Chapter : 12
Now that she thought about it, there was something she had overlooked.
‘I was so focused on jumping over the fence that I didn’t bring any money…!’
On top of that, Lulu had never even seen the coin the man was talking about—the one called “gllu.”
After all, eggs and bread had always been bought by Unni!
‘Then… I can’t buy eggs?’
Just then—
“Hey, kid, are you really okay?”
When Lulu stood frozen like a statue, the man noticed something was wrong. He crouched down to meet her eyes.
Rolling her eyes nervously, Lulu mumbled,
“I don’t have… gllu.”
“No money?”
“Noo…”
“What do you have, then?”
What did she have?
Blinking, Lulu pulled out her precious Boseok-i from under her coat.
Right now, it was the only thing she had.
“Oh wow, that’s an expensive gemstone you’ve got there. With that, you could buy a hundred eggs!”
The man scratched the back of his neck in mild surprise.
“I can buy eggs with Boseok-i?”
“Of course!”
“But Boseok-i is my precious gem…”
At that moment—
It seemed like the gemstone in her palm squeezed its eyes shut.
—Young and hungry hero, I am your servant and loyal retainer.
“Huh?”
—Trade me.
“!”
Lulu’s triangular mouth dropped open.
To sell a precious companion just for food?
That was absolutely impossible.
“No way. I’m not selling Boseok-i.”
—Young hero, but…
“No. Way.”
With her eyebrows raised, Lulu shoved Boseok-i back into her pocket.
“You’re not going to give it?”
The shopkeeper looked slightly disappointed, as if he had been expecting her to trade.
“Without that gem, you can’t buy any eggs, you know?”
“…Urgh.”
It was indeed a tremendous trial that had befallen Lulu.
But a hero could never lose a companion over something like this…!
“It’s okay. I’ll just starve to death!”
“No one’s going to starve to death. And besides, the gem isn’t even yours.”
“…Huh?”
‘That’s not the egg man’s voice…’
Turning toward the deep, familiar voice, Lulu found a large hand covering the crown of her head.
“D–Duke Velix! What brings you all the way here…? Ah, hello, sir!”
The egg seller’s face turned pale as he quickly bowed.
Before she knew it, Sir Velix was standing right behind Lulu.
And then—
“About sixty eggs. I’ll pay right now.”
“Y–yes, sir! Right away.”
He asked for eggs as if it were nothing.
Sixty of them!
“Sir Knight, you’re rich!”
Lulu’s mouth gaped wide open.
“Buying sixty eggs makes me rich?”
“Yup, richer than Unni!”
“I like the sound of beating the princess.”
Velix shrugged indifferently as he handed the money to the shopkeeper.
At that moment—
“Lulu. Do you not see me?”
Someone who had been hidden by the knight’s tall frame leaned over.
‘Huh?’
At first, Lulu was confused about who the boy was. His clean, handsome features made him almost unrecognizable.
Sleek black hair brushed and oiled until it shone.
Red eyes that stood out against skin pale from the northern winds.
Wearing a perfectly neat uniform, he looked like he had stepped right out of a portrait.
But—
“C–Captain!”
There it was—those slightly rebellious eyes!
No matter how tidy his hair and clothes were, those eyes couldn’t be hidden.
“I bought the eggs. This should last two months.”
Just as Velix finished paying, he naturally reached for Lian’s hand—
Whoosh.
“It’s been a while, Lulu. How’ve you been?”
Whether Lian didn’t see or pretended not to see the knight’s hand, he only looked at Lulu as he passed by.
“…Huh?”
Something felt strange.
But—
“Lulu. What else do you want to eat?”
“Eh—?”
The knight pointing toward the bakery erased her confusion in an instant.
The real shopping was only just beginning.
* * *
At that same time, in the tower—
“There we go. That should do it.”
Angela looked with satisfaction at the neatly organized library shelves.
After tasting the delights of the basement’s fairy-tale books, Lulu had been sneaking down there whenever she could.
Thinking it needed a good cleaning, Angela had finally decided to put everything in order today.
“…I put all the dragon-related fairy tales in the far corner.”
There was nothing good for Lulu to see in those.
