Chapter 40

After she leisurely enjoyed dessert with Raynald, they left the cafe. Suddenly, Yurina felt tense as a chill ran down her back; it was as if someone was following them.

“What’s wrong?”

Raynald looked worried and stopped by the side of the road.. Yurina stopped next to him and shook her head.

“No, I’m just looking around.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Well, I ate the cake I wanted, what should we do now? Shall we go buy a present?”

“You already gave a gift.”

“I can’t do that. How about cuffs? You’ll have a lot of occasions to wear them?”

Yurina dragged the reluctant Raynald around by his arm in the shopping street. While looking for a suitable store a man rushed out of the crowd and shouted.

“Lady!”

“Sir Aaron.”

Perhaps it was the Knights of Carthia following them that gave Yurina the chills before. Since Yurina had disappeared Sir Aaron’s head was all over the place looking for her. 

‘Should I go back?’

She was about to approach Sir Aaron with an apology when Raynald clicked his tongue.

“You found us sooner than I thought.”

Raynald said he had a wider radius to teleport than others, but there was definitely a limit. No matter how soon he wanted to meet Yurina, he could not travel to the border with teleportation.

It was possible today because the Academy was at the center of the capital.

Even so, they shouldn’t have been able to catch up to them in the wide capital. Then he saw Dave coming approaching from behind Sir Aaron. 

“Dave must have found us. It’s easier to use magic to track movement.”

“I can’t do that.”

Raynald grabbed her hand while she tried to walk to Sir Aaron.

“Yurina, run.”

“Huh?”

Before Yurina understood, Raynald turned and began to run in the opposite direction from Sir Aaron. Yurina followed behind him, picking up her dress with her free hand. 

Like any noble lady who had never held anything heavier than a fork and knife, Yurina did not have much stamina. Having grown up in a mansion under excessive protection added to this.

Soon, she was out of breath and her legs trembled. She felt like her lungs were burning, but Yurina smiled through it.

‘I missed you.’

Yurina was so happy that she cried tears of joy from the small amount of time spent with Raynald.

No, what she really missed was Raynald holding her hand. Yurina gripped his hand tightly and smiled.

Sir Aaron and Dave no longer followed after confirming that Yurina was with Raynald. They would be less worried about her safety.  

Raynald slowed down after confirming they were no longer being followed. Yurina clasped his forearm and released her held breath.

“Yurina, are you okay?”

Yurina nodded as she let out another breath, huddling her upper body to Raynald.

“No matter how much I think about it, I think you’ll be scolded by Sir Aaron if you really go back.”

Raynald gently put his hand on her back and rubbed it. 

“You can get in trouble, too.”

His playful smile was strangely much more reliable than the thirteen-year-old Raynald, who seriously offered to protect Yurina on her birthday five years ago.

* * *

After they confirmed Dave and Sir Aaron no longer followed them, they went back to leisurely walking down the street.

Yurina moved fast looking around since there was a different atmosphere compared to the busy streets of the Empire. There wasn’t much to it but she was excited about her first outing in a long time. 

Yurina turned to Raynald and suddenly ran into him. While Yurina was looking around the street, he kept looking at her.

When their eyes met he smiled at her. Yurina shrugged it off and turned back. She felt his gaze on her but didn’t turn back to Raynald on purpose.

She saw the square after walking around for quite a bit. At the center was a fountain with a band playing in front and children dancing around it. 

Raynald looked around carefully but then began rummaging around embarrassed. 

“I definitely brought a handkerchief.”

“Why a handkerchief?”

He looked at the fountain without answering. Yurina quickly understood what he needn’t say and laughed.

“I just have to sit down. We must have left your handkerchief on the lawn earlier. I couldn’t grab it because we suddenly used magic. Oh, is this an important handkerchief?”

“No, it doesn’t matter if I lose it. Wait, wait. Don’t sit down. Your clothes will get dirty.”

Raynald quickly grabbed Yurina’s arm as she was about to sit on the fountain.

“Even if they do, it’s okay.”

