After Killian’s attack, Siegfried seemed to focus solely on recovering his body. Thanks to that, I hadn’t seen him in over two weeks.
By the way, I still had no idea when Killian planned on getting himself caught. Because of the assigned escorts, I had to give up my nightly outings. In this quiet countryside estate, the only things that brought me some joy were playing cards or drinking contests with the tavern keeper’s wife.
Without even the chance to admire Siegfried’s good looks from afar, I was stuck at home, bored out of my mind.
In the meantime, the time for the annual summer festival held in Elifritz was drawing near. For the past two days, the maids had been dancing as they worked.
“Yay, festival time!”
“It’s the festival!”
“Oh my, milady!”
While shouting “festival” along with the gossiping maids cleaning the hallway, one of them suddenly noticed me and panicked. I hadn’t planned on scolding them for slacking off or anything.
“I-I’m working hard, really!”
“Me too! Look how shiny the windows are!”
The maids looked up at me with puppy-dog eyes, clearly wanting praise. I laughed and patted each of their heads.
“Good job. You’re coming with me tonight, okay?”
“Yay! We even prepared a dress for you that screams ‘definitely a commoner’!”
“As expected of my maids. Drinks are on me tonight.”
“Kyaa! You’re the best, milady!”
The maids gave me enthusiastic thumbs up.
We were happily chatting away when Milliard came up the stairs, seemingly just back from a trip out.
“Ugh, I told you not to hang out with lowborns.”
Milliard was the youngest of the Elifritz siblings, the same age as Siegfried.
“You’re back early. Judging by your face, lost again?”
I clicked my tongue as I looked at him. Milliard had a bit of a gambling habit.
“Today’s loss is tomorrow’s victory…”
“Keep it up and I’ll tell Abishion.”
“Please, not that.”
“Then take back what you said about my maids being lowborns.”
“Fine, just keep this between us. Also, can I borrow some money?”
“Nope. I’m broke.”
I turned my head coldly. He really needed to know his limits.
“Festival?”
What, was today cursed or something? More members of the household began gathering in the hallway. This time, Siegfried and Abishion showed up.
“Yes, Your Highness. In Elifritz, there’s a festival held every year before the siren hunt. The idea is to eat, drink, and stock up on strength.”
Abishion smiled with his pink eyes. To be precise, the eating and drinking was for the commoners — the actual siren hunting was left to us.
“I see. I’ve heard of it before.”
Siegfried nodded slightly. His gaze turned to the village beyond the mansion window.
“Would you like to join us?”
He seemed oddly interested, so I stepped closer and asked.
It had been two weeks since I’d last seen Siegfried. He looked like he’d finally recovered, his complexion healthy. Even the arm visible through his half-rolled sleeve looked clean. The poison seemed to be completely gone.
“No. I can’t stand noise.”
His answer was a firm refusal. Well, I expected that. It was hard to imagine him buying candy with that stoic face of his anyway.
“Then I guess we’ll go without you. Are you coming, Abishion?”
“I’ve got a pile of work to catch up on.”
With both of the estate’s top two handsome men declining, the maids visibly drooped. Unacceptable.
“I’ll go fetch some handsome guys myself.”
“Ariel, you do remember you’re a count’s daughter, right?”
Milliard shook his head at me, lecturing again. So what? It’s not like I’m a noble from the capital. I just grinned.
“Says the guy who lost all his money.”
“Oh, come on!”
Milliard stomped off. He must’ve noticed the sharp glint in Abishion’s eye.
“Say something to him. A kid his age already hooked on gambling…”
Hands on my hips, I shook my head. Abishion sighed.
“Guess I’ll have to cut his allowance again. Ariel, don’t forget to take your escort.”
“What? Ugh, no thanks.”
How was I supposed to have fun if I was followed around by knights in full uniform? Even in old clothes, everyone would still recognize me.
“Even if you hate it, take them. Killian still hasn’t been caught.”
With Siegfried weighing in, I had no choice but to relent. I let my shoulders drop.
