“…what?”
“Liam says he wants those fruit skewers, but I don’t have any money.”
She pointed to the fruit stand next door.
“You’re going to buy food from a place that looks filthy?”
“It looks delicious, right? It’s probably okay to eat it at least once. So, give me some money so I can buy it.”
She waved both her outstretched hands wildly.
“I know it’s just this one time.”
The Duke clicked his tongue and took out a heavy bag from his pocket and handed it to her. After receiving it, she immediately looked inside her pocket. It was full of gold coins. After all, it’s only gold coins. She thought for a moment. Although the fruit shop had a neat appearance, it didn’t seem like there was enough change to exchange gold coins.
“Are there any silver or copper coins other than gold?”
“Just use it. You don’t need to get change.”
“Still, it seems like such a waste of money.”
“Who do you think I am?”
“That’s just it. Anyway, I’ll use it well.”
She still felt regretful, but she felt like there was nothing she could do in the current situation. No, it’s still a waste… As she looked down at the gold coin with eyes full of regret, she heard a small clicking sound.
“I’ve felt it before, but it seems like a lot of money.”
“They say there is someone who doesn’t like money.”
“Well, I guess not as much as you.”
The Duke’s mouth quirked up. She didn’t know it was a joke, so she felt slightly worse. Because of that, he blurted out words he didn’t need to say.
“By the way, how long are you going to call me ‘you’? I also have a name.”
To be honest, she didn’t like the fact that the Duke never called her by her name, but the Duke kept calling her by ‘you’.
“Whatever you call it, it’s my heart.”
“You, you, when you do this, it feels like I’m calling a dog’s name, so I don’t feel very good.”
“Do I have to take your feelings into consideration?”
“No, that’s still true. Although my family was completely ruined, I am still a noble.”
He complained repeatedly, but it had no effect on the Duke. He just kept an indifferent expression, wondering if a dog was barking somewhere. Anyway, it was her fault for saying that, it was her fault. She sighed softly and returned to Deliam.
“You waited a long time, right?”
“Ugh, no.”
“Let’s go quickly and buy something to eat. I got money from the Duke.”
She walked straight to the fruit shop and spoke to the store owner.
“Please give me seven fruit skewers… No, just two.”
She thought it was too much for just her and Deliam to eat, so she planned to buy it according to the number of people. There were currently four knights following behind and guarding, including Richard and Jade.
“A total of 14 silver.”
When she presented a gold coin to the store owner, as expected, he looked embarrassed.
“I don’t need the change. Just give me the fruit skewers.”
“Still…”
“It’s okay, just give it to me.”
“Well, if that’s the case.”
The store owner’s face immediately brightened, perhaps because he had unexpectedly found some free money. The store owner wrapped seven fruit skewers and handed them out to me. It was the moment she accepted it. He turned his head at the coolness he felt on the back of his neck. As he looked around, he found himself wearing a black robe in a crowd of people. The person wearing a black robe quickly turned around and hid himself somewhere. So much so that it almost feels like it was intentional.
“You’re not going to take it?”
“Oh, yes. I’ll take it.”
After hearing the store owner’s words, he accepted the fruit skewer and turned his head to the duke. As expected, his eyes became sharp as if he had noticed just as she had. Soon the Duke winked at the knights. Two of the knights soon disappeared into the crowd. She quickly approached the Duke with the child and asked.
“Wouldn’t it be better to go out like this?”
Deliam also seemed to sense some kind of unusual crisis and was holding on to her collar tightly.
“No. There’s no need to do that.”
“Wouldn’t it be dangerous?”
“The knights will take care of that, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
The Duke responded and lightly touched the child’s head.
“Deliam. There’s nothing to worry about, so just enjoy the sightseeing.”
The child nodded his head slowly. His eyes turned to her again.
“I have a good feeling.”
“That’s a compliment, right?”
“Let’s say so.”
The Duke replied indifferently and straightened his body. Anyway, he could still look around a little more, so she would have to fill her stomach with dessert first. She handed a fruit skewer to the child.
“Now, eat.”
Only after accepting the fruit skewer did Deluan’s expression completely relax.
Wasak.
The child’s eyes widened slightly as he bit into the top of the fruit skewer.
“Does it suit your taste?”
“Yes. It’s sweet and delicious.”
“Really? I should try it too.”
She also took out a fruit skewer and took a bite. The crunchy sugar coating crumbled and mixed well with the fruit flavor.
“Yes. It’s delicious.”
“It was delicious so I ate it right away.”
“Okay, come on.”
The child took the fruit skewer she offered him and ate it happily.
“Let’s eat and look around.”
“Yes.”
She walked slowly, leading the child who had stopped. The Duke was walking quietly beside them, his face still frozen. But what about that suspicious person from earlier? She looked down at the remaining fruit skewers. If he ate this, would his expression lighten up?
“Are you sure you don’t want to eat this?”
“Why do you keep asking…”
Before the Duke could say anything, she pushed a fruit skewer close to his mouth.
“Just eat one. Then.”
“I would have said I wouldn’t eat it.”
