MTD 12

The brilliant sun shone on his sculpted, statuesque, face.

He held a sword, and countless fragments of corpses were piled at his feet.

‘To display such a cruel and brutal statue in the middle of a square where people of all ages come and go.’

Do the people here have their wits about them, or not…

Watching a child poking and touching a sculpture shaped like a severed hand, I thought I should file a complaint someday.

And then.

“……”

Hearing footsteps approaching me, I turned my head to see the person I was supposed to meet today standing there.

She smiled and called out to him.

“Mas!”

Mas then stopped in front of her and looked at her.

The shape of the white mask looked cold, but she could sense goodwill in his eyes.

Today was their first daytime meeting since she came to the capital.

“Hehe, I arrived right on time, didn’t I?”

Mas nodded.

They were always together in Galnem, but here he only visited her room at night, saying he had other things to do during the day.

He said the only day he was free was Wednesday of the third week, which was today.

“But what’s this…?”

She looked at the green bag Mas was holding.

When She pointed at it, Mas pretended to look elsewhere, avoiding the subject.

But he didn’t hide the bag, as if it wasn’t something that needed to be concealed.

“Can I take a quick look?”

Inside the good quality leather bag was a blue box, which I reached out and opened slightly.

Inside were sandwiches that looked like they were made with clumsy hands.

She asked Mas with surprised eyes.

“Don’t tell me… Did you make these? To eat together with me?”

Mas was still turning his head away, avoiding eye contact.

Even though she couldn’t see his face behind the mask, she could now tell his expression just by looking at his eyes.

Somehow, she imagined his eyebrows raised crookedly and his face slightly flushed.

‘You’re cute today, Mas.’

A warm spring breeze blew, tickling our hair.(T/n: I´m sorry the first few sentences are so random and in the Raws it was Parmes which doesn’t make any sense since our Fl is supposed to meet with Mas, not with Parmes. Maybe the author forgot to add a ‘***’ and switch scenes or I’m too dumb to understand. Sorry >.< )

* * *

On a warm, sunny afternoon.

“I never imagined that Aunt Piolet was Mrs. Alens, the Minister of the Imperial Household… I’m stunned.”

I sat under the shade of a large tree, talking with Mas.

“She said she’ll help me from now on, it feels surreal.”

As always, I did the talking, and Mas just listened, but it felt good like we were back in Galnem.

Today, like before, we sat with our backs to each other ate sandwiches, and strolled through the park connected to the vast square.

The sandwiches were rough but quite tasty!

“You know, these days… everything feels like it’s changed.”

I stretched my hands towards the sky.

Through my not-so-long fingers, I could see the leaves fluttering.

“The people I used to know, well, they’re still the same people, but now we have different relationships. And there are so many things I need to pay attention to now. I was just a country girl who didn’t suit dignity or formality…”

And in the distant view, clouds drift leisurely.

“Although this changed environment feels unfamiliar, I’m going to adapt. And I’m definitely going to rebuild the Marquis family splendidly.”

Mas slowly turned his gaze towards me.

“I learned in Galnem that it’s better to roll around and get covered in dirt than to sit still and resent the situation.”

I smiled at Mas.

“I can do well, right?”

When I first realized I had been reincarnated as Arinel Mylar, it would be a lie to say I didn’t curse the god who reincarnated me when I found out I was born in a poor village in a world facing severe famine.

‘I even gave the sky the middle finger with my tiny four-year-old fist at that time.’

But just as my days and memories as Arinel of Galnem were sufficiently valuable, I believe my completely changed future will be the same.

Mas, who had been looking at me, nodded once.

“…Let’s do our best!”

Smiling brightly, I rummaged through my pocket, took something out, and held it out to Mas.

“This is a gift I prepared for you. Thank you for… bringing my things last time.”

Mas received the palm-sized glass bottle I held out.

Inside were sparkling red candies.

It was made from sugar beets I bought at the market, which were extremely hard to get, using a cooking method I had invented.

“……”

Mas stared at the candy bottle for a long time.

For so long and so intently I felt embarrassed.

“It’s nothing special. Just eat them when you’re bored. They melt sweetly in your mouth and are quite tasty.”

I laughed, emphasizing that it wasn’t anything grand.

But even after that, Mas stared at the candy bottle for a long time before putting it inside his clothes.

Watching Mas do this, I opened my mouth.

