FIDA 19

Chapter 19

Jaina stepped closer and carefully examined the boy she had collided with.

Judging by the fact that he still had a pulse, he seemed to have merely fainted.

Thank goodness I didn’t hit him directly…

He had probably been caught in the shockwave that erupted just before he fell.

Jaina let out a sigh of relief, but then several people who appeared to be merchants came rushing over, their eyes wide.

“He’s not a wizard—he’s just a child!”

“It looks like some wicked wizard attacked him!”

“Are you all right, little one? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Did someone cast magic on you?”

The barrage of questions left Jaina completely bewildered.

At this rate, things are going to get much bigger…

Thinking she had to somehow settle the situation, Jaina decided to use Mikael’s name once again.

“N-No… I’m the wizard. I’m studying magic under my master, who’s a great mage… I’m sorry for causing such a disturbance.”

“You’re a wizard?!”

Jaina glanced around at everyone’s reactions and nodded.

The merchants exchanged serious looks.

They’re definitely going to demand compensation for the damages. I don’t have a single coin on me. What am I supposed to do? Should I borrow money from Lord Mikael and say I’ll work to pay him back…?

As Jaina worried over the problem, the gathered merchants suddenly erupted into cheers.

“Wow! The little wizard caught the pickpocket!”

“Using magic at such a young age… I guess the disciple of a great mage really is different.”

“Ah, finally I’ll be able to sleep peacefully. How many times has that bastard robbed me already?!”

Jaina blinked twice.

She couldn’t understand what was happening.

A pickpocket?

What were they talking about?

So all these people hadn’t gathered because of her?

“What do you mean…?”

“I’ll explain.”

As Jaina stared at the merchants with a puzzled expression, a boy stepped forward from the back of the crowd.

Judging by his height, he was about twelve years old.

His tawny brown hair gleamed with a healthy shine, and his eyes sparkled in the light as though stars had been embedded within them.

Though still young, his features were striking and well-defined. It was obvious he would grow into a handsome man.

With a gentle voice and an easy smile, the boy approached and offered his thanks.

“If you hadn’t helped me, things could have turned out terribly. The pickpocket stole a treasure belonging to my family.”

Before Jaina could react, he took her unguarded hand and briefly kissed the back of it.

“May luck as radiant as the dawn always accompany you. That is a blessing given in my name.”

Jaina was stunned.

He had suddenly kissed her hand.

Was he some kind of noble?

“My name is Rosian. I hope you’ll understand that I can’t reveal my family name.”

However, the moment she heard his name, every question vanished.

Rosian?

The name sounded strangely familiar, and Jaina tilted her head.

“Rather than lie to my benefactor, I’d rather not say it at all.”

“Oh, that’s all right.”

“For reasons of circumstance, I can’t reveal my identity. But I truly want to repay you.”

Rosian untied the pouch hanging from his waist.

Inside was a bright gold coin.

Even Jaina, who knew very little about this world, could tell at a glance that it was extremely valuable.

“…”

She stared at it for a moment before shaking her head.

“I’ll pass on the reward.”

Rosian paused at her unexpectedly firm answer.

But then he smiled and offered the coin again, assuming she was simply being modest.

“Please, don’t refuse.”

“Catching the pickpocket was just an accident.”

“Whatever the reason, you still helped me.”

Jaina’s eyes gradually darkened as memories from the past surfaced.

We’re going out for dinner. Buy yourself something tasty with this money.

The money left alone on the dining table when she came home from school.

Jaewon had a cold, so we couldn’t come.

The money placed in her hand because they hadn’t attended her school’s open class.

They had always called Jaina “such a good girl” while giving her money.

But they hadn’t really given it to her because she was good.

They had simply used money to justify neglecting her, planting a sense of indebtedness inside her.

Jaina had carefully stored away those wounds, never forgetting them even now.

I don’t want money like that anymore.

She had only caught the pickpocket by accident.

She hadn’t helped him out of kindness.

She didn’t want to accept money unless it was something she had earned through her own will—money she could honestly and proudly call her own.

“Your thanks are enough.”

“My mother taught me never to send a benefactor away empty-handed. I can’t simply let you leave like this.”

“Then I suppose this will be your first time.”

As their back-and-forth continued for quite some time, Rosian’s face gradually became more and more flustered.

What is this girl?

Rosian couldn’t understand the situation.

As the son of Princess Elia, the emperor’s heir, he had grown up surrounded by countless people.

People who wanted something from him.

People who wanted to gain something.

Rosian didn’t particularly like such people.

So he would give them a one-time reward and never continue the relationship.

Help deserved repayment.

It was a simple formula.

Yet the girl standing before him wanted nothing from him.

