Evil Dragon Chapter 16: Swallowing Treasure

Chapter 16: Swallowing Treasure

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: CaiCai, Kris

 

Lin Nuo was stunned. But he immediately remembered: in the original book, this theft was arranged by the evil dragon’s subordinates. Could it be that before his arrival, the dragon had already set up this scheme in the marquess’s mansion and arranged for these people to steal massively? If so, then the mastermind behind this theft was still the little evil dragon, which meant… himself?

He absolutely couldn’t let Rennes, who was beside him, find out! Lin Nuo suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. He composed himself and said to Rennes, “I suddenly remembered there’s an exquisitely beautiful painting in the corridor worth revisiting. I’d like to take this opportunity to see it again and won’t disturb your tea time, Teacher.”

Rennes looked at Lin Nuo, who was pale with beads of sweat on his forehead, and simply said, “Alright.”

Lin Nuo hurriedly left the reception room with the round servant and turned into an empty room. As soon as he closed the door, the round servant knelt on one knee and transformed into a chubby little frog-thing, calling out to Lin Nuo, “Ribbit! Ribbit!”

Seeing this stone-colored frog, Lin Nuo nearly lost his balance, bracing himself against the wall for a good while. He couldn’t understand what the frog was saying, managing to squeeze out two words from his throat, “A frog?”

The frog quickly transformed back into its human form. “I’m not a frog, Young Master! I’m a goblin!”

Lin Nuo swallowed hard. “Oh…”

What a round goblin.

The round goblin maintained its kneeling position, looking up with reverence, and said to Lin Nuo, “Young Master! You’ve finally arrived!”

Lowering his voice, Lin Nuo asked ambiguously, “Why are you here?”

He didn’t specify whether ‘here’ meant the reception room earlier or staying in the marquess’s mansion. This way, even if the previous evil dragon had contact with this round servant, hearing this statement wouldn’t seem odd. Hearing Lin Nuo’s inquiry, the round goblin hastily explained, “Young Master! It’s like this: Before your return, the elders had instructed us servants to infiltrate the city and wait for you!”

Oh, that’s good. It seems the earlier evil dragon hadn’t known about this plot either. Lin Nuo asked again, “Wait for me? You’ve been waiting here?”

This was also an ambiguous question.

The round goblin looked ashamed and said, “Actually, we wanted to sneak into the royal palace and stay by your side, but the palace has a royal aura surrounding it, and we couldn’t get in. So, we could only find some wealthy households to stay in, thinking we could gather some gold, silver, and jewels for you.” 

Listening to the round goblin’s words, Lin Nuo felt like banging his head: Hey, don’t gather gold, silver, and jewels for me! Doing that will only get the knights to blame me for everything!

Seeing Lin Nuo’s unpleasant expression, the round goblin looked even more ashamed. “Um, because we hadn’t received clear instructions from you, we haven’t started our operation yet… Young Master, do you want only gold, or gold, silver, & gems?”

Upon hearing this, Lin Nuo blinked, confirming, “Are you saying you haven’t started stealing anything yet?”

The round goblin was almost ready to put his face on the ground. “We were too slow! Knowing that the young master likes gold and silver, we should have saved more for you! We’ll start—”

Lin Nuo interrupted him, saying, “Who stole the gold and silver treasures missing from the marquess’s mansion?”

According to the marquess’s wife, the stolen items included large candlesticks and a silver shield. It was impossible for ordinary people to discreetly move these items out, so it was either an act in collusion among the servants or the work of magical creatures.

Unexpectedly, the round goblin lifted his face and said, “Those gold and silver treasures? The marquess swallowed them all.”

This answer was beyond Lin Nuo’s expectations. He propped his chin and said, “Swallowed by the marquess…?”

Was this marquess a gluttonous being? But wait, the original book was set in a Western fantasy background; there shouldn’t be such a concept as a gluttonous creature.

Thinking Lin Nuo was distressed about the treasures, the round goblin quickly reassured him, “Young Master, don’t worry! The gold and silver haven’t disappeared! Once we swallow the entire marquess and then make him spit everything out, we’ll get all the gold and silver back!”

This explanation was akin to eating grapes and spitting out the skin?!

Seeing Lin Nuo silent, the round goblin stood up, ready to execute his plan of swallowing the marquess. This alarmed Lin Nuo, and he quickly stopped him, “Wait, wait! Since you know what happened, just tell us what happened!”

“Huh? Us?” The round goblin looked utterly perplexed. “Do you mean… you and the paladin? I just don’t understand why the young master is associating with the Clement family’s knight. And you even call him ‘Teacher’? Their knights are born to fight against magical creatures. They’re our enemies! The elders have repeatedly warned that once the Clement family’s knight exposes your identity to the humans, from that moment onward, you won’t be able to maintain your human form!”

