HTLATMDFD Chapter 040

9-11 minutes 22.07.2022

“Don’t trust Benimus so much.”

“…What?” 

“Princess, the maid has made a cake!”

A huge cake appeared behind Nike, who was running like a pony.

The perfect white glazing was impressive.

If it hadn’t been for the continuous procession of servants carrying large gift boxes behind Verney, I would have been touched.

“This is a shawl embroidered with roses for 10 years by master craftsmen in the capital.”

“It’s chocolate infused with magic. If you eat it, you will feel energized and happy.”

“It’s a teddy bear with rose diamonds in its eyes.”

The servants opened the gift box, showed me the items, and loaded them into the last carriage.

I couldn’t even put a price on them.

“Dad, this is…?”

“It’s a farewell gift. I don’t have time to hold a farewell party, so I prepared the bare minimum.”

Was this the minimum? Could Alan have mistakenly thought I am emigrating?

My mouth opened blankly in surprise, and Alan shoved a piece of cake into it.

The sponge cake, which was fluffy like a cloud, melted as soon as I chewed it.

Sweet… no, that’s not the problem now!

“Oh, thank you. Gulp. What if we meet a thief on the way?”

“It won’t happen.”

Alan smiled softly as if asking me not to worry.

“There is no way I’ll send your carriages on just any road. If you go there by the Duchy’s exclusive road, you’ll be there by tomorrow.”

The duke’s wealth was more than anything imaginable.

I had nothing to say, so I ate more cake.

Wow, it’s delicious….

‘Before I came here, I had only eaten soft bread once.’

There was a time when Klaus, who was making fun of me as usual, threw me a piece of bread instead of a stone.

It wasn’t sympathy.

The bread was full of real fire ants.

He must have wanted me to cry and cry. But I shoved it into my mouth without hesitation.

That way, I wouldn’t die that day.

Breathing had never been natural for me. So I wanted to survive somehow.

‘Maybe it would be a good idea to go south.’

I thought I’d get a disease that didn’t exist if I was next to Alan for another day.

I’ll take advantage of the distance from him and rebuild the escape operation.

At that time, I had no idea what was going to happen in the South.

***

The South was different from the North in many ways. 

At first glance, the roof looks different.

Unlike the house in the north, which had pointed tops, the roof in the south was round like a cookie house in a fairy tale.

And it was full of vagrants, colorful gypsies.

The sounds of lutes and tambourines went uninterrupted on every side road curved like a stream.

Bright flowers, large fruits, colorful murals…

On the third day of the carnival, the streets were exploding like fireworks.

Among them, there was an event that particularly caught my eyes.

“This humble thing! How dare you covet a noble!”

Splashed!

Water splashed on the actor’s face on the live stage.

I got my feet wet because I sat in the front seat.

Shouts of shock and horror erupted everywhere.

The tragic main character did not lose and appealed to her mother-in-law, to be more precise, to the audience that filled the alley.

“Mother, I love him!”

“Who is your mother?!”

Street performance. It’s also a play.

I watched it for the first time in my life.

“…You’re pathetic.”

While watching with sweat in my hands, Michael, who was next to me, snorted and spoiled the mood.

I felt disturbed for no reason even though he cursed at the play, not me.

“It’s interesting, though.”

“This? It’s childish, provocative, and has no essence. Obviously the male and female protagonists are siblings.”

“What? Really?”

That kind of shocking twist?

My mouth was wide open. 

Michael looked dumbfounded, as if my reaction was more surprising.

“Is this your first time seeing a street play?”

“Yeah.”

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“That’s why you don’t have an eye for it.”

“Why did you come all the way to the South just to fight with me again?”

“That’s what I’m going to say. I didn’t even ask you to bring me in the first place.”

Michael crossed his arms and grumbled.

I took the same posture as if reflected in a mirror and snapped.

“Shouldn’t you rather thank me?”

Although he raised his chin arrogantly, Michael did not subdue his pride.

“Why should I? You dragged me here to monitor me anyway.”

That’s correct. Anyway, he was quick-witted.

