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Chapter 06
Today, Seizar did not come to the dining hall.
And neither did Floe.
“Where’s brother?”
“He said he had an appointment.”
An appointment.
A man who did nothing but swing a sword all day long—an appointment, of all things.
It was extremely suspicious.
Well, even if I was suspicious, there wasn’t anything I could do about it.
It was obviously an appointment with Floe, but I just shrugged it off and returned to my room, pushing aside my brother’s inevitable romance and instead thinking about the tea time I would have with Her Highness the Princess two days from now.
‘Should I bring some delicious dessert?’
I’d been treated every time so far, and if you really want to get close to someone, shouldn’t there be some give-and-take?
“Silvana. Where’s the most famous dessert shop around here?”
“Hmm, I’m not entirely sure, but I heard a new place called [Sweetie Bakery] opened recently. They say once you try it, you get addicted and keep coming back.”
“Perfect. I’ll go there.”
The moment I made up my mind to buy dessert, I sprang to my feet, leaving behind Silvana, who told me I should dress up a little more, and headed straight for the most famous bakery in the city.
After riding in the carriage for a while, I could tell we’d entered a busy district from the rising chatter.
Then the noise grew even louder, and the carriage finally stopped.
“My lady. We’ve arrived.”
The place I stepped down in front of had a large sign reading [Sweetie Bakery], a well-known dessert shop.
The entrance was packed with people—couples, friends, and groups.
But every single one of them was a noble.
Probably because the prices were high.
I stood in line without much thought, waiting for my turn, when I heard a commotion up ahead.
“Hey, you! You stole my money, didn’t you?”
“No! I didn’t! I swear!”
“Then where did my perfectly fine bag and money disappear to?!”
A noble young lady, draped in expensive clothes and jewels, was shrieking at a girl who looked two heads shorter than her.
The child shook her head violently in denial, but it didn’t seem to reach the noble at all.
Perhaps intimidated by all the stares and the yelling, the child’s small, hunched shoulders looked pitifully frail.
I quietly asked the knight standing beside me,
“What’s going on?”
“This place gets crowded, so there are many petty thieves like that. It seems that child stole the money.”
Ah, I see.
If she really did steal it, that’s unfortunate, but she would deserve punishment.
That was what I thought—until I noticed, nearby, a man wearing a hat casually strolling along while carrying what looked like an expensive woman’s bag.
…Huh?
What is that? That’s incredibly suspicious behavior.
I’m not being prejudiced, but even if you looked at him upside down, he might as well be shouting “I’m the culprit!”
The man was glancing in this direction with a smug grin on his face.
It really looked like he was the thief….
I turned my head back and forth between the trembling child and the man who was gradually getting farther away, thinking carefully.
Then I finally reached a conclusion.
That noble young lady was wrong.
The purple dress she wore and the purple women’s bag the man carried were obviously a matching set.
“I really didn’t steal anything! I was just standing here to buy dessert too!”
“Hah! As if you could afford anything here.”
As the shouting grew louder, the child eventually dropped to her knees.
Watching the thief get farther away somehow made me feel even more anxious.
‘At this rate, they won’t catch the real culprit.’
Just as I was thinking that, I heard the child speak again.
“You can search my whole body if you want. I really didn’t steal anything.”
“Fine. You there, search her.”
A male knight roughly grabbed the girl, who looked to be only about fifteen.
He stretched out his thick hand toward her.
The child flinched and stumbled backward in reflex.
“Wait a moment, my lady.”
Perhaps the escort knight noticed me shifting restlessly, because I sensed him moving to stop me—but I had already stepped into the center of the incident.
I felt every gaze focus on me.
“…Who are you?”
Because I was wearing a bonnet and my face wasn’t fully visible, the noble young lady spoke with a still-sharp but somewhat softened tone.
“I’m the Duke’s daughter of the Yusupov family.”
“Oh my.”
Yes, I know.
The thing I’d realized most clearly since coming here was the power of authority.
The Yusupov family held immense influence in the Belshkin Empire, so her reaction wasn’t surprising.
That was exactly why I chose to be even more direct—because I wanted to catch that thief who was still sneaking away while watching this side.
“I’ll keep this short since it’s urgent.”
“Pardon?”
“I don’t think this child is the culprit.”
“T-That can’t be. She was clearly lurking behind me—”
“Seeing is believing.”
I urgently followed the fleeing thief with my eyes, then suddenly snatched the scabbard from the knight standing beside me.
And threw it.
With all my strength.
Thud—
A dull impact sounded, followed by the sound of someone collapsing.
People around gasped in shock, but that wasn’t what mattered right now.
“Anyone going to help that thief up?”
