Chapter 53
“Did you come over just to pick a fight?”
Peyton’s expression sharpened unusually. His red-tinted eyes, fixed on the other, held not a trace of a smile.
“Don’t bring up that incident. I’ll just get mean again.”
Then, returning to his usual bright grin, Peyton took it upon himself to change the subject.
“Wheel.”
“What?”
“What kind of order do you think Lang will give me?”
As he wrote his wish on the slip of paper, Wheel answered,
“An order to do nothing.”
Like when they had watched Edmond die.
Could anything be more painful than having the power to save someone dying, yet being unable to act?
Peyton glanced at Wheel’s paper and asked,
“What did you write?”
When the other showed no sign of answering, Peyton forcibly snatched the paper from Wheel’s hand and read it. It was written in an ancient script most people couldn’t read—but for another mage, it was as easy as sipping soup.
“A wish to break the sword…?”
For someone with a name meaning ‘sword’ to write such a wish—how ironic.
“The sword is you, Wheel.”
“Exactly.”
Snatching his wish slip back from Peyton, Wheel hung it on the string.
“Which is why I hope it breaks as soon as possible.”
Leaving only that last sentence behind, Wheel turned and walked away from Peyton with heavy steps. Peyton watched him for a moment before turning his gaze toward Stella.
But the person who should have been beside Stella wasn’t there.
“Where’s Sophia?”
“She said she was going to buy a book for a bit!”
“It’s about time for her to be back…”
Looking up, he saw the sky was beginning to darken. If they lingered any longer, Lorey would probably scold them.
“She might be taking her time choosing a book. Shall we go to the bookstore?”
“That’s probably best—”
“Milady!”
“Oh, Cyril!”
Before Peyton could finish his sentence, a servant’s voice rang out, calling for Stella. Recognizing the familiar voice, Stella turned toward the sound and waved both hands high in the air at Cyril, who was running toward her.
“Looks like I can’t go with you. Please say hello to Sophia for me!”
Dragged away by Cyril, who was insisting she hurry back, Stella called out her final goodbye.
Once Stella left, Peyton decided to go find Sophia on his own. Then he suddenly remembered—he had torn up Sophia’s wish slip.
“…Hm.”
I’m a nice person, after all.
Peyton took a fresh slip of paper and wrote a wish on it.
[May Sophia be happy.]
It was good of him to recall Sophia’s original wish and rewrite it accordingly, but when it came time to hang it on the tree, he hesitated.
He lifted his hand, then lowered it.
After a long moment of wavering, he finally screwed his eyes shut, tied the slip onto the branch, and set off to find Sophia.
She blinked once, then twice.
The smell of grass tickled her nose, and the sky above was dizzyingly high. When she reached upward, a head of pink hair filled her vision.
As strands of hair brushed against her face, tickling, she flailed her hands—and caught hold of something.
“…A finger, I’m holding a finger, Sir Langsel!”
That voice—it was familiar.
She’d heard it many times before. It was… it was…
“Milady.”
“Shion.”
Yes, exactly—Shion’s voice.
Lifting her heavy eyelids, Sophia saw Lucion’s face right in front of her.
It was as if water had rushed out of her ears, and sound finally reached her clearly. The wind brushed against her cheek.
“…Shion?”
Now fully returned to reality, Sophia looked at Lucion in puzzlement. Someone who shouldn’t be here was right in front of her.
“Yes, it’s me.”
“What are you doing here…?”
“Don’t even ask. Some strange man tried to drag you away, so I stopped him.”
“…Drag me away?”
“If I hadn’t happened to be here for the festival, it could have been bad.”
As he helped her up, Lucion explained: a suspicious man had knocked her out and tried to take her.
She had no memory of it.
She was sure she had been talking to Stella, then gone to the bookstore to buy a book, and was on her way back to where Peyton was…
She rubbed her aching head, and Lucion’s worried gaze met hers.
“Are you all right?”
“…Yes.”
Her head felt strange. Her stomach, unsettled.
“Here—your dropped belongings.”
“Thank you.”
Thanks to Lucion’s careful attention, she retrieved the book she had dropped and held it to her chest.
‘…Did I really leave the bookstore after buying a book?’
The thought crossed her mind for a moment, but she dismissed it quickly. She was holding the book, so she must have bought it. It wasn’t as if she would have left without purchasing anything if nothing had happened.
Just as she took a step with Lucion supporting her, a pair of familiar shoes entered her sight.
Following them upward, she saw Peyton, face flushed, catching his breath.
“Grandpa?”
“I—finally found you…!”
“Found me?”
“I looked all over the bookstores, and… I just—”
Even without finishing, she knew what he meant: he had run around everywhere searching for her. Feeling a pang of guilt, she was about to apologize—when Lucion spoke first.
“If you brought her out, you should take responsibility and look after her properly.”
The hand on her shoulder tightened slightly.
“She almost suffered a serious incident just now. If it’s not somewhere she absolutely must be, let her rest quietly.”
Peyton tilted his head, still unclear on the situation.
“Something bad almost happened because I wasn’t there?”
“…Apparently, someone tried to kidnap her.”
“I’m sorry!”
Peyton, face crumpling, hugged Sophia tightly. He had come to act as her guardian, only to leave her unattended. If only he hadn’t run into Wheel along the way!
While Sophia struggled to pry the weeping Peyton off her, a familiar figure approached the commotion.
“What’s going on over there?”
It was Joshua, out inspecting the festival site for tomorrow.
Thinking something serious had happened, he came closer—only to sigh when he saw Peyton was the cause of the noise.
“You’re too loud. I thought it was an actual emergency.”
“It is! Sophia nearly got kidnapped!”
“What?”
Joshua’s expression instantly darkened. He instinctively reached for his waist, only to remember he wasn’t carrying his sword. Clicking his tongue, he raked a hand through his hair.
Then he noticed Lucion standing by Sophia.
“And why are you here?”
“I happened to be nearby and saved her, so you could start with a thank-you.”
“Did you see what he looked like?”
Ignoring Lucion’s comment, Joshua asked what he wanted to know.
As if expecting this, Lucion shrugged and pointed toward a nearby alley.
“He was taller than me, wearing a black robe. I think he had red hair, and when he saw me, he ran off that way.”
Joshua relayed the description to his guards and ordered them to search. Then, approaching Sophia, he pried Peyton off her like throwing out trash.
“Sophie, can you stand?”
“…No.”
Her honest answer slipped out before she could stop it.
“Mind if I carry you?”
Sophia nodded, and Joshua gently hoisted her onto his back.
“The site inspection is done, so let’s head back.”
“Yes, sir.”
She closed her eyes against his back. It had been a long time since he had carried her like this. When she was very young, he used to do it often.
‘Where’s Benji?’
‘Baking cookies for you.’
‘Wow, cookies!’
‘Hey, don’t move too much, or you might fall.’
‘Okay!’
She had laughed foolishly on his back, waiting for Benji in the garden.
Why was that memory surfacing now?
Gaps in her memory were being filled by long-forgotten moments—yet they were all pleasant ones, so it didn’t hurt.
Joshua started walking away with Sophia, but Peyton didn’t immediately follow.
“Why aren’t you coming?”
“No reason.”
Peyton glanced at Lucion.
“Just thinking your lying’s gotten a lot better.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Well… let’s just say I pity the guards running themselves ragged chasing someone who doesn’t exist.”
Smiling sweetly, Peyton waved goodbye to Lucion before quickly catching up to Joshua.
The first day of the festival had dawned.
