My handmaiden, Bessie, came to me and Leonard, who were in sword class, holding a letter envelope with a bright face.
“Young Master, Young Lady, a letter addressed for you two has arrived.”
Leonard and I responded briefly with an ‘ahh’ at the same time. Neither of them had any expectations.
That’s right, I don’t have to see to know who the sender is.
“Give it to me.”
I took the envelope from Bessie and opened it on the spot. In fact, I could guess what the content would be, so I wasn’t very curious.
=====
Dear Leonard Peresca, Helena Peresca.
I’m going next month.
Keep my room clean.
And change the curtains, too. It’s so tacky.
From Caesar W. Gray
=====
It is a letter with no common greetings other than business. It’s always been like that.
By the way, since when did the guest room become ‘your room’, you bastard.
“It’s summer again.”
Leonard, who stood next to me and read the letter together, muttered in a faint voice.
I know. It’s summer.
His letter is like a notice that tells us that summer is approaching.
It had been three years since the summer I first met Caesar.
The fourth summer to spend with him was approaching.
***
“Oh, dear, is the princess teacher here?”
Upon entering the regular weapons store, the owner smiled amiably.
In this neighborhood, I am called ‘the princess teacher’. It was the nickname given to me, his mentor, after Leonard had won several regional competitions.
“Actually, the retainer of the Pharell family visited yesterday. He wished to see Princess Teacher.”
“The Pharell family?”
If it’s Pharell, last year he said to me, “What kind of teacher a 12-year-old could be?” Then he mocked me, saying, “She’ll probably just play house.”
“He was looking for a swordsmanship teacher for the young master.”
“I see. But I’m not a person who is free enough to bring a blind man into my discipleship.”
“Oh, dear. Should I pass that on to him?”
“No. Please add, ‘just quit practicing swordsmanship and go play house.’”
The owner burst into laughter at my words.
“By the way, are the items I ordered ready?”
“Aih, look at my mind. Here you are. Check it out.”
At my urging, the owner pulled out two wooden boxes from inside the store.
“This belongs to the young lord, and this belongs to the princess.”
[T/N: Bessie calls Leonard with 도련님 and the closest equivalent to that is ‘young master’, which proves his status as the next owner or master of the family, while the shop owner calls him 공자님, a title to call a noble’s son. Can also be translated as ‘young master’ but I just want to make a difference here]
When I opened my box, I saw two identical swords intertwined.
I took one of them out and swung it in the air as a test.
“It came out better than I expected.”
“Don’t say that. There were so many complaints in the forge that the length of the sword was ambiguous.”
“Thank you for doing such a difficult job. Afterwards, use this to have dinner with the blacksmith.”
I took some gold coins from my pocket and placed them on the counter. The owner welcomed and took the gold coins.
“Hoho, this is why I like Princess Teacher.”
“I know, money is the best. Could you please move my things to the carriage?”
“Oh, dear, of course. How could I make Princess Teacher lift something so heavy?”
The owner was excited and picked up the box. I took out one of the swords and hung it on my belt.
It is short and light, enough to be seen as a dress decoration.
“Yes, it’s perfect.”
It can be used for self-defense. I really like it.
I felt better for the first time in a long time and left the store humming.
Standing on one side of the store, I waited for the weapon store owner and Bessie to load the carriage.
It was then that a blue-haired girl appeared.
“Eit!”
“…?!”
A girl jumped out of nowhere, hit my body hard and ran away. If I hadn’t quickly balanced myself, I would have collapsed under the momentum.
“Oh, my lady! Are you alright?!”
Bessie panicked and ran to me.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“How can there be such a rude girl!”
“Oh… Wait a minute.”
At that moment, I got a hunch.
I just had a hunch about why the girl ran into me.
I hurriedly checked my coat pocket. And I admired my gut feeling that fit perfectly.
“… It’s gone.”
“Pardon?!”
That girl is a pickpocket.
Yes, sure, I know it well. It’s something I’ve done a lot in the past.
But when I actually get attacked, I get pretty pissed off, all right?
“Oh my gosh! Shall we report it to the police?”
“No, it’s okay. What can she do with a few pennies?”