Oh… This explanation was exactly like the System’s warning. Lin Nuo wiped the sweat off his forehead silently and hastily fabricated an explanation, claiming that he was currently successfully disguising himself as a human and had gained the knight’s trust. He intended to deceive the knight into giving him the Clement family’s treasure once the knight trusted him more. Therefore, the other monsters sent by the family should not act rashly and must follow his instructions to not delay his grand plan!

After listening to Lin Nuo’s passionate and confident explanation, the chubby-faced youth was brimming with fanatic admiration. “Whoa, Young Master is truly amazing! The young master can even deceive a paladin! We’ll definitely assist the young master with all our might to take down the knight soon!”

Lin Nuo wiped his forehead again, thinking, I hope I don’t get taken down by the knight.

Lin Nuo composed himself and returned to the reception room, feigning extreme surprise as he addressed Rennes, “Teacher! This servant says he knows what happened with this theft case!”

Rennes’s gaze swept over Lin Nuo and paused on the round goblin for a second, showing no change in his expression. He said, “Let’s hear it.”

And so, the round goblin explained in detail.

About half a month ago, Lord Troix suddenly developed a strange habit. He would wake up in the middle of the night, put on a robe, and roam around the mansion like a ghost. Then, he would devour a gold or silver treasure in the house, treating it like a midnight snack. Initially, he would only consume small pieces of jewelry, like bracelets and necklaces. But as time passed, his appetite grew, and he could open his mouth to an incredible extent, eventually swallowing even the silver candlesticks in the house.

Until that moment, the marchioness hadn’t noticed the disappearances in their home. Her immediate thought was that it was an inside job and, without consulting the marquess, she went straight to the guard. As a result, on that very night, in front of his wife, the marquess swallowed the silver shield live, frightening his wife into fainting.

Since then, the wife vehemently denied any theft in their home, as she commissioned a large batch of new jewelry and accessories custom-made for their house. Even the round goblin couldn’t pinpoint why Lord Troix had transformed in this manner.

Rennes pondered for a moment and said, “We need to see the marquess.”

The round goblin didn’t immediately respond but looked at Lin Nuo with an inquiring glance.

Lin Nuo hastily said, “Please lead us to see the Marquess of Troix.”

Only then did the round goblin acknowledge, “Since His Royal Highness says so, I’ll do it! Wait a moment; I’ll go distract the others!”

Having said that, the round goblin hastily rolled out— no, he ran out of the room.

Rennes glanced at Lin Nuo and remarked, “This servant seems to know quite a bit.”

Lin Nuo felt a pang of guilt, forced a smile, and uttered a meaningless phrase, “Yes! Quite a bit!”

After a while, the round goblin peeked his head in from outside, smiling broadly, and gestured for Lin Nuo to follow. Lin Nuo didn’t expect the round goblin to lead them into a secret passage embedded in the wall.

The passage wasn’t spacious, only allowing two people to pass side by side. Small lamps embedded in the walls emitted a faint light, allowing them to see the path ahead. Struggling to squeeze through the passage, the round goblin moved ahead, followed by Lin Nuo in the middle and Rennes at the rear.

After walking a few steps, Lin Nuo couldn’t help but softly exclaim, “I never expected there would be a secret passage in this mansion.”

Rennes explained from behind him, “These old mansions of the nobility usually have several secret passages leading directly to the owner’s bedroom.”

Lin Nuo didn’t understand. “Why is that?”

Rennes didn’t answer. Instead, it was the round goblin who chimed in, “Your Highness, it’s for the convenience of the noble masters and their lovers to meet secretly! There are even more of these passages in the palace!”

Lin Nuo felt slightly embarrassed, “Ah, I see…”

For some reason, he instantly thought of Sir Rennes’s grand suite. I wonder if there’s a secret passage in that room too? Simultaneously, he felt ashamed of his thoughts, questioning why he was concerned about someone else’s room’s privacy.

Thankfully, the dim light in the passage concealed his blushing face from Rennes, who was walking behind him. At the end of the passage, the space widened slightly, enough for two people to turn around simultaneously.

The round goblin stood by a square wooden door and didn’t open it immediately. Instead, he pushed aside a small gap in the door and gestured to Lin Nuo, “Youn… Your Highness, from here, you can see what’s happening in the bedroom.”

The round goblin initially wanted to lean in and watch with His Royal Highness but turned back to meet the icy stare of the paladin. The round goblin shivered involuntarily, stepped back with his feet seemingly out of control, and watched as Rennes crossed past him to stand beside Lin Nuo.

The round goblin thought to himself and felt a bit comforted, Hmph, the so-called noble and glorious paladin; he’s just being spun around our young master’s finger! In a little while, our young master will surely make you cry!