Woohoo! We're going out!
The next day, I went out with the older maids as planned.
"Wow, the capital is buzzing!"
My head was on a swivel, taking in all the sights and sounds of downtown. A gentle hand softly stroked my hair.
"Huh, running errands to the clothing store. Good for you."
"You're doing great. It's nice to have a newbie who gets it."
"Are you sure it's okay to buy so many clothes for me and Theo?"
I asked a bit worriedly, recalling the order list from the clothing store we had just visited.
"We can't ignore the Duke's orders."
Maids Kate and Aisha smiled meaningfully and stood beside me.
Well, Dad is rich, and clothes from a rich dad are good.
'I hope he buys me lots and lots of socks and shoes too!'
Then I could call him Dad 100 times a day instead of just 3!
Thinking that, I kept walking, excited to see more of downtown.
The downtown area was really bustling. I was very excited, but still calmly looked around.
Because I was on a mission!
‘I’m going to find the building with the blue window frames!’
I held Theo’s small hand even tighter.
Baby Theo was looking around, absorbing everything with sparkling eyes.
Theo wasn’t one to show much expression, but I could tell he was very excited right now.
Cute, my little brother.
“Um, can we go this way?”
I pointed to a straight road stretching out.
“Going through the alleys is faster, but sure.”
I carefully led the maids along the parade route I had seen and memorized in Dad’s office. Unfortunately, I hadn’t found the building with the blue window frames yet.
“Moo!”
Then, Theo, who'd been quiet, pointed at something and looked at me. I shook my head firmly.
“No, Theo. You already had milk cookies and candy earlier.”
He pouted at my 'no'.
“And big sister is broke now…”
I whispered the last part to him.
Dad gave me some spending money, but it was supposed to be for the errands, so I wasn't sure if I could just spend it.
"I have to wait a bit longer to get my huge allowance... Huh?"
Before I could even figure out what was happening, a butter potato with a savory smell suddenly appeared in front of me. It looked incredible, all covered in melty, yellowish sheep's milk cheese.
“Eat up.”
Aisha, panting, mashed the potato and fed it to Theo, who opened his mouth like a little bird.
When did she even buy this?
"Free snacks are part of the deal at Winterwald, huff."
“Oh! Theo! Good for you!”
Free snacks!
“Grab one too, Lirin. A good maid needs to keep her strength up, you know.”
Hmm, I wish Theo could have two though.
"FYI, I bought like 20 of them."
“Th-then, should I try just oneee?”
Since she's insisting... And that amazing buttery smell is too hard to resist anymore!
“Delicious!”
It was really delicious with melted cheese and pepper sprinkled on top!
‘But why isn’t the blue window building here?’
I chewed on the potato, looking around.
That was the end of the parade route, the potato stand was the last thing. Ahead was just the metasequoia road leading to the Imperial Palace, without any buildings.
‘Did I miss it maybe?’
“But Lirin, what have you been looking around for since earlier?”
Kate, who had been watching me intently, asked.
“Ah, there’s something I’m looking for…”
“Huh? What is it?”
“Actually.”
“I see.”
“Already?”
I only said two words?
“Follow me.”
What is this? Can Kate just read minds without permission?
Theo and I were led away by Kate and Aisha, holding our hands.
Turning right off the parade route, a street lined with small and large shops appeared.
“You wanted to come here, didn’t you? Kids’ thoughts are so obvious.”
Wow.
My eyes were filled with a rainbow of colors.
Kate stopped in front of a children’s world that seemed to have gathered all the dreams and hopes of the world.
The sign read in large letters, "Trixie's Toys".
It was a very famous store in the empire for its moving wooden doll series. The trend had even reached Lepy Village where I was from, so that says it all.
But…
‘I’m not looking for a toy store.’
Just as I was about to shake my head, feeling kind of bummed, something familiar suddenly caught my eye.
‘Huh?’
