Chapter 88: Ballad
***
A very kind girl… right?
I rember what Madam told . In the past, I was very mischievous, often running off sowhere without anyone noticing, and when I ca back, my hair would be all ssy… but now it seems different from what I imagined. I wasn’t going sowhere to cause trouble.
Turning around, I looked at the shop clerk’s pretty face, with that careful and hesitant expression, as if she was worried whether her words would cause unnecessary trouble, yet couldn’t help but want to say them anyway. I found her quite adorable.
“But later… I don’t know when it started, she never ca again… At first I thought she was just too busy… I know there are many rules among nobles, and many things I don’t understand. I was even worried that her working here had been discovered by her family elders, and they wouldn’t allow her to associate with us anymore, or that she might be grounded or sothing… Then several months passed, and I never saw her again.”
At this point, the young woman’s gaze grew dim.
“…But she really loved eating Osmiru cake. I thought maybe I should deliver so to her. I was a bit scared, but I went anyway… I went to that castle and found out she had disappeared.”
“I don’t know what happened… She didn’t tell anything, she just suddenly vanished… Could she have been kidnapped by bad people? She lived in such a big castle, her family must have had a lot of wealth, and she was so innocent, surely bad people would target her. I had warned her about this… Could she have… I haven’t seen her for 3 years. Such a good person, why should she encounter such things… I still haven’t been able to deliver the cake to her…”
As the girl spoke these last words, her voice began to tremble uncontrollably, her slightly reddened eyes seeming to tell that she must have once shared a deep emotional bond with Peylo.
But I could no longer rember such precious things.
Then she smiled.
“Sorry for telling you so much. I just couldn’t help it. You look exactly like her… Do you… do you want so Osmiru cake?”
Looking at her sincere face, I nodded.
“Yes.”
“Alright, please wait a mont.”
The shop clerk turned around and took out a tray of Osmiru cake from the counter, dumping them all into a brown paper bag without even weighing them, then handed it to .
“Is this enough?”
“Enough. How many gold coins?”
“Gold coins…” Hearing my question, the girl laughed a little. “This is a gift from , you don’t need to pay.”
I frowned.
“I need to pay. Please weigh them.”
The young woman gently shook her head, her attitude firm.
“No need… Consider it a thank-you gift for listening to talk so much. Don’t worry, Grandpa won’t scold .”
I tilted my head and thought for a mont.
“…Alright then.”
I reached out to take the brown paper bag, and when I turned to leave, my gaze unconsciously swept around the shop.
In the warm environnt, a rich cream fragrance floated in the air.
On a whole row of chairs arranged in the shop, several people who weren’t really custors were sitting scattered about. Their clothes weren’t particularly fine, even sowhat shabby, and their travel-worn appearance completely clashed with the shop’s refined atmosphere. Moreover, almost none of them bought anything; they were just sitting there resting.
But the shop clerk didn’t drive them away. Perhaps she understood that people who could only sit here alone today probably all had sowhat sad stories.
In a trance, the shop beca noisy.
I seed to see a petite and delicate figure, holding a tray and running back and forth through the crowd, frantically shuttling between tables and the front counter. The hem of her white dress swayed gently with her steps, and her ponytail tied high on her head was tucked under a black checkered beret, with a few strands of unruly hair playfully poking out.
“Hello, this is the dessert you ordered, please enjoy…”
“…One pound of buttermilk to go? Alright, please wait…”
The girl looked quite clumsy, obviously having no experience serving others. Several tis she almost dropped the cakes from her tray because she was too hasty, stumbling slightly. But the custors never complained to her. Everyone seed to know who she was, just watching her with warm, gentle smiles on their faces.
After running around a few tis, the girl seed a bit tired and hid in a corner to wipe the sweat from her forehead. Before she could smooth down the few strands of hair sticking up on her forehead, soone called for her again.
“Miss Peylo, I’d like so water please, thank you.”
“Over here too! Miss Peylo…”
“Coming, coming…”
“Miss Peylo, are you tired?”
The girl stopped and shook her head, giving the person who asked a sweet smile.
“Not tired.”
Then she ran off again with quick steps.
Her figure disappeared in the distance, like a fleeting dream.
The corners of my mouth turned up, and my previously gloomy mood had long since cald down.
How wonderful. This was the kind of person I used to be.
When I reached the door, I took out a gold coin from the money pouch at my waist and casually placed it on a nearby table.
“I didn’t help out today.”
So I need to pay. She should understand this aning.
A mont later, I heard the young woman’s sowhat excited voice behind .
“You… you really are Miss Peylo… wait!”
I stopped in my tracks and turned to look at her slightly trembling pupils.
“I’m leaving now.”
“You… where have you been these 3 years… I… I secretly cried under my blanket, cried several tis…”
I tilted my head.
“I’m fine. I’m going to Order City.”
“…Will you co back again? Co back here…”
“Yes, my ho is here… I’m going now.”
I waved my little hand at her, stepped out of the shop, crossed the street, and returned to the carriage.
“Why did it take so long?” Carlos was drooping his eyelids, looking rather listless. This was just him asking casually.
I bit my nail and thought for a mont.
“Handling emotional complications.” Then I slapped Carlos on the face. “But that’s none of your business.”
I didn’t use much force, so Carlos certainly didn’t feel pain. He rubbed his cheek.
“At least you didn’t swear this ti.”
“None of your damn business.”
“……”
The wheels of the horned carriage began turning again.
I saw the shop clerk chase after us. She stood by the roadside, jumping and waving at .
“Be careful on the road—!”
That figure swayed unsteadily in the raging wind and snow, hazy and indistinct.
In Winter City, this miracle of the world, there were many people who cared about and loved like this.
Even if among them were faces I could no longer rember, even if mories scattered with the wind, even if I was no longer myself.
In the near future, perhaps I could et them again, perhaps I never could, but I knew they were still living here peacefully, settled and content.
No one should be allowed to destroy such tranquility.
This is my ho.
Whether it be the abyss or war, no matter what happens, I will absolutely never allow the situation of the small village to happen again.
User Comments
0 comments from readers