It was certainly not noble to sit on the fountain without a handkerchief, but Yurina didn’t really care. If they were in the capital of the Empire, it would have been a different case, but they were in the Kingdom of Crohn’s. There was no one to recognize her and blame her.

However, he was adamant even though Yurina was okay.

“Wait a minute. I’ll be right back.”

“Where are you going? We just have to sit down.”

“Or do you want to sit on my clothes?”

When he sincerely tried to take off his jacket, Yurina felt his stubbornness.

“Then your clothes will get dirty. If that’s the case, get a handkerchief.”

“There’s a store right there, so I’ll be right back. Stand for a moment even if your legs hurt. Okay? Just don’t sit down. It’s cold because it’s a fountain.”

Yurina burst out laughing as she listened to his way of speaking to her as if she were a child.

“Okay, I won’t sit down, so go ahead.”

“Yes.”

He once again emphasized that she should not sit down and wait for him and ran.

‘It’s funny.’

Yurina shook her head in bewilderment. She turned her head when she suddenly felt goosebumps. At that moment, she caught sight of a baby.

“Ah!”

The baby smiled so brightly that its eyes seemed to disappear while looking up at her.

“Kya.”

It was a baby that looked at most one or two years old.

Yurina looked at her squishy eyes and breathed a deep sigh of relief.

‘I was surprised.’

Perhaps the gentle baby’s gaze was surprisingly nerve-wracking.

Yurina leaned her upper body toward the baby and smiled, it was drooling and laughing.

“Hi?”

Yurina casually spoke in the Imperial language and the child blinked blankly at her.

“Hi?”

Only then did the baby wave at her with a hand half the size of Yurina’s. 

“Papa.”

“That’s a farewell.”

The child waved both hands in excitement this time and Yurina lightly laughed in return.

“Papa.”

Yuri returned the waved lightly.

“Okay, bye. But where’d your mom go that you’re alone?”

“Ma?”

“Yes, Mom. Where’s Mom?”

The baby waddled around behind her. “Ma, Ma,” the baby, who was looking around for a while, looked up at Yurina with a sullen face.

“Ma.”

Tears quickly filled the baby’s blue eyes that were smiling just a moment ago.

“Maaaaa.”

The child twisted up their cherry-colored lips and fell to the ground crying. 

‘They’ll be here soon.’

Yurina looked around, picking the child up. She didn’t think the child’s mother would have looked away from the crowded square. If you see the child crying, you’ll run straight to them.

However, the baby’s family was nowhere to be seen even though it was crying loudly. 

“Maaaaaaah!”

Yurina put the child on the floor again and gave the child a perplexed look. The baby grabbed Yurina’s skirt tightly and moved close to her legs.

When the baby’s cry rang out in the noisy square, the eyes of the surrounding people turned to Yurina and the child. It was easy to tell what they were thinking.

‘I don’t look like a mother to anyone.’

It was absurd, but she could no longer watch the child cry on the cold floor, so she quickly picked up the child in her arms again.

“It’s all right. Mom’ll be right back.”

Yurina didn’t know how to handle the child. In fact, you couldn’t say she particularly liked children. However, she quickly stopped their crying when she patted the child on the back and whispered, “It’s okay.”

The child calmed down and settled with Yurina, but was still shedding tears. Yurina carefully wiped the child’s eyes with her fingertips and whispered as softly as possible.

“Mom will be here soon, so don’t worry.”

Even if she lost her child, the mother would be somewhere in this square. Perhaps by now, they may be searching hard for the missing child.

She thought about going to find the child’s family for a moment, but Yurina sat still watching over the child. Finding the child’s mother was important, but what Raynald said was also important.

Going around looking for a family with no information was a waste. It was better to wait for the family to come here. If the little kid had been toddling around they’ll be around here.

‘If they really can’t find us, we can tell Ray to look for them.’

Yurina didn’t know how, but he could also use tracking magic. If you track the direction the child had walked, they would find a house.

She was organizing her thoughts just in case, and fortunately, a young man soon rushed toward her.