Chapter 8
Ahin stood in the entrance hall, glaring murderously at the staircase leading to the second floor.
A few days ago, that strange little girl had spouted all sorts of bizarre things, stared at him as though he were the culprit, and then conveniently fainted.
Thanks to that little brat, he had been subjected to an unjust interrogation that lasted throughout the night.
And that wasn’t all.
Even the servants’ attitudes toward him had changed.
The looks they gave him made him shudder, as though they were staring at some shameless man who had abused a child.
He had wanted to grab them by the shoulders and plead,
I’m innocent.
Please, just believe me.
But he had endured everything and waited for the little girl to wake up.
Even if it hadn’t been intentional, he wanted her to sincerely apologize to him for all the trouble she had caused.
But even after waking up, the little girl hadn’t shown so much as the tip of her nose.
“Apparently, it was just a misunderstanding.”
His father had wrapped everything up with those simple words.
Fortunately, it seemed the misunderstanding had been cleared up, but Ahin couldn’t let things end there.
Why had she collapsed at precisely the moment she saw him?
Ahin had been so furious that he couldn’t sleep that night.
And on top of that, the girl’s maid had come asking him for permission to take her outside.
It was only natural that his anger had reached its peak.
That was why he had come here.
He felt that his wounded pride would only be satisfied if he received at least an apology—even if he had to practically beg for it.
Just as Ahin clenched his teeth—
“Heeheehee—”
A humming sound reached his ears.
He whipped his head around and saw Ariel bouncing down the stairs.
Her lovely blonde hair had been parted and tied into two ponytails, and she was rushing down with such an excited expression that she looked…
“Cute…”
Ahin muttered without thinking, then clapped a hand over his mouth in horror.
What did I just say?
How could he possibly think something like that about this little brat?
Cute?!
Well, it isn’t exactly wrong.
But still!
How many nights had he lost sleep because of that little brat?
Had he already forgotten all those miserable nights?
Ahin quickly came to his senses and glared at Ariel with burning eyes.
Apologize.
Apologize to me.
Perhaps she had somehow heard his silent cries because Ariel suddenly stopped in her tracks.
When she saw him, her eyes widened as though she was quite surprised.
The corner of Ahin’s mouth twitched.
That’s right. If she has even a shred of conscience, she should apologize.
Come on. Hurry up and admit you were wrong. If you do, I’ll graciously let it slide just this once.
As though she had sensed what he was thinking, Ariel trotted over to him.
Ahin thought that this time, at last, he would hear an apology.
But—
“So you’re in charge of showing me the way. Good, let’s go!”
Ariel left those words behind and walked straight past him.
“Huh?”
Ahin, who had suddenly become a guide, stood there speechless in disbelief.
With a thoroughly irritated expression, he hurried after Ariel.
“Wait, you…!”
This time, he was determined to make that little brat apologize no matter what.
But once again, he failed.
Ariel stopped in front of the carriage and suddenly spread both arms wide.
What’s she doing?
Judging by the way she was even bouncing impatiently on her feet, she clearly wanted something.
Ah… Don’t tell me she wants me to pick her up.
After a moment’s thought, Ahin finally understood what Ariel wanted and gave a short laugh.
No matter how arrogant she acts, she’s still just a child.
Shaking his head, he picked Ariel up and placed her inside the carriage.
It was the first time he’d ever shown her this much kindness, childish as she was.
I can at least expect a word of thanks.
Ahin looked at Ariel expectantly.
But—
“Ouch!”
Instead of thanking him, the little girl clutched her side and glared up at him.
“Be gentler! What will you do if you injure this precious body of mine?”
“…Sorry.”
Ahin had always been the one receiving apologies, rather than giving them.
But ever since this little girl had arrived, it seemed he was constantly the one apologizing.
The first outing was extremely satisfying.
Just as Jane had said, the carpenter’s skill was truly impressive enough to rival that of a god, and Ariel also liked the dresses shown to her by the woman who was supposedly the best designer in the empire.
She liked the precious jewels Ahin casually handed her, and she even enjoyed the fruit juice the shopkeeper had given her to try.
But there was one problem.
“My lady, what do you think of this doll?”
“Isn’t this necklace pretty too?”
“Oh my, look at this hairpin! It’s exactly the same color as our young lady’s eyes!”
Ariel stared wearily at Jane, who was running all over the place with an expression even more excited than her own.
Doesn’t that woman ever get tired?
Jane was moving around so energetically that Ariel couldn’t even find an opportunity to ask her to take a break.
Unable to endure it any longer, Ariel tugged at the hem of Ahin’s trousers as he stood idly nearby.
“Try to stop that woman.”
“…?”
“My legs are killing me!”
Ariel looked up at Ahin with teary eyes.
Only then did Ahin realize how exhausted she was, and he casually remarked,
“I’m getting a little tired.”
“Pardon?”
“I’ll wait over there and rest. If there’s anything you need, finish looking around and come back.”