“And the unrelated ones are arranged where she can see them easily, so she can browse all she wants.”
Since the child sometimes fell asleep while reading here, she had also prepared cushions and blankets.
“Now… what do you think, Lulu?”
Humming to herself with anticipation, Angela dashed up the stairs to see her little salamander.
Throwing her arms open, she called out at the top of her voice,
“I love you this much, Lulu!”
There was no guarantee of a reply, but still—
“……”
When no answer came, Angela glanced around in awkwardness.
Normally, Lulu would come running and throw herself into her arms.
“Ahem.”
Angela tried again.
“Lulu! Look what I’ve done! A whole bunch of fun fairy tales!”
But when there was still no response, she climbed up to Lulu’s room to check.
“…Oh, no.”
As she had feared—the child was gone.
Last time, Lulu had at least asked permission to go out. This time, she’d left without a word.
“Lulu! Lulu—!”
Angela’s voice cracked as panic set in.
The guards patrolling the forest flashed through her mind.
‘Don’t tell me the knights took her…?’
Tumbling down the stairs in a rush, Angela stuffed useful artifacts into her bag and ran out of the tower.
“Lulu—! Where are you—!”
Shouting her name just in case, she dashed through the forest—
“Uuunnniii—!”
Like a miracle, a young voice answered from afar.
Angela stopped in her tracks and turned toward the sound.
“Uuunnniii—!”
This time she could see the figure waving enthusiastically.
Lulu, and beside her, Velix and Lian, both carrying loads of goods.
“…Lulu. Haah.”
Realizing the situation, Angela finally let out the breath she’d been holding.
‘So she was with the duke.’
At least she hadn’t been dragged off by other knights.
“My baby—!”
“Unni—!”
Spotting each other, the two of them ran with open arms.
And at last, when they reached each other—
“Going out without your sister’s permission, huh?!”
Bonk.
“Oww!”
Angela delivered a loving-yet-painful flick to Lulu’s forehead.
“Lulu… hic… I thought… hic… you’d like it… sniff…”
“And why would you think that?”
“B–because… hic… Unni… sniff… you were hungry… there were no eggs…”
Her watery eyes brimmed with indignation.
Lulu had never expected to be scolded this much.
‘But Sir Velix bought tons of bread and eggs!’
The table was piled high with enough food for over a month, but clearly, Angela wasn’t seeing it.
Arms crossed, her face was still stern.
“You went out because you thought I’d starve? How exactly did you get out?”
“W–with Boseok-i and…”
—Young hero, there’s no need to mention me…!
“W–with my wings… hic! I snuck out!”
Clutching the lump on her head, Lulu squeezed her eyes shut.
Steam still seemed to rise from the bump.
The little dragon who wouldn’t cry even when her palms bled… had been defeated by her sister’s forehead flick.
“Wings? You can’t even make a tail yet, let alone wings.”
“Hic! B–Boseok-i… helped… waaaah!”
Finally, Lulu broke into sobs.
At that moment—
“…Princess,”
“Shut it, brother.”
When Velix tried to step in, Lian cut him off with a don’t-you-have-any-sense look.
Velix closed his mouth, frustrated.
He had come here to say something important.
Something more important than bread.
“…Or maybe not.”
In the end, he decided to take his brother’s advice and backed away.
From Angela’s expression, it didn’t seem like the right time for anything important anyway.
* * *
After the commotion finally died down—
“Slurp… This is tasty—!”
Lulu sipped her juice through a straw in delight.
Her eyes were swollen like a goldfish’s, but like her caretaker, she bore no grudges.
“Unni, you’re mean—! Even if Lulu doesn’t know much, hitting is bad—!”
“And you think going out without permission was okay? Do you know how scared I was when you weren’t here?”
“Y–you were scared?”
“Of course. I was terrified you’d disappear, or be kidnapped by other knights!”
“Unni… I’m sorry for that.”
“No, I’m sorry for flicking your forehead, my poor salamander. Slurp~”
As an apology, Unni gave her an orange juice along with a kiss on the cheek.
‘Unni really is the best!’
Lulu’s chubby legs swung happily from the chair.
Humming, she drank her juice—
“…Lulu, are you okay now?”
Lian was still watching her cautiously.
