<CHAPTER 07>

Elodie glanced at the two of them.

Well, Brienne and Marie were around the same age. Neither of them had a lover, and since they saw each other so often, it was only natural that they might start developing feelings for each other.

“Oh my, look over there, Madam!”

At Marie’s words, Elodie turned her gaze.

“That’s quite a spectacle.”

“I know! Wow…”

It was an enormous merchant caravan. Apparently, they were planning to hold a large event in the town square.

Despite the size of the caravan, none of the merchants looked particularly pleased.

They seemed to be traveling merchants who had come from quite a distance, and perhaps they were dissatisfied because the market in the duke’s territory wasn’t very active.

Their clothes were strikingly colorful and unusual, which made Elodie stare in fascination.

Even the patterns embroidered on their garments were completely unfamiliar to her.

“That’s the Rondia Merchant Guild, isn’t it? I heard they travel all across the continent… It looks like they’ve come all the way to our territory!”

“They must have stopped by on their way to the capital.”

“Yes, I think so! I heard the perfume oils from that guild are incredibly famous… Ah!”

At Marie’s words, Brienne’s expression stiffened for a moment. Marie also bit her lip as though she had realized her mistake.

An awkward silence descended upon them.

Hmm…

Elodie felt as though she vaguely remembered something from the novel.

There had been an episode in which the heroine accidentally used a particular kind of perfume oil.

It was a famous perfume oil from a merchant guild that even traveled as far as the Eastern Continent. But it wasn’t an ordinary perfume oil.

It was designed to seduce members of the opposite sex.

Of course, that wasn’t the only kind of perfume oil the guild sold.

They also sold ordinary varieties. The heroine had simply ended up using the wrong one after the oils had been mixed together.

Could that be the same guild?

The male protagonist, Caville, had rescued the heroine when she found herself in trouble because of the scent that paralyzed her senses. And he had done it in an incredibly dashing manner…

Then, while the two of them hid together in a cramped space, their lips accidentally brushed against each other.

In other words, their very first kiss scene…

Elodie looked down at Caville, who was holding her hand tightly.

He’s still so young…

“Madam, what’s wrong?”

At Caville’s innocent question, Elodie shook her head.

Meanwhile, Brienne and Marie were both clearing their throats awkwardly, their faces flushed red.

Just then, something suddenly flashed through Elodie’s mind.

Rather than worrying about that, why don’t I try researching perfume oils myself?

Perfume oils were quite a profitable commodity. Since she was already researching magical potions, it was worth looking into perfume oils as well.

I should probably buy a sample.

“Marie, are you going to buy that perfume oil?”

“Oh… M-Madam, you don’t need to know about that! It’s not something children should know about.”

You’re the one who brought it up in the first place…

“…No, I want you to buy one for me, too.”

“For you, Madam?”

“Yes. I’m thinking of researching perfume oils as well. They’re profitable, after all. Not that particular kind, though. Just ordinary perfume oil.”

At Elodie’s surprisingly specific explanation, Marie merely blinked in confusion.

But I never even told her what kind of perfume oil it was. How did she know…?

She must have heard about it from another maid. It had to be Emily, who was always fond of making mischievous jokes.

How could she say such strange things to the young Madam?!

Marie cleared her throat and said she would be right back before hurrying away.

“Ahem…”

Brienne cleared his throat as well, fidgeting with his flushed face.

You two aren’t even in a relationship yet. Why are you so embarrassed…?

You’re making me feel embarrassed just watching you.

Clicking her tongue inwardly, Elodie tightened her grip on Caville’s hand.

There were far more people in the market than she had expected.

“There are quite a lot of people, Sir Bedos. Please keep a close eye on Caville.”

“Yes, I understa—”

Just then, a large crowd suddenly began surging forward.

It was because a merchant selling unusual goods at bargain prices had appeared farther ahead.

“Oh, wait…!”

Amid the enormous crowd, Elodie lost her grip on Caville’s hand.

Surrounded by tall adults, Caville disappeared from sight.

After a mass of people passed through, Elodie found herself pushed quite a distance backward.

Only then did she frantically look around for Caville.

But he was nowhere to be seen.

“Sir Bedos, where is Caville…?”

All she could see was Brienne, staring back at her with a stunned expression.

Their expressions darkened instantly.

With a trembling voice, Elodie called out Caville’s name.

“Caville!”

Before she could even think, her legs were already moving.

Elodie immediately checked the nearby alleyways.

Fortunately, she found Caville almost right away.

“…”

Only then did the heart that had been pounding anxiously finally begin to settle.

But… what are those two doing there?

Standing beside Caville were two boys who looked around his age, though they were much bigger than him.

The way they were surrounding Caville looked suspiciously like…

“Hey, looks like some rich merchant adopted you.”

“Those clothes look pretty nice. Why don’t we just take them?”

Yep. Exactly what I thought.

Elodie quickly approached them.

“Hey!”

“…What?”

“Madam…”

Caville was crying, tears falling silently down his cheeks.

