After a long and tiring three days, my grandparents finally left the estate.
It had been hectic and exhausting, but not altogether unpleasant.
And then, the day I’d been waiting for finally arrived. The outing that had been delayed by their unexpected visit was finally happening!
I headed down to the lobby with Rita, holding her hand. There stood Hale, with Theo beside him. The contrast between Theo’s serious expression and Hale’s calm, composed face made me stifle a laugh.
“Whose dad is that good-looking?”
I approached and teased playfully. Hale answered with a bright smile.
As we got into the carriage, hand in hand, we chatted about everything that had happened with Grandma and Grandpa.
Spending time alone with Hale was great, but honestly, the fact that we were going outside the estate for the first time had me giddy with excitement.
What did this world look like? Would it be very different from the one I once knew?
“Senika.”
“Yeah?”
“What do you want to do first?”
“Umm…”
Truthfully, I’d only ever thought about going out. I’d never given much thought to what I’d actually do once we were out.
Still, I had an answer. I was curious about how regular people lived—not nobles, but the common folk.
In my previous life, and in this one too.
“I wanna go see people!”
“Alright.”
I hesitated. I knew Hale didn’t like noisy places, so I wasn’t sure he’d agree so easily. But surprisingly, he did.
Of course, even if he hadn’t, I would’ve convinced him.
“And eat yummy food!”
“Sure. Let’s do everything you want to do.”
“Can we fit it all in one day?”
“A day’s longer than you think.”
Totally true.
Nodding in agreement, I pressed myself to the window. The carriage was now rolling past the forest surrounding the estate and entering the residential area where the townspeople lived.
Just from this view, it didn’t look much different from the villages I remembered in my previous life.
“We’ll be there soon.”
Hale’s tone was gentle, like he was trying to soothe me. Maybe he thought I was getting antsy staring out the window so intently.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“It’s okay if we don’t get there too fast.”
Though honestly, I didn’t want the carriage to slow down either.
“Daddy, where are we going?”
“The plaza. There’s a market open today.”
A market? Awesome! That means there’ll be tons of yummy food, right?
I remembered the maids who used to go on holiday talking about the market when they returned.
I felt the carriage slowing, and soon, it came to a full stop. Gripping Hale’s hand, I opened the door.
“Let’s go, Daddy! Just trust me!”
***
…Where are we?
I had dragged Hale forward, weaving through the crowd without looking back.
But the more I pushed ahead, the more I noticed Hale’s expression turning sour. So I changed course toward a quieter area… and somehow ended up in a place I didn’t recognize at all.
Welp. This was a problem.
“…Daddy.”
“Well, where are we, I wonder?”
I was being serious, but Hale looked like he was in a teasing mood.
“…I dunno where we are.”
How could he tell his daughter, who’d never been outside the estate, to “just trust him” like that? Shouldn’t he at least give me some directions or hints?
I felt a little unfairly treated but not for long.
“There’s a place I saw on the way that might be nice.”
Of course he had a plan. He probably expected this would happen.
“Okay! Let’s go there!”
I didn’t even ask where. I just urged him forward. It’s not like he’d take his daughter anywhere weird.
Soon, we arrived at a small accessory shop. The inside sparkled with shiny trinkets everywhere.
“Wow…”
I’m not usually materialistic, but it’s just instinct to be drawn to sparkly things.
One accessory especially caught my eye. A hair ornament with a dangling transparent gem.
What made it special was that the gem turned a bluish-white when light hit it.
“I want this one!”
“You’ve got a good eye, miss!”
The shop owner suddenly appeared beside me, ready to sell with full enthusiasm.
But oops… I didn’t pick it for myself. I picked it because I thought it would look good on Hale.
“I’m not getting it for me, though.”
“Pardon?”
They were clearly thrown off by that. I heard Hale chuckle from where he’d been watching a few steps away.
“Never mind. I’ll take both of these!”
I picked two of the same design, just in different colors. They were both transparent, but one shimmered bluish-white in the sun, the other soft pink.
The pink one was for me. It would go great with my hair color.
“Daddy, lean down a bit.”
“Hm? Why?”
“Just do it!”
Hale tilted his head and bent down. I was tall enough now that I could see the top of his head when he did.
I gently placed the bluish-white ornament in his snowy white hair.
“This one’s yours!”
“…Huh?”
