Chapter 9
“You’re talking about the place at 421 Glova Street, right?”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Good. Then thanks for your trouble!”
Waving cheerfully, Winter took Maydillian with her and returned to the main castle.
After pushing Maydillian into his room and telling him to wash up quickly, Winter herself finished a fluffy, refreshing shower with the help of the maids.
Coming out with a clean, bare face, Winter paced anxiously around the room before finally heading to Maydillian’s quarters.
“…M-my lady?”
Startled by the door flying open, Maydillian took a step back.
Striding inside as if it were her own room, Winter frowned slightly when she saw his hair still damp.
“I told you to dry your hair properly. You’ll catch a cold if you don’t.”
Having a maid bring a towel, Winter seated Maydillian and carefully dried his hair for him.
Her movements were rough and quick, like drying a puppy’s fur. Even as his head wobbled side to side, Maydillian obediently rested his hands on his knees.
“May, want to skip sword training today and go play with me?”
After squeezing out most of the moisture, Winter set the towel aside and asked. Maydillian blinked once, then his face lit up.
“Yes! I’d love to!”
Clearly, the idea of skipping sword training went in one ear and out the other—he was simply thrilled at the thought of going out with Winter.
Before long, the two kids slipped out of the ducal estate, avoiding the servants’ eyes.
They used the small hole in the wall that Maydillian sometimes used to escape Tyge’s bullying.
“Wow!”
The moment Winter crawled out and stepped onto the main street, she exclaimed in awe.
Winter had always had a pathological hatred of leaving the castle—due to the absurd reason that she didn’t want to walk the same roads as commoners.
Anything she needed could be procured through servants, and clothes could be made by summoning a tailor, so there was never a real reason to go out.
But now that she remembered her past life, the outside world felt like paradise to her.
All she had done in the ducal estate until now was read books, take medicine, eat meals, and watch Maydillian.
Of course, watching Maydillian never got boring—but if she kept sitting around comfortably like that, she’d never obtain what she wanted.
Winter didn’t have much time.
“May.”
“Yes?”
“I came fully prepared today, you know?”
She jingled a pouch of money and beamed. At her innocent smile, Maydillian’s cheeks flushed red.
“W-what are you planning to do with that?”
“We’re going sightseeing and buying something tasty to eat.”
The meals served at the castle were all bland, healthy foods carefully balanced for nutrition.
She knew they were good for her body—but sometimes, you craved something stimulating and junky too.
“B-but if you eat things like that carelessly, my la—”
“Tsk.”
Maydillian hesitated, worried something might happen to her, but Winter cut him off.
“When we’re outside, don’t call me ‘my lady.’ We’ll get caught right away.”
“Then what should I call you?”
“Just call me Winter.”
“W-Win—”
Startled, Maydillian stuttered. Calling her by name all of a sudden?
Knowing exactly how he felt, Winter stepped closer with a mischievous smile.
“Try it once, right now!”
“T-try what?”
“Call me Winter, May.”
Caught off guard, Maydillian took a sharp breath.
Winter’s golden eyes sparkled twice as brightly as usual, as if she were eagerly anticipating something.
After hesitating and stepping back, Maydillian averted his gaze and muttered in a tiny voice,
“…ter.”
“Hm? What was that? I can’t hear you.”
“W-Winter!”
He squeezed his eyes shut and blurted it out.
A brief silence followed.
Finding Winter unusually quiet, Maydillian cautiously opened his eyes.
What he saw was Winter smiling more brightly than ever.
Without realizing it, Maydillian let his mouth fall open.
Something about the joyful curve of her eyes pressed strangely against his chest.
“Yes, May.”
Only after meeting his gaze did Winter nod and answer.
Her gentle voice made his ears burn for no reason.
“Well then, I think we’re all set. Shall we go have some real fun?”
Bursting with excitement, Winter grabbed Maydillian’s hand and started running.
“W-wait, slow down, my la— I mean, Winter!”
Apparently delighted by being called by her name, Winter laughed brightly as she dashed down the street.
Maydillian, who had looked flustered and near tears, soon found a smile spreading across his face too. His heart thumped happily.
But before long, that smile vanished.
“Um… Winter.”
“Yes?”
“If you eat like that…”
You might develop an illness you didn’t even have before.
Maydillian trailed off.
Winter tilted her head, not understanding.
