Chapter 52 - The Prince of the Beastly Kingdom is Supposed to Have a Harem…17

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　The next morning, Ruth woke up at the usual time without incident. He enjoyed his leisurely awakening in bed for a while, then eventually left while the Ocal was still sleeping, and went to the kitchen. The family was already up and about in the kitchen, and breakfast preparations were almost finished.

"Ruth, go and call everyone."

"Yes."

　Ruth went to each room and knocked to let them know that breakfast was ready. This was usually Celine's role, but today it was his turn. Ruth was a little nervous about this new job.

　Wonok, who was in the largest room on the first floor and seemed to be eagerly waiting for his meal, immediately left his room and headed for the dining room when he heard Ruth's voice. Julia on the second floor still sounded a little depressed, but she replied immediately, apparently ready to have breakfast. Seju, who was two rooms away from Julia, remained strangely silent for a while when Ruth called out to him, before calmly replying that he would come later. There was something strange about his voice, but he came out just as Ruth was in front of Nikola's room and their eyes met. However, his behavior was unlike when they played cards yesterday, and he had a strangely nasty look in his eyes, as if he was glaring at him. Ruth tilted his head, thinking that maybe he was the type who was in a bad mood in the morning.

"Nikola, breakfast is ready. The soup is warm and delicious today."

　Speaking to Nikola through the door next to Seju’s room, Ruth waited, knowing that he liked soup. However, after waiting for a while, there was no reply from Nikola. He knocked again and called out, but there was still no reply. Nicola was a man of few words, but he didn't seem like the type to ignore someone who called out to him, so this was surprising.

　Even though there was no reply, Ruth figured it wouldn’t be right to keep pestering, so he reluctantly moved on.

"Nikola isn’t coming out..."

"Ruth, did you call out to him?"

"I knocked twice and called him... but there was no answer..."

"...No answer, huh… I'm a bit worried, considering what happened yesterday."

　In the end, Nikola didn't show up even after the other guests had finished their meals. Worried, Rossa went to his room and opened the room with the spare key while calling out to him.

"This is bad, Nikola isn't in the room."

"Not in the room… Where could he be?"

"I don't know. Let’s look for him"

　The Brau family split up and searched the inn. They searched the unused rooms, toilets, closets, bathrooms, and other areas where guests might move around, but they didn't find Nikola. They asked the other guests if they had seen him, but they still couldn't find him.

"Did he go outside?"

"Not in this snowstorm. Besides, there’s no sign that the boards were removed. How would he even get out?"

"hen is he in the main house? Could he have gone to the storage room? But why?"

"We can figure that out later. Let’s go."

　The Braus hurried to the storeroom where Ruth had slept the night before, opened the door, and lit the nearby lamp.

　The room was cluttered with various items, and the dim light illuminated it, making it easier to see. At first glance, the storage room didn't look out of place, and the windows weren't broken. However--

"Waa!"

"Kyaaa!"

"Wha—"

　The members of the Brau family exclaimed when they saw the sofa that Ruth had used yesterday.

(Why—)

　There, lying face down on the sofa, was Nikola, the person they had been searching for.

★☆★

Noir: Double update because this chapter is really short for some reason.

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