What? I Actually Reincarnated As Stepping Stone In Another World?

"Found it!" Arthur smiled mysteriously, feeling triumphant.

He was sure that he had finally located Lucia.

As he stood in front of the metal door, he began to think.

Suddenly, an idea struck him, causing a smile to spread across his face.

...

Inside the metal door

"Wooo~"

A little girl with short blonde hair was crying loudly.

She was wearing a light blue dress with a floral pattern, but her dress looked shabby and had a lot of dirt stuck to it.

The girl's face looked delicate and very cute.

Her eyes are caramel-colored and look very beautiful. If given time to grow up, she must be a stunning beauty!

Her name is Lucia Balka!

Currently, she is in a state of desperation as she was captured by a slave trader while wandering outside of Balka's palace.

Lucia was well aware that guards were posted to protect her from danger, even if she managed to slip away from the palace. After all, her emperor father was extremely protective and doted on her.

Despite this, her vision had suddenly gone dark while she was walking in the imperial capital, and when she came to, she found herself in this dark place.

It had been three days since she had been taken captive, and the people who had kidnapped her turned out to be slave traders. To her horror, it appeared to be an illegal slave trade.

"Aren't they afraid of retaliation for this princess's abduction?" Lucia snorted coldly, but it had been three days since no one had rescued her, which frightened her to death!

"No!"

"Help!"

"Woooo~" Lucia cried so hard that the courage she had was gone!

At first, she was sure that the imperial family would rescue her within two days at most, but there was no sign of anyone rescuing her.

How could she endure something like this?

Now she hoped that someone could rescue her from this prison!

"Knock!"

There was a sudden knock on the metal door that woke her up from her crying.

"W-who?!" Lucia took a few steps back in fear; however, she had not seen the figures that had kidnapped her but only heard their voices.

"Is there anyone inside?" The boy's soft voice was heard, but his breathing sounded weak, as if he were holding back his fatigue.

Hearing this, Lucia widened her eyes in surprise and immediately walked to the door in front of her.

"You?"

"Who are you?!"

Lucia asked excitedly, and excitement radiated from her beautiful face.

"Hahh~ Hahh~"

"Me?"

"I'm just a passerby, and it doesn't matter."

"Now, are you locked up in that room?"

The owner of the voice was breathing heavily and asked quickly.

Lucia immediately realized something was wrong with the voice and spoke hurriedly.

"That's right!" the voice replied.

Lucia's heart leaped with excitement. "Can you save me?" she asked eagerly.

"Hahh~ Hahh~ Of course!" the voice replied with a sense of justice, though its breath sounded unsteady.

Concerned, Lucia asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" the voice assured her.

"Okay, I'm going to open the door to the room," the voice continued. "You should stay away from the door."

Lucia felt a moment of hesitation, but ultimately she nodded and backed away from the door.

"Boom!"

Immediately, the metal door exploded and shattered.

Lucia closed her eyes tightly as the explosion rocked the room. Fear gripped her, and she trembled as debris rained down around her.

"Are you alright?"

When a soft voice called out to her, Lucia's eyes flew open in surprise.

She saw a figure emerging from the smoke and dust, and her heart skipped a beat.

Through the haze, she saw a handsome boy with a sword in his hand.

He wore a gentle smile as he looked at her, and Lucia felt a strange sense of comfort wash over her.

She stared at the boy for a moment, unable to speak.

"Very handsome."

"Just like the prince the empress's mother told me about." Her heart raced as she thought of the prince that her mother had often spoken of.

Immediately had her face redden like a tomato and her heart racing.

"What's wrong?"

"Is there dust on my face?" Asked the boy with a faint smile.

Hearing this, Lucia immediately lowered her head in embarrassment, and her ears turned red.

"No!"

"Nothing."

Lucia spoke in a very low tone, and the redness on her face never went away.

The handsome boy smiled gently, but suddenly his face paled and he coughed.

"Cough!"

The handsome boy immediately fell down, and the sword in his hand was used to support his body.

He held his mouth open and coughed.

Seeing this, Lucia, still embarrassed, immediately panicked and ran to support the boy's body.

"You!"

"What happened to you?!" Lucia asked frantically.

However, the boy did not answer and only held his chest with an expression of pain.

Lucia immediately shifted her gaze to the boy's chest and saw a sizable wound!

not to mention the blood mold that had formed on his shirt!

Seeing this, Lucia immediately trembled and looked at the handsome boy.

"You!"

"Why do you have such a horrible wound like this?!"

"What happened?!" Lucia asked hurriedly, and panic appeared on her small face.

Although she did not know this handsome boy, she felt panic and fear when she saw his condition.

The handsome boy shook his head with a sour expression.

"It's okay, it's because I was trying to break into this underground room to rescue the prisoners that the bad guys tried to kill me."

The handsome boy smiled slightly, and there was a look of bravery on his face, as if he didn't mind saving the slaves.

Seeing this, Lucia could not help but cry, and the affection in her heart increased for the boy in front of her.

"You, what if you die?" Lucia choked and looked at the handsome boy with annoyance.

"Die?"

"Let it die; at least I die while these slaves and innocent people are saved!" The handsome boy said in a firm tone, as if death would not stop him from helping people.

"You!"

"You fool!" Lucia cried hysterically.

The handsome boy shook his head and tried to get up, but he soon fell down again.

Seeing this, the crying Lucia immediately hugged the handsome boy tightly and said softly, "You can't move or your wound will get worse."

"But..." just as the handsome boy wanted to continue, Lucia's stern voice rang out.

"No!"

"You have to listen to me!"

Her cute face was now full of anger, but it still looked cute.

Seeing that there was no way out, the handsome boy could only sigh helplessly.

"Hehehe, by the way, what's your name?" Lucia, who felt successful, immediately asked with a smile on her face.

"My name is Arthur, and I'm just a passing boy."

Hearing this, Lucia immediately felt happy and said excitedly, "My name is Lucia!"

"Hello, Arthur, and thank you for saving me!" A beautiful smile appeared on her immature face.

"It's okay." Arthur said gently.

"Hehehe." Seeing Arthur's gentle smile, Lucia giggled stupidly.

Arthur, meanwhile, was pleased with himself for successfully posing as a hero and winning Lucia's trust.

"Sure enough, this method is very effective for getting women," Arthur muttered to himself and felt very embarrassed.

He had planned out every detail, from the fake wound on his chest to the explosion that his bodyguard had helped him with.

He had even instructed his other bodyguards to help the slaves escape and wait for his signal.

And sure enough, this method was very effective, especially on an innocent girl like Lucia.

"Damn, it's so embarrassing to pretend like this."

"This is my first time doing a drama like this, and it really gives me goosebumps."

Arthur shouted in his heart when he saw Lucia's innocent smile.

"Alright, let's get out of here." Arthur immediately said this to Lucia, who was still smiling stupidly.

"Umm!" Lucia nodded vigorously, helped Arthur up, and embraced him.

"I'll help you, so don't get me wrong." Lucia said shyly, and her face turned red.

Hearing this, Arthur smiled wordlessly and murmured in his heart, "This girl is so cute."

Soon, they left the underground room.