She was stuffing her mouth full of bread bought from the marketplace, chewing away. Her arms were piled high with all kinds of snacks and toys.
Naturally, similar burdens weighed down both of Maydillian’s hands as well.
As if determined to make up for everything she’d missed out on, Winter bought and tasted everything in sight.
It was only natural that the merchants welcomed the sudden appearance of such a young big spender.
If one didn’t know she was called the “executioner” of the Vladimir ducal house, Winter looked like nothing more than a cute, angelic child. And beside her was the doll-like, adorable Maydillian.
Holding hands and wandering about, the two kids drew affectionate gazes from the merchants, who looked like they wanted to pinch their cheeks.
Anyone would find them lovable when they ordered everything on the menu from start to finish.
Thanks to that, the two kids received heaps of extra service and roamed the marketplace with their hands full.
Winter enjoyed the moment, spending money freely. Maydillian, meanwhile, followed after her with a face full of worry.
“I-if you keep going, you might get a stomachache…”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. People eat this stuff all the time.”
He didn’t mean the food was bad—just that eating too much at once could upset her stomach—but Winter didn’t seem to understand him at all.
No one knew how all that food fit into such a small body, but Winter enjoyed the marketplace as if today were her last.
“Little miss, how about a cup of watermelon juice?”
“Hmm, sure! Two cups, please.”
She happily accepted the vendor’s pitch—and just as she took the two cups of juice, both children’s expressions turned cold at the same time.
“May.”
“…Yes.”
“You feel it too, right?”
“Yes. Behind us…”
“Shh. Don’t turn around.”
Winter whispered softly.
At first, the crowd had masked it, but it seemed there had been people following them for a while.
“Should we go somewhere else?”
“Okay.”
As if on cue, Winter and Maydillian bolted forward together.
Behind them came a curse and the sound of something crashing.
Hand in hand, they darted through twisting alleys.
Unfortunately, neither of them was very familiar with the imperial marketplace.
They ran hard to escape their pursuers—but eventually, they reached a dead end.
“Tch.”
Clicking her tongue softly, Winter realized they’d likely been herded here.
Then, with crude laughter, five or six men blocked the alley entrance.
They seemed to be notorious scum—passersby hurried along, pretending desperately not to see them.
As Winter stepped forward, one of the sneering men spoke.
“Well now, looks like we’ve got ourselves some children from a fine family. If you walk around dressed so splendidly, of course the Wyvern Gang would take an interest, miss, young master.”
Wyvern Gang? Winter’s face twisted at the childish name. She looked like she might throw up.
“Splendid, my foot. I picked these because they were modest.”
“…What did you say?”
Unintimidated by the thugs, Winter’s calm tone made the man frown.
She plucked a gold button from her sleeve and tossed it to him.
“There. That should be enough, right? Don’t overreach and lose a wrist you didn’t need to. Just disappear quietly.”
The man’s mouth stretched wide as he stared at the gold button rolling on the ground.
At a nod from him, a skinny man behind him snickered and quickly picked it up.
Judging by appearances, the burly, big-eyed man at the front was the leader.
Rubbing his hands together, the big-eyed man smacked his lips.
“That won’t do. I think I’ll collect a hefty ransom for you two.”
“Hey, toad. Get greedy and you might lose your head.”
“Well, well. For a little miss, you sure have a mouth on you.”
The big-eyed man grabbed Winter by the collar.
Her light, slender body was lifted with ridiculous ease.
“What do you think you’re doing to her?! Let go of her!”
The moment Winter was seized, Maydillian screamed and clung to the man’s arm.
His face, like a cat with its fur bristling, bared its teeth—and he bit down hard on the man’s arm.
“Agh! You insolent brat!”
Startled by the sharp pain, the man let go of Winter and instead grabbed Maydillian by the hair, slamming him to the ground.
“No, May!”
At the sudden violence, Winter’s expression turned icy.
Her once-calm gaze sank low, revealing a chilling gleam.
“How dare you touch my May. You’ve crossed a river you can never come back from, you idiot.”
“Hah! You’re just a kid spouting nonsense bravado. Do you really think anyone’s going to save you here?”
“Why wouldn’t there be?”
“…W-what?”
“You didn’t seriously think a girl from a prestigious family would wander around without any precautions, did you?”
At those words, the Wyvern Gang hesitated.
Winter smiled sweetly, whispering with an angelic face,
“Honestly… how careless.”
