Chapter 32
But… thoughts were just thoughts. I stared blankly into the man’s eyes. They were the same. The golden eyes that had smiled faintly at me as I was dying. Those golden eyes. The eyes that approached me at the end and gently kissed me as I drew my last breath.
“…It’s a bit embarrassing when you stare like that.”
Could he be the man who saved me? …But his hair color was different. His face too. The only thing the same were those eyes. No, honestly, I couldn’t even be sure they were exactly the same. After all, I couldn’t see those golden eyes again. Maybe I was just stubbornly insisting they were alike. But still…
Still…
“U-um, I’m also of the royal family. I’m not a full sibling to Anna, but… I’m the Fourth Prince, Fenril.”
Perhaps he misunderstood my silence, because the boy with the golden eyes politely introduced himself again. It seemed he thought I wasn’t speaking because I was wary of him.
“Oh?! Brother Fenril?!”
Anna came running with a burst of giggles. I thought she and Myra had been wandering the garden for quite a while — unsurprisingly, they returned holding an enormous flower crown and bouquet. I gave them an awkward smile.
“Wow, my eyes were totally blessed today.”
On our way back to the Duke’s residence in the carriage, Myra said that as she hugged a doll tightly.
The doll she was holding had been a gift from Anna — crafted by the same artisan who made the one Myra had brought, but this one wore an outfit many times more extravagant than the one she had wanted.
Of course, I had also received plenty of gifts. When we parted, Anna had thrust toys and clothes into our hands, one after another. She must’ve really taken a liking to us — she held Myra’s hand and hugged me tightly, repeating over and over, “Let’s meet again!”
“Blessed your eyes? With who?”
“You know, that Fourth Prince. Fenril, or whatever?”
“Ah.”
“You liked him too, didn’t you? I could tell. You didn’t say a single word while he was around.”
Myra smirked. As soon as I saw that smirk, I realized she had brought this up just to tease me.
“Verdette, are you in love with the Fourth Prince?”
“What?”
My mouth dropped open. In love? IN LOVE?
“Me? Me?!”
No way. I shook my head vigorously. But the more I shook it, the more Myra laughed heartily, her mouth wide open.
“Back when we were having tea, you were staring at the prince the whole time. I thought you’d bore a hole through his face.”
“No, it’s not like that. I mean… it was just, his eyes were golden. That was unusual.”
I waved my hands as I answered. Had I really stared at him that much? Maybe. Honestly, it was fascinating. Whether or not they were exactly like the ones I remembered, his eyes did have an uncanny power to draw attention.
Fenril Dyfe Otern, the Fourth Prince.
He wasn’t actually born to the Fourth Consort, but to the Second Consort. After the Second Consort was assassinated by unknown assailants in the palace, he was raised under the care of the Fourth Consort.
“Liar. Hmph, you just kept staring ‘cause he was handsome, even when I called you and so did Her Highness.”
At that moment, Myra opened her mouth again with a teasing smile.
“No! I wasn’t staring that much!”
“Hmph, you’re in love~”
“…”
She’s only six, yet her teasing was getting under my skin. I couldn’t even argue back — I just clamped my mouth shut. Because, well, she wasn’t entirely wrong. The Fourth Prince was very handsome. Even though I had grown used to beautiful faces like Saldir’s or Albrecht’s, his looks were in a league of their own. Would I ever see a face like that again?
Then, something strange passed by outside the carriage window.
Huh? Some thugs were surrounding a man selling apples. That man… wait a minute… he looked very familiar.
…Wait.
My eyes widened as the memory hit me.
“Bayzen?”
In the backstreets of Otern, there was a famous bar called Moon’s Shard. Bayzen was the owner. He sold cheap beer and rum, but the flavor was great, the food was good, and the bar had small rooms — it had been a safe haven where my comrades and I could always rest without worry.
No way. That really is Bayzen!
I pressed my face against the window, eyes wide. When we first met, I was an adult and he was running a bar, but… at this time, it looked like he hadn’t opened it yet. He was selling apples!
But my joy didn’t last long. Bayzen’s face was twisted with distress. Probably because of those thugs surrounding him. But who were they?
At that moment, I grabbed the cord connected to the coachman.
“Stop the carriage!”
I shouted, then pressed my face closer to the window. I thought I saw a parrot emblem on the thugs’ black vests.
Parrot… Parrot?
My eyes widened again.
The Parrot Gang.
Before Nard firmly took hold of the backstreets, they were the ruling gang. They were the first group I had fought alongside my comrades.
They committed every kind of crime — prostitution, contract killings, extortion. For merchants trying to make an honest living, they charged outrageous “protection fees,” and if anyone resisted, they wrecked their businesses.
I’d seen too many good people bullied, displaced, and harassed by them before I gained strength.
I never thought I’d see this again…
I felt my hand, pressed against the window, clench. Then, the carriage slowed and came to a stop. A side window to the driver’s seat opened with a rattle.
“Why’d we stop?”
A familiar face appeared. Huh? I turned my head, eyes going wide.
“Oh?! Brother Saldir?”
“My cute little goat, still full of energy today, I see.”
Saldir met my eyes and smiled warmly, raising a hand in greeting. But why was he here? I was glad, but also confused.
“Why are you here?”
“I just wanted to see how my little siblings did. I told your nanny I’d come instead. But why did we stop? Our parents are waiting.”
In response, I pointed outside.
“Look. That man — he’s being harassed.”
“What? Where… ah, the Parrot Gang.”
Saldir frowned when he saw the parrot-emblazoned vests. Wait? He knew the Parrot Gang?
“The… Parrot Gang?”
“Those bastards piss me off. They hide during the control period, then crawl out like cockroaches as soon as the knights back off. Just look at those ugly vests.”
Ah.
I watched Saldir glare knowingly at the gang and suddenly realized…
Right. Things are different now. Because I hadn’t been kidnapped, Saylcar was still maintaining order in the capital’s slums. Unlike before, there were still systems in place to protect the innocent.
My eyes sparkled as I turned to Saldir.
“Then let’s hurry and go help him.”
But instead of nodding, Saldir hesitated. A slightly awkward look passed over his face.
“But… right now, it’s time for the patrol of the City Watch or vigilante groups. We need to report it to them first.”
“We need to report it?”
“Yeah. Saylcar oversees overall security, sure, but there are procedures, and we have to respect the relationship between the groups.”
