~Chapter 42~
After the boat ride, Blake’s group was walking quickly.
“You messed up the whole schedule.”
“Why did you jump in the water if you were late?”
The maid who was late and soaking wet was being scolded.
It was understandable—they all had to go back to the hotel early for her. Her wet clothes and Lily’s shawl had to be replaced, but their luggage had already been sent ahead.
“The sun hasn’t even set! There are still exactly 251 things left to show Lily, according to this travel book!”
“If we stop at the hotel, we’ll waste an hour.”
But the “culprit” maid was proud.
“I couldn’t help it! You’d have done the same if you were me.”
She looked completely satisfied, as if her life’s dream was fulfilled by riding the boat with Lily.
“You little brat!”
“Says you, brat!”
“You brats!!”
While the servants started fighting, Lily realized her bracelet was gone.
“Oh… What should I do?”
“What’s wrong?”
“My bracelet. Gianna made it for me. I can’t lose it. I need to go check by the river.”
Blake looked over at the ongoing servant war.
“Hey, you guys!”
But they were too busy fighting to hear.
“You selfish people! You just wanted Lily for yourself!”
“How did you know? I’ll get you!”
Blake realized the fight wouldn’t end soon.
“Let’s just go ourselves.”
“But what if we get separated?”
“It’s fine. Even if we eat dinner and come back, they’ll still be fighting in the same spot.”
Blake and Lily went back to the riverbank with all the boats.
The workers were too busy to help—one seemed to have caused an accident while half-asleep.
“Oh, there it is…”
Lily spotted her bracelet on an empty boat.
She needed help with the safety bar, but when she put her hand on it, it opened without a lock.
“…!”
Before she knew it, she fell right over and landed in the shallow, clear water.
“Ouch.”
Her hands were covered in dirt, but she wasn’t really hurt.
But this was why safety bars mattered. Just then, another boat came in to dock, proving the point.
“Lily!”
Blake wanted to scold her, but instead he went serious.
He pulled Lily close with one arm and grabbed the incoming boat with the other.
With his strength, he pushed the boat away—so far the passengers got a thrill.
Blake was so angry he couldn’t even speak at first.
He looked down at Lily, who was half-soaked and half in his arms.
“You should have been more careful!”
“I didn’t know this would happen.”
“You’re always so careless…”
Then they both noticed Lily’s hand was pressed against Blake’s chest.
She got embarrassed.
Her hand was there by accident, but Blake’s shirt was so thin and wet that she could almost see through it.
His chest wasn’t soft at all—it was hot and firm. Lily felt guilty, even though it was an accident.
She started to understand why noble ladies liked muscular men.
“Sorry for touching you. I swear it wasn’t on purpose.”
“It’s my fault. Don’t worry about it.”
Lily felt her heart pound. It wasn’t a bad feeling—just strange and embarrassing.
Just then—
“Are you two all right?”
An old couple in a boat nearby spoke up. The grandmother apologized.
“I didn’t expect anyone to be there… Are you hurt, miss?”
Blake tried to explain.
“No, it’s not—”
“Oh, of course you’re not hurt. Your husband is very strong! I didn’t know a person could push a boat like that. Reminds me of when I was young… It was fun to watch!”
“We’re not—”
“I just wanted to check. It’s always better to be careful. You’re lucky to have a strong husband! He can chop a lot of firewood, right? Hahaha.”
“I mean—”
“My husband used to be strong when he was young, too.”
“Excuse me, ma’am.”
Blake finally stopped her.
“Would you sell your coat? I’ll pay ten times what it’s worth.”
He just wanted something dry for Lily to wear.
The old woman’s eyes widened.
“Oh, the young lady is soaking wet! Of course, take it. I don’t need money. It’s old and it’s partly my fault, so just take it.”
“But we’re not married…”
“This coat—when I couldn’t even afford apples as a girl—”
“Just please, take the money.”
Blake hurried Lily into the cardigan and got her away from the dock.
The worker finally realized what happened and started apologizing loudly.
“I’m so sorry! Sorry!”
Lily whispered,
“Anyway, we really should go back to the hotel.”
They were going there anyway, so nothing really changed.
Lily gave Blake a playful smile. He frowned a little.
“Yes, we should.”
Back at the hotel, the servants were still fighting until they saw Lily soaking wet.
“What in the world…!!”
“Calm down. It’s nothing. The weather’s not cold. I just need dry clothes. At least now I get to wear Gianna’s pretty purple shawl today.”
Blake, walking behind the group, looked back.
Lily still felt a strange little flutter in her chest, thinking over what happened with Blake.
That’s why she noticed right away that something was wrong with him.
“What’s wrong?”
“I feel like someone’s watching us.”
But there were so many people under the neat buildings that he couldn’t tell who it was.
The sky was now orange with sunset, and darkness was starting to show.
In a few minutes, the area around Winter Castle would be pitch-black. Most people would be getting ready for night by now.
But Aquaouz was still bright because every shop had lanterns.
“Mmm.”
Even after going back to the hotel, they went out again to look around. By now, Lily was exhausted.
She sat on an outdoor bench, closed her eyes, and tried to rest.
“Are you very tired, Lily?”
“I’m fine, just sleepy.”
Blake checked the sky.
“Maybe we should go back soon.”
He looked a little nervous.
Actually, the Aquaouz festival wasn’t a yearly event. It happened every month and didn’t even have a special name.
There wasn’t anything that special about it—except at night there was a big fireworks show.
It started years ago when they had too much gunpowder, but now everyone loved the fireworks.
But Blake still worried, because of his memories from the war.
“But Master, the fireworks are about to— Oh.”
“Oh.”
“Oh.”
The servants all went silent, worried they’d said too much.
“Well, maybe we should.”
Lily stood up, hiding her feelings as always.
As they headed back to the hotel, a boy jumped out from between buildings and snatched Lily’s hat.
He was so small and quick that he disappeared into the crowd before anyone could react.
“That little brat! I’ll get it back!”
Maid Gianna shoved into the crowd after the boy.
Others chased after her.
The streets were packed, but the plaza where the boy ran was especially crowded.
“He shouldn’t have messed with us. Lily, I got your hat back!”
Gianna managed to grab the boy and return the lacy hat.
But even this chaos was nothing compared to what was happening in the plaza.
In the center, a big crowd cheered for something:
An outdoor prizefighting match was about to start.
