Chapter 108
“Well, since no one was hurt, the accident is settled. But despite this situation, could we buy a bag of chestnuts?”
“Uh…”
As the merchant merely gaped at these unexpected words, Einar pointed to the roasted chestnuts which, though scattered here and there, hadn’t fallen to the ground and were still exuding a delicious aroma.
“Aren’t you selling them?”
Only after following Einar’s fingertip with his gaze did the merchant crumple his face and nod quickly.
“Ah, the chestnuts? Of course I’ll give them to you. Yes, of course.”
Soon, the merchant handed over a large bag filled with roasted chestnuts to Einar, who was smiling faintly, with a face full of apology.
“I’m really sorry and this is shameless, but… please take this. Ah, I’ve only included completely undamaged and clean ones, so I guarantee the taste.”
Before the merchant could finish speaking, Einar took the bag, and as if taking his place, Riina handed over an entire pouch.
The merchant, who had received the pouch in a daze, was greatly perplexed.
Just by the feel in his hand and the sound, he recognized it was money.
“Ah, no, I can’t accept this. You said you’d let the accident go!”
“The machine is broken. I’ve heard it brings bad luck not to pay merchants properly for their goods.”
Einar shrugged as he took out a still-steaming chestnut and peeled its shell, while Riina had already stepped back.
In the end, the merchant repeatedly bowed and expressed his gratitude, and Sierre took in the entire scene from the arms of a guard.
“Your Highness, you were startled, weren’t you?”
“I was surprised by the sudden loud noise, but.”
Sierre continued without taking his eyes off the merchant.
“It’s fine. Rather.”
“Yes?”
“Though the person involved said he would give it for free, why did you pay for it?”
Riina gazed down at Sierre’s round crown.
A prince who had never left the palace since birth.
No, even within the Imperial Palace, he had only visited places other than his own palace a handful of times, hadn’t he?
Yet he missed nothing, taking everything in with his eyes, and pinpointed what could have been overlooked.
Crown Prince…
At least he would certainly be a much better Emperor than Smith.
Recalling the First Prince she had seen during the hunting competition, Riina nodded slightly.
Einar’s judgment is indeed accurate.
She answered toward the child’s smooth crown covered by a hat:
“The economy keeps moving when those who have money spend it. Besides, it’s natural to pay for goods received. We had already agreed to let the accident go.”
“That’s true, but.”
When Sierre tilted his head, looking unsatisfied despite having received an answer, Riina whispered:
“What I just told you is just the official reason.”
At this, Sierre’s eyes rounded like a deer’s.
“That merchant is already at a loss because of the accident. Of all people, he was probably the most shocked. But the fair payment for the roasted chestnuts will be the hope for him to live tomorrow.”
“Hope…”
“It’s a grand statement, but ultimately, it’s our duty to protect not only the bodies but also the peace of mind of the Empire’s citizens.”
Though she called it a grand statement, her voice was light, and her tone was neither solemn nor even serious.
She was merely casual, as if commenting that the wind was a bit cold today.
Immediately after Riina smiled faintly as she looked down at Sierre, who seemed lost in thought, Einar returned to them, having finished a brief conversation with the merchant who was trying to somehow squeeze more chestnuts into an already full bag.
“When I mentioned we were on an outing, he recommended going mushroom picking.”
As soon as his words ended, Riina’s eyes narrowed.
After saying we shouldn’t work today…
Noticing her chilled gaze, Einar shook his head.
“It was a genuine merchant’s recommendation. Well… though foreign merchants bought mushrooms in bulk recently, this year there are unusually high-quality mushrooms in abundance, so he said it would be fun to pick them.”
“Foreign merchants?”
“No, I didn’t intend that. Really.”
“Of course. You wouldn’t have intended it.”
Riina didn’t doubt Einar’s words.
She knew well that even without his intention, with his luck, clues to a case or solutions would roll right up to his nose like pumpkins tied to a vine.
Einar scratched his cheek as if embarrassed, and Sierre, after looking back and forth between them, unconsciously covered his mouth.
They weren’t whispering words of love, nor looking at each other with excited gazes, nor were they saying anything extraordinary.
Rather, the Second Prince and the Bolshevik young lady were having all sorts of exchanges over merely going mushroom picking, which seemed childish if anything.
