"Wolf likes… dog…." Wolf said. He blushed slightly and asked with a low, almost inaudible voice, "Y--You like dogs?"

"Un… Jean loves cats, dogs, hamsters. Um… Jean loves all animals!" Little Jean said.

Wolf paused for a moment, and a rare smile perked upon his usually flat lips. He smiled for a moment and said, "Wolf… likes animals…."

"I um… I will carve… toy…."

Little Jean got even more interested in what Wolf was doing right now. He wanted to step down to see from up close because he never saw someone carving in front of him like this.

But the moment he wanted to step down, Wolf immediately stopped his carving and gripped Little Jean's ankle that was covered in a sock.

"Eh?!" Little Jean froze the moment Wolf touched his ankle, "Is there something wrong?"

Wolf shook his head and pointed at the bed, "Stay."

…

Little Jean wondered why Wolf didn't allow him to climb out of bed. He was actually curious about what Wolf was doing.

Wolf realized that Little Jean was questioning why he wasn't allowed to look closer. He pointed the dagger at Little Jean again and said, "Dagger… dangerous…."

"Ah…" Little Jean finally understood. Wolf just didn't want Little Jean to get hurt while he was carving.

Thus, Little Jean sat while Wolf was carving the toy.

After it was done, Wolf showed the dog carving. It was smooth enough for Little Jean not to get hurt by blister, but it was big enough, so Little Jean wouldn't choke on it.

It was made by so much consideration from Wolf.

Wolf put it beside Little Jean, who had fallen asleep after he watched Wolf carving the dog.

Wolf looked at sleeping Little Jean for a while, and he said, "Guard dog… for Young Master…."

Wolf sat on the ground again and fell asleep after being assured that Young Master Jean was alright.

[Pupa: Ding! Wolf Dietrich's Fatemeter increased to 10%.]

**

Archduke Maximillien was riding his horse the moment he realized that something was wrong. A carriage that transported the Elder Magus arrived after using a shortcut, but two other carriages, including Little Jean's carriage, were nowhere to be seen.

Maximillien cursed at everyone in the Palace, especially the guards who separated themselves from Little Jean's carriage.

But when he realized the reason why they separated themselves, Maximillien got even more worried.

He dashed through the night with the Palace guards with their horses. They tracked through the road where Little Jean's carriage went through.

And they stopped when they saw two carriages on the ground, quite far from each other. The one was filled with the corpse of the dead guards. While the other one, Little Jean's carriage, had crashed, and the coachman had been burnt to crisp.

"JEAN!"

Maximillien jumped out of his horse and ran towards Little Jean's carriage. His heart dropped, afraid that something had happened to his little brother. But when he checked the carriage, he only saw the Head Butler.

His clothes were torn, and he was unconscious. Maximillien gritted his teeth and crouched. He slapped the Head Butler's cheeks few times, "Wake up! Where is my little brother?!"

The Head Butler groaned in pain. He opened his eyes hard. When he saw Archduke Maximillien, he exerted all his remaining strength to give the note from the bandit to the Duke.

"Y—Young Master… has been kidnapped, I'm sorry, Your… highness…."

Maximillien's heart dropped when he heard the information. He took the ransom note and then read it.

—

We have your little brother. We demand Ten thousand golden coins for his ransom. Drop the chest full of golden coins in the spot that we located inside this ransom note.

We will wait for two days. If we see no golden chest in two days, then we will send your little brother's head to the Palace.

—

Maximillien's body trembled all over. He was so enraged that he didn't even know how to vent his rage. Suddenly, the river behind him stopped flowing, and a huge water dragon emerged from the river. It was the sign that Archduke Maximillien was at his limit.

"Y—Your Highness…" the guard commander tried to talk with the Archduke.

Maximillien glared at the commander, and the water dragon also glared at him, "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GO SEARCH THE WOODS WITH EVERYONE!"

"Y—YES!!!"

Maximillien's heart was in turmoil right now. He blamed himself because he allowed Little Jean to leave the Palace without his supervision. He should've been the one who accompanied his little brother, now that everything had turned out like this, if something happened to Little Jean, then he would…

Maximillien clenched the ransom note in his hand. He mounted his horse and spurred it back to the Palace of Eau Saumont. If that bandit wanted ten thousand gold coins, then so be it.

It was a lot of money, but it wasn't impossible for Maximillien. Besides, the life of his little brother was far more precious than just some gold coins.

'I'm sorry that I can't protect you, Jean,' Maximillien said in his heart.

**

Meanwhile, Little Jean woke up in the morning and saw a carved wooden dog beside him. It looked good and smooth enough for his tender palms. He looked around the tent and saw no sign of Wolf anywhere.

He hugged the wood dog and asked Pupa,

[Yo, where is that Wolf boy?]

[Pupa: He is out hunting for your breakfast, like rabbits, deer, or even wild hog.]

[Huh? He is only eight years old, right? How could he hunt a wild hog?!]

[Pupa: Because he is a talented warrior and hunter? It's pretty obvious.]

[Aish, what a harsh world. A kid as young as Wolf, already living in the middle of the woods, barely surviving by hunting.]

[Pupa: I don't think he is suffering at all…]

[Anyway, I have to get out of here. We haven't even met the third male lead, and I got kidnapped out of the blue!]

[Pupa:… Wolf is the third male lead.]

Yunyu was about to react to Pupa's statement, but someone suddenly came inside the tent.

Wolf came in. His tunic was covered in blood. He was carrying a dead wild hog on his shoulder.

He looked at Little Jean and said, "Breakfast… Young Master…"