With that, he took Ariel into a nearby teahouse.
The moment the door opened, a rich, delicious smell wafted into Ariel’s nose.
What’s that smell?
Sniffing as she walked inside, Ariel suddenly stopped dead.
Ah! Dirt clods!
A display stand near the entrance was piled high with round black lumps.
Ariel’s face lit up.
Ever since the plate of cookies the Grand Duke had given her a few days ago, she hadn’t seen a single cookie.
All I’ve been served at mealtimes is bland, tasteless food.
In reality, the food had been deliberately seasoned as lightly as possible because Ariel’s body had not yet fully recovered.
But after discovering the bliss of delicious food and cookies, Ariel had no reason to appreciate such bland meals.
I really want to demand that they give me some dirt clods.
But she couldn’t do that after remembering how Jane had tearfully run out of the room on the first day when Ariel had asked her to bring some.
How petty, getting upset over a few dirt clods.
Ariel’s eyes welled up as she remembered the past few days when she’d had nothing but her empty fingers to suck on.
And now I’ve finally found them again!
Just as Ariel stared longingly at the familiar dirt clods, Ahin noticed that she had suddenly stopped walking.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Let’s go.”
Ariel hurriedly shook her head and awkwardly walked ahead of him.
I’ll be able to eat them soon anyway. There’s no need to embarrass myself by asking first!
That was the only reason Ariel had been able to tear herself away from the dirt clods of her dreams.
However, the food Ahin ordered consisted only of fragrant tea and some leafy vegetables.
The dirt clods! My dirt clods are missing!
She could see such delicious things right within reach, yet she couldn’t eat them.
Ariel grew increasingly anxious.
Just then, one of the knights guarding outside approached Ahin.
“Young master, you need to come outside for a moment.”
Apparently, there was some problem outside.
After speaking with the knight with a serious expression, Ahin turned back to Ariel with a troubled look.
“I think I need to step outside for a moment. Can you stay here by yourself?”
Of course I can!
In fact, she’d been hoping he’d leave for a while.
Ariel quickly nodded, but Ahin still hesitated.
Even if it was only for a short time, he wasn’t comfortable leaving a child alone in an unfamiliar place.
Good grief, why isn’t he leaving already? Why is he hesitating?
Growing impatient, Ariel urged him on.
“Don’t worry about me. Go on, hurry!”
Ariel even stood up herself and pushed Ahin upright.
Forced to stand, Ahin could do nothing but nod.
“Don’t wander off for no reason. Stay here quietly and wait.”
“Yes, yes, I know.”
Ariel patted her chest as if to say he didn’t need to worry.
Only then did Ahin turn around.
Ariel stared intently at him until he disappeared around the corner, then hurriedly called for a waiter.
“Do you require anything?”
The waiter quickly approached and bowed his head as he asked.
Ariel answered immediately, as though she’d been waiting for this moment.
“Bring me some dirt clods.”
“…Excuse me?”
The waiter wondered if he’d heard correctly.
Why was a young lady who had come to a shop selling tea and desserts asking for dirt clods?
The man’s expression became strangely stiff.
“I beg your pardon, but could you repeat that? What would you like me to bring—”
“A round, black thing that looks like this! The ones over there by the door!”
Ariel shouted impatiently.
To make herself easier to understand, she even clenched her fist and shook it while narrowing her eyes.
Why is he taking so long? I don’t know when that guy will come back.
She decided that if he failed to understand her again, she wouldn’t let him off so easily.
“…Yes, understood.”
Fortunately, he seemed to have understood and quickly walked away.
A short while later, the waiter returned carrying a large tray.
“Um… I’m not sure if this is what you were looking for…”
Ariel hurriedly looked down at the tray.
Black dough covered in moisture, with bits of gravel scattered throughout.
It looked slightly different from what she’d seen at the Grand Duke’s residence, but there was no mistaking it.
They were dirt clods.
“Yes! This is it!”
Ariel quickly nodded.
The waiter wore an uneasy expression.
Why on earth would she want this…?
In truth, he hadn’t properly understood Ariel’s explanation.
But he couldn’t keep questioning a noble young lady’s orders, so he had simply gone to the place she had pointed out.
He figured he would find something there.
As luck would have it, there happened to be a broken flowerpot lying around, along with some clumps of soil that looked remarkably similar to what Ariel had described.
Even while carrying them back, he wasn’t entirely convinced that he’d done the right thing.
But she really was asking for dirt clods. What on earth does she want them for?
Curious about what this young noblewoman intended to do with them, he didn’t leave.
Instead, he stood there watching.
And then something utterly astonishing happened.
The child grabbed one of the dirt clods and took a huge bite out of it.
W-Why is she eating that?!
The waiter stood there with his mouth hanging open, completely unable to comprehend what he was seeing.
But then something even more absurd happened.
The young noblewoman’s face crumpled as she bit down on the dirt clod filling her mouth.
“Waaaaah! The dirt clod has gone bad!”
