Chapter 063

While I was subtly enjoying his flustered expression, I noticed the village entrance in the distance.

“Oh? We’ve arrived already. Then I’ll ask this question again later.”

I smiled at Evan and waved my hand, urging him to come quickly.

Evan, who had been watching me, seemed to twitch his lips a few times before returning to his usual stoic face and responding briefly.

“Let’s go. Do you know how dangerous it is to walk backward like that? Please be careful as you walk.”

Evan frowned, continuing to scold me, seemingly worried about my backward walking.

He particularly mentioned that with my thin frame, if I fell, it would likely result in at least a fracture.

While it sounded like he was just scolding me, the content was filled with concern for me, and the laughter I had been holding back finally burst out.

“Well, then you can just save me like last time.”

“……”

However, Evan’s reaction to my words was a bit strange.

I had expected him to scoff or frown as he usually did, but he displayed neither reaction.

‘Did I just say something wrong?’

Evan’s expression looked oddly unfamiliar, making me feel a bit uneasy as I watched his eyes widen in surprise, contrasting with his previously subdued expression.

“Evan…?”

I cautiously called his name and approached him.

As if snapping back to reality, the expression he had just shown vanished, and he returned to his usual demeanor before speaking.

“Today is not a situation where I can intervene like last time. Be careful on your own.”

Evan adjusted his grip on the box of potions and quickly stretched his long legs toward the village.

“Hey, wait for me!”

As I stared blankly at Evan’s receding figure, I snapped back to reality just as he began to look like a small dot in the distance and ran toward the village.

‘That was probably just my imagination, right?’

The image of Evan’s face from earlier popped into my mind, but I shook my head and increased my speed.

☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓

“Welcome, my lady!”

As I passed through the village and entered Delling Street, a large man who had been waiting at the entrance rushed toward Evan and me.

It was Paul Quenti, the captain of the guard responsible for the security and management of Delling Street.

“I heard from the knights who arrived earlier that you would be joining us a bit late, so I was waiting here for you. And… uh!”

At that moment, when Paul’s gaze, which had been fixed on me, shifted to my side, he seemed to realize that Evan, standing next to me with the box, was not just a porter.

Initially speaking casually, Paul’s expression quickly turned to one of shock as he began to stutter.

“Y-y-your, your, G, Grace…!”

Paul’s face turned a deep red, resembling the expressions of children who had just met their idols.

“Just stop it; it’s embarrassing.”

Evan, watching Paul, casually threw in a remark with an indifferent expression.

“I’ll head straight to the distribution center.”

“Yes! I will guide you.”

At Evan’s words, Paul straightened his back and took the lead.

He seemed to be quite tense.

As I walked along the street, following the exuberant Paul, I sensed something was off.

“Hmm? The people on the street…”

“Ah! You noticed, as expected. It’s definitely changed a lot since your last visit, hasn’t it?”

Upon hearing my mumbling, Paul began to speak as if he had been waiting for this moment.

“The number of people lying around, lost in thought all day, has significantly decreased. Do you know what’s even more surprising? The number of people who can communicate, even briefly, has increased.”

Just by looking at his excited face and exaggerated gestures, it was clear how sincere he was about the people of Delling Street.

“Most of them still can’t lead normal daily lives, but surely, there will come a day when they can.”

“I hope that day comes soon,”

His sincerity reached me, and I genuinely wished for his hopes to be realized quickly.

“All of this is thanks to your efforts, my lady. I am always grateful.”

Paul added that he had wanted to express his gratitude to me for a long time.

However, I declined his thanks.

“W-was that a rude remark I just made…?”

At that, Paul’s complexion turned pale as he cautiously looked at me, stammering.

“It’s not that. The one who deserves thanks is actually you, Sir Paul.”

“Excuse me?”

“I have the duty to care for the people of the territory, so it’s only natural for me to help. The improvement in the condition of the people on the street is not because of me, but thanks to your genuine care.”

Of course, the effects of the potions made by Joy couldn’t be ignored, but it was Paul who consistently fed them and checked their conditions every day.

“Uh… hearing such words from you, my lady, I don’t know how to respond.”

After hearing my words, Paul fell silent for a moment, looking like a dazed person, before he started to mumble incoherently.

He showed an unexpected reaction, as if he had never received praise in his life.

“So, I look forward to working well together from now on.”

I looked at Paul, smiled faintly, and spoke.

With an even more determined expression than before, Paul bent deeply at the waist, almost to the ground, and exclaimed.

“…Yes! Leave it to me! Huh, the potions!”

However, perhaps due to his eagerness, Paul seemed to momentarily forget that he was holding a box of potions.

I could see the potions tumbling forward along with his leaning body.

‘It’s going to fall.’

Paul hurriedly straightened up, but a bottle was already hanging off the edge of the box and eventually rolled out.

I tried to grab it, but it was already closer to the ground than to my hand, and just as I was waiting for the sound of the bottle breaking…

Snap.

“Huh?”

Fortunately, a small, chubby hand reached out from the air and snatched the potion, preventing it from breaking.

“Uh? You are…”

As I confirmed the identity of the owner of the short fingers, my eyes widened.

It was that child I had encountered the last time I visited the street.

“Wow, little one! Thank you. If it weren’t for you, it would have been a big deal.”

Just then, Paul, who was in front of me, reached out his rough hand and ruffled the child’s hair.

The child, seeming uncomfortable with Paul’s friendly demeanor, silently moved behind me to hide.

“Hey, kid. I won’t ruffle your hair anymore, so come over here quickly. Do you know who that person is?”

“It’s okay. I was actually curious about how you were doing… Hello?”

Bending down, I greeted the child behind me while making eye contact.

I had received reports that the child returned safely to their mother without any injuries that day, but occasionally, the child’s face would come to mind.

The reason was that the child had been unusually calm from start to finish, unlike most kids their age, who are typically chatty and prone to crying.

“By the way, you got a haircut?”

Unlike last time, when their hair covered more than half their face, the child’s hair was now neatly trimmed above the eyebrows.

Thus, with the child’s face fully revealed, I found that it was even cuter than I had expected.

The transparent gray eyes were already striking, and now that the face was completely visible, it seemed likely that when they grew up, they would make quite a few girls cry.

“How cute.”

As I continued to look at the child, my hand instinctively reached out over their head.

The soft strands of the child’s light-colored hair slipped gently between my fingers.

“Right, I remember you didn’t seem to like your hair being touched that much. I’m sorry for touching it without permission.”

Recalling how the child had flinched when Paul had ruffled their hair earlier, I quickly withdrew my hand.

At that moment, I noticed the child quietly shaking their head as they watched my hand pull away from their hair.

“Huh? It’s okay?”

Then the child nodded their head a couple of times.

From the side, I heard Paul muttering in a sorrowful voice, as if feeling betrayed, wondering if the child disliked him petting their head.