“I seriously don’t need an escort. You know that, right? I’m the one who saved you the first time we met.”
“You need one. And…”
Siegfried hesitated, opening and closing his mouth. What was he trying to say? I looked at him curiously. He locked eyes with me.
Even with that intense gaze, I couldn’t read his mind at all. I tilted my head.
“And?”
“…Never mind. It’s nothing.”
“Oh, is that your catchphrase now? ‘Never mind. It’s nothing.’”
I mimicked his emotionless face. The maids burst into laughter. Siegfried’s ears turned pink, and his brow furrowed.
“Don’t imitate me.”
“Don’t imitay me~”
“I didn’t sound like that.”
I’d even tried matching his tone, but it wasn’t getting the laughs I wanted. Guess I should stop. I shrugged and returned to the maids.
“Anyway, we should get going soon. Looks like a perfect time.”
“Be careful,” Abishion said in a warning tone. I winked back and returned to my room.
The streets were lined with makeshift stalls covered in colorful tents. The maids squealed and ran around with armfuls of food.
But I couldn’t enjoy the festival properly, stuck between two bulky escort knights. I’d gone through the trouble of dressing like a commoner, only to be flanked by two bear-sized men. Everyone just avoided me.
Isn’t the whole point of a festival to get swept up in the crowd? But whenever I got close, people split away like the Red Sea.
After a few failed attempts, I grabbed some sweet treats and sat alone on a distant bench. I handed the maids some pocket money and told them to enjoy themselves at least.
“Lady Ariel, are you bored?”
“What do you think?”
I grumbled at the knight. He and his partner were the only ones I could vent to. I teased them by pretending to offer sweets and then snatching them away.
Their gloomy expressions made me laugh, but soon even that got boring. Wasn’t there a way to ditch these guys? I wanted to have fun too.
After a bit of thought, I came up with a brilliant plan.
“I’m going to the bathroom.”
“We’ll come with you.”
“You’re going to follow me to the bathroom? I mean, it’s just behind those trees…”
“G-go ahead!”
As expected. Can’t believe I only just thought of this now.
“Keep a good watch.”
I slipped behind the trees, planning to disappear into the crowd.
If they gave me grief later, I’d just say, “Girls can take a while in the bathroom, what’s the big deal?”
Crouching in the bushes with sweets in hand, I giggled.
Soon, the knights started chatting amongst themselves. That was my cue. Staying low, I slowly crept through the bushes.
Even when there was a rustle, the bathroom excuse was so strong they didn’t dare look this way.
After emerging, it was easy to blend into the crowd. I stood on tiptoe, scanning for the maids.
That’s when it happened. Two men in pitch-black clothes passed by carrying large sacks. One of them bumped into me, causing my treats to fall.
Naturally, my eyes followed them. I still had half of those!
Lately, it felt like more and more people were bumping into me. With Siegfried, I let it slide, but these guys? No way.
“Hey, you—wait a sec, can’t you hear me?”
I called out, but I was too far from the knights for them to hear.
My voice was drowned out by the noise. I chased after the men, at least wanting an apology.
Unlike me, who was being jostled around, they moved easily through the crowd. Probably because people made way for those heavy-looking sacks. Ugh. That just made me more determined to catch them.
As I finally closed the gap, I noticed something odd. Their outfits didn’t fit in at all. Everyone else was in bright, colorful clothes, but these two were dressed in solid black. It was like they were trying to look suspicious.
…But why was no one else noticing? Was it just me?
I glanced around, but no one seemed concerned.
During festivals, people often carry big sacks of potatoes or flour, so nothing seemed off at a glance.
Except their clothes. That all-black getup screamed, “Hey, I’m a bad guy.”
Well, they already ruined my sweets, so they were bad enough in my book.
They left the main street and headed into a forest lined with storage sheds. I opened my mouth to shout something after them — and froze.
“Wait, is that…?”
Even in the twilight, I could clearly see strands of black hair sticking out of one of the sacks.
No way. Are those guys professional kidnappers?!