He looked genuinely surprised. He must’ve thought both were for me.
“It’s a gift!”
He paid for it, sure—but I picked it out, so it still counts as a gift!
It was a bit cheeky, but I knew Hale would love it anyway. Just look at those twitching cheeks!
“Does it look good?”
Now standing straight, Hale touched the ornament and looked at me a bit uncertainly. Like he was nervous it didn’t suit him.
As if. Please. You look like a fairy. If it doesn’t suit you, then who would it suit?
“It looks amazing! It’s like it was made just for you!”
Okay… maybe that sounded like something a con artist would say. But if he’s happy, who cares?
And just like that, Hale and I walked out of the shop, both wearing matching hair ornaments.
We shared fluffy, cloud-like cotton candy, sipped fizzy drinks that popped on our tongues, and filled our bellies with snacks.
As I skipped along holding Hale’s hand, something unusual caught my eye while I was people-watching, my head darting left and right.
It was a small store, nearly falling apart, completely deserted in the middle of a bustling plaza.
“Daddy, what’s that place?”
I couldn’t stop glancing at it even from a distance. Finally, when we got close enough, I pointed and asked.
Hale glanced at the sign and answered flatly, “A bookstore.”
A bookstore, huh. It looked ancient, like it’d been there forever… which might mean it held books about this world’s history.
I’d recently learned to read this world’s writing from Rita, so I could manage decently now. And more than anything, I was excited at the idea of finding history books written by people who had lived through the events—not just official versions from the estate.
Not everything would be accurate, of course but I believed it was important to study history from different angles.
“I wanna go in!”
“Senika, I don’t think it’ll be very fun for you.”
“No! I think it’ll be super fun!”
Hale blinked at me a few times, then nodded and walked toward the shop.
The scent of old books tickled my nose the moment we stepped inside. It was in better shape than it looked from the outside and surprisingly spacious.
I hadn’t walked far, but I could already tell the books were well-kept and organized.
Unlike me, who was buzzing with interest, Hale looked bored.
“Daddy, are you bored?”
“Hmm? Not really.”
“You can wait over there.”
It looked like he wanted to sit on that couch in the corner but he hesitated, unsure about leaving me alone.
Ugh, I’m not a baby.
“I can read now, you know?”
“…”
“I won’t get lost in here!”
“…Well, you are my daughter.”
Only after I gave him a little shove did he finally wander over to the couch, still looking reluctant.
Now I was alone—finally! I could go wherever I wanted!
It’s not like I’d ever been restricted in the estate, but outside? Hale was always watching me like a hawk. This was my chance.
Also, I’d kind of sent him over there on purpose. There were certain books I wanted to look at, and I didn’t want him looking over my shoulder.
“Alright, let’s do this.”
I headed toward the section labeled [History]. The shelves were taller than Hale, but there were ladders, so I’d manage.
I crouched down to start from the bottom.
“‘The Duke’s… Vigorous Past’?”
…What the heck?
Is this supposed to be a history book? The title’s technically about “the past,” but… this is called The Duke’s Vigorous Past?
Frowning, I pulled it from the shelf. Maybe it just had a weird title.
I flipped it open to the middle—
“Ahh!”
—and immediately slammed it shut.
There was no way I could read that at my age. Absolutely not.
I looked for another one, but…
Why do none of these titles look normal?!
The Lower Half’s History. The Tale Beneath the Thighs. Secrets Under the Bridge… What even is this?!
Did the owner even read the titles before sorting them? This is embarrassing just to look at!
Rustle—
“Eek!”
A sudden noise behind me made me yelp and fall flat on my butt.
I turned around—there stood a boy, probably about sixteen, leaning against the shelf.
I gasped again.
His silver hair looked just like Hale’s.
And yet, I’d never heard of another boy around my age living in the estate. If there had been, I wouldn’t have spent all my time playing alone.
“Who are—”
“I heard this was the place for exchanging scandalous books…”
“…What?”
His tone and the way he looked at me made it painfully clear what he was thinking.
This boy knew exactly what kind of book I was holding and clearly assumed the worst.
That unreadable stare… with just the tiniest hint of judgment.
“This isn’t what it looks like!”
“…”
“I’m serious! It’s really not! I swear!”
So. Incredibly. Unfair.
Why does no one in this world believe me when I say I didn’t do something?! Why?!