It was very unpleasant to be in the same carriage with Michael for two days and one night.

However, I didn’t want to be stabbed in the back of the head if I left Michael out of sight.

Even if I were to get hit, it would be better to get hit from the front, it was much worse if I get hit from the back.

“Michael, you still have to say thank you. There’s no one but me who asked for you to join the evacuation carriage. It seems like everyone doesn’t even know you live in a castle.”

I wasn’t exaggerating.

No one cared about Michael until just before he left the Duke’s Castle.

If I hadn’t dragged Michael out and shoved him into the carriage just before I left, he would still be stuck in the corner of the Duke’s Castle.

Of course, I expected him to accept it, but Michael was unexpectedly unable to speak, and then turned his head to the other side.

“…I shouldn’t have helped you.”

He sharpened his teeth nervously, as if he was genuinely regretting it.

“I helped you because I thought you would cause more trouble if I left you alone, but you don’t even know how to take care of yourself, you fake…”

If left as it is, he was about to make endless fuss.

“Shh!” 

Bugh!

I pretended to cross my legs and kicked Michael’s knee.

Michael stared at me with blood-red eyes as if he was about to kill me, but I couldn’t resist.

Because Pedro, who had gone to buy a snack, returned to his seat.

His thick hands were full of snacks that would make Hugo faint.

Chicken skewers, cotton candy, and even sundaes with squid.

“What, what happened? Why did the female protagonist get wet?”

“Her mother-in-law did not allow the marriage.”

“Damn, really? That complete bas… no, she’s mean.”

“And Brother Michael said that the female protagonist might be the real sibling of the male protagonist.”

“What? Wow, I never thought of that.”

When Pedro made a fuss with me, the street play became twice as much fun.

The more we enjoyed it, the more Michael looked speechless.

It’s interesting. What’s wrong with him?

“That’s why street plays are the best! It’s more fun when you come in the morning. At that time, the Church’s enforcement was lax.”

Pedro tossed a ripe pomegranate to Michael, and then put chicken skewers and cotton candy in my hands.

On one hand, I was scared even though saliva flowed down from the smell of the meat and oil.

“Can… Can I really eat this?”

Alan told me not to eat street food. Was he testing me?

“Of course. Don’t tell father. He will destroy the future duke with his own hands.”

Pedro pretended to slit his throat, then grinned.

That was a relief. He was just giving it to me.

With confidence, I opened my mouth wide and bit off a greasy chunk of meat.

I was very excited when the cheap sauce spread all over my mouth.

“Umm. Bwather, thank hou.” (Brother, thank you.)

“Hoah, dis is heally tasty.” (Woah, this is really tasty.)

“…Let’s just chew everything we have in our mouths and talk.”

Michael was the only one who acted elegant and ate the pomegranate.

I didn’t want to miss that moment, so I ate the most ripe part.

It tasted even better when Michael’s hateful gaze was felt on my skin.

“Brother Pedro, wasn’t the line long?”

“It’s okay. The merchant is someone I know.”

“Ah.”

After coming here, I realized that Pedro was surprisingly a social butterfly.

He said, ‘Long time no see, Andrew! I heard you’re having a second child. How about Margaret?’, and the guards at the gates let us pass without even checking our ID.

He shouted, ‘Lyon, anyway, your life string is so strong. You can come out in the next subjugation!’, and a one-armed veteran separated the crowd. And when he said, ‘Hey! There, Pendil’s three brothers! How is business going?’, we were able to ignore the line that looked like a dragon’s tail and went to the very front of the store.

Pedro didn’t even pay for the juice.

“After this, let’s go to the Summer Palace. They said the garden was open for the carnival festival. Lily, I’ll show you the courtyard.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I’m close to the manager there. I’ll get you on the roof too. Oh, Lily, I have something to give…”

“It’s incurable? What do you mean I’m going to die in three months?”

Before Pedro’s words could be finished, a shocking remark suddenly erupted from the stage.

Because of that, I couldn’t ask what he was going to give.

To be continued…

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