Chapter 32: 32

“I’ll think about making him your friend.” 

Yay! I was at loss at Alan’s words that followed after a moment of joy.

“But you must never leave the castle.”

Alan was adamant. So far, this followed my expectations.

‘Of course. There’s no way it’ll come easily.’

This moment was the climax of the operation.

I put my hands together and whispered softly.

“But, but…”

Alan stiffened as if he had been hit in the back of the head.

This was because I shed tears like chicken poop with my face all red.

“I want to cheer for him in person. It must be really hard for him right now. Friends are like that.”

Half of the tears I shed were sincere.

It was because I was hiding my hands behind the doll and pinching my forearms with all my might.

“…Do you like that kid that much?”

Alan’s eyes became thinner as he looked at me. Somehow, it was a cynical gaze, so my heart kept pounding.

‘Michael, does this operation work? You didn’t teach me wrong to screw me up, right?’

Now that I thought about it, I couldn’t go back. I continued to complain in a pitiful way.

“Yes, yes… Nike said he doesn’t have a family, unlike me… If no one supports him, he’ll be sad.”

I squeezed my acting skills to the max, but he didn’t answer easily.

The longer the silence, the more anxious I became.

I drank a lot of water so that I didn’t run out of tears, but I felt like my tear ducts were going to dry out because I was afraid.

‘Isn’t it ridiculous for a mere fake to whine? Were the tears just too much?’ 

“…Then how about sending flowers to congratulate him?”

Then Alan gently squeezed my chin.

I almost fell down in surprise. The man in front of me was stunned. 

As if he didn’t know what to do every time my tears fell…

‘Is that really the way you look at a substitute?’

If it was the first day I came to the castle, I would have been reassured that I had tricked Alan.

But for now, his reaction was just shocking.

I was dazed for a moment, then pressed my eyelids down again.

Don’t let up your vigilance just yet. Let go of your ego and cry profusely until you achieve your goal.

“Hic. Hic… But…”

“I’ll deliver it to him myself.”

Alan pulled me up and hugged me in his wide arms. My wet cheeks pressed against the uniform.

“I’ll give him your flowers and cheer for him in your stead. Then will you smile again?”

His soft voice was as desperate as when we first met.

“I’m sorry, Lily. I’m sorry I couldn’t grant you all your wishes.”

I paused for a moment and then smiled broadly.

“…It’s a promise.”

We talked a little bit about the carnival and then left the office. 

I blankly headed to my room. At first I walked, then I ran.

Perhaps because of the release of tension, my cheeks were hot.

I pinched and rubbed my red forearm and shouted inwardly.

‘It’s a success!’

***

“Give up.”

Last night, Michael was the first to tell me how to get to the carnival.

“Okay, Brother. Tomorrow, I will make porridge with healthy raw chicken blood.”

“Listen to what people have to say.”

When I said that with a broad smile, Michael responded nervously.

“It means that there is no way you can get out without Father knowing no matter what. Is there anything you can do to overturn the duke castle?”

“I couldn’t hear you well because your tone was so annoying, if you tell me one more time……”

“Father will be by your side all the way through the carnival. And it’s if you’re able to go.” 

Michael lowered his head and whispered like he was telling a secret story.

“First, you have to take Father away from you. If it were me, I would make him go to the gladiator match.”

“……?” 

I was bewildered. 

You want me to send Alan to the same place where I have to sneak to, the gladiatorial field?

“The time is right. What if you went somewhere else, and something happens and he comes back before you?”

“No, isn’t it more dangerous? We’re in the same stadium…”

“You don’t know, but the general audience and the duke’s designated seats are different like the sky and the ground.”

What are you talking about?

Michael raised both hands as if expressing the distance and approached the old cabinet.

“You can’t even see the bottom from that side, of course, but because Father is a beast, he can faintly smell you.”

Michael opened the drawer and took out a small perfume bottle.

Several petals were sunk in a transparent liquid. The more I shook, the more it shined, perhaps because it was a petal with mana.

“If I were you, I would spray this. Perfume that removes body odor.”

“Wow…”

“But you can’t go out alone.”

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“You don’t even know how many buildings there are in the castle, so you’ll get lost before you even get out of the castle.”

“Why are you always saying mean things?” 

I puffed out my lips. No matter how true it was, there was nothing he could do but be mean.

