CICN 63

Chapter 63

Ivy was in a predicament.

“Wow! Look at her!”

“She must have gotten everything she wanted. Lucky…”

“Dad! I want that too!”

Every child passing by on the street was looking at her with eyes full of envy.

And it was no wonder.

Right now, Ivy’s hands were full of nearly every snack sold at the festival—
shiny candied fruit skewers, perfectly grilled sausages, fluffy cotton candy…

One child even saw what Ivy was holding and began to wail, begging their parents to buy them just as much.

For Ivy, who had never in her life received such looks from children her own age, the attention was simply embarrassing.

And that wasn’t the only reason she felt awkward.

“Professor, I can walk…”

At her words, he shook his head.

“That won’t do. What if you get lost again?”

“But still…”

Surely it would be enough to just hold hands and walk together—did he really have to carry her in his arms like this?

“But you must be tired. If you keep holding me, your arm will hurt, Professor.”

When Ivy tapped his arm with the hand holding her cotton candy, pretending to make it ache, Clois gave a wry smile.

“I don’t think holding you all day would make my arm hurt.”

Even though she had grown taller and put on more weight since they first met, Ivy was still small.

It was clear she would need to be fed a lot more before she caught up to other children her age.

When it seemed like he had no intention of putting her down, Ivy glanced downward.

High.

She knew Professor Sian was tall, but being carried like this made it feel like she was floating above the clouds.

After meeting again at the Mia Shelter, Professor Sian had said that losing her again was absolutely out of the question.

She had thought that meant they would just hold hands from now on—but instead, he had lifted her up right away.

“If you’re tired, we can head straight back to the Academy.”

At his concerned tone, Ivy shook her head.

The fact that he had come to find her again was enough to erase the deep fear she had felt earlier.

When Ivy said she wanted to look around the festival more, he had busily walked through the fairgrounds.

Carrying her little bag on his shoulder, he bought everything she showed even the slightest interest in as they passed the stalls selling children’s treats.

Then he handed them all to her.

Even when she said she wouldn’t eat it, that she didn’t need it, he insisted.

In the end, Ivy gave up and accepted whatever he put in her hands.

If I don’t eat it, he’ll probably just throw it away.

Throwing away food? That was something Ivy could never imagine doing.

So she ate everything he gave her, chewing earnestly.

Street food was delicious.

Especially the cotton candy—when she touched it, her fingers sank in like it was a puff of cloud, and in her mouth it melted like snow.

It’s as sweet as candy!

From Clois’s arms, Ivy enjoyed the festival to the fullest.

When she had been walking holding his hand, she hadn’t been able to see much because of the crowd, but now the view was clear.

“That must be the last event of the day.”

Still holding her in his arms, Clois made his way to the riverside.

There, the festival staff were preparing kites to be released into the sky.

These kites, made from material even lighter than usual, had their tails lit on fire at the appointed time and were sent soaring upward.

Dozens of flames rose into the night sky at once, and the crowd cheered at the spectacle, making wishes.

Ivy, too, stared blankly upward.

She had seen something like this in Elam before.

Back then, she and her friends from the orphanage had made wishes together—
wishing for candy, for new clothes, for no more fights between friends.

Ivy had done the same.

Wishing she could eat two potatoes the next day, or that she might find a discarded pencil at the upper school.

Small things, but things she truly hoped would happen. And when the light of the last kite flickered in the distance, she would quietly make her real wish.

I always wished I could meet my mom and dad again.

But for some reason, tonight she didn’t feel the need to make that wish.

Maybe because I’ve received so much already…

As her eyelids grew heavy, Ivy leaned her head against Clois’s shoulder.

She knew she shouldn’t fall asleep like this—he must be tired, and she ought to walk on her own now.

It’s warm.

Like the magic stone she always held at night, the warmth was so comforting that Ivy drifted off in an instant.

“Tsk.”

So she had been unusually quiet—Clois glanced down to find Ivy fast asleep and adjusted his hold on her.

When he positioned her so she could rest more comfortably, she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.

Time to head back.

It was late. The Academy had a curfew, and it was bedtime for children anyway.

He wasn’t the only one carrying a sleeping child—around him, other parents were also making their way home, cradling or piggybacking their little ones.

Blending into the crowd naturally, Clois walked toward the palace.

As he passed vendors closing up shop, he spotted a stall selling children’s accessories.

Hair ties, hairpins, little animal- and doll-shaped charms for bracelets and necklaces.

Without realizing it, Clois stopped and looked over the display.

The stall owner approached.

“Oh my, your daughter must be tired.”

“Ah…”

She wasn’t his daughter. She was just a child he had met by chance.

A child who could never be his daughter…

“Seems so,” he replied quietly, patting the sleeping girl’s back.

“If she were awake, she’d probably beg you to buy out my whole stall. She’s that cute, isn’t she?”

Clois let out a small chuckle—the man’s flattery didn’t feel unpleasant.

The owner picked up a red hairpin from the display, held it near Ivy’s hair, and said,

“How about this one? I’ll give you a good price. She’ll love it when she wakes up.”

Then, gathering a few more pins, the owner asked,

“What color are the little lady’s eyes?”

“Green.”

“Then green will suit her. Usually, we match to the eye color. But lately, blue is very popular. A new picture book came out, and the heroine always wears a blue dress, so now every little girl wants that color. In the capital, there’s not a single kid without one.”

So that explained why so many children around here had blue pins and ribbons in their hair.

At the mention of it being the latest trend, Clois said,

“I’ll take that one.”

Then he glanced at the other pins in the man’s hand.

“And all of those as well.”

Chirp, chirp, chirp.

The sound of birds outside the window woke Ivy.

“Mmm…”

The sunlight was too bright, so she closed her eyes again, blinking slowly.

My room.

The soft mattress she was used to, the warm blanket, the faint scent of heavy wood.

And above all, the sight of the magic stone glowing faintly beside her told her she had woken up in her own room.

“Yaaawn…”

Stretching, she started to sit up—then felt something in her hand.

“What’s… this?”

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she looked—and gasped.

“Gasp!”

She sat up abruptly. In her hand was a little wooden squirrel figurine.

She remembered what it was.

“When I went out with the Professor…”

Her sleep vanished instantly, and the events of yesterday came rushing back.

She had gone to see the seasonal festival with Professor Sian.

They had visited a candy shop, tried a fun raffle, and then—she had lost him in the crowd.

But he came to get me.

After that, he had carried her everywhere. The last thing she remembered was watching the kites soar into the sky.

“So he carried me all the way back.”

She hadn’t even thanked him for showing her around outside!

And he must have been so tired, carrying her all the way here.

I need to find him and say thank you right away.

As she started to climb out of bed, something rolling across the blanket caught her eye.

“Huh…? What’s all this?”

Ivy picked up the items scattered across her bed—then her eyes widened.

Piled in a heap were sparkling hairpins, ribbons, and all sorts of little toys.