They are children who will starve to death if they don’t make a living. You don’t have to report it to the police and make it rough.
As I said it as if it wasn’t a big deal, Bessie looked at me like she was proud.
“My lady is magnanimous.”
“Mhm. Well, I’ll go look for it.”
“You’ll go look for— What?”
“I’ll be right back. Bessie, wait here.”
“Oh my gosh, my lady! No! Do you know how nasty those kids are!”
Bessie, you don’t know, but I’m from those nasty kids. No matter how nasty they are, to me right now, they’re just chicks.
“It’s okay. Pray there will be no casualties, Bessie.”
It was meant as a joke, but Bessie’s face turned pale.
I guess I’m not good at jokes.
***
It is a palm-sized rural village.
Moreover, it is obvious that it is a place where vagrants gather. I took a leisurely step toward the shantytown outside the city.
When I went up to the roof of a building and looked around, I saw a bunch of kids with scruffy faces gathered.
So, here’s the question.
What should a pickpocket do after stealing money?
“Hey, is this all of it? You said you robbed a noble’s pocket. You must’ve taken some, right?”
“No, I didn’t. This is all of it!”
“And if I find you’re hiding a single penny, should I kill you?”
Correct.
Paying a price to their senior vagrants.
Wow, it brings back memories. There was a time when I was like that too.
The fluffy haired girl who stole my purse, surrounded by big boys, was not discouraged at all.
“I am a Burns! I don’t do things like making money secretly!”
“Pah-ha! What is this guy saying?! Then, did you get this money by begging?”
“That’s, that’s… aristocrats have a lot of money, so I just borrow some! Do you think I’ll rip others’ pockets like you guys?”
Wow, that’s a miracle logic.
‘By the way, Burns? Is she talking about Count Burns?’
I had memorized the list of major aristocrats.
Burns was a pretty prestigious family. But I hadn’t heard that the family had a young daughter.
‘Is it an illegitimate child?’
Come to think of it, it seems that the count also had dark blue hair.
“What did you say? If we didn’t pick you up, you’d have dried up outside the village!”
“T-that’s why I’m paying you back for everything like this, right?”
“Ah, so noisy. Hey, why don’t we just discipline the newcomers?”
At the words of the oldest-looking boy, the other kids standing around began to trample and beat the girl as if they had been waiting.
The so-called discipline. I’ve been beaten before, too.
Mhmm, such a girl in difficulty only makes bad memories come to mind.
‘Well, I just need to find my money.’
I jumped off the roof and landed silently behind the guy who seemed to be the captain.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
“What is it? …Whoa!”
Tuk.
I used my sword to lift my wallet that the captain had in his hand. Then, I quickly snatched the wallet that floated in the air.
The eyes of the vagrant whose wallet had been taken away widened.
“Y-y-you! Who are you?!”
“Me? The wallet owner.”
I hung the sword over my shoulder and kindly informed them of my identity.
At my words, the vagrant chief’s face went red and furious.
“What’s with this madman? This idiot— Gwaaakh! My foot!”
I stomped on his foot hard with the heel of my shoe. The guy, who was wearing worn-out cloth shoes, began to cry and roll on the floor.
“Guys, watch what you say. I’m your senior.”
I smiled and kindly advised.
“If you’re going to do it, will you just go all at once? Because it’s annoying.”
“U-uoooh! You’re crazy!”
“The captain has been beaten! Run away!”
Huh? Running away just because I stepped on the captain’s foot once?
Why are vagrant boys so impatient these days? I wasn’t like that when I was young. Tsk tsk.
“Well, not anyone has my ambitious spirit.”
Everyone ran away and vacated the lot.
I smiled bitterly as I looked at the girl standing with stones in both hands.
Looking at it, the girl was taller than me. But she was so skinny that she looked smaller than me.
“Uhh, t-t-that wallet is mine! Give it back!”
“Why is this yours? Isn’t it mine?”
“If I stole it, it’s mine now!”
Unbelievable. I don’t have the confidence to win because I can’t even communicate.
But I like that spirit. There is nothing scary about children who have no place to retreat to.
“Okay, then let’s do this. If you can hit me, I’ll give you all this money.”
