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Chapter 22
As expected, the streets were filled with dazzling lights, a wide variety of foods, and plenty of things to see.
First Avenue was famous for having the best public safety and cleanliness in the empire, so even though it was already deep into the night, people were still walking around everywhere.
I already told the coachman, at least.
At first, I considered having him come along with us, but since we had parked the carriage in a place with hardly any people around, it felt a bit awkward to just leave it unattended.
Still, he seemed trustworthy enough—he wouldn’t run away or anything.
After pressing a few fairy-tale coins into the hand of the coachman, who would be bored waiting alone, I entered the bustling district together with Matthias.
Good thing I brought the robe.
Keeping it over my head the whole time was a bit stifling, but it still wasn’t a good idea to walk around freely just yet.
Not only me, but they might also be chasing Matthias.
And… he stands out way too much!
If he kept walking around with that face, it was obvious that not only slave traders but everyone else would stare.
He was already taller than most people, and on top of that his features were strikingly handsome, so uncomfortable situations were bound to arise.
“We can’t walk around for too long. Let’s just look around a bit and go back.”
“Yeah.”
Matthias nodded at my words.
He didn’t forget to tighten his grip on my hand, either.
Cute.
It felt a bit strange to think that about a fully grown man, but the way he clung to me like a child was kind of cute. Though sometimes it was a bit embarrassing how close he stuck to me…
“Aria.”
“H-huh?”
Startled, I lifted my head.
Matthias suddenly pointed somewhere.
“There.”
“Huh?”
I wondered what he was looking at.
Nearby, there was a small street stall.
“Shall we go over there?”
As if he’d been waiting for that, Matthias nodded.
It looked like an ordinary stall at a glance, so I wondered what had caught his eye so much. Matthias walked straight toward the place he had pointed to.
“Oh my, welcome!”
The owner who greeted us spread out the items laid on the table.
Oh?
Maybe it was because this was a street frequented by high-ranking people.
The quality of the accessories and handkerchiefs sold at the stall was quite good.
Well, anything below a certain standard probably wouldn’t sell here at all.
I slowly scanned the array of necklaces, earrings, and other accessories.
Just then, Matthias, who was looking at the accessories with me, suddenly pointed to one.
“That one.”
What he pointed to was a hairpin adorned with a white rose and pearls.
“This?”
“Yeah.”
Matthias said, pointing precisely at the hairpin.
“I think it would suit you.”
“Who?”
“You, Aria.”
“M-me?”
It would suit me?
While I glanced sideways at the hairpin in confusion, the owner, having heard Matthias’s words, began clapping enthusiastically in agreement.
“Oh my, it’d be a perfect match for you, miss! As expected of lovers—such good taste.”
“W-we’re not like th—”
“Ah, I know, I know. At that age, it’s always like that. I get it!”
No, what exactly do you get…?!
Feeling wronged, I looked at the owner pleadingly, but he was already caught up in his sales pitch and didn’t listen to anything I said.
“It’d look pretty.”
“……”
Looking at it more closely, it did seem kind of pretty…
I shouldn’t waver.
Matthias might have said it was pretty out of pure sincerity, but that owner was obviously just trying to sell something.
That was exactly why I usually steeled myself not to be swayed by comments like that.
“Pretty.”
“……Should I buy it?”
No—if you say it like that, of course I’m going to waver again.
W-well, I do have money I can use right now.
I was saving money to prepare for any unexpected situations, after all. I was planning to slowly reclaim the debt from Xavier anyway.
“How much is this?”
“This one’s two fairy coins!”
At that, I hesitated even more.
I was worried he might jack up the price at the right moment, but it was cheaper than I’d expected.
I’ll be scraping together every last bit of that bastard’s wealth soon anyway.
I’d gone through a bit of hardship over the past few days—wouldn’t it be okay to buy just one thing?
Having finished rationalizing things in no time, I cleared my throat.
“I’ll take just this one, please.”
“Excellent choice, miss!”
The owner laughed heartily and handed me the hairpin. As I reached into my clothes to pay, Matthias suddenly grabbed my arm.
“What’s wrong?”
“……”
As if trying to say something, Matthias parted his lips a few times. But no words came out, and he naturally let go of my arm.
What’s with him?
“Miss?”
“Ah—no, it’s nothing, sir.”
I finished paying and took the hairpin.
Matthias, who had been holding onto my sleeve, still wore an unreadable expression. After giving the owner a quick greeting, I led him to a quiet corner.
“What is it?”
“……”
“Was there some kind of problem?”
Or—don’t tell me he saw them?
I hurriedly scanned our surroundings. No one seemed to be watching us, but you never knew.
As nice as sightseeing was, it wasn’t worth compromising our safety.
“Should we go back now?”
“N-no. It’s not that.”
“Huh? Then what is it?”
If it wasn’t them, why would he suddenly hesitate like this?
Just as my curiosity kept growing—
Matthias gently wrapped his hand around mine. Inside it was the hairpin I had just bought.
“…I wanted to give it to you.”
His gaze, which had been fixed on the hairpin, twisted into a deeply serious expression.
“I… should have paid the price.”
“…Don’t tell me.”
Listening quietly to his murmuring, I asked carefully.
“Are you saying you wanted to buy it for me?”
At those words, his large frame flinched.
Then, without denying it, he nodded.
“But… I don’t have anything.”
“You don’t.”
“I’m sorry. So you had to.”
“W-wait a second.”
Then what he was trying to say was—
That he wanted to buy it for me, but felt sorry that I ended up buying it instead?
That seemed to be exactly it.
I stared blankly up at the still-hesitant Matthias. He shrank his shoulders even more and apologized again.
The apology, filled to the brim with guilt, snapped me back to my senses. His slumped shoulders, heavy with dejection, bothered me.
“W-wait. No, you don’t need to be sorry!”
It was true that I’d been tempted into buying it, but I didn’t want to put that responsibility on Matthias.
“It really looked super pretty to me too, you know? I thought you were just recommending it.”
“……”
“Thank you. Thanks to you, I got a really pretty hairpin.”
At my words, he hesitated for a moment, then carefully took the pin from my hand.
With a soft click, he opened the hairpin and leaned his upper body forward.
“!”
“Here.”
At the overly close distance, I sucked in a breath.
In the blink of an eye, Matthias had come close and slowly slid the pin into my hair. After adjusting its position for a while, he leaned back, his face looking slightly satisfied.
“Pretty.”
It was obvious—
He wasn’t talking about the hairpin.
He was talking about the person wearing it.
