CHAPTER 43……
“What do you mean?”
He dragged out his words.
“The worry I had just now—it’s gone.”
“See? What did I tell you.”
He grinned like a fool.
The two of them traded trivial chatter, and by the time they stepped out of the shop, the sky had gone dark. When they went in, it had still been a bright blue.
“I know a place with great beer.”
“Oh? Shall we go?”
Anita, cheerfully leaving the shop, suddenly staggered. She was sure she was walking straight, yet her vision wobbled.
“Wait, wait a sec.”
“Hm?”
“Doesn’t the ground feel strange here?”
Edmund tilted his head with a blank look.
“Not really?”
“Look there. The ground here and the ground over there—they’re at different levels.”
“Mmm…”
His head tilted farther and farther to the left.
“You might be right. Whoa, it really is slanted!”
“Oh my god, there must’ve been an earthquake here!”
The ground was flat as could be, but to the two of them, it felt like it was tilting.
They kept up their ridiculous conversation as they walked along. Aside from the one time Anita toppled over because of the “slanted ground,” it was, for drunkards, a fairly composed journey.
After a long, unsteady walk, they reached the plaza. At that late hour, the square was empty.
“Damn it.”
Edmund suddenly cursed. Startled, Anita whipped her head around. He was staring at the statue atop the fountain—the very fountain where she and Rutger had sat eating sandwiches not long ago.
“Do you know what that statue is?”
“Uh… no.”
“That’s my grandfather. The one on horseback.”
On horseback? That seemed a bit harsh, even if it was his grandfather.
“Is he… dead?”
“Of course not.”
“Then why is there a statue of him?”
“Sometimes they use living people as models.”
Was the Earl of Aberdeen really such a great man?
Anita racked her brain for a while, then gave up. A dull headache had been nagging at her, and in truth, she wasn’t that curious about Edmund’s grandfather anyway.
“I’ve got a great idea.”
“……”
His needlessly innocent expression didn’t inspire much confidence. While Anita was busy doubting him inwardly, Edmund had already started toward the fountain.
She folded her arms and watched closely, determined to see whatever nonsense he was up to. Lightly hopping onto the fountain’s rim, Edmund set his foot in the stirrup beside the horse.
“Huh?”
Anita let out a baffled sound without realizing it. And with good reason—Edmund mounted the stone horse with practiced ease.
The problem was that the horse wasn’t alive but part of the plaza statue, and the rider already astride it was none other than his grandfather.
“Annoying old man.”
Edmund sat down behind the Earl of Aberdeen and poked the statue’s cheek.
“Pfft.”
Air escaped Anita’s lips in a snicker.
“No matter how much you dislike your grandson, what kind of man swings a ceremonial sword at him?”
From the way the horse’s front legs were raised, the Earl must have been some kind of war hero—and apparently still vigorous enough to brandish a sword at his grandson.
“This is way too flattering. His belly should be sticking out a bit more, don’t you think?”
This time he jabbed the statue’s stomach.
Anita couldn’t say why, but she had a strong feeling that climbing up there was a bad idea.
“You should get down. What if someone catches you?”
Clinging to the last thread of her reason, Anita spoke.
“Want to come up too?”
“……”
“It’s fun.”
The cold night breeze had sobered Anita a little. She shook her head.
“Look, there’s no one around. If you climb up just once, you’ll change your mind.”
Indeed, the plaza was dead silent. Every nearby shop and house was dark, and only the dim glow of the streetlights lit the square.
After hesitating a moment, Anita approached him.
Perched on the horse, Edmund looked down at her with a wide grin and reached out his hand.
Normally, she would never dream of doing such a thing. But after a moment of hesitation by the fountain, Anita climbed onto its rim.
Maybe Edmund was right. What harm could it do? The plaza was empty, and the lamplight was faint.
