Long story short, Ree still got dragged with the children around the Capital.
Now, the brown haired butler was walking around with a group of children following him like baby ducklings with their mother duck.
"Alright, we've pretty much toured half of the capital. Let's eat first."
Ree announced while looking around for a suitable place to eat. He was really playing the role of a tour guide/babysitter well.
Ree was holding the hands of one of the youngest amongst the children. Meanwhile, both Lock and Maes were helping him with the others as well.
On and Hong were on Lock's arms as well.
"Hmm. Childrens like sweets right? There's a sweet shop there selling cakes and pies there. How about that?"
Ree looked towards the children for confirmation. Seeing them all nod, he nodded as well before guiding them to the sweet shop.
The sweet shop was cozy, with tables and chairs inside for customers to dine. When they all sat, they almost occupied half of the shop.
"Okay, what do you guys want?"
Ree meticulously memorized all their orders before going to the counter. Meanwhile, Lock was watching Ree in a trance.
Lock was amazed by the butler. He noticed that Ree hyung never got the chance to relax throughout their outing as he was always taking care of all their needs.
Even when Lock wanted to help him, he always prevented him on doing so. Saying that childrens were supposed to enjoy outings and Lock was a child as well.
It felt... warm. To be taken care of and pampered by a warm and caring adult. Like in a family.
When they lost their village as well as their family, Lock was given the responsibility for his younger brothers and sisters. Honestly, it was heavy.
But today, thanks to his Ree hyung, the weight of the burden vanished. As if it never existed at all.
"Here's the chocolate cake for this table. Lock, are you okay? You're in daze. Do you want water or juice to drink?"
Lock snapped out of his thoughts with Ree's questioning. The brown haired butler looked worriedly at Lock.
Lock smiled brightly, a slight contrast with his usual shy one, at the butler before shaking his head. Ree simply nodded and didn't ask anything else.
'Poor kid. Must've been tough playing the role of an adult so suddenly. Don't worry, I'll take care of you until I came back to the mansion.'
Ree thought to himself before patting Lock in the head. Lock was stunned upon feeling the warm hand patting him but it felt really nice.
Ree didn't get to see the warm smile on Lock's face as he immediately turned towards another table.
After taking care of the food for the children, Ree turned towards the two cats by the side of their table.
Ree immediately pulled two more seats on their table for the two cats. He placed a chocolate cake in each seats before lifting the cats and sitting them there.
The cats looked warily at Ree's direction. Specially the older one, On. She was wondering if the butler somehow found out about them.
But Ree simply patted the both of them in the head without saying anything. He then left to tend to the others.
Both On and Hong watched the butler's back as he moved around their table, handing drinks and placing more treats. They started to eat while still watching Ree.
The others were watching Ree as well. One of them couldn't take it anymore and asked a question.
"Oppa, are you not going to eat?"
Ree looked at the kid who asked while he was placing another cup of juice on the table. He smiled softly at her.
"I am still full. Now, go and eat well. Kids need to eat to be healthy."
The children were unsatisfied by Ree's answer but they didn't comment. Meanwhile, Ree was busy thinking to himself.
'It takes all my willpower just to stay inside with all these sweet smell. I'd rather not touch them in case I feel dizzy.'
Ree swept a glance at everyone eating heartily while smiling. He then shook his head with a smile.
'Nevermind. It's worth it.'
Ree spent his whole day catering with the childrens needs. He was satisfied to see them laughing and having fun all day.
~
8:25 AM
Ree calmly glanced at his pocket watch for a bit before putting it away. Right on cue, the nobility entered the Plaza of Glory.
Ree caught a glimpse of Cale's red hair as well when he entered.
Ree was standing on the crowd, blending with the citizens inside the Plaza who came to watch the celebration. He easily maneuvered on the crowd with practiced ease.
Ree hid himself on the crowd while looking at the young boy waving a flag on the southern part of the Plaza. That boy was Lock.
'If I remembered correctly, Lock was doing that for Cale to see.'
Ree moved his gaze around the crowd and sure enough, he found the black haired Choi Han there.
Then, they started to move. Ree moved as well. It wasn't really necessary for him to help but just in case. He couldn't just stand there while waiting for the bombs to blow off f right?
So Ree walked leisurely, sharp eyes scanning the people around him. He was recalling the content of the novel as he walked around.
'A necklace and a bag. That's all I remember.'