“A-Are you serious?”
“Instead, if you declare surrender, from then on you are my servant. What do you think?”
As soon as the words fell, the girl’s eyes changed chillingly.
‘Yes, you have to step up like that.’
“Uwaaaakh!”
The girl immediately ran at me, throwing her stones at me.
I dodged the girl’s attack. I even threw the wallet in the air and caught it again, as if teasing the girl.
“Ah, the wallet!”
“Where are you looking? Concentrate.”
“Ouch!”
The moment the girl stretched out her arm in the air, I slapped her on the forearm with my scabbard.
“T-this!”
“What ‘this’? Can’t you do anything to a noble girl who grew up pampered?”
“Ouch! Oh! Ouch! Stop it, akh!”
Jjajak! Jjajak!
My scabbard hit the girl all over her body. The girl hopped here and there like a grasshopper. Afterwards, she forgot about the attack on me and was focused on avoiding it.
“Argh, I-I was wrong! I was wrong! Stop hitting me, it hurts!”
[T/N: The girl is saying this in Korean informal speech]
“Huh? I can’t hear you well. I have a hearing loss so I can’t listen to informal speech properly, sweetheart.”
“It was my fault! Please forgive me!”
[T/N: Basically also saying ‘I was wrong’ but just to make it seem different because this one is said with formal speech, I changed a bit]
In the end, the girl was defeated. Well, it’s a natural result.
The girl fell flat on the ground and started crying. Her body was red from the marks where I had hit her.
“I’m sorry for stealing your wallet! Hiccup! I was wrong! I did it to eat and live! I’m not going to take anything from you anymore!”
“No, you must not take anything from anyone, young lady of Burns.”
At my words, the girl sniffled her runny nose and raised her head. Only then did I look straight into the girl’s eyes.
She has blue-gray eyes, close to silver. Sparkling like mercury, it was beautiful.
“I-I am just an illegitimate child… I-I don’t even know the count’s face… Hicc.”
“What is your name?”
“It’s Terra, my lady.”
Terra lay flat on the floor again.
“Who gave you the name?”
“According to my deceased mother, before I was even born, the count…”
I lifted Terra’s chin with my scabbard. Terra, covered with tears and a runny nose, looked up at me, trembling in fear.
“Okay, you are Agoth from today.”
“Yes?”
“Did you forget? If you lose to me, you will be my servant.”
“O-Oh. That is tru— Eh? Why do you want something like me…?”
I don’t know. Why?
In fact, maybe it’s because I, a long time ago, also wished that someone would give me an unpaid favor.
Of course, in the end, no one has saved the ‘me’ in the past.
I said with a smile to Agoth.
“I like picking up people on the street.”
***
I got a new mouth to feed.
Agoth. 12-year-old this year, a tenacious and bubbly girl.
Agoth quickly learned and mastered anything. She quickly gained a reputation among the servants, and she quickly adapted to the duchy.
She also followed and served me so well because she considers me a lifesaver.
“It would be a shame for a lady to tie her shoelaces herself! I’ll tie it for you!”
“No, to this extent I…”
“Oh, my! Dust on your shoes! Please use me as a foot wipe, my lady!”
“So, that kind of thing…”
“You don’t even have to hold the fork yourself! I’ll feed you! Come on, ahh~”
“…”
… She followed me a little too well.
That’s bad. I shouldn’t have brought her.
It’s already bothersome enough to breathe, and now it feels like the trouble has increased. What is this? I feel like I’m growing a beagle that I’ve never raised before.
In a nutshell, Leonard had the most worried expression he ever had on his face.
“Will it be okay, Helena?”
“Yeah, well… After a while, Agoth will also calm down.”
“It’s not that, His Highness is coming soon.”
“Huh? Why are you talking about Caesar?”
At my pure question, Leonard shook his head.
“I bet His Highness and Agoth will never get along.”
“Ah, no way…”
Laughing bitterly at the ominous hunch, I denied Leonard’s words.
But the very day Caesar visited the duchy.
Less than an hour after Caesar and Agoth’s first meeting, I was compelled to acknowledge Leonard’s foresight.