But somehow it made Sierre’s insides tickle, and he had to repeatedly press down the corners of his mouth that kept trying to rise.
However, before long, the corners of Sierre’s mouth began to tremble.
“Let’s go mushroom picking.”
“Mush…rooms?”
Sierre was so taken aback that his pale cheeks flushed slightly.
Though he had heard such talk passing between them, he hadn’t expected they would actually go mushroom picking.
Of course, there was no one here who could sympathize with Sierre’s confusion.
“Yes. Mushrooms.”
Einar casually patted his head, and.
“It’s good that you came dressed for activities.”
Riina somehow seemed a bit enthusiastic.
Not missing this sign, Einar tilted his head toward her with a playful smile.
“You seem surprisingly willing to go?”
“Because I like it.”
A casual remark.
Words that left no room for doubt that the object of her liking was “mushrooms” to anyone who heard.
And yet…
At Riina’s meaningless remark, Einar’s heart plummeted from the very peak of the sky to the depths of the earth.
The Bolshevik blue gazing directly at him was so transparent that Einar felt as though all his innermost thoughts would be exposed in this moment.
Trying to hide his confusion, he looked away from her as naturally as possible and picked up a roasted chestnut, the first thing his hand found.
“Let’s fill our stomachs with these first before setting off.”
After lightly brushing off the shell of the roasted chestnut with his fingers, he pushed the yellow chestnut kernel toward Sierre’s lips.
Unconsciously opening his mouth and popping the chestnut in, Sierre rolled the perfectly cooled chestnut with his tongue before seemingly realizing what he had done, freezing with the chestnut in his mouth.
He was a child born frail, who had kept no one close besides his nanny until now.
Though he had lived thinking of his nanny as the mother he had lost early, the limitations of their relationship were clear because he was born a prince.
No matter how much he regarded his nanny as a mother, there was an unbridgeable gap in status between them.
Because of this, Sierre never even had the opportunity to experience this kind of familiarity.
Since Einar had already turned his gaze away from Sierre to grab a handful of chestnuts, not seeing his state, Sierre truly froze alone, not knowing what to do.
The chestnut rolling on his tongue felt like a hot stone, and he could neither swallow nor spit it out.
“Your Highness.”
At that moment, a whisper flowed into Sierre’s ear.
“Have some more. They taste very good.”
Riina placed a few more peeled chestnuts in Sierre’s hand while putting one in her own mouth.
As if merely eating chestnuts, as if Sierre opening his mouth to receive a chestnut from Einar was nothing special.
Sierre briefly looked down at the round, warm chestnuts in his hand, then slowly began to chew.
In truth, he couldn’t taste anything.
Just warm, and just… soft like swallowing a tuft of cotton.
Just because of that…
Sierre chewed and swallowed one chestnut for a long time.
After thoroughly chewing and swallowing one chestnut, Sierre pushed the chestnuts Riina had given him into his mouth one by one until his cheeks bulged.
His pale, thin cheeks, through which veins were visible, became as round as a squirrel’s that had greedily gathered sunflower seeds in an instant.
Seeing Sierre like this, Einar chuckled and lightly tapped the top of his hat.
“Shall we depart?”
As Sierre, with his plump cheeks, nodded eagerly, the three moved toward the mushroom colony side by side.
The journey to go mushroom picking ended before long.
This was thanks to Einar, who carried Sierre, whose eyes sparkled with excitement despite being frailer than glass, with one arm and took large strides.
“We’ve arrived.”
Though it was ambiguous to call it the exact destination, they had reached the entrance to a vast forest located on the outskirts of the Imperial capital.
“Sier…”
Einar, about to call Sierre, closed his mouth.
Sierre, who had been jostled by various people during their outing outside the Imperial Palace and had experienced a sudden accident, though uninjured, seemed almost unconscious.
Einar looked down at Sierre cradled in his arms, then gestured to Riina with his eyes.
Approaching his side, she gently stroked the round forehead of Sierre, who had removed his hat.
“I think it would be better if he were at least sweating a little.”
Sierre’s face, running a mild fever, was entirely flushed, but bone dry.
Einar and Riina faced each other and conversed without opening their mouths.
It wasn’t long or complicated.
It was just the two words they had written on each other’s palms before setting out on their outing.
