Chapter 73

In the meantime, the sun had set, and lights were turning on here and there.

The night festival was completely different from the one during the day or at dusk.

Everything seemed more vague, like a world in a dream, where all the dirty places were hidden, and only the spots touched by the warm lights sparkled.

The three found a makeshift food stand with many tables set up nearby. The format was to buy food from the surrounding restaurants or stalls and eat it there.

Attil brought a stew that looked very spicy, filled with spices; Ririka brought a stir-fried noodle dish, and Fjord brought a sandwich and stood in front of the table.

Ririka was too short for the table, so she got a wooden box and climbed up on it.

Perhaps because it was a long time since she had eaten such stimulating food, or because they were outside, it tasted much better than usual.

Attil offered a spoonful of the stew, but it was so spicy that Ririka's eyes watered. Fjord quickly handed her some water, and she rinsed her mouth, but it still burned.

Attil shrugged, saying, "It's not that spicy."

Fjord, who had only touched his sandwich, asked, "What do you want to talk about?"

"Ah, right. What do you want to do?"

Fjord hesitated at Attil's question. He smiled in a noble-like manner and asked, "I don't understand what you mean."

"Hey, drop that attitude and expression here. If people figure out we're nobles, it's 100% your fault."

Ririka nodded without realizing it. Fjord would probably look like a noble even if he wore beggar's clothes.

"That's just who I am."

Fjord didn't budge at Attil's words. Attil snorted and said, "So, what do you want to do? Your actions now make it hard to guess what's on your mind."

"..."

Fjord looked at Attil. Attil stirred the stew with a spoon and said, "You're approaching Riri, right? That's not a bad method. But if you're not planning to use her, what's the point?"

Fjord's gaze shifted to Ririka and then back to Attil.

"Riri trusts you. I don't know. But I can at least listen to you once."

Attil said slowly and clearly, "What exactly do you want to do?"

Ririka swallowed hard. It seemed like a conversation she shouldn't interrupt, so she focused on rolling her noodles with her fork.

Fjord looked down for a long time, as if thinking about what to say.

Attil waited.

Fjord finally spoke.

"I..."

Fjord inadvertently looked at Ririka. Ririka swallowed the noodles in her mouth and raised her fork a bit higher, as if encouraging him.

He laughed.

Fjord laughed lightly.

The tension in his shoulders eased, and he said, "So, you want to take personal revenge, I see."

"Personal revenge?"

"Yes."

Fjord lowered his long, beautiful silver eyelashes slightly and said, "On how a masterpiece destroys her."

Ririka blinked. Attil frowned.

"So, it's like teenage rebellion?"

"Did it sound like that?"

Fjord smiled. Attil still looked displeased and asked his second question.

"Well, let's say your rebellion is fine. What about Rizelt?"

"It's hard to understand the intention of your question."

"Is he really your brother?"

"Because you said so, Your Excellency."

"Huh."

Attil leaned his elbows on the table, taking a bad posture.

"Is that going to work?"

"What do you mean?"

"To destroy something, you need to know it better. If you keep this up, you'll just end up hanging yourself on the wall and saying, 'This is the masterpiece of Barat.'"

"I appreciate your advice."

Attil nodded at Fjord's smile.

"Alright, anyway. Oh, and."

Attil reached out and grabbed Fjord's collar.

"If you so much as touch Riri, I'll kill you."

Fjord raised one hand at this. Then, he slowly and deliberately reached out and poked Ririka's cheek.

Both Ririka and Attil were momentarily speechless, but Fjord calmly said, "I already touched her."

Attil was speechless. No one had ever acted like this in front of him.

Until today.

"Oh, really? Then die."

Attil swung his fist, but Fjord dodged it.

"I won't take it twice."

"If it were up to you, I wouldn't have swung it in the first place!"

"Both of you, stop it!"

Ririka jumped down from the wooden box and pulled Attil's clothes.

"Everyone's watching."

At this, Attil hesitated. He could feel the curious gazes of the people around them. He clicked his tongue and let go. Fjord straightened his clothes.

"What, is it over already?"

"Was it a lovers' quarrel?"

"Pretty boring, kids."

"Men should go all the way, you know?"

The drunk people around them chimed in. Attil glanced around fiercely.

He almost said, "Shut up," but held back.

If a fight broke out here, Ririka would get involved.

He didn't want to ruin his first outing with his little sister like this.

"Let's go."

Instead, he pulled Ririka's arm and left. He felt like his fists would fly if he stayed any longer.

They left the table, and Fjord gave a final flick of his fingers.

Crack, Clang!

Suddenly, the table where the men were sitting split, and food and glasses fell.

"What the—!"

"Damn!"

Fjord looked satisfied, and Attil completely ignored the situation, thinking, "Wow, really annoying."

Ririka turned around in surprise and quickly hugged Attil's waist.

Attil laughed.

"What?"

"No, thank you."

Thank you for holding back and not causing a scene, she meant. He laughed again and tried to pat her head but stopped.

'Wig.'

It might come off. Instead, he gently pulled and released her cheek. Ririka looked up at him and smiled.

Attil grinned.

"Oh, damn. I'm hungry. Should we get something else to eat?"

"It smells delicious."

"Over there, they're selling sausages."