So he looked around for the said items that felt suspicious or ominous for him. Ree trusted his instincts, after all.
And he actually did found one. The bag.
Ree immediately approached the owner of the bag with a polite smile. His calm and polite attitude yet again being put in a good use.
"Hello Sir! May I take a bit of your time?"
The man carrying the bag was stunned upon being talked to by such a polite young man. Seeing the brown haired smiling politely, the man nodded.
"Yes, what is it?"
The man subconsciously asked politely as well. This made Ree smirk internally.
"You see, I have some items I unfortunately have to carry around right now. It was passed to me by my friend but he forgot to bring a bag. I was wondering if I could purchase yours Sir as the gates are already closed and I can't buy one outside."
Ree came out with an easy lie that seems believable. He sported a troubled expression as well, guilt tripping the man.
Just as he thought, the man looked at him in concern.
"Then, is this bag enough to carry your things? Fortunately, I'm not carrying anything heavy or important right now so I can just lend it to you."
Ree smiled gratefully at the man while inside, his little mini me was jumping around in celebration.
'It worked.'
"Oh, I can't possibly do that. I will pay for it Sir. Here. Thank you!"
Right as the man handed him the empty bag, Ree swiftly stuffed a pouch full of coins on his hand before leaving. He didn't wait for the man to react at all.
Although Ree was a master of reading people, he never wanted to use it to take advantage of them.
Ree studied the normal looking bag. But he can't help but feel a certain dangerous feeling surrounding the said item.
"Haist. I should've been laying down on my bed right now. What the h*ck am I putting myself into."
Ree complained while shaking his head.
'If it weren't for the kids, I wouldn't feel so guilty staying inside the Inn while their brother Lock was running around looking for BOMBS in the Plaza.'
Ree once again took his pocket watch out and glance at the time.
8:45 AM
"The stars of the Crossman family, our royal family, are now entering!"
Ree looked away from his pocket watch and towards the group of individuals with beautiful blonde hair entering the plaza.
Only one entrance was open at this time. Ree could see three princes at the lead, with what looks like the crown prince at the center, while the other princes and princesses followed behind.
Ree politely clapped.
Wooooooooooooooooooo-
The cheering of the citizens around filled the Plaza. It was so loud that it felt like the ground was shaking.
Ree decided to sit near the fountain located at the south of the Plaza while waiting. He was too lazy to stay standing for too long.
"His Highness, King Zed Crossman, the sun of the Roan Kingdom, is now entering!"
Wooooooooooooooooooo-
The healthy 50-year-old king appeared in the plaza in his parade carriage. Ree politely clapped again while sitting.
King Zed was slowly heading toward the plaza from a far off distance. And the fanfare for him was very loud.
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-
There was a special platform for the king in front of the Bell Tower.
The king and queen waved to the crowd, before walking up to the platform. The queen stood in front of her seat as King Zed went up to the magic vocal amplifier.
The king lifted up his hand, and the cheers slowly died down. Finally, once the plaza was completely quiet, the king started to speak.
"It has already been 30 years since this king has received the blessing of the sun to rule over this kingdom."
Ree ignored the speech and once again looked at his pocket watch.
9 am.
Ree raised his head to look at the top of the Bell Tower. A person appeared on top of the Bell Tower, and then more people in black attires started to appear on top of the buildings nearby as well.
The mumblings around Ree started to get louder as the citizens started to get nervous.
"Who are you?!"
King Zed started to shout.
Right at that moment, Ree got distracted by a plain looking necklace on one of the people around him. It was emitting the same eerily dangerous feeling like the bag.
He immediately stood up and, with a slight of the hand, "borrowed" the necklace. His movements were so swift and smooth that the owner didn't noticed anything.
But before he could rejoice at his success, a chilling voice that sounded like metal screeching against one another filled the plaza.
"Should be fun."
Ree looked up just in time to see the red mana shot out to different spot in the plaza.
Exactly at 9:01 am.
Oooooooooooong-
A vibration started underneath the Bell Tower.
Beeeeeep-
Beeeeeep-
Magic devices started to go off in multiple locations. Ree could see the red mana suddenly lost it's strength and started to spin aimlessly in position.
'The mana disturbance tool of Cale worked properly.'
Then, it happens inside the plaza as well.
Beeeeeeeeep-
Three spots started to ring in the plaza.
Ree simply looked at the two items he was holding blankly. Both of them are beeping.
