Chster 21
“Aster!”
“Huh? My lady!”
Aster, who had been dangling from a man’s arm with her teeth clamped onto it, quickly let go upon seeing Iris.
The man, who had been bitten by Aster, huffed as he looked at the teeth marks on his arm and raised it.
“You little wench!”
“Aster!”
Iris rushed forward to shield Aster, and Jack stepped in front of her. And then, in front of him—
*Clang!*
The Crown Prince’s escort knights drew their swords and blocked the man.
“Eek!”
Startled by the sudden brandishing of real swords, the man stumbled backward and fell hard on his rear.
“Oh no, what do we do!”
“Aster, are you okay?”
Hearing the commotion from the side, Iris looked over and saw other maids.
They checked on the fuming Aster to make sure she was alright before quickly bowing to Iris’s group.
“We’re sorry!”
“We apologize for causing a scene!”
No less than the Crown Prince himself had witnessed this, so how shocked must he be? Iris calmly waved her hand to settle them down and asked Aster,
“What’s going on, Aster?”
“No, my lady! Listen to me!”
Aster, fuming with indignation, spoke up.
“They knew we were foreigners and tried to rip us off!”
“Aha.”
“They said five tomatoes cost 50 silver! Does that make any sense?”
“Hmm, that doesn’t add up.”
Fifty silver was about what an average commoner earned in a week.
“I-I was wrong! I didn’t know they were maids of such noble people, I…!”
The man who had been yelling at Aster, startled by the swords, began apologizing profusely without even knowing who they were.
“It’s common for foreigners to get ripped off at travel destinations…”
Iris briefly pondered what to do with this troublemaker. But she hadn’t done anything wrong; she’d only stood up to a scammer trying to overcharge her. What could be done?
“Five tomatoes for 50 silver is a bit much, don’t you think?”
When she asked the Crown Prince, who had approached, he crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.
“…Indeed.”
“….”
“What?”
“…How much is one tomato?”
“…Ten silver?”
“Didn’t you just say five tomatoes for 50 silver was expensive?”
“…Indeed.”
“I won’t assume Your Highness, who will one day lead a nation, can’t do basic addition and subtraction. It’s only natural for people to get flustered by unexpected questions.”
“Don’t mock me.”
“Haha.”
Iris teased the Crown Prince to her heart’s content before pulling Aster close to her side.
Having lived a rough life as a pickpocket, Aster didn’t seem like someone who’d easily get scammed. What a maid.
“So, how much are five tomatoes supposed to cost?”
When Iris tilted her head slightly and asked haughtily, the scruffy merchant stammered before finally revealing the truth.
“Fifty bronze…”
“That jerk, trying to charge ten times the price…!”
“Aster, calm down.”
Despite her past as a pickpocket, Aster seemed remarkably sharp with numbers.
Well, you’d need to know the value of money to survive as a pickpocket, wouldn’t you?
After the commotion, the two maids bought the tomatoes at the proper price and bowed in gratitude. Well, it wasn’t a big deal.
“By the way, what brings you here, my lady?”
When Aster asked, Iris shrugged.
“Just had something to check on.”
“Oh, should we head back on our own then?”
“Want to?”
“Got it. Later, I’ll show you how I do laundry!”
“Laundry?”
Iris let out a short laugh and asked back.
“Yeah! I think I have a knack for laundry. The other maids praised me for it.”
“That’s something to look forward to.”
“But they told me to stay away from the kitchen.”
“Oh dear.”
“But if I learn, it’ll be fine, right?”
Iris listened attentively to Aster’s chatter. Then, she suddenly noticed a familiar crest on a carriage passing by in the distance.
“Hm?”
“What’s wrong, my lady?”
Iris narrowed her eyes and stared at the alley where the carriage had just passed. Naturally, the carriage was already gone.
“Nothing. I must’ve seen it wrong.”
She shook her head, and Aster tilted hers curiously before resuming her enthusiastic talk about what she was learning.
