104.
“We've been pushing hard on the road all this time, so how about we rest well today and set out tomorrow?”
All of a sudden, Prien glanced out the window and asked.
It so happened that today was also the last day of the Festival Week.
Surely, the roads all the way to the capital would be bustling with festivities on a grand scale as well.
Of course, the city we were staying in seemed to be no different.
The sound of firecrackers, which had quieted down for a moment, came from outside again as if they had been waiting for this chance.
Each time, faint cheers shouted by people were mixed in.
When I turned my gaze to the window, brightly scattering fireworks could be seen here and there between the buildings.
Come to think of it, I had never truly enjoyed such an authentic festive atmosphere even once.
“Then shall we go out for a bit after our meal?”
Prien's lips curved into an arc as he saw my expression perk up with interest.
“That's a fine idea.”
“Oh, then what about the others?”
Everyone seemed to have no objections.
As if it were only natural for the thread to follow where the needle went.
Having finished our meal, we naturally joined the crowd of people heading out to enjoy the festival and quickened our steps.
As if trying to use this opportunity to drive out the gloomy atmosphere that had lingered since the war ended, the streets were filled from end to end with boisterous clamor.
Stores of every kind had set up stalls out on the streets, and the sounds of hawking mixed with the laughter of people coming and going, filling the thoroughfare.
Above our heads, firecrackers burst from time to time with loud cracks; on one side of the street, there were people showing off their tricks, the applause and cheers of onlookers gathered to watch them, and even musicians marching down the road while playing their instruments…….
There was so much to see coming from every direction that my head practically swam.
We had come here because there was something we had to do, but in this very moment, it truly felt as though we were on a trip.
Zaka, having spotted a suitable shop past the alleyway, stepped away for a moment to buy provisions for the next few days,
and right after, the duke had also moved away for a moment with a subordinate who had managed to find him.
“Baron, watch yourself.”
I had let my guard down and was nearly swept away by the crowd in an instant, but Prien grabbed me and pulled me to safety.
“Are you all right?”
“Ah, I'm fine.”
Then, an enterprising voice wedged itself between the two of us.
“Why, you two are truly a match made in heaven! I find myself envious, but how about taking this opportunity to gift each other a little souvenir?”
The hawker opened the box strapped to his shoulder and began his pitch without giving us a moment to respond.
“When you speak of northern specialties, isn't the Battil tree the first thing that comes to mind? It has a wonderful fragrance and is sturdy, so it's often used for high-quality furniture, but look here—do you see this? Even its flowers and fruits are this beautiful!”
What the hawker held out was a wooden carving smaller than the palm of a hand, meant to be placed on a shelf or similar surface.
A subtle fragrance emanated from it, but I couldn't be certain if this was actually the scent of the Battil tree.
“So then, is this an accessory made from Battil wood?”
At my question, the hawker stamped his foot like a petulant child and raised his voice.
“Ah, customer! If you carve something like this from Battil wood, the price becomes so high it loses nearly all value as a souvenir! But, look! This was carved from wood every bit as fine as Battil, yet the price—do you see? It's practically one-tenth the price…….”
“Excuse us.”
Prien gently pushed my shoulder—almost as if I were entranced by the hawker's words—and led me past him.
“Customer! It captures the local character and doubles as room decor; there's no better gift for a lover…….”
The hawker was throwing his final words at our backs, but I felt a firm resolve in Prien's hand gripping my shoulder.
Then Prien turned to look at me, his smiling face brimming with mischief.
“If I had stayed quiet, you looked ready to pull out your coin purse.”
“Well, I thought the price didn't seem that high, and who knows when we'll come up north again…….”
“They carve those from wood that's abundant in the back hills, then douse them with cheap fragrance. For what it is, the price is steep.”
“…….”
When I fell silent, Prien laughed softly.
“However, if the Baron wished to gift something to me, I would be happy with anything.”
“…….”
“Is there nothing else you want besides that? If you tell me, I shall buy it for you.”
“Then that.”
Prien turned to see what I was pointing at—almost as if I had been waiting for exactly that—and let out a sigh mixed with a laugh, rubbing his cheek.
“Street food is…….”
“Bad for your health?”
When I quickly jumped in first, Prien slightly raised the corners of his pressed-together lips and amended his words.
“But I suppose a little wouldn't be so bad.”
What Prien bought was food made of seasoned chicken topped with cheese, wrapped in a thin bread-like skin along with vegetables.
Holding them in our hands side by side and eating, we stopped in front of performers showing off their tricks.
“Is it good?”
“Yes, it's a bit spicy and delicious.”
Each time the dangerous tricks succeeded, exclamations burst out from the surrounding crowd.