“If you’re fooling me, just this once.”
“Father, this is really delicious.”
The Duke, who was looking down at the fruit skewer with a frown, slowly opened his mouth at the child’s words. Then he took a tiny bite from the top of the fruit skewer. The Duke who tasted it was disgusted.
“It’s so sweet it makes my tongue tingle. Throw it away right away.”
“Of course it’s sweet. It’s fruit coated with sugar. And then you throw something away. It’s a waste.”
She brought the skewer he had finished eating to her mouth and took a bite. It’s just sweet and delicious. At that time, she suddenly felt a piercing gaze. When she raised her head, she saw the Duke looking down at the fruit skewers with strange eyes.
“…Why are you doing that?”
“…”
“Duke?”
The Duke, who had been staring at the part she had cut for a long time, suddenly turned his body around. Why on earth was he doing that? She looked at him in bewilderment and then turned her head towards the child. The child holding the empty wooden skewer seemed to have finished everything by then and was looking satisfied.
“Are you full enough to be satisfied now?”
“Yes.”
“Then shall we take a closer look now?”
“Great!”
The child and she busily turned our heads and looked at various shopping malls. Then it was time to turn her head forward. She saw three people who appeared to be family walking towards her from the opposite direction. The child in the middle was walking, holding his parent’s hand with both hands. It seemed like the family came out for an outing and sightseeing. She was watching without thinking until they passed them by.
“Liam, where else would you like to go…”
While looking back at Deliam without thinking, her mouth fell silent. The child was staring intently at the family he had just passed by. Especially the hand of the boy who held each of his parents’ hands. She quietly looked down at the child’s empty hands.
“Duke. Could you please give me your hand for a moment?”
“What?”
She grabbed the Duke’s hand and pulled it straight. For a moment, the Duke flinched greatly, but didn’t care. She just thought it was because he felt uncomfortable because she suddenly caught him.
“Now, you two hold it like this.”
She placed his hand over Deliam’s and then went to stand on the other side of the Duke. Soon the child was standing between her and the Duke, holding hands on both sides.
“Come on, let’s go.”
The child’s face, which was looking up at her blankly with its mouth open, soon blossomed. He bloomed.
“Yes!”
While she was happily looking down at the child who was answering back, she felt an intense gaze. When she turned her head, she met his dark red eyes.
“What?”
“…No, nothing.”
The Duke responded indifferently and then shifted his gaze straight ahead. She guessed he was still in a bad mood. While thinking about that, she continued to look around the street while holding the child’s hand.
* * *
The tour in the capital had been going on for quite some time. After walking around until her legs felt numb, they returned to the carriage together. As they sigh that they were going back to the mansion, the driver knocks on the carriage door. The knight who opened the door whispered something in the Duke’s ear. After a while, the Duke looked back at us, told them to wait, and got off the carriage.
What happened? When she pulled back the curtain and looked through the window, she saw the Duke heading somewhere with his knights. The atmosphere was so serious that it seemed like something had happened. Did they happen to catch that suspicious person earlier?
“What’s happening all of a sudden?”, the child asked in a worried voice.
“It won’t be a big deal. Don’t worry.”
“I guess so?”
“Then.”
She waited for the Duke to come while chatting with the child, but he didn’t plan on coming back for a long time. What really happened? At this point, she started to feel anxious. When she opened the door slightly, Jade, who was standing guard in front of it, turned to look at her.
“Why do you do that?”
“It looks like the Duke is a little late. Is something wrong?”
“It’s no big deal, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Is it really no big deal?”
“Yes.”
Even as Jade said that, he did not let down his wary gaze on the surroundings. She thought he was holding back his words because of Deliam. She looked back for a moment.
“Liam. Would you like to stay in the carriage for a moment? I’ll get off and have a quick chat with Jade.”
“Yes.”
Seeing the child nodding, she quickly got off the carriage. After confirming that the door was closed, she asked Jade in a low whisper.
“Is it because of the suspicious person I saw earlier, Jade?”
“…Yes, that’s right.”
“Did you catch him?”
“Unfortunately, I couldn’t catch him. He evaporated on the way, so I assume he is a magic user.”
“Then why did the Duke leave?”
“Because the moment he disappeared, he left a mark on the floor. The Duke went to check it.”
“What marks?”
Jade looked at Richard with her mouth closed for a moment. He seemed to be debating whether to speak or not. Jade, who was exchanging glances with Richard, soon responded softly.
“A black energy, that is, a kind of curse, remained in that place.”
What did he mean black energy?
“It’s still just a guess, but it seems like a curse-type magic that uses resentment. If you touch it incorrectly, even your soul will rot.”
If it’s curse-type magic, is this perhaps the Marquis’s work?
“After checking the traces?”
“It’s a trace that we can’t touch, so we’ve called someone to collect it separately.”
“Is the person to collect it a wizard?”
“Yes.”
It was when she saw Jade nodding. She saw a figure flashing across his shoulder. He was none other than the suspicious human wearing the black robe we saw earlier.
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on October, 22.
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