Chapter 16

Far off in the distance, the village gates came into view. I tapped Lycian lightly on the shoulder.

“You can put me down now. I’ll walk from here.”

“If it gets hard, tell me. I’ll carry you again.”

“No, I’m really fine. I can’t exactly be riding on your back all the way into the village.”

Lycian let out a soft snort of laughter and bent his knees carefully.

I slid down from his back and turned to Ninabel.

“Nini, stop pulling the cart and hide in my pocket.”

“Yeees, Masteeer….”

She drooped limply like a scrap of tissue, then shrank down tiny and slipped into my pocket.

She must’ve been exhausted from hauling the cart this whole way.

I slipped a hand into my pocket and gently patted her.

“You did great, Nini. …And Lycian, there’s something I need to ask you.”

“Go ahead, Master.”

Ahem. I cleared my throat quietly and continued.

“Don’t call me ‘Master’ in the village. People might look at us funny.”

At that, one of his brows arched slightly.

“You’re not actually my slave, right? So… how about calling me by my name, at least while we’re in town?”

He looked at me, unblinking. His eyes—impossible to read—caught the sunlight and shimmered, clear as glass.

After a long pause, Lycian answered.

“Alright, Muriel.”

“…!”

My heart dropped—thud. I froze stiff, eyes wide, then floundered in sudden panic.

“L-Let’s go! I’m starving…!”

“Slow down, Muriel. You’ll tire yourself out again.”

I’d bolted ahead like an arrow, but at his words I glanced back.

Lycian was walking leisurely behind me, pulling the cart with an easy smile.

I couldn’t bring myself to meet his eyes and quickly turned forward again. My heart was still racing.

I’ve lost it. Every time he says Muriel, my heart’s going to give out.

It had to be his voice. Who says someone’s name like that—like it’s about to melt? Honestly, even his voice wasn’t normal.

I walked at least three steps ahead of him. My legs tingled like they were cramping, all because I was stupidly tense.

As if giving me space, Lycian followed at an unhurried pace. The wheels of the cart rattled softly in the quiet.

“Ah, Master! Look over there! They’re doing something at the village entrance!”

Ninabel peeked out of my pocket and whispered.

She was right. At the gates, people wearing flower crowns were handing something out to passersby.

Looking closer, I saw they were small bouquets woven from violets.

As we approached, their voices became clear.

“May your spring be filled with the blessings of the gods!”

“Stay and enjoy the festival!”

“They’re performing a play in the plaza! Come watch if you’re interested!”

It seemed the village was in the middle of its spring festival. These usually lasted anywhere from three days to a week.

“That’s great, Master! Since we’re here, we can enjoy the festival too!”

“Mm…. Yeah.”

Ninabel bounced excitedly, but I couldn’t quite smile along with her.

Watching the festival would be fun, sure….

The problem was, it made the chances of running into Raul a lot higher.

Whenever there’s an event in a city or village, the lord usually comes to inspect—unless he’s disastrously lazy.

And Raul was the very model of a diligent, respected lord who cherished his territory.

If it was the Raul I knew… he would’ve come to this village without fail, to see how his people were doing.

“Muriel? What’s wrong?”

When I stopped short and couldn’t take another step, Lycian came up beside me.

I forced an awkward smile.

“It’s nothing. I just… think this might be my first time at a festival like this.”

“Your first? Spring festivals are common in every country, aren’t they?”

…They were. Every nation held festivals, big and small, each season to pray for a prosperous year.

But “Muriel”… had never once enjoyed one.

Walking hand in hand with friends or family, wandering through lively streets—that sort of thing was nothing more than a match-flame illusion to her. A flicker of something unreal.

“Welcome! Are you merchants?”

A village girl who’d just spotted us beamed and approached.

I pressed the squirming dewdrop rice cake firmly back into my pocket before smiling at her.

“Yes, we brought vegetables and strawberries we grew ourselves.”

“Oh! Really? Then come over and take a flower!”

But the moment I stepped closer, she saw my face—and froze.

I asked with a calm, practiced smile.

“Is something wrong?”

“Um… your hair color….”

“I know. It’s unusual, right?”

“Y-Yes, well….”

“There are actually more people with similar hair than you’d think.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. You run into them now and then when you travel.”

“I see….”

The reason she’d stiffened was Muriel’s distinctive hair.

More precisely, that emerald-silver shade was the widely known hallmark of Muriel Tierney.

This village belonged to the Winterberg territory. Anyone living here would’ve at least heard of the infamous “villainess of Tierney” and what she looked like.

I’d tried to cover my head with a scarf for that reason—but it seemed I couldn’t hide it completely.

“Have you seen someone with similar hair somewhere?”

“Ah… well, ahem.”

It wasn’t just her. Others nearby were stealing glances at me too. Being a spectacle wasn’t exactly pleasant.

“Actually… our lord has a very wicked wife, and they say her hair is a pale mint color, like yours. I’ve never seen her in person, though.”

“Ah…. We’re not from this territory, so we didn’t know.”

“I see! May I ask where you’re from?”

“From the northeast. Near the border of the Grastea Empire.”

“Oh my! That’s so far!”

In truth, we were from a polluted zone somewhat closer than that. But I smiled as if I had nothing to hide.

“Since you’ve come all this way, you should enjoy the festival before you go! Ours is really fun. And the people are friendly too!”

The girl chattered brightly, then stepped forward to offer Lycian a bouquet as well—only to falter.

Her eyes slowly widened. Probably because of Lycian’s unreal, almost unfairly handsome face.

“H-Here, a bouquet….”

“Thank you.”

As she fumbled with her words, she hurriedly added—

“I-If you keep it until midnight, it’s supposed to make your love come true!”

It had that kind of effect? Then why didn’t she tell me?

“That’s nice.”

Lycian answered with a small smile and carefully tucked the bouquet into his shirt pocket. Anyone could see he looked like he fully intended to test that “effect.”

Ignoring the girl’s lingering, regretful gaze, he strolled back to my side, a gentle smile playing at his lips.

“Let’s go, Muriel.”

“…Yeah.”

Something felt strange.

The bouquet… he probably just took it without thinking, right?

As we stepped into the village’s central street, the festival atmosphere intensified.

Unlike a typical rural settlement, this village was fairly large.

The buildings were old, but it was big enough to pass for a small town.

Stalls lined the roads in tight rows. Performers drew crowds—some scooping up coins with acrobatics, others playing instruments.

“Whoa.”

I stared in awe at a man breathing fire.

Nearby, someone else was dazzling the crowd with elaborate juggling.

It was fascinating—my first time seeing something like this in person—but we couldn’t linger. Our goal was the marketplace.

We need to sell all these strawberries and vegetables fast—and then go shopping!

Right now, I didn’t have a single coin to my name. Lycian? Same. We were broke. We had to make money if we wanted to buy good food—or new clothes and shoes.

And maybe we’d even get a room and stay the night. It would be less exhausting that way.

“Let’s go! Time to make a killing!”

At my bold declaration, Lycian let out a soft chuckle, pulling the cart as lightly as if it were floating on clouds.

“And how exactly do you plan to ‘make a killing’?”

“I’ve got a plan.”

Before I became terminally ill, I’d worked just about every part-time job imaginable. Street vending? Child’s play.

For the record, I planned to sell the vegetables at a discount—and the strawberries above market price.