From the confusion in his eyes, it seemed he had been badly frightened.

It was understandable. This was the first time he had ever lost sight of Elodie in such a crowded place.

When Elodie stretched out her arms, Caville ran straight into them and buried himself in her embrace.

“…What? You call her Madam? Hey, you little brat, did you actually get married already? You’re only seven! Or are you eight now?”

“Maybe you’re just playing house.”

The two boys, who were about as tall as Elodie, spoke in a brazen, insolent manner.

Good grief. Why are these kids acting like little delinquents?

“Did you two hit our child?”

Elodie asked calmly.

“…Tch. We didn’t hit him, okay? Who are you?”

The freckled boy asked threateningly.

Elodie answered without the slightest hint of fear.

“Who are you? And how do you know our Caville?”

“We were in the same orphanage as that brat. So what?”

“An orphanage?”

“Yeah. We ran away from the orphanage. Proudly, too! We were sick of the director… That kid used to get beaten all the time, too.”

“Yeah. But look at him now. Someone got adopted by a rich family, while someone else became a pickpocket…”

“Hey! I told you not to call me a pickpocket in front of people!”

“So what?!”

The two boys glared at each other, apparently offended by the word pickpocket.

Elodie sighed.

“Caville, are you all right? Were you very scared?”

Caville wrapped his arms around Elodie’s waist anxiously, clutching her clothes tightly.

“Look at that coward. Hiding behind his Madam’s skirts?”

“Keep scaring him and he might wet himself.”

“Hey!! Shut up, you two.”

You scared my child.

The two boys looked slightly startled by Elodie’s firm curse.

But their surprise lasted only a moment. Their pride apparently wounded, they bit their lips.

“Y-You little…! Hey! How dare some tiny brat like you—!”

The freckled boy raised his hand threateningly, as though trying to intimidate her.

But Elodie wasn’t frightened.

“Aaaagh!”

Instead, she grabbed the boy by the hair and yanked his head backward.

“You shouldn’t raise your hand at someone without permission.”

“Aaaagh! L-Let go of me!”

Elodie tightened her grip on his hair and said,

“When an adult teaches you something, you say, ‘Yes,’ understood?”

“Aaaagh! Hey! Y-You, do something!”

The other boy watched in panic for a moment before belatedly rushing toward Elodie.

But just in time, Brienne appeared and easily blocked his path.

“Madam, are you all right? But… what exactly are you doing?”

Elodie released the handful of hair she had been gripping.

When the two boys saw the imposing Brienne, they visibly lost their nerve.

Their eyes immediately fell upon the sword sheath hanging at Brienne’s waist.

Elodie dusted the strands of hair from her palm.

“I’m fine. More importantly, I think Caville is frightened.”

“Who are these boys?”

“They knew Caville from the orphanage where he used to live.”

“Tch… L-Let’s go!”

The boys grumbled before quickly fleeing.

They seemed genuinely frightened by Brienne.

Elodie clicked her tongue in disappointment.

I should have scolded them a little more…

“Hmm? What’s that?”

As the freckled boy ran away, something fell to the ground.

At Elodie’s question, Brienne went over and picked it up.

“Hmm… It’s an old brooch.”

“It is?”

“It might be an artifact, too. The jewel is glowing.”

Elodie examined the brooch Brienne handed her.

It was her first time seeing an artifact.

Artifacts were relics that contained ancient magic.

Of course, in recent times, mages had also begun creating new artifacts of their own.

They were extraordinarily luxurious possessions that only high nobles could afford.

Simply put, an artifact was a one-use magical tool imbued with a specific spell.

Naturally, the older an artifact was, the more valuable it tended to be.

In fact, genuine artifacts containing true ancient magic were so rare that they were practically nonexistent.

“Caville, are you all right? Look up at me.”

At Elodie’s gentle voice, Caville stopped crying and looked up at her.

The moment he lost Elodie’s hand, Caville had felt as though the world before his eyes had gone completely dark.

The ground beneath his feet had seemed to turn pitch-black and collapse beneath him.

It had been horrible. Terrifying.

He was afraid he might never see Elodie again.

It was a feeling he had never experienced before.

She said we could be together for the rest of our lives… She definitely said that…

Caville hugged Elodie’s waist even tighter.

The gentle voice that called him her baby. The warm touch of her hands.

Even the way she looked at him—as though he were the most precious person in the world, despite how he had once been beaten for being nothing but a worthless little thing.

The thought of losing all of it terrified him.

He had never even imagined that he could be separated from Elodie like this.

But for the first time, he truly understood that it was possible.

And so, he could see nothing.

Everything before his eyes had gone dark, and moving even a single step felt as though he might fall straight off a cliff.

The two boys had been the ones to drag Caville away through the crowd while he was in that state.

But Caville hadn’t heard a single thing they said.

All he could think about was Elodie.

She abandoned me.

She abandoned me because I cry every day and bother her.

But Elodie had appeared again and reached out her hand to him.

Even so, once the anxiety had taken root in Caville’s heart, it continued to torment him.