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Chapter 18
Exciting! An outing!
The next day, I went out with the maid sisters as planned.
“The capital is so lively!”
Following the bustling streets, my head turned back and forth in amazement. A gentle hand stroked my hair from the side.
“Hmm, running errands at a clothing store? How diligent of you.”
“Good. You’re adjusting well. A satisfying new recruit, at last.”
“But… is it really okay to buy so many clothes for Theo and me at the clothing store?”
I asked, a bit worried, recalling the order list from the store we had just visited.
“We can’t neglect the master’s instructions.”
Maids Kate and Aisa smiled meaningfully and stood protectively on either side of me.
Well, Dad’s rich, and clothes bought by a rich dad are always nice.
‘I hope he buys lots and lots of socks and shoes too!’
Then I could call him “Dad” not three times, but a hundred times a day, right?
Thinking that, I marched briskly through the bustling streets again.
The capital really was noisy and crowded. I was excited but still carefully observed my surroundings. This outing had an important purpose.
‘I’m going to find the building with the blue window frame!’
I held Theo’s tiny hand even tighter.
Baby Theo’s eyes sparkled as he looked around, taking everything in.
Theo usually didn’t show much expression, but I could clearly see he was thrilled right now.
So cute, my little brother.
“Um, can we go down this street?”
I pointed to a straight road ahead.
“It might be faster to take the alleys, but alright.”
I carefully led the sisters along the marching route I had memorized from my father’s study. Unfortunately, we still hadn’t found the building with the blue window.
“Mu!”
Then Theo, who had been quietly observing, suddenly pointed at a spot and looked at me sharply. I shook my head solemnly.
“No, Theo. You just had milk cookies and candy.”
His little lips pouted slightly at my firm refusal.
“And… sis, you’re out of money now…”
He whispered the last part softly in my ear.
I did have the allowance Dad gave me, but since it was for errands, I wasn’t sure if I could spend it freely.
“To get a mountain of wages, you’ll need to wait a bit longer… huh?”
Before I could even check what was happening, a buttery potato with a savory smell was suddenly pressed into my hands. It even had pale yellow cow’s milk cheese on top—an incredible sight.
“Eat up.”
Aisa fed the mashed potato to Theo, who had his mouth open like a little bird, gasping for breath.
When did she even buy this?
“One of Winterwald’s servant benefits… hehe… unlimited snacks,” she said.
“Oh! Theo! That’s perfect!”
Free snacks!
“Lilin, you get some too. Eating well and keeping strong is part of being a good maid.”
Hmm, I hope Theo eats two pieces.
“By the way, we bought about twenty.”
“Th-then… I’ll just try one…”
The senior was saying all this… and the rich smell of butter was now irresistible!
“Delicious!”
The cheese was well-melted and sprinkled with pepper—it was really tasty!
‘But… why isn’t there a building with a blue window?’
I chewed my potato, looking around.
After the last roasted potato stand, the marching route was over. Ahead was only the metasequoia-lined road leading to the palace, with no buildings in sight.
‘Did I miss it?’
“But Lilin, why have you been looking around so anxiously?”
Kate asked, watching me closely.
“Ah, I’m looking for something…”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“Actually…”
“I see.”
“Already?”
I had only said two words!
“Follow me.”
What? Could Kate really read other people’s thoughts without permission?
Theo and I were led somewhere by the hands of Kate and Aisa.
Turning right off the marching route, we entered a street lined with shops of all sizes.
“This is where you wanted to come, right? Kids’ thoughts are so predictable.”
Wow.
My eyes were filled with all kinds of colorful sights.
Kate stopped in front of a world that seemed to gather every dream and hope for children.
A large sign read: “B’s Secret Toy Shop”.
It was a very famous shop in the empire for its series of moving wooden dolls. Even my village of Lepi had caught the trend.
But…
‘I’m not looking for a toy store.’
Just as I was about to shake my head in disappointment, something familiar caught my eye.
‘Huh?’
My drooping shoulders straightened.
‘Ooooh?’
I found it!
‘The blue window!’
Right next to the toy store!
It looked exactly like in my dream, with a worn signboard, barely legible, that suggested the building had once been an inn or a restaurant.
‘But why is it off the marching route?’
It was strange.
Elisa was supposed to follow the predetermined route and encounter the collapsing building there.
But this building was quite far from that route!
‘Elisa’s carriage isn’t suddenly going to teleport here… is it?’
I blinked and then suddenly realized.
‘The carriage!’
What if her carriage went out of control again, like the first time we met?
When I first met Elisa, her carriage was racing in my direction for some unknown reason.
I used that situation to devise a strategy (?) and safely enter the duke’s mansion. But, on reflection, it was a very suspicious incident.
‘They said the cause was unknown, so a few of the coachmen and servants were disciplined, and the horse was sold.’
So… could someone have targeted Elisa intentionally?
‘Not an accident, but a case?’
What to do? I want to take out my magnifying glass… badly.
I feel like a detective facing a crime scene right now.
‘But… who?’
Besides, there was no proof that the first accident was deliberate.
It was just my intuition.
“Hmm, my guess was correct. Aisa, inform the head maid.”
At that moment, noticing my unwavering gaze, Kate spoke.
“I’ll survey the area and return.”
“Alright.”
“Excuse me? Survey?”
Kate grabbed our hands like a general and marched forward.
“I know your heart. Understanding the toy trends in the capital is part of your duties too.”
“No, I was looking at the building next door…”
“Excuses won’t help. What’s the point of looking at a building scheduled for demolition?”
Looking aside, Theo was already stunned by the toy shop’s allure, unable to even blink.
Kate smirked.
“You’re already trapped in the magical work of overtime. Let’s go—to the enchanting toy store where one minute feels like an hour has vanished.”
“Waaaaah!”
Theo was stomping his feet like I’ve never seen before.
Of course, I wasn’t in the mood for play, so I gently pulled back Kate’s hand dragging me forward.
“Ah, I really don’t want to go! I’m busy! I’m in a hurry! Can’t we just go back to the mansion?”
However…
Three hours later.
“Hooh…”
I emerged from the toy shop with a shy face.
‘This really was unavoidable.’
My hands, returning to the mansion, were embarrassingly heavy.
‘I can’t refuse if they buy it for me.’
I just nodded. Just moved my fingers a little.
So, this really, really was unavoidable. Truly.
…Hehe.
As soon as I returned to the mansion, I carefully set down the toy bags and ran straight to the stables.
‘The carriage and horses in the stable are all fine.’
Until the next day, I lingered near the servants, asking about various things.
Since there had been a previous runaway carriage incident with Elisa, everyone—from the carriage manager to the stablemaster—was intensely checking the carriage as if their lives depended on it.
In conclusion, there seemed to be nothing likely to go wrong.
‘Then… someone must have done it intentionally?’
I hoped my dreams might give me more hints, but I didn’t have dreams that could show the future as I wished.
Above all, my guess was just a guess—there was no actual evidence.
So I couldn’t recklessly try to catch a potential culprit. Looking for a needle on the beach only works if you’re sure you dropped it.
‘Maybe I was overthinking.’
Also, since this was a sudden maze-like incident, it could have been that the horses got startled by a suddenly appearing monster.
In the end, I decided to focus on what I needed to do now rather than chasing uncertain speculation.
‘What I need to do hasn’t changed!’
Which was to prevent Elisa from being hurt by collapsing buildings.
‘I’ve found the location with the blue window. Now I need to find protective magical tools in the mansion!’
Alright!
“Then, let’s eat!”
“Yeah. I was wondering when you’d say that.”
At the familiar scolding, my eyes went wide.