It was a stall where they grilled various things over charcoal. The three each held a freshly grilled sausage, dripping with juices, and started walking.

As they moved deeper in, they saw more properly set up shops.

Lanterns were hung for the festival, and flowers and vines decorated the railings everywhere...

"!!"

Ririka stopped suddenly, startled. The two boys standing on either side of her quickly noticed and asked, "What's wrong?"

"What happened?"

Ririka turned and started walking, and the two followed, confused.

They hid in a nearby narrow alley, and Ririka said, "Mother is here."

Attil's eyes widened, and Fjord asked, "Her Majesty the Empress is here?"

"Yes. She's in disguise, but she can't fool my eyes."

"Where?"

"At the terrace of that teahouse we were about to pass."

Attil and Fjord peeked out of the alley together. Ririka poked her head out from the bottom and said, "There, there. She's hiding under a blue headscarf, but I can tell. The lady with the blue headscarf."

The two boys looked inside the railing. It was easy to spot Ludia, even though her golden hair was all tied up under a triangular scarf. Her beauty couldn't be hidden.

Her bright blue eyes stood out even more under the same-colored headscarf. Even in modest clothing, her fair wrists and neck were noticeable.

"Oh."

"Huh."

Attil sighed and said, "And on the opposite side, it looks like your uncle."

Ririka and Fjord peeked out again. Although his face wasn't clearly visible, it seemed to be His Majesty.

People glanced at Ludia and then quickly looked away when they saw the man, not looking back. He had a sword on his back, making him look even more like a mercenary.

"Hmm... Should we go back?"

At Fjord's words, the two nodded. They didn't want to run into them and have a bad encounter. Ririka thought about how much her mother would scold her.

This time, she might even be locked in her room.

The three quietly left the area and returned to the square. It was crowded, so Ririka stood on tiptoe.

"Here."

Fjord lifted Ririka and held her.

"What are you doing? Put me down."

"Your arm will hurt, so I'll do it. Oh, you'll fall if you keep doing that."

"Really? Hand her over."

"No."

"Hey, did you see that? That's the real her."

"I already knew Fjord was unpredictable."

"Huh?"

Surprised, Fjord looked at Ririka, but her gaze was fixed ahead. She covered her eyes.

"Oh my, it's a magical girl puppet show."

"Where? Oh, right."

Attil chuckled and folded his arms. The content was a dramatized version of recent events.

"Actually, I'm fine. I don't want to watch anymore."

"Why? It's fun."

At Attil's words, Ririka's eyes widened. Fjord chuckled softly.

When the evil unicorn appeared and the magical girl shouted, "How can I forgive you for tormenting people?!", Attil burst out laughing.

Ririka's face turned bright red. She said in a small voice, "I never said anything like that."

"Of course not. I know."

Ririka looked at Fjord.

"Will you believe me? Right?"

"Yes, of course."

Fjord smiled and answered. Ririka frowned and said, "Right. Now, let's go meet the shoe-shiner."

"Already?"

"The shoe-shiner?"

Ririka nodded. She glanced at Attil, who asked Fjord, "How long can you keep your mouth shut?"

"From the beginning to the end."

No matter how much torture, he wouldn't speak.

At Fjord's words, Ririka looked sad. Fjord, seeing her expression, wanted to kiss her cute, plump, cream-colored cheek but held back.

If he did, Attil might really kill him. He wasn't afraid of Attil, but he was afraid of Ririka siding with Attil and distancing herself from him.

Ririka in his arms felt pleasantly heavy and warm, like a teddy bear, and she smelled sweet like a sugar cookie, as a child should.

He didn't want to let her go.

So, he didn't want to ruin this atmosphere either.

At Fjord's words, Attil walked through the crowd and snapped his fingers.

"Lead the way."

He explained to Ririka. She looked at Fjord, wondering if he would put her down, and sighed when she realized he wouldn't.

"Over there."

As they walked, Fjord listened to Attil's concise explanation.

They needed the cooperation of the slums to investigate the incident in the capital, and they decided to ask the shoe-shiner, whom Ririka knew well.

The shoe-shiner often appeared in her old stories, so Fjord also knew him.

'But he's just a shoe-shiner. Can he really help?'

But there probably wasn't a better way to find out.

Ririka tapped Fjord's arm.

"Put me down now."

"It's dangerous," Fjord said, and Ririka retorted, "It's more dangerous if Fjord can't use his arms."

That was the right answer, so Fjord reluctantly put Ririka down.

The further they went, the fewer people there were. The capital, which had been bustling just a moment ago, quickly became quieter and darker.

The two boys were on high alert, but Ririka's steps were confident.

It was a neighborhood much more familiar than the glittering streets.

'Is it because it's been a while? It seems darker than before.'

Still, during the festival, there should have been children selling flowers on the bridge, but none were in sight.

"That's strange."

Ririka muttered, and Attil frowned and said, "I knew there were places like this in the capital, but seeing it is different."

At that moment, a few men walked from the opposite alley. They looked like typical thugs.

Fjord whispered to Attil, "Take Ririka and hide."

Attil was about to say, "Why should I?" but Fjord quickly added, "I don't want to show it."

Attil knew exactly what Fjord didn't want to show.

He took Ririka's hand.