Chapter 50
The stone path leading all the way to the grand plaza was breathtakingly beautiful.
It was as if someone had sculpted a city of marble and sand upon a gleaming white moon.
I could hear the sound of music. We must be getting close to the plaza. The duke turned to me.
“Will you be able to dance?”
“Just spinning around in circles…? I’m a kid, so maybe people will let that slide if they have any decency as adults.”
“It’s a relief you’re my child. Otherwise, I can’t imagine whose temper you’d be testing.”
“….”
That’s harsh, villain.
Even as I thought that, words came out of my mouth that might wound him.
“Father, did you used to dance at festivals? …When the Duchess was still alive.”
“Yes.”
He answered without hesitation. But I feared there might be hidden sadness in that reply.
…In other words—
“If dancing with me would remind you of her and make it painful… you don’t have to come…”
The answer didn’t come right away. Instead, he squeezed my hand tighter.
“…We’ll see when we get there.”
“Ah…”
“But, it will be fine. It definitely will.”
His stride quickened. The murmur of the crowd grew louder.
“The straw sculpture is ready. You’ve got the matches?”
“We’re ready to scatter the flowers! But is His Grace really coming today?”
“If no one comes, pick a couple by lottery like last year!”
“Oh, His Grace is here!”
The festival-goers parted on both sides, making way for us.
The path to the plaza was uphill. Just as my long-bound ankle began to ache, the duke scooped me up without warning.
“Eek?!”
“If walking’s hard, you should’ve said so earlier.”
“You can put me down! I’m not a little kid!”
“Say that when you’re bigger. I can hold you in one arm—how are you not a child?”
“The problem is you’re like a bear! How big do I have to get, anyway?”
Perhaps hearing us, a few girls holding bouquets giggled. I smiled back at them.
We reached a corner of the plaza at last, where attendants opened the door of a carriage that served as a makeshift dressing room.
Inside, Linda stood with my dress—
But before she could greet me, Bennen and Elber came running and threw their arms around me.
“Oof!”
“Sol! Are you okay? Huh? I’m sorry! I should’ve stayed by your side until the end…”
“I’m sorry, Sol. I heard from the secretary what happened. I’ll never leave your side again. Even now—”
“…Do you two know why humans have two hands?”
“Why— Ow ow ow!”
It’s so you can grab two idiots by the cheeks and pull!
As I let go, I finally saw their faces.
Bennen looked like he’d gladly fling himself off the city walls if the world allowed it. Elber’s eyes were rimmed red.
“Sol, I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have relied on the guards alone.”
“It’s fine. Sometimes there’s nothing you can do.”
Even if they’d stayed glued to me, how could they have stopped a dragon? But they clearly weren’t satisfied with my answer.
Elber spoke first.
“Next time, I’ll block everything by your side! I’m going to learn swordsmanship to protect someone!”
“And I’ll make sure such a crime never happens again—by interrogating the culprit and wiping out anyone planning copycat crimes.”
Both were babbling about their bright… or rather, blood-red futures. Shutting them up wasn’t hard.
“Which one of you won the ball-throwing game?”
“Me!”
“Elber, don’t lie! My score was higher!”
“You saw the shopkeeper give me bonus points!”
“That was for knocking over the rigged doll with weights so it wouldn’t fall! He gave you points out of sheer disbelief!”
“Points are points, aren’t they?”
They were arguing in earnest, but it made me smile. Compared to when I first came to the ducal house, when their relationship seemed strangely strained, this childish bickering was much nicer to see.
…Speaking of which, where was Kai?
Before I could ask, a hand came down on my shoulder from behind. The duke, now in white ceremonial attire.
“What are you doing, Sol? You’re not getting ready?”
“Ah, just a second! I’ll go change right away!”
Ugh, putting on a dress takes time. Can Linda manage alone?
Just then, I heard the sound of a bell. It came from the towering belfry behind the plaza, so tall I couldn’t see the top even if I craned my neck.
At the same time, white petals spiraled down around the belfry, as if they were dancing along with the chime. I knew instinctively—
Ah, it’s time to dance.
The duke muttered under his breath.
“Someone must’ve rung the bell early.”
“Eek! Then maybe I should just go out like this—uh, hmm.”
Even as I said it, I knew it wasn’t a great idea. Too much had happened in these clothes already.
The pale blue frills were dotted with sauce from snacks I’d eaten with my brothers, and the fabric was badly wrinkled from being tied up in a storeroom.
I didn’t mind, but people would be watching. Dancing in such a messy outfit might start rumors that “the duke’s household doesn’t care about his daughter.”
