Chapter 29

I am summarizing the contents of the old book of the Kingdom of Haggle that I received from Mr. Bernard.

"Vicky, I've made the tea."

"Thank you. I'll take a break."

The siblings, holding their new identity cards, should be traveling to the edge of the country by carriage during the day and staying at inns at night. From there on, I can't and don't want to be involved.

I am very sleepy.

I spent the nights making the identity cards, so I've only been getting one or two hours of sleep each day.

While listening to Nonna talking to me from beside me, I was dragged into sleep on the sofa. When I woke up a while later, a blanket had been placed over me.

Meanwhile, the guards at the royal castle still feel as if they've been tricked by a fox.

A slender red-haired woman came to visit every evening. Each time she visited, she would ask the guards to leave her alone with the prisoner, and after about an hour, she would leave with tears on her face.

The man was scheduled to be executed soon, and the cell was locked, so after the first visit, the guards stayed in the guard room. The corridor leading to the prison was a dead end, and one had to pass through the guard room to get out, so there was no worry of escape. There were also soldiers patrolling outside the prison.

However, yesterday, when the usual woman went to visit and didn't return after an hour, the guards went to check and found that both the prisoner and the woman had disappeared. The cell was still locked, but the iron bars on the window had all been cut.

There was a big commotion, the city gates were closed, and the entire castle grounds were searched, but the two were not found. After that, a large-scale search was conducted throughout the capital by the Second Knights and the guards, but the escaped prisoner and the red-haired woman have still not been found.

Two weeks after the man's escape, at night, the Captain came to visit our house, saying he had brought sweets from a popular shop.

We drank tea and ate the sweet cake together. The cake was topped with plenty of chestnuts soaked in syrup. The luxurious and delicious cake made my face relax involuntarily. When Nonna tried to lick the cream off the plate, I told her, "No, you can't do that."

Nonna was startled.

"You should do that after you put the plate in the kitchen," I said seriously, and Nonna and the Captain burst out laughing at the same time.

"Mmm, it's delicious! Captain, you look tired."

"Yeah, it's good. I am tired... Actually, the man from the ball escaped. It seems someone helped him."

"Really...?"

"The castle was in a big uproar. A prisoner disappeared from the royal prison, which is a serious situation. We've been searching the capital for two weeks."

The Captain's face showed signs of fatigue.

"Thank you for all your hard work. What about the escaped man?"

"It seems he managed to hide somewhere. We checked the siblings' house, but the sister had left a note saying she was going to a convent in an unknown place to pray for her brother who was called to heaven."

"Is that so?"

I looked into my cup and replied.

Nonna, who seemed uninterested in our conversation, finished her cake, put the plate away, and started reading a book on the sofa in the corner. She didn't forget to lick the cream off the plate before putting it in the sink.

I made a fresh, hot cup of tea for the Captain.

"Most people think the fugitive will eventually be caught. Information about the escape will be sent to all the gates of the capital by fast horse, so it's unlikely he could make it out in time."

"Is that so?"

I swallowed the last bite of the cake with the hot tea.

"If he hides in the capital, he'll probably go to the slums. Since he's a novice, he'll likely be caught by someone reporting for the reward. I feel sorry for the sister, but... there's nothing we can do."

"Yes, that's true."

The Captain decided to leave in a solemn atmosphere. Feeling very apologetic, I couldn't help but gently hold his arm and speak to him.

"Captain, whenever you can take a break, even years from now, would you like to go to Cadiz with us? In Cadiz, on the night of the summer solstice, they float small wooden boats with candles on the sea."

The Captain's face softened.

"Yes, I know. It's said that the souls of the dead return to this world as long as the candles are burning."

"They come to visit this world for a little while. I want the souls of my family to come and visit. I have so much to tell them."

The Captain gently held my head to his chest.

"We will definitely go. We'll float a boat on the night of the summer solstice. It's a promise. No matter what, I'll make sure to take that much time off."

The Captain left looking a bit more cheerful.

After confirming that Nonna was reading her book, I carefully re-packed the red wig into a small cloth bag and sewed it closed with thread, placing it inside a cushion.

(Sorry)

I bowed my head in my heart to the honest people, including the Captain, who had been desperately searching. I don't ask for forgiveness. I think I will eventually be punished for this.

A brother and sister in their twenties arrived at a village at the southern end of the Ashbury Kingdom.

The two live modestly and work together. They say they lost their home when their parents died and came from a distant village in the east. The village chief arranged for them to live in an empty house.

The siblings worked hard on the abandoned farmland and were friendly to the villagers.

One night, the sister spoke to her brother under the kitchen lamp.

"Living like this feels like a dream. I was going to die at the same time as you if you were executed because of me."

"You've worried a lot. I'm sorry."

"No, as that person said, we should have worked harder to be happy rather than to seek revenge."

The sister took out the identity cards from the drawer and placed them on the table. They both looked at them thoughtfully.

They looked like official identity cards in every way. The texture of the paper, the intricate patterns, and the printed text.

"This looks completely real, doesn't it?"

"Maybe that person is an official who makes identity cards."

"I don't know, I have no idea."

"It's a bit hard to leave without saying thank you."

"We were clearly told that it would be a bother to be contacted, but it would be nice to be able to thank them someday."

"She said, 'I'm doing this for myself, so don't worry about it.' I wonder what she meant. She also said that our living happily would be thanks enough."

The two still don't understand why the flashy red-haired woman helped them. The money she gave them to use for the journey and their new life was still more than two-thirds left.

The sister is grateful that her brother was not executed and that she did not become a murderer.

After Nonna fell asleep, I carefully polished the shoes.

Inside the heels of the shoes, a wire saw was rolled up and stored. The teeth are completely blunt. Should I sharpen them? I don't think I'll need to cut iron bars again.

After polishing the shoes and neatly aligning them, I put them in the shoe rack by the entrance. The small tools for picking locks that were hidden in the soles of the shoes are now sealed with glue. The lock-picking tools are hidden in another place.

If anyone found out about this, I would be called a hypocrite. I'm prepared to be scolded, no matter what.