The villainous prince who bullied Feng Aotian was actually myself.

Page 114

As they approached the town's entrance, Leon suddenly heard a shout.

Then he saw a simple wooden obstacle course.

Before the checkpoint, several Imperial knights dressed in light armor with swords at their waists were watching them. One of them was the one who had just reprimanded Leon.

The level is still there?

Leon's heart clenched, and he reined in his horse, stopping in front of the checkpoint.

"You don't know me?"

Leon sat astride his tall horse and glanced at the imperial knights before him.

During his reign, Leon interfered least in military matters. He mainly focused on addressing the empire's economy and corruption within the imperial bureaucracy, so he didn't have much knowledge about the imperial army.

The main issue is that Leon has no right to interfere in military matters.

The vast majority of the empire's military power was in the hands of Caesar, with a smaller portion in the Regent's Northern Army. Leon also had no military power; at least on the surface, he, like himself, did not have the right to command troops independently.

"Your Highness Leon! Weren't you... weren't you exiled to the southern frontier?"

The knight paused for a moment, then spoke in disbelief.

The news that Leon had encountered bandits and entered the Thorn Forest was deliberately concealed by Caesar. The subsequent meeting with the vampire envoy and Leon's return to the palace were also conducted in secret. Even the middle-ranking officials were unaware of what was going on. Therefore, it was not surprising that these knights thought they were sleeping on bamboo mats, feeding mosquitoes, and eating coarse food in the southern borderlands.

"I have been released, but the specific reasons are confidential and I cannot say. You'd better not be curious, or you'll be killed."

Leon smiled and said something that felt cold.

“We understand, Your Highness.”

The knights bowed.

Where is Mr. Rosen?

"Leon asked."

"Lord Rosen has gone up the mountain to gather firewood."

A knight answered.

"Gathering firewood?"

Leon was puzzled.

"Yes, although our salaries have increased quite a bit, after you stepped down, Guberlan stopped providing supplies to us, so we have to buy and cook our own food. And unlike the city, there is no gas here, so we have to burn firewood to cook."

Stop distributing supplies?

In terms of supplies, this falls under the category of resource allocation, and the highest administrative official in charge of this line of work seems to be Lev, one of the three dukes.

Tsk, this kid is probably settling a personal score.

"Furthermore, because of your demotion, the funds originally intended for the development of travel projects have been withheld, and the projects have been cancelled."

The knight continued, seemingly about to complain all these annoying things to Leon.

Sure enough, after complaining about this, he started complaining about other things. Leon didn't interrupt him until he realized that what he was complaining about wasn't very valuable, then he spoke up to stop him, "I want to see Rosen. Take me to him."

"Yes, Your Highness Leon."

The knight stopped his rambling.

After walking along the country path, Leon followed the knight into a large mountain.

At this time, it was late autumn in Guberland, and even with frost in the morning, the air was still dry.

“Your Highness, you seem quite familiar with the place.”

Perhaps because Leon was too approachable, the knight dared to make a joke while they were going through the mountain pass.

"Oh? How can I say this?"

Leon laughed.

“As a prince, you are delicate and rarely leave the city of Guberlan. You should never have walked on such dirty and rugged mountain roads, but you look as if you have done so many times.”

"That's what the knight replied."

“I am just a human being like the people of the empire. If they can walk, I cannot. Seeing how hard their lives are, as a prince, I am heartbroken. How could I possibly complain about the road?”

Leon gave a wry smile.

"Mr. Rosen is probably nearby."

The knight changed the subject; it was too heavy a topic, and it also gave him a sense of awe and respect for Leon.

I had never gotten to know this prince, whom people called a good-for-nothing, up close before, but now it seems he's not a good-for-nothing at all.

So considerate of the people's plight, so kind and benevolent, the knight suddenly thought that it would be wonderful if Leon were emperor, then the people would surely live a happier life.

After searching the surroundings, Leon quickly found Rosen, along with three knights and a bundle of dry firewood.

However, at this moment, Rosen and the three knights seemed to be bending over and doing something strange.

"Lord Rosen."

The knight who brought Leon shouted, and everyone's eyes turned to them, then focused on Leon.

"Your Highness!"

Rosen asked excitedly, "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine for now."

Leon smiled. "What are you doing?"

"Winter is coming soon, and we need to stock up on firewood for cooking and heating."

Rosen replied.

"So what are you holding in your hand right now?"

Leon looked at the bright green thing in Rosen's hand.

"This? Wild vegetables. To save money, but—"

Rosen replied with a smile, "These wild vegetables taste quite good. If Your Highness wishes to stay for a meal, you may have a taste."

Digging for wild vegetables...

No, did they pick up the wrong script?

Really

Lawson's monthly salary is already quite high, so there's really no need for him to do this.