But my hesitation didn’t last long.
Before the first petal from the belfry even touched the ground, the duke took off his jacket and draped it over my shoulders.
It was warm, with a faint scent of winter.
“Ah…”
“Too heavy?”
He adjusted his loosened tie as he asked. The jacket was so big it covered me down to my knees, adorned with ceremonial decorations.
If I said it wasn’t heavy, I’d be lying.
“It’s heavy, but…”
“But?”
“It won’t matter, because you’ll hold me up, right?”
It was the finale of the festival, and I spoke recklessly in my excitement. The duke’s reply came with a smile.
“…You know me exactly.”
Soon, we clasped hands.
The first petal touched the ground, making a snowy path, and as the music began, people exclaimed:
“Oh… His Grace really did come?”
“My, how cute. There really is a lady!”
“She looks like she’s wearing her dad’s clothes! Well… she is.”
When I accompanied the duke on inspections, the townsfolk would always stiffen like mice before a cat. Even my playful chatter rarely eased their tension.
But when we stood in the plaza, bowed to each other, and began to twirl arm in arm—
When our lively steps stirred the petals into swirling waves—
What I saw beyond the duke’s shoulder were people smiling brightly at me.
Our dance was terrible. I didn’t know how to dance, and the duke hadn’t danced in nearly ten years.
With our big height difference, we might’ve looked more like a thief flailing with a police dog hanging off him than actual dancers.
But whenever my foot landed on his, someone would clap encouragingly.
“It’s fine! You’ll get the hang of it soon!”
It might have been support for the commoner girl adopted into a noble house, or perhaps for Latiger, a still-awkward father.
By the time the petals from the belfry had carpeted the plaza in white, people began joining us, filling the square with dancers. The musicians’ tempo quickened.
We eventually stepped back toward the rear of the plaza. Linda rushed over and draped a large shawl over my shoulders.
“You did wonderfully, my lady!”
“I didn’t look funny?”
“Funny? Not at all! You looked like a fairy of the night. The way your hair flowed against that white coat was beautiful!”
Was she just being nice?
I turned, looking for an objective opinion, but Bennen and Elber were nodding so vigorously they looked like toy owls bobbing in sunlight.
“Sol, you were beautiful. Truly.”
“Yeah! You were gorgeous! Which means now you can dance with me!”
“Elber, I told you I won the game.”
“I told you, I won! I had bonus points on my doll!”
This was going nowhere, so I cut in.
“Where are the dolls you scored on? I’ll judge myself.”
From the size and number, I could decide who did better. But my suggestion made them falter.
“Uh… we left them after scoring.”
“Wait here! I’ll run to the stall!”
“Elber! How am I supposed to trust you to go alone?”
While they squabbled, the musicians’ tune faded and young men swept the petals into a path.
At the end of the stone-lined route was a sculpture woven from straw into the shape of a flame—
Dry grass that had kept the poor warm through the winter, and wrapped around trees.
Some ceremonial send-off to return it to the sky… or maybe they just wanted a big bonfire.
When I stood before it, an apprentice priest handed me a match.
“The lady may make the first wish.”
“Do I have to say it aloud?”
“It’s not required, but they say it increases the chance it comes true.”
“Haha, maybe I should wish for world domination.”
The apprentice paled. I’m kidding! Don’t give me that ‘like father, like daughter’ look.
I struck the match, and the flame quickly devoured the sculpture. Just for a moment, I wondered if it was dangerous—
But then I felt a cool barrier before me.
Of course, in a land ruled by the master of frost, what fire could threaten people?
The heated blaze rose slowly into the sky like a second sun.
People clasped their hands, making wishes—
A surreal sight, like praying to an upside-down shooting star.
From behind, I heard the duke’s voice.
“Sol, did you make your wish?”
“…Yes.”
In truth, I’d been startled by how fast the fire spread and missed my chance. And even if I had wished, why would the one who’d tossed me here with a ‘don’t care’ attitude grant it?
I’d rather wish for something a human could grant.
“I hope next time, you’ll come save me again.”
“…”
His eyes trembled.
As the blazing false sun was swallowed by the dark, he answered, his watery-blue gaze unhidden even in the gloom.
“In the name of Latiger Olt Schlaeger, that wish will be fulfilled.”
Maybe it was the festival’s excitement casting its spell, but even he seemed a little carried away.
Of course, it made me believe it too—that he would protect me.
“…Father.”
“Mm.”
“Do you happen to know anything about the Cardinal Dragon?”
For an instant, his gaze sharpened.