*‘There’s no way that crest would be here.’*
Thinking she must have mistaken something, Iris lightly shook her head and quickly forgot about it.
* * *
After sending Aster and the two maids back to the lodging, the remaining five began gathering rumors about the wizard.
Since wizards were known to appear here and there unpredictably, finding out how to meet one was the priority. Fortunately, they got some good news.
“It seems the wizard of Anon frequently appears in this border village.”
“Probably because it’s close to their hideout.”
“It’s not the northern wizard we’re looking for, but meeting Anon’s wizard might give us clues about how to meet the others, right?”
“I think so too.”
While Iris was talking with the Crown Prince, Jack, who had been quietly listening nearby, cleared his throat and chimed in.
“All I found out is that if you’re lucky, you might meet the wizard under the big tree on the highest hill in this village.”
Iris recalled what an old man running a pharmacy had told her.
“But I heard Anon’s wizard doesn’t like commotion. It might not be a good idea for all of us to go together.”
The Crown Prince nodded at her words.
“We don’t know if we’ll meet them or not, but it’s probably best if only one or two of us go up.”
“Hmm.”
Iris fell into thought. Honestly, after wandering around all day, she was starting to feel like heading back to the lodging to rest.
‘I should just let the Crown Prince handle it and go rest.’
Just as Iris was about to say she’d head back first, the Crown Prince grabbed her hand.
“Huh?”
“This way, the two of us can go together.”
“What? Why me?”
“Well, since I need you to meet the wizard I’m looking for, it makes sense for you and me to go up.”
“Oh…”
The Crown Prince flashed a broad smile at Iris, who was openly reluctant, and began walking toward the hill, still holding her hand.
“The rest of you, keep watch below and make sure no one else approaches.”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
“Ha…”
Jack let out a wry laugh behind the knights’ responses, but the Crown Prince paid no mind and led Iris by the hand. In the end, Iris was dragged up the hill by the Crown Prince.
‘Why do I have a feeling this is going to lead to a lot of hassle?’
For some reason, she couldn’t shake that feeling.
The hill wasn’t too high, so climbing it wasn’t difficult. The village scenery visible during the ascent wasn’t bad either.
“You were sulking earlier, but you seem fine now.”
When the Crown Prince teased, Iris shrugged.
“If I kept sulking over something I don’t like, it’d only make things harder, wouldn’t it? Better to just get it over with.”
“That’s a great attitude.”
“It’s annoying to hear that from the one who dragged me into this.”
Iris grumbled but climbed the hill with ease, thanks to her light clothing.
Soon, they reached the large tree at the top of the hill. Its thick trunk rose high, with wide leaves spreading like a canopy—a type of tree unfamiliar in the Empire.
“It’s cool up here.”
The breeze, carrying the fresh scent of the tree, gently brushed through their hair. But despite the pleasant atmosphere, there was no one under the tree.
“Looks like the wizard isn’t here today.”
“Seems so. I don’t sense any presence.”
Iris plopped down on the grass under the tree and gazed at the village below.
“Since we came up for nothing, let’s rest a bit.”
“….”
The Crown Prince looked at her sitting casually on the grass before taking a seat beside her. The village lights, still aglow, twinkled like stars in the sky.
“I’m glad we came up here after all.”
“Good to hear you think so.”
Iris sat comfortably, wiggling her toes, but the straps of her new sandals left faint red marks where they rubbed.
The Crown Prince, somehow noticing this in the dim light, furrowed his brow.
“Did you hurt your foot?”
“Oh, it’s just because the shoes are new. They’ll break in with wear.”
“You should’ve said something.”
“What difference would it make?”
When she replied nonchalantly, the Crown Prince’s eyebrow twitched.
What’s with him?
“Still…”
“Huh? Your Highness! Over there!”
Just as the Crown Prince was about to say something more, Iris spotted something and pointed behind the tree.
There was definitely something there.
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By Anna 💓