“You’re saying that I can’t go out after all.” 

“No, I just told you. You can’t go out alone.”

As if Michael told me to take it, he put the perfume on the table and went back to bed.

“Ask someone else to take you out.”

“Who? You?” 

“Are you crazy? Thanks to someone, I can’t walk right now, and even if I say I’m healthy, I’ll be caught in the middle…”

“Then?”

I tilted my head.

Perhaps he liked my reaction, Michael crossed his arms and spoke in his characteristic arrogant tone.

“The person must have the ability to break through the castle’s guards. And someone who will disobey Father and listen to anything if you insist.”

I had no idea who it was.

Michael’s eyes were rather strange to me as he rolled his eyes.

“There is only one.”

In conclusion, Michael’s operation was a complete success.

A week later, I left the duke’s castle and plunged into the streets of the carnival.

***

Carnival. It is a spring festival celebrating the rebirth of all things, and during the week of the festival, people broke taboos and enjoyed freedom and joy.

I had only heard rumors that it’s gorgeous, but I had never personally participated in the carnival.

So, of course, I could never have imagined it. I didn’t know it was such a huge festival.

“Is it black or white? Is it a hole or a pair? This edition is big. Hurry up and pick!” 

“They say they’re dissecting dead bodies in the backyard of the blacksmith’s workshop. I heard that all the painters around here have already gathered, so let’s go too, and be sure to bring a pot to vomit!” 

“Choose a mask for the masquerade! For the first kiss, you have to cover your face first!”

The streets were buzzing like an overheated cauldron.

When I turned my head to the right, a clown rolled a small ball on top of a large ball, and when I turned my head to the left, children in monster costumes ran away with a smile.

Paper petals falling like snow piled up on top of the pressed robes.

“Wow…”

It was as fascinating as it was chaotic.

Everyone passing by was smiling. It was nice to hear that loud noises were also evidence of overflowing joy.

While I was watching, my companion who came out of the castle with me grabbed my hand.

As I got out of the way, a cart full of straw dolls slowly passed by.

“Tsk.”

The coachman kicked his tongue and headed for a secluded alley.

By the time the presence disappeared, my companion looked around and took off his hood.

“Lily, are you okay?”

White hair tied together, eyes as blue as sapphires, and glasses with tighter strings than usual.

The second brother, Hugo, who only knew his youngest sister, sharpened his teeth, looking at the side the cart had just passed.

“How dare he order you to move away. If I had been able to use magic, I would have hung him upside down in the square right now…”

Did the man say to get out of the way? The surroundings were so noisy that I couldn’t hear him.

I clasped his hand, fearing the worked-up Hugo would mess up my plan.

“Then I won’t have time to watch the festival alone with Brother.”

Hugo stared down at me, then gently relaxed his grim expression.

“…Yeah. Because we’re in a situation where the two of us sneaked out together.”

Seeing the emphasis on ‘two of us’ he seemed to like this situation very much.

The secret between the two of us, the outing of a friendly pair of brother and sister. At least Hugo thought so.

‘I thought he would be strict, but it’s unexpected.’

Hugo was the helper Michael told me.

I thought Pedro would come over easier than Hugo, but Michael stopped me.

He told me never to talk to my eldest brother.

‘Well, Pedro’s been busy managing security throughout the carnival.’

I was confused until just before I asked him to go out secretly, but Hugo unexpectedly looked happy and liked it.

After entrusting it to him, the plan to escape the duke’s castle proceeded quickly.

We told others that Hugo agreed to tell me about the history of the carnival until Alan returned to the castle.

The place we were to study at was Hugo’s dark magic lab with countless locks.

In other words, there was no way to find out we weren’t there unless someone blew up the academy.

“I will be patient for now. I remembered the coachman’s face, so I’ll punish him properly later.” 

Hugo let out a terrifying remark and smiled softly.

“By the way, Lily, don’t your legs hurt? I will carry you to the stadium.”

Hugo squatted and turned his back. I hesitated.

‘I don’t know if he’s as muscular as Pedro, but he is a bit…’

Hugo was tall, but his waist was thin.

But he wiggled his hands as if he wouldn’t get up until I was lifted up.

“Come on.”

“…Thank you, Brother. If I’m heavy, you can drop me right away.”

“You’re joking. You are as light as a feat…!”

Crack.

I just heard something breaking.

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