“Th-Thank you so much.”
“No, it’s nothing. I thought you did it at first too.”
“If it hadn’t been for you, I would’ve been beaten badly…”
The small girl who had been accused of being a thief kept bowing and thanking me.
I hadn’t done it for gratitude, but seeing the relief on her face made me quietly happy too.
“I’m glad.”
Glancing over at the thief being dragged away by guards and the furious noble young lady screaming at the top of her lungs, I returned to the main topic.
“But weren’t you here on an errand?”
“Yes, I was.”
“Then you should hurry and buy what you need. I came here to buy something too.”
“Oh, then I can go buy it for you instead! I can do that much!”
“No, that’s okay. It’s almost your turn anyway.”
The child looked up at me with sparkling eyes, asking if there was anything she could help with. She was cute, so I ruffled her brown hair.
And finally, it became her turn.
“Ten strawberry tarts, please.”
She fumbled through her pockets and offered the errand money.
But the [Sweetie Bakery] clerk, who had been watching her with cold eyes, snapped sharply,
“I have nothing to sell you.”
“W-What? B-But…”
“Go home. I don’t care where that money came from.”
My feelings as I watched this unfold in real time could be summed up in a single thought.
‘Would it be okay to hit him just once?’
No matter where you go, people like that always exist—and my irritation bubbled up.
Part of me desperately wanted to turn my back on this prejudiced shop and leave without looking back, but I also worried about the child who would suffer because she couldn’t complete her errand.
I wanted to walk away, but the sight of the child turning around with a devastated expression kept sticking in my mind.
‘Fine. I’ll just buy hers.’
“Ten strawberry tarts, please.”
“Yes.”
As expected, the clerk responded to me with a gentle smile.
I accepted the tarts and returned that gentle smile right back.
“I sincerely hope this shop goes bankrupt. Please don’t sell much~”
If possible, please shut down entirely.
“Hey! Wait a moment!”
I hurried to catch up to the small but quick-footed child, then suddenly held out the dessert box.
“Here. Your errand.”
“Pardon?”
“You can have this. I’m not going to eat it.”
“N-No! I can’t accept that!”
She waved her hands in refusal, but I hadn’t bought these to eat anyway.
I just didn’t want her to end up in trouble.
“I really don’t need them. I’m going to buy mine somewhere else.”
“R-Really?”
“Of course!”
Only after placing the box into her hesitant hands did I finally feel at ease.
[Sweetie Bakery] still left a bad taste in my mouth, but feeling better than before, I waved.
“Then I’ll be going.”
“…Um! Lady Duke’s Daughter!”
Just as I turned away, I heard the child call out.
“My name is Lina. I work hard on errands, and I know this area well. If you ever need me, you can come to the central plaza. I’ll always be there.”
The sincerity filling her youthful face made me grateful.
That someone like me—who had once known nothing of love—could now receive genuine thanks from someone.
A natural, happy smile bloomed on my lips.
“Okay!”
“…She’s a strange young lady.”
“Yeah.”
Laph’s assessment, as he watched Asha smiling brightly at the child from the shadows, still carried lingering surprise.
Even Van’s half-gray eyes held a rare glimmer of interest.
“Is it because she’s from the Yusupov family?”
“That might be part of it.”
Van, with his dark gray hair, agreed.
Perhaps that woman had been deeply influenced by the Yusupov family.
They were, after all, a house that pursued justice and righteousness.
But that family was not gentle.
That’s why she was different.
Kind, warm, with an endlessly bright smile.
Helping a mere errand girl from the streets and being that happy about it—those were qualities you’d never find in the Duke or the young master of Yusupov.
“By the way, Van. Why are we even following her?”
“Just because.”
“Huh? What kind of answer is that?”
“…You used informal speech.”
“I did without realizing… Sorry.”
Van shot Laph a brief glance, then once again followed Asha with his eyes as she walked ahead with small, quick steps.
Her footsteps were light and lively.
As Laph had said, it wasn’t because of a request, nor because she bothered him for any negative reason.
‘It doesn’t seem like a bad thing to know her.’
That was the most reasonable justification he could find.
His heart, beating faster and faster, felt like it was warning him: Be careful of the Yusupov Duke’s daughter.
He didn’t know why he needed to be careful—but she lingered on his mind.
“Oops.”
At Laph’s short exclamation, Asha’s gaze turned in their direction, and the two of them quickly hid.
He’d seen it when she threw the scabbard earlier—her instincts were sharp, and her physical abilities exceptional.
As he slowly followed the Asha who was gradually disappearing from view, he thought,
‘…An interesting young lady.’
A brief spark flickered through his usually listless eyes, then vanished.
