A Petal Of Memory (3)

“Wow… it’s exactly like in the books…!”

Even the shop’s exterior moved Aidoni so much she looked on the verge of tears.

“Still, it’s awfully festive.”

Noi looked around. Huge floral decorations and arches made of flowers hung over the street. Colorful cloths dangled from windows, fluttering in the wind and glowing as the sunlight shone through. At each doorstep, the flag of the Esria Kingdom was raised.

“The royal capital is right in the middle of the festival celebrating His Majesty’s fiftieth year on the throne. The ball you were invited to is part of it.”

With that brief explanation, Ornis left to rejoin Kardia, who was speaking with the coachman.

“I—I had no idea…”

She was glad she’d learned that before she said something odd.

As she relaxed, voices from town men drifted to Noi’s ears.

“—Happened to your place too?”

“What, they hit you lot as well? Seriously… that Hyuetos Magic Count is a real piece of work.”

Startled by the sudden mention of “the Hyuetos Magic Count,” Noi looked back.

“Word is he’s been snubbing the king’s summons for decades.”

“So nobles get away with mocking the king, huh.”

“Wasn’t he banished out here in the first place for messing things up?”

“So why would His Majesty call a man like that back now, after all this time?”

As Noi stared, curious about their talk, the men noticed her gaze and walked off, looking awkward.

What she’d heard was slander about Kardia. Regardless of whether it all fit together, the way they spoke made it sound like they had met Kardia quite recently.

When Noi started after them to ask more, an arm slipped under her and lifted her up.

“Hey, where are you going? You’ll get lost—that’s dangerous.”

A familiar voice scolded Noi from a familiar place.

“Kardia!”

“Hm?”

Kardia tilted his head and looked at Noi. From the look of things, he hadn’t heard the earlier conversation while he was giving instructions to the coachman.

(…This isn’t something to bring up right now, is it?)

Calm down and talk later. Noi shook her head to Kardia, saying, “It’s nothing.”

“What’s wrong? Did you get scared?”

Perhaps thinking Noi had lost her nerve at the grand tailor’s, Kardia peered at her with concern. Noi chuckled and said, “I’m fine.”

(…It must be some mistake.)

Kardia had even gotten caked in mud to save a cow. There was no way he would do anything that would make townsfolk call him “a man like that.”

Switching gears, Noi entered En Dima.

En Dima was every bit the venerable establishment worthy of the books. The interior was spacious; soft carpets lay over marble floors; