CH 29

The children, who had been chattering happily, shut their mouths in an instant.

Then, a feeling of silence came as if it was frozen in the park.

The merchant’s face, who was selling lemon honey candy with a friendly face, also stiffened with bewilderment.

“It’s a noble.”

“His clothes are shiny.”

“But why is he here?”

Murmuring, the children were stunned when they saw Calib’s attire.

Children are quick-witted. At the same time, the majority of children are still naive and don’t know the time and place.

There were very few children who behaved like adults as soon as they noticed the situation, like Calib.

“This is our park.”

“Hic, is this place even being taken away by the nobles?”

“I heard from Dolan that all the parks that the nobles liked are gone.”

“It is said that they kick people out and make it their own garden.”

“They’re going to take away this place too.”

“But I love this place!”

The children expressed their concerns without malice.

It was natural because they were ‘young’ children who hadn’t yet learned to suppress their thoughts.

“I…”

It was when Calib was about to say something.

“O-Oh my! I apologize!”

An adult came out of nowhere.

It seems to be the parent of the babbling children.

He quickly covered a boy’s mouth and said.

“M-My child grew up immature, and he committed rudeness and disrespect. Please forgive him just once with a merciful heart…”

The man quickly pressed the child’s head to make him bow.

Then he glanced at Calib’s button.

He seemed to check the banner of which family he was from.

It seems that he immediately saw the crest of the Grand Duke of Indigentia family engraved on the button.

The man’s face grew even more blue.

“Now, now. You guys apologize too.”

The man encouraged other children around him to apologize as well.

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Sorry.”

“But why are we apologizing, ouch. Why are you pushing me?”

“Quiet.”

“I’m sorryyy.”

The children held their hands in front of each other and apologized even though they glanced at each other.

Calib, who was watching him, quietly bit his lip and raised his hand.

“Forget it. I didn’t hear anything.”

His voice was as bold as a child, but it was cold at the end.

At Calib’s words, the man hugged his son and lifted him up with a visibly relieved face.

“T-Then now…”

“Huh? Dad, candy…”

“What candy! Let’s quickly go inside.”

The man gave a small shout and led the children, who still looked puzzled.

It was at this time.

“Huwaaa, I want candyyy.”

One of the children who was being led by a man started crying.

And whether the cry was contagious, one cried, another cried.

As the children burst into tears at the same time, the man’s face was truly contemplated.

“W-Why are you guys like this! You can eat the candy next time…!”

The man kept looking at us and didn’t know what to do.

Calib looked at him silently and then turned around.

“Ellia, let’s go.”

“Uh, huh?”

“It’s boring. And I was taught Noblesse Oblige. As a noble, you shouldn’t covet even the snacks of commoners.”

Then he took my hand and led me.

His fingers were so tight that they turned white.

I looked down at Calib and walked together to a corner of the park.

Behind the glance, a man and a merchant were looking at us, looking at each other with relieved expressions on their faces.

The merchant quickly took out the candy to appease the children, and the man handed the money with a bewildered expression.

“Come on, get it.”

“Wow, that’s exciting!”

“It’s lemon honey candy!”

Again, I heard the voices of the children chirping and rejoicing.

Calib took my hand and lowered his head.

Cedric, who hadn’t let out any words yet, said.

“Shall we move on to the next place?”

Calib nodded helplessly, but still kept his head lowered.

I watched it and squatted down in front of Calib.

“Calib, look at me.”

As I gently waved our clasped hands, his sullen red eyes turned to me.

“Why didn’t you tell them you just wanted to eat candy? Those children get it wrong.”

“I counted the candies.”

“Hm?”

An unexpected word came back.

I opened my eyes wide.

“There were thirty candy slots, fifteen candies left, and eleven children.”

Calib turned to the excited children after receiving the lemon honey candy.

“That merchant seems very familiar with selling lemon honey candies around here. He definitely left a share of the children playing in the park. So, those four remaining will also have owners.”

“But in the end, it’s on sale.”

“Yeah. ‘Only for the children who live here’.”

“Ah.”

“If we go to a square or downtown, there will be candy made in bulk to sell to tourists. I can eat it.”

He turned his head again.

I thought as I looked at that Calib.

Calib is the Grand Young Lord.

Those who were happy to receive the candy just now were the same age as him, but the situation was very different.

Those children are commoners, that’s why they can cry for candy, but Calib can’t.

Because Calib is a Grand Noble, it means that as much as there is something to be enjoyed, there is also a lot to lose.

But this is the mindset of those who are familiar with this world, not me.

I’m from modern times.

I had a younger brother as mature as Calib.

[‘I heard that an overseas training was held. Wouldn’t it be better to go?]

[It’s okay if I don’t go. Taekwondo is a Korean martial art, so why should I study abroad?]

[If you’re not going because of me, I’m fine, Sister.]

It couldn’t have been okay

But even so, I boarded the plane blindfolded by Yoonie’s words.

Because I believed that he would be happy only if I succeeded quickly.

And I regretted all this.

I said I did it for Yoonie every day, but in the end, I acted just like other adults.

Pretending not to know his feelings by saying, “I had no choice but to do it because of the situation.”

Unknowingly, I was leaning on the child’s ‘adultness’.

“I’m fine, Ellia.”

[I’m fine, Sister.]

Calib’s words, similar to Yoonie’s, were heard in two voice

I looked at him silently and closed my eyes.

The reason I possessed this world where there is Calib that resembles Yoonie not only in appearance, but also in circumstances, seems to be so that I can get a chance to make up for it.

All the things I did to Yoonie and the regrets I had late.

I opened my closed eyes and smiled.

“But I’m not okay, Calib.”

“Huh?”

“I crave that candy so much that I can’t walk.”

“Let’s go to the square quickly. There must be lots of lemon honey candies…”

“No.”

I cut off his words.

“I said before, you don’t have to try to act like the Grand Young Lord  when you’re with me.”

“Yeah…”

“This isn’t even the Grand Duke’s Castle, and Calib is with me, right?”

“Hm? Yeah…”

“Then what should Calib do?”

“But…”

Calib looked up at Cedric.

As if he was saying, “There are other people.”

Cedric, who felt Calib’s gaze, quickly turned a blind eye.

As if he didn’t know anything.

At his actions, Calib’s eyes trembled in surprise.

I said, clasping his hands.

“What does Calib want to do now? Not the Grand Young Lord, but Calib.”

At my words, he hesitated for a moment.

But for a moment, he said, looking at the lemon honey candy, as if he had taken great courage.

“Right now, I want to eat that.”

At his words, I could see the corners of Cedric’s lips rising halfway while he was turning his head.

I nodded my head at Calib’s words.

“Yeah, great. It seems that all the children who are going to buy candy have already bought it. If we don’t buy it, that candy might be thrown away. Shall we go buy candy together?”

Calib hesitated for a moment wondering whether it was okay for him to be happy, but then he smiled brightly.

“Yeah!”

It was such an innocent smile that it was hard to believe that he was the same person as Calib, who only had a grim expression in the Grand Duke’s Castle.

Cedric’s hydrangea-colored eyes twinkled at that sight.

“I’ll be exploring people.”

“Alright.”

I headed towards the lemon honey candy cart with Calib.

The children were running around the park with candy, and the merchant was chatting with the man.

“There are four left in Elphinium Square.”

“As I said, it makes sense to make it according to the number of regulars instead of making it plentiful, right? It’s not like we live every day.”

“I know. There would have been a lot left over.”

As Calib said, the merchant seemed to dominate this area.

And fortunately, the four remaining now seem to be in stock.

“Hello?”

I greeted them brightly and spoke to the merchant.

“Ah, yes! H-Hello!”

“Hello!”

The merchant and the man were startled and corrected their posture.

Perhaps they have already had a conversation about the Grand Noble.

I smiled at them and said.

“I want to buy three lemon honey candies.”

“Ah, three! Yes!”

The merchant quickly handed me a lemon honey candy.

One of them staggered while he was giving it to Calib directly because of the habit of giving it to a child.

However, Calib quickly accepted the candy, regardless of what commoners gave with one hand.

“Wow…”

The appearance of the shining transparent acacia honey-coated candy in the sunlight was no different from children running around the park.

Is it because of that innocent look?

The merchant took a little courage and opened his mouth.