I clapped along enthusiastically and asked Prien, who was standing beside me, with an enthralled expression.
For some reason, he didn't seem particularly impressed.
“Can you do those things too, my dear?”
“Well, I've never tried before……. But I don't suppose I would be unable to do them.”
Just then, Zaka, who had returned after ordering provisions, pushed through the crowd and approached us.
“Why are you standing around tiring your legs watching this stuff?”
At Zaka's offhand voice, the people who had been watching the tricks with rapt interest turned to glance this way with slightly deflated expressions.
I quickly grabbed Zaka's hand and lowered my voice.
“Everyone's enjoying watching, so why would you say something like that?”
“I was just stating the facts.”
I pulled Zaka out from the crowd of onlookers.
“But what is that you're holding?”
Zaka looked at the food Prien and I were holding side by side and asked.
“Ah, this is delicious. Want a bite too?”
“Then just one bite.”
I had been about to buy a new one but hesitated, then tore off a piece from the one I was holding.
“Is this enough?”
“Yes.”
I popped it into Zaka's mouth and grinned.
“Good, right?”
“It is.”
I too took a large bite and was happily munching away when, suddenly, I felt a strange chill run down my spine.
The moment I turned around, Prien snatched the arm of a boy who looked to be in his teens.
In the boy's hand was my coin purse.
“My coin purse!”
The moment I safely got my coin purse back, the boy twisted his own wrist free from Prien's grip and fled into the crowd in an instant.
Prien stared in the direction the boy had disappeared, his brows faintly furrowed.
“He seems to be a professional pickpocket.”
“I nearly lost all of our travel funds.”
As I let out a sigh of relief, I saw an unfamiliar coin purse in Zaka's hand.
“What is that?”
“The pickpocket's coin purse.”
“What?”
“I found it admirable that he had the courage to pick pockets right under my nose.”
“……You mean you picked the pickpocket's pocket in return?”
“Something like that.”
Tossing the coin purse lightly into the air and catching it, Zaka shrugged.
At that brazenly calm answer, my mouth fell wide open.
While I immediately nagged Zaka to go return the coin purse to the nearby security guards, the duke finally returned after finishing his personal business.
“Did something happen?”
“It was a routine report.”
The duke gave a brief shake of his head, as if it were nothing.
“By the way, we’ll arrive tomorrow, so how about we stop with the formal speech? It’s hard for Your Grace too, isn’t it?”
“Are you uncomfortable because I’m a duke?”
“Well, I suppose I am?”
Perhaps because I had answered too honestly, the duke, who had looked rather serious, lifted his head and raised one corner of his mouth.
Beneath the bright lights, a glimmer flickered in the duke’s black eyes.
“I was hoping the baron would take this opportunity to feel a little more at ease with me.”
“Mm, if that’s what you mean, then how about we both just speak casually?”
“…….”
“I don’t know, that just occurred to me. Rather than hearing you speak so politely to me, I think I’d feel more comfortable if I were the one committing a little insubordination?”
Unexpectedly, he answered right away.
“Then shall we?”
“Yeah!”
I was so pleased that I smiled brightly.
Every time I heard him use formal speech with me, I had struggled to keep my expression in check, but it seemed the duke wasn’t all that used to the experience either.
But perhaps we had been standing in one place too long, because a hawker once again slipped in front of us and blocked our way.
“Now! On a day like this, surely you’d like to buy something for your lovely lover…….”
“What is this?”
“Or, or perhaps not!”
The duke, who had sent the hawker fleeing with a single remark, raised one eyebrow.
He seemed displeased that the hawker had simply left in the middle of his pitch.
Surely he hadn’t been interested in whatever the hawker had been trying to sell.
I grinned soundlessly and looked back at the three of them.
“Shall we go look at souvenirs?”
And so we entered a street lined with stalls selling all sorts of things.
“Bind your desired fate with the thread of destiny that will never break for a lifetime! Choose one color you like among the five-colored threads, and get another color for free!”
“Buy fortune candies to divine your luck from this summer until the end of the year! You can even check your romantic fortune!”
“Offer flowers to your beloved and swear your love! From small bouquets to large bundles, the prices are…….”
“Lovers’ wooden dolls! You can make them look like they’re embracing, or like this, sitting back-to-back…….”
“We’ll draw you a picture of you kissing beneath the fireworks on the Holy Festival! However, additional charges apply for every extra increment of work time…….”
The farther in we went, the more every sales pitch seemed to be of that sort, and just as I was wondering about it, a memory suddenly flashed through my mind.
What was it again—the line in the gossip magazine Julie had been reading, about how the night of the final day of the Holy Festival was a time meant solely for lovers.