My slumped shoulders straightened up.
‘Huh? Huh? Huh?’
Found it!
‘Blue window!’
Right next to the toy store!
The building, which seemed to have been used as an inn and restaurant, even had the old sign with the name almost erased, just like in my dream.
‘But why is this building not on the parade route?’
It was strange.
Elisa was supposed to be caught in a collapsing building while moving along a predetermined route.
But this place was quite far from that parade route!
‘It’s not like Elisa’s carriage will suddenly teleport here…’
I blinked slowly and suddenly realized.
‘Carriage!’
What if her carriage went out of control again? Like when we first met!
When I first met Elisa, the carriage she was riding in was rushing towards me for some reason.
Using that, I had used a clever trick to safely enter the Duke’s residence. But looking back, it was an accident with many questionable points.
‘The cause was unknown, so the coachman and a few servants were placed on probation, and the horse was sold, they said.’
Could it be that someone deliberately targeted Elisa?
‘Not an accident, but an incident?’
What to do. I want to take out my magnifying glass. Desperately.
I feel like a detective facing a crime scene right now.
‘But who on earth?’
Besides, there was no evidence that the first accident was also intentional.
It’s just my gut feeling.
“Hmm, my guess was right. Aisha, tell the head maid.”
Kate said, sensing my gaze fixedly staring ahead.
“I’ll be back after market research.”
“Okay.”
“Yes? What research?”
Kate took Theo’s and my hands, one in each of hers, and marched forward like a general.
"I know your heart. Checking out what toys are popular in the capital is also one of the important tasks."
“No, I saw the building next door…”
“No excuses. What are you going to do looking at a building scheduled for demolition?”
Turning to the side, Theo was already totally mesmerized by the toy store, unable to even blink.
Kate chuckled.
"You're already hooked. Let's go. Time flies in that toy store - you think you've been in there a minute, and it's been an hour."
“Woooooow!”
Theo Valt, this is the first time I’ve ever seen you stomp your feet.
Of course, I wasn’t in the mood to play right now, so I gently pulled back on Kate’s hand, which was pulling me forward.
“Ah, I don’t really want to go! I’m busy! I’m swamped! Can’t we just go back to the mansion?”
3 hours later.
“Hoo…”
I came out of the toy store with a bashful face.
‘Really, this was unavoidable.’
My hands, heading back to the mansion, were embarrassingly heavy.
‘No, I couldn’t refuse when they offered to buy them for me.’
I just nodded.
I just wiggled my fingers a few times.
So, this was really, really unavoidable. Really.
…Hehe.
As soon as I returned to the mansion, I carefully put down the toy bags and ran straight to the stables.
‘The carriages and stable horses are all fine.’
Until the next day, I hung around the stable hands, asking them various questions.
Since Elisa’s carriage had gone out of control before, everyone in charge of the carriages, including the stable keeper, were checking the carriages like their lives depended on it.
In conclusion, there seemed to be absolutely nothing that could cause a problem.
‘Does that mean it was someone on purpose after all?’
I wondered if I could get more hints in my dreams, but dreams that show the future as I want them to didn’t just appear.
Above all, my guess was just a guess, and there was really no evidence.
So, I couldn’t take unreasonable risks to catch a culprit who might not even exist. Finding a needle in a haystack is only possible if you are sure you dropped the needle.
‘Maybe I was thinking too much.’
And considering the situation where impromptu dungeons occur, it was also possible that the horse was startled by a suddenly appearing monster and went out of control.
In the end, I decided to focus on what I had to do now, rather than being trapped in uncertain speculation.
‘What I have to do hasn’t changed!’
And that is to prevent Elisa from being caught in the collapsing building.
‘I’ve found the place with the blue window, so now I need to find a protective magic tool in the mansion!’
Alright!
“Then, let’s eat!”
“Yeah. I was wondering when you were going to say that.”
My eyes widened at the familiar nagging.
