for a place to settle down . I was just lucky enough to get hired here . ”
So he wasn’t born in Nebel .
He rarely talked about himself in the game so I never knew . All I knew was he used to be employed as an assassin, and his former colleague being Crowe .
Since Crowe also never talked about his past despite being a capture target, the two were often shrouded in mystery . But, if Crowe was an assassin sent from Raptor to Nebel, is there any chance that Latte was in a similar situation?
Thinking that far piqued my curiosity .
Don’t tell me, is he currently on a mission right now?
Then I realised that we were, in fact, at arm’s length from Raptor’s borders . Being a waiter was also a good cover, just that this was a weird place for him to be . Yeah, I’m probably thinking too much into this .
“And what business do you have over here? Surely there’s nothing to see in the countryside so far out, is there?”
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“I visited an acquaintance of mine back at the border fort . Now we’re just taking a look around . ”
“So you know a guard at the fort? Looking closely, you certainly seem like a knight yourself, don’t you?”
Upon hearing Sir Leonhard’s words, Latte responded the same way the old shepherd did .
“If you wanted to take Marie out for a trip, you could’ve taken her to a better place, you know?”
“It’s my selfish request . I wanted to see old buildings, and I heard that there’s a temple around here, so I kind of coerced my brother to bring me along with him . ”
The flow of this conversation was similar, so I repeated the same reply I gave to the shepherd earlier . I didn’t think it was all that weird, but Latte went stiff for a moment .
Before I could ponder about the reason behind it, he had already switched back to the friendly smile from before .
“What a rare hobby for such a little lady . ”
I see, so it was something unusual . Was that why you looked so surprised?
“Is it that strange?”
“Well, I’m also in the same boat, so I feel like I understand you a bit . But it’s really a shame that this village’s temple had just been renovated . ”
“It really is! That’s why I’d like to go to the next village over as soon as I can . ”
“That’s nice . When you do find one, please tell me as well . I’d love to go for a visit on one of my days off . ”
Latte, who was listening attentively with a smile on his face, tilted his head as if telling me to remind him . His long bangs swung out of the way to reveal his forehead .
It was well-sculpted, and coupled with how white his skin was, he looked no different from a doll . However, a scar could be seen staining his white, porcelain-like skin .
“Hm? Oops, it seems I’ve shown you something unsightly . ”
Noticing my gaze, Latte gave me a wry smile and fixed his bangs back in place .
“I fell asleep and bumped into something, that’s all . It’s no big deal . ”
“I see… Please be careful next time . ”
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The red scar left the surrounding skin discoloured and twitching . I don’t think a mere bump could’ve done that .
However, it seemed like a sensitive topic that he didn’t want to get into, so I let it blow over without digging any further .
After some more short exchanges, Latte was about to leave to resume his job .
He took the pile of dishes and carried them on a tray, before slowly heading towards the kitchen . As I stared at his back, Sir Leonhard reached out and grabbed the wet towel from my hand .
“Latte . ”
“Hm?”
Sir Leonhard threw the towel towards Latte who had just turned around .
Latte calmly caught it with his right hand .
“You forgot this . ”
“Thanks . ”
Neither Latte nor the customers seemed to mind it, but I was taken aback at how Sir Leonhard decided to throw the towel instead of handing it over normally .
I was also surprised at how Latte caught it so easily despite having a stack of dishes on the other arm . Turning around to catch something from behind without losing one’s balance is a pretty difficult thing to do . Not to mention, if I remembered correctly, Latte used his left hand when he ate earlier . His non-dominant hand was used very skillfully there .
I kept my gaze in the direction of the kitchen, even after Latte had disappeared into it, but turned back to face Sir Leonhard in the end .
I tried to talk to him, but decided to hold back .
That was because Sir Leonhard continued to fix his gaze towards the kitchen doors with a grim expression .
However, when he noticed me, he quickly reverted back to his usual gentle demeanour .
“…Let’s get going soon . ”
“…Okay . ”
Looking at Sir Leonhard, I thought of telling him about Latte .
However, I didn’t know whether Latte was still an assassin, nor do I have any evidence saying he was affiliated with Raptor or otherwise .
It would be a disaster if we had wrongly accused him and missed the real spy .
I was troubled about what to say for a long time after that .