Chapter: An Early Morning Arrest and a Royal Delivery
Early morning, during the shift change of the city guards.
The guards coming off the night shift greeted their replacements with drowsy expressions.
“Yaaawn… Good morning, Captain.”
“Anything happen overnight?”
“Nope.”
“What about downstream along the river? You did a sweep, right?”
“Yup. Checked it once at midnight, and again at three. Didn’t even see a single fly.”
“I told you to be more thorough, you little—”
The captain opened her mouth, about to scold the guard’s lax attitude toward security.
But the reprimand was cut short.
“Good morning!”
A polite voice chimed in—the voice of an unexpected early guest.
A child, barely tall enough to reach the captain’s waist, bowed respectfully.
“Thank you for your service so early in the morning!”
The captain, who had just been gearing up to chew out her subordinate, instead dropped to one knee to meet the child’s eyes.
Whoever that child’s parents were, they’d passed down strikingly clear, dark eyes that sparkled like polished beads.
“What brings you here, little one?”
The child didn’t flinch even at the sight of the captain’s rather rough face.
‘Even my mom jumps when she sees me at night,’ the captain thought, amused by the child’s boldness.
“Did you get lost? Tell me your name and where you live. I’ll take you home.”
“Oh, I captured a wanted criminal. I was wondering where to take him.”
“…What?”
“You know, Duke the human trafficker? The one with a bounty?”
“Duke? As in the Duke? How did you even—wait, where is he right now—?”
The captain, uncharacteristically flustered, stammered over her words.
No one blamed her.
After all, the tiny girl standing before them had dragged in the Duke—the very man responsible for the guards’ excessive overtime.
And she’d done it one-handed!
“This is the guy, right?”
“Riya, check it.”
“Y-Yes, ma’am! …Hair color, scar pattern, everything matches!”
As the confirmation came in, the little girl’s chubby cheeks flushed pink.
“So, can I get the bounty now?”
“Uh…?”
“Gasp—don’t tell me I have to pay taxes on it?”
Her once bright and cheerful face crumpled like a dry leaf.
“There’s no tax on bounties,” the captain assured.
“Immediate payout, right?”
“Y-Yeah, but…”
As a nearby guard explained the procedure, the girl’s face lit up again like sunshine.
“Thank goodness! You’ve just taken the first step toward world peace!”
She added, for some reason.
‘How much is this even…’
Aibel’s hands trembled as she held the warm pouch of silver coins to her chest.
‘Should I just keep it? I mean, I did earn it…’
It was more than enough to sweep through the market district with Sana in tow.
A once-in-a-lifetime chance to finally fulfill her fantasy of saying “I’ll take everything from here to here!”
‘Get a grip, Aibel Delafion.’
But the sweet fantasy didn’t last long.
SMACK!
Two small hands slapped her squishy cheeks hard.
She couldn’t lose the big picture over a few shiny coins.
A normal noble kid wouldn’t have hung around the river for days like this.
‘Why did I go through all this trouble?’
Everything—everything—was to salvage the terrible first impression she made on the First Prince!
“…Ugh.”
Swallowing her rising tears, Aibel headed toward the market.
With all the extra explaining at the guard post, the sun was already nearing its peak.
“Th-this one, please.”
“You again? These items are a bit pricey. Why don’t you come back with your mom next time?”
“No, I-I have money. Sniff. I really do.”
Both the girl handing over the coins and the shopkeeper receiving them had trembling eyes.
When she finally handed over her last silver coin, a tear slipped down Aibel’s cheek.
“Do you do gift wrapping?”
“Uh… We don’t usually offer that kind of service—”
“Sniff… Really? Not even a little?”
“…Well, I suppose we could make an exception.”
The famously strict shopkeeper gave her special treatment, but the pink-haired girl didn’t seem all that happy.
“Y-you didn’t sell a family heirloom or anything… right?”
Aibel shook her small head side to side.
The shopkeeper let out a long sigh of relief.
The path to the royal palace wasn’t hard to find.