“By the way… You know, I meant to ask last time but didn’t. What kind of work are you doing here?”

If he was treating even such candies as if seeing them for the first time, I suddenly worried that the treatment of his job might not be good and he might even be going hungry.

But Mas calmly picked up a twig and wrote on the ground.

[Family business]

Seeing the neat handwriting, I asked with wide eyes.

“Wow! Does your family live in the capital?”

Mas nodded lightly as if it wasn’t a big deal, and my worry dissipated a bit.

Since he had been with me in Galnem for a year, I thought he might be in a similar situation to me, an orphan…

“So you’re a city boy!”

Maybe he’s from a wealthy family.

There was a lot I wanted to ask, but since Mas had many secrets, I didn’t inquire further about his personal details.

We stayed together for a long time after that, and I said goodbye to the boy only when the sun was setting.

With the sunset behind him, Mas raised his finger to point at me before turning around.

It meant ‘See you again.’

* * *

After returning from my outing with Mas, I sat at my desk.

‘Now then…’

The reason I sat at my desk today was to write a letter.

I picked up a pen with my small hand.

‘If Aunt Piolet is a noble, could Uncle Amrus be a noble too…?’

Uncle Amrus had shown interest and listened well when I talked about the coming famine and great hunger.

If Uncle Amrus is also a noble… and if I get a chance to meet him.

‘I should seriously talk about the great famine again.’

Just as Parmes Aslet, the tyrant in the original story, became the emperor, it was clear that famine would strike in the near future.

The situation of the empire during the great famine as described in the original story was truly miserable, making me frown throughout reading it.

‘If I meet Uncle Amrus… he might help me. Maybe he could even somehow gently connect me with the fearsome Duke Siegfried.’

Since Aunt Piolet turned out to be Lady Fiorena, I thought Uncle Amrus might have taken a name similar to his real name, so I asked Adam.

I described Uncle Amrus’s appearance and manner of speaking, and his interest in economics.

He narrowed it down to three likely scholars and gave me the address of the Academy.

Amon Friedrich, Edmund Taylor, Hamas Rohim…

[Uncle, it’s me, Arinel. I really want to talk to you about the great famine that will happen in two years, which I told you about. If you help, we could save many people’s lives. If you are the Uncle Amrus I know… please, I beg you to reply.]

The handwriting was a bit crooked, but Uncle Amrus should be able to understand what it means if he sees it.

I pressed down firmly on the envelope to seal it, then stretched my arms up towards the sky, cheering.

I hope Uncle Amrus is among these three…

As I told Mas, I need to do my best despite the changed situation.

* * *

The scenery of the imperial palace at dusk.

Walking down the grand corridor leading to the underground, the boy pushed open a large stone door.

A staircase leading to the interior of the ground-level palace appeared.

Before ascending to the ground level, the boy removed his mask.

Then, holding the white mask in one hand, he took a step.

“……”

Under the red sunset, the boy’s appearance slowly emerged above ground.

His brown hair had already changed to a brilliant silver even before it caught the sunlight.

And his black eyes changed as if the pupils were shrinking, then slowly filled with blue between the edges and the center.

The one considered second only to the Emperor in nobility in this palace.

“Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”

The passing captain of the guards immediately bowed and greeted Briton.

Anyone guarding the palace would agree that Briton closely resembled Parmes.

Despite his young age, the Crown Prince possessed a kingly quality so intense it sent chills down one’s spine.

“……”

Briton Aslet passed by the captain of the guards, exuding his usual cold atmosphere.

Briton’s long shadow stretched endlessly following the direction of the sun, then abruptly cut off as he entered his room.

The captain of the guards maintained the same posture for a long time, only moving his feet after the Crown Prince had entered the room.

Upon entering the room, the view of the city draped in darkness could be seen through the window.

Briton took out the candy bottle he had received today from inside his clothes.

Those rather lovely candies resembled that child’s eyes, lips, and nails.

“Rather than sitting still and resenting the situation, I learned while living in Galnem that it’s better to roll around and get covered in dirt.”

Briton’s deeply sunken eyes lingered on it for a long time.

The beautiful boy’s gaze was chillingly cold, but his cheeks were slightly flushed with heat.

His dry lips quietly uttered a single word.

As if to savoring the scent, he brought the mouth of the candy jar to his nose and lips, closing his eyes.