'I'm right.'
The brown haired butler didn't know wether to feel happy that his instincts were right or feel annoyed that he was actually holding two literal bombs.
Ree simply waited for either Choi Han with the black dragon or Lock with Rosalyn to approach him. He was still sitting calmly while holding the two beeping items.
He watched leisurely as the citizens screamed for the knights to open the door.
Just then, Lock, along with a brown haired Rosalyn, approached the calmly sitting Ree. Lock couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the person holding the last two bombs.
"Ree hyung?!"
Ree looked at Lock's direction and simply smiled calmly. He then moved his gaze towards Rosalyn who was looking at them with a confused expression.
The brown haired butler smiled politely at the mage and nodded at her in greeting. Rosalyn simply nodded back with a curious expression.
"Hyung, what are you doing here? And why are you holding those!"
Lock couldn't help but panic a bit upon seeing the person who took care of them yesterday holding two bombs.
Ree shrugged before handing the bombs to Rosalyn. In the corner of his eyes, he could see the black haired Choi Han approaching them with the two cats.
"I visited to watch the celebration. I just happened to pass by people carrying these two and thought that they felt weird so I took them."
By the time he finished speaking, Choi Han was already by their side. Ree bowed slightly at the new comer before glancing once again at his pocket watch.
9:09 am.
"Activate Mana Stability Magic!"
One of the mage's amplified voice rang out in the plaza. As soon as he said that, eight magic balls of light shot up into the sky.
Ree looked up and watch as the ball of lights ascended. Then...
Boom-
They blew up in the air and started to spread like a thin tent. The noises started to quiet down as the mana was starting to became stable once again.
Ree looked back down at the pocket watch on his hand.
9:09 am and 55 seconds.
Ree then moved his gaze at the people with him. The four items floated before they shot up into the sky. Those four items followed the stabilized flow of mana and flew towards the mountains to the south of the capital.
The citizens blankly watched as these four items flew like shooting stars toward the mountain. Meanwhile, Ree looked away from it and towards his pocket watch again.
9:10 am and 5 seconds.
"Mana Stability Complete!"
The mage shouted out loud. The red mana balls then started to chase behind the items flying toward the mountain.
Ree still focused his gaze on his pocket watch even as Lock moved by his side. He just casted a side glance at Lock in acknowledgement.
He was counting down. And as the hand of the clock pointed at the number 12, a large explosion sounded.
Booooooom-!
It was so bright that it temporarily blinded everyone who was looking. A large pillar of black smoke soon followed and rushed up into the sky.
Even though the mountain was far to the south of the plaza, a large gust of wind rushed toward the crowd in the plaza.
Ree, as well as the others, were one of the few who felt that wind the hardest. As they were positioned at the south part of the plaza near the fountain.
The plaza instantly became silent. The mages' expressions turned completely pale. It was because they realized the identity and purpose of the red mana balls that started to fly as soon as they stabilized the mana.
There are also two people amongst the crowd of citizens who turned pale. They were the owner of the two items Ree got. The bag and the necklace.
They recognized those items. And they couldn't help but think of what would happen if those blew of with them.
"Hyung! Let's go!"
Lock pulled Ree with him when they left. Although he didn't know where they were going, Ree still followed Lock willingly.
They activated a device, which Ree thought was something that made them invisible, while walking away. When he looked back, he saw several mages and knights heading toward their previous location.
"Hyung, stay here. We have something to do first. I will come back later!"
Like a puppy, Lock held Ree's arms with both hands while speaking. He was looking at Ree with an expectant gaze.
Ree didn't know why but he had an urge to pat the young boy on the head. And so, he did.
Lock happily accepted Ree's gesture, but the later felt kind of awkward after sensing the gazes Choi Han and Rosalyn were sending his way.
"I don't know what's happening but stay safe."
Ree lied through his teeth. He then nodded politely at Rosalyn and Choi Han's way. Which the two returned with a smile.
When they left, Ree didn't dare to actually stay there. He immediately left as soon as the cats, who were the last one to leave, were out of sight.
'Well, it's not like I promised Lock that I would stay.'
That was the reason why Ree didn't say anything and just pretended to be ignorant about what's happening. Therefore, Ree didn't utter any promises to the young wolf boy.
'Let's stay as far away as possible to the range of the last two bombs.'
Ree immediately started to look for a safe place.