However, being thrifty and frugal... well, that deserves praise.

"Ah, okay, I can stay here for the night, and then—I want to see Helena's sister Anna."

"Of course, that's no problem. Oh, Your Highness, there are also two orc maids who escaped from the palace."

Rosen mentioned.

Anne and Lucy...

"Okay, I understand. We'll talk about this when we get back."

As Leon spoke, he bent down and pulled out a plant that looked just like the one Rosen was holding. "Since I'm already here, I can't leave empty-handed, right? Actually, I'm quite strong, so I'll carry a bundle of firewood for you."

"Oh, Your Highness, this is absolutely unacceptable! How can we let you do such work!"

The crowd quickly intervened.

"No one will know, don't worry. I came alone, and this is an order."

In his previous life, Leon grew up in the countryside with his grandmother and did much more tiring work than this.

After he stepped down, the tourism development project was also canceled. As Imperial Knights, Rosen and his companions could receive new orders from above at any time, which would pose a threat to Anna's safety.

We need to come up with a new way to solve Anna's security problem.

Anna can't be allowed to get into trouble. She's the trigger. If something happens to her, Helena's values ​​will be warped, and that would be terrifying!

After all, Helena in the original anime was actually a crazy beauty.

but……

She's gone mad; what if her lies are discovered...?

Leon's rat-like body suddenly trembled for no apparent reason.

P.S.: A younger version of Kogoro Mouri

Chapter 48 Sister Anna

After descending the mountain, Leon followed Rosen to check out the inn where they were staying, and then they arrived at Anna's residence as they had hoped.

This is a bungalow built of wood and mud bricks, with a small yard enclosed by wooden stakes. In addition to the living quarters, the yard also contains a woodshed, a cowshed, a pen for raising chickens and ducks, and a well-ventilated kitchen.

Along the way, Leon noticed that the farms he passed were all pretty much the same.

It was dinnertime, and smoke was rising from every household, including Anna's.

Standing at the entrance of the wooden fence, Leon paused and looked towards Anna's neighbor's yard.

The courtyard was a bit smaller, and the cowshed and livestock pen seemed to have been abandoned for a long time. The doors to the woodshed, kitchen, and living quarters all had iron locks stained with red rust, indicating that no one had lived there for a long time.

According to the memories in the anime, Helena and Anna were neighbors, and the closest house to Anna's was that yard. So Leon can be pretty sure that this is Helena's hometown, the place where our lovely, arrogant little sister grew up.

"Mr. Rosen!"

The girl, who was baking bread in the kitchen, turned her head casually and saw Lawson at the door. She then called out with a smile.

She had long, slightly wavy, pale yellow hair, sea-blue eyes, and a tall but slender figure. Her skin was uneven due to sun exposure from farming, with some areas white and others wheat-colored. Her face wasn't stunning, but it was quite pleasing to the eye.

This image quickly overlapped with an important anime character in Leon's mind. Although it was their first meeting, Leon was already certain that she was Anna, the sister Helena had been longing for.

Anna quickly flipped the bread over, then wiped her hands on her apron before walking toward the gate.

"And you are, sir?"

Anna's gaze fell on Leon, who was standing next to Rosen, and a look of vigilance flashed in her sea-blue eyes.

Leon was dressed in a light blue shirt, a black suit jacket, a red tie around his neck, and shiny black men's leather boots. In Anna's memory, people dressed like this were usually prominent figures in the city, and such people typically looked down on farmers like them.

Leon didn't rush to answer Anna's question because he knew someone would answer it for him.

"This is His Highness Leon, and he is the one who risked his life to save Miss Helena."

Rosen explained.

"Your Highness Leon!"

When Anna first saw the prince, this important figure who lived in the palace and was only mentioned by those around her, standing at the top of society, she couldn't help but shudder with surprise.

Her feelings are understandable. It's like an ordinary farmer building a house at home when the Chairman suddenly comes to visit.

"Your Highness Leon, this is Miss Anna."

At this moment, Rosen finally introduced Anna to Leon.

Leon had to maintain a cool and distant demeanor until Rosen introduced Anna.

Although he could recognize Anna, in reality, this was only the first time he had met Anna; before this, Leon and Anna had never met.

“Miss Anna, there’s no need for that. Just treat me like Helena’s ordinary classmate and come to my house to play.”

Leon responded with a smile.

"Your Highness, please come in."

Anna opened the gate.

"No need for that, just call me sir, or you can simply call me Leon."

If we absolutely have to add "Your Highness," it will create a sense of distance.

If nothing unexpected happens, Helena should become my wife. Helena and Anna both consider each other family, so sooner or later I and Anna will also become family!

Leon was secretly pleased with himself, but he quickly returned to reality.