It stood out as the largest building in the capital, easily visible from a distance.
So Aibel had no trouble making her way there without her father.
“Ugh…”
The issue wasn’t directions—it was stamina.
Her body, worn out from moving nonstop since dawn, was beginning to melt.
“I should’ve saved a few coins for a carriage…”
Even her muscle-bound dad rode a horse to the palace for a reason.
Aibel clenched and unclenched her trembling hands as she forced herself to keep walking.
“Ugh, this stupid expensive thing…”
The green ribbon-wrapped box in her arms cost enough to haunt her even with her eyes closed.
The entire bounty had vanished without leaving even a fairy tale behind.
But that just meant it was that valuable of a gift.
‘The king can’t even do anything helpful for his own people…’
She stomped her feet, biting back her hundredth insult of the day.
Her plan to slowly grow closer to the First Prince remained the same, but the king had certainly made the journey bumpier.
“Does he think he owns the whole country or something…”
By the time she reached the palace gates, her adorable face looked like it had been mashed like clay.
“Excuse me, sir.”
But her expression instantly turned harmless and innocent the moment she spotted a gatekeeper.
“Hm? What brings you here, little one? This is the royal palace where His Majesty resides.”
“I know! My dad works here.”
“Your dad?”
“Yes! He’s at work, and I just… really, really missed him.”
Spinning a smooth lie, Aibel blinked her lashes pitifully.
Just thinking about the silver she spent brought tears to her eyes.
“What’s your father’s name?”
“Dain Delafion.”
“Ah, him…”
The gatekeeper’s reaction to the name wasn’t bad at all.
‘Looks like Dad’s got a decent reputation around here!’
With a much gentler smile, the guard asked, “How old are you this year?”
“I just turned ten!”
If a child had noble blood and their identity could be verified, entering the palace wasn’t too difficult.
Older children sometimes entered certain parts of the palace without a guardian.
And the royal family wasn’t strict about stopping them—probably thanks to the kingdom’s weak monarchy.
“Well, go on in.”
“Thank you!”
The grand doors opened slightly.
“Stay right here, okay? I’ll ask someone to escort you to Sir Delafion when they come by…”
“It’s okay!”
“Wait, really?”
“Yup! I know where he is. I’ve been here before.”
“Are you sure you can get there on your own?”
“Of course. Thank you for your concern.”
“Ah, right… sure…”
The guard, flustered by her confident tone, simply nodded.
“If you get lost, ask someone in the same uniform as me, okay? Promise!”
A concerned voice followed the small squirrel-like figure as it scurried away.
Aibel didn’t even look back, just waved her hand dismissively.
‘That won’t be necessary.’
She didn’t plan to run into anyone else today.
She had to meet the First Prince secretly, without attracting attention.
The path to the detached palace wasn’t hard.
Aibel had taken care to avoid detection, slowing her down a bit, but she made it to the familiar garden without encountering a single soul.
Part of it was her effort—but the deeper she got into the side palace, the fewer people there were.
‘Just like last time.’
It was supposed to be where the prince stayed, yet it was strangely deserted.
‘They just left him like this? Heartless.’
Just remembering the harsh slap made her skin crawl.
‘It’s okay. I’m stronger than him.’
Patting her arms for encouragement, Aibel continued forward.
The overgrown trees stretched every which way, untrimmed and wild.
And beneath them—jet-black hair came into view.
‘What’s he doing, sunbathing?’
Flick, flick.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, creating a dappled glow.
Leaning against the massive tree, the prince rapidly turned the pages of a book thicker than her arm.
Despite how strange the sight was, it somehow felt… peaceful.
‘A little sun is good for mental health.’
No point hesitating now that she’d found her target.
Dragging her scuffed boots, Aibel marched forward.
Ten steps.
Six steps.
“If you leave books out in the sun, they’ll discolor.”
Three steps.
“Good afternoon, Your Highness.”
The prince slowly turned his head sideways, his chin previously angled downward.