She insisted she hadn’t helped him expecting anything.

At first, he thought perhaps she was simply too young to understand how the world worked.

But the longer they spoke, the more he realized that wasn’t the case.

The tone of her voice and the expression on her face suggested that, like him, she didn’t want to feel indebted to anyone.

It was an attitude born from a clear and unwavering sense of self.

“Are you trying to make me into someone who doesn’t know gratitude?”

“Even so, I don’t want it.”

The girl’s voice grew quieter, almost as though she had become tired of the conversation.

Well, I’ll be damned. Is she finding me annoying?

There were countless people desperate just to exchange a few words with him.

What had begun as a simple attempt to repay her was gradually turning into stubborn determination.

But their conversation could go no further.

A disturbance across the street caught Rosian’s sharp senses.

“I’m a knight of the Order of the Violet. There will be a brief inspection.”

“What?”

“We are urgently searching for someone.”

Rosian groaned inwardly.

I finally met someone interesting, too…

Lately, Rosian’s life had been unbearably dull.

Secretly taking a national treasure that most people would tremble just to touch and casually carrying it around had been his own small act of rebellion.

Thanks to the little girl who had helped him, he had failed to lose it.

Well, whatever.

Being called “the hopeless imperial grandson” because the treasure had been stolen from him would have been fine.

Being dragged back to the imperial palace and hearing his mother say, “You’re not my son,” would have been fine too.

I’m sick to death of hearing about being the heir.

He was constantly told that he was the one destined to lead the empire in the future.

He had to study everything from scholarship to swordsmanship.

He had to remain aware of everyone around him in the treacherous world of high society, where people were always searching for weaknesses to exploit.

Responsibility.

Duty.

He had never once wanted to inherit the throne after his mother.

That damned Deliad imperial family… that damned Princess Elia…

Grinding his teeth with a dark expression, Rosian looked around and sighed.

If I delay any longer, they’ll catch me immediately.

And then it happened.

Drip.

Drip.

Suddenly, raindrops began falling from the sky.

Rain trickled down Rosian’s smooth face.

“Oh my goodness! It’s raining!”

“A sudden shower? What am I supposed to do? I’m wearing a brand-new dress!”

The sudden rain threw everyone into a commotion.

Rosian turned his head back.

When his gaze met Jaina’s again, he was suddenly struck by how small she really was.

She barely reached his chest.

Without hesitation, Rosian slipped off his cloak.

Though enchanted to appear like a holy relic, its color was a vivid ruby red—the exact same shade as his eyes.

She won’t recognize me because of this, right?

With regret in his voice, Rosian said,

“I hope we meet again someday.”

Rustle.

He gently draped the cloak over Jaina’s shoulders.

It wasn’t particularly large, but Jaina herself was so small that it wrapped completely around her body with plenty of fabric to spare.

“This is…”

Finally, Rosian pulled the hood over Jaina’s head.

“You’ll catch a cold if you get soaked in the rain.”

What about him?

His tawny hair was already becoming darker as it grew wet.

The gesture had caught her so completely by surprise that Jaina hadn’t managed to refuse the cloak.

She began trying to take it off.

“Then I’ll see you again.”

But Rosian was faster.

Tap!

He lightly kicked off the ground, stepped against the middle of a high wall beside him, and vanished in an instant.

After only a few swift movements, he disappeared completely.

The people nearby stared in confusion.

If he’s that agile, why couldn’t he catch a pickpocket?

There was something else she didn’t understand.

It looked like he was about to say something… so why did he suddenly run away?

Jaina stared in the direction Rosian had disappeared.

After a while, the warmth enveloping her entire body finally brought her back to her senses.

He wrapped it around me surprisingly well in such a short time.

Looking around, she saw people rushing through the streets, flustered by the unexpected rain.

Some had apparently given up and were trudging along in soaked clothes.

Among them, only Jaina remained completely comfortable.

“It’s warm.”

She buried her face deeper into the cloak.

The cloak Rosian had given her was enchanted with waterproof and warming magic.

Jaina lifted her head slightly to keep the hood from slipping off.

The rain only grew heavier, and it didn’t look as though it would stop anytime soon.

What is he going to do?

He looked maybe two years older than her…

But even so, he was still just a child, wasn’t he?

Hummm!

Lost in thought, Jaina suddenly raised her head.

She sensed a familiar movement of magical power nearby.

Hummm!

“Ah! Why won’t the tracking spell work?!”

A handsome young boy suddenly popped out of thin air.

The people nearby stared with their eyes wide open in shock.

First earlier, and now again…

How could wizards—people one might never see even once in a lifetime—keep appearing one after another?!