Chapter 6
After a brutal three-minute struggle, Kinemia finally choked out, "Um, you know..."
"So, I was messing around with clay with my tutor the other day, and it hit me, I want to make some slime."
"Slime?"
"Like, a monster slime?"
The vassals all started whispering, wondering what this sudden slime talk was about.
"Nah, not a monster. It's more like..." Kinemia held up her hands and mimed squishing something. "It's kind of like pudding, and when you touch it, it's all squishy and jiggly and stuff... it just looks fun."
"Oh, you mean like a toy?"
"Yeah, yeah. Something like that..."
Just as she was trying to figure out what to say next, Count Dennis started clapping.
"Excellent!"
Clap, clap, clap. Then everyone else started clapping too; it spread like wildfire.
Watching this, Ayan whispered again, "Is she nuts?"
"No."
Kinemia smiled and raised her hand. The applause stopped.
"My tutor told me that to make something like that, we might need to use, like, monster parts."
"Huh."
The vassals were all ears, as if they'd never heard anything like it before. Which was obvious because she'd just made it up.
"And it seems like it could be a good seller, too. So, I figured, why not give making slime a shot?"
"Say what?"
"So, get them for me. Those flappy things. The craftsmen know what I'm talking about."
'Perfect excuse,' Kinemia thought, smiling contentedly.
'While I'm making slime out of the monsters, I can just say I whipped up a sword, too!'
The vassals totally bought the excuse, and they all jumped up.
"That's brilliant... amazing! Our Grand Duchess is the queen of slime!"
"Huh...?"
"The queen!"
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap! Loud applause echoed through the conference room again.
Ayan shook his head, as if to say, 'I told you she was nuts.'
Kinemia couldn't even argue and just hung her head.
Having set her goal, Kinemia decided to go find Behemoth herself.
"Nanny! Get me ready to go out!"
Nanny Vanessa dressed Kinemia in the most low-key clothes she could find and covered her face with a bonnet.
The same went for Ayan, who was going with her as a guard. They both had faces that stood out, so there was no helping it.
The carriage was also small and plain, totally incognito. They used it whenever they needed to sneak out.
"To Palmer's Burnt Crossroads, please."
Kinemia, riding in the carriage with Ayan, addressed the coachman.
"Whoa, miss. That's way out in the sticks. And there are some sketchy alleys there."
"Yeah, I know."
Because that's where she was going.
"It's okay, just go."
But the coachman was still freaking out and didn't want to go until he looked into Ayan's dark eyes. Then he just nodded.
He'd heard all the gossip around the Grand Ducal Estate.
"Is that little kid that amazing?"
The coachman had asked about it once, and a servant had gone on and on about how Ayan had only caught Ricasha because Ricasha had fainted, and that it would take the whole Grand Ducal Estate's knight squad to catch Ricasha otherwise.
"‘Sheesh, keeping a monster like that around. That's our young lady for ya,’" the coachman thought.
The coachman smiled contentedly and began to pull the reins.
As the carriage moved, Kinemia leaned back against the soft cushion.
After driving for about three hours straight, the carriage suddenly slowed.
"What day is it today? Why are there so many people?"
Kinemia, getting out of the carriage, asked, looking at the street.
"It's market day today, miss, but weren't you here to see the market?"
"Oh... yeah, that's right."
It was easier to just go along with it. Kinemia mumbled something, and the coachman grinned.
"Alright, miss. I'll park the carriage and wait here, so you be careful out there."
"Uh-huh."
Kinemia waved her hand. The coachman bowed deeply, offered his farewell, and then climbed back onto the carriage.
'Where should I go?'
Right in the middle of all the hustle and bustle, Kinemia stood next to Ayan, looking around.
'It might be tough to find him with all these people around.'
With a groan, Kinemia took a step, and Ayan followed.
"Where are we going, miss? What are you looking for?"
Kinemia said, struggling to get through the crowd.
"I'm looking for a frog-shaped sign. I'm going there."
"A frog?"
"Uh-huh."
Man, it's packed.
The merchants were yelling, trying to get people to buy their stuff, and the crowd was inching along, checking everything out.
Kinemia squeezed through the people on either side, pushing her way through again and again.
'He's still behind me, right? We're going to get separated for sure.'
"Ayan, it's crazy crowded, don't lose me..."
Kinemia turned around to speak, then stopped dead in her tracks.
"Huh?"
She stood there, all alone, like a rock in the middle of a stream, with people flowing past on either side.
He was gone. The black hair, the black eyes that were always right behind her. Ayan, who you'd think would stick out.
"Ayan?"
She got the chills. No way. Maybe he's just not in sight, Kinemia thought, turning her head.
"Ayan!"
She yelled a little louder. But no matter where she looked, it was just a sea of strange faces.
'Why?'
Kinemia looked around frantically again.
Gone?
He's gone?
Did he get pushed away by the crowd?
So she had to go back. Just as Kinemia had that thought and was about to turn around,
Someone grabbed her arm.
"There you are!"
Huh?
The guy who grabbed Kinemia, who was totally freaked out, was some strange dude. Short, with a squashed-up nose, and he was grinning.
"Come on, Mom's calling us."
Kinemia's eyes went wide, and she started shaking.
Normally, she wouldn't have been looking around like a lost kid. She was just so thrown by the whole thing.
She felt stupid for letting this guy figure out she was alone.
"What are you doing! Let go of me!"
Kinemia shouted loudly.
She had to make a scene and get someone's attention before this guy dragged her off.
Just as she thought, when she yelled, people walking by and the stall owners started buzzing.
"Who are you! I said let go!"
Kinemia twisted around as hard as she could and yelled even louder.
Everyone was staring daggers at him, so the guy clicked his tongue, put on a fake smile, and tried to play it cool.
"Hey, hey, it's not what it looks like! This is my daughter. She's a runner, so I had to come get her. She's having a rough day, I guess."
Daughter? Daughter? Kinemia was fighting him, and she was getting pissed.
"Why am I your daughter! My dad isn't ugly like you!"
The guy's face twisted up when she called him ugly.
His ugly face got all scrunched up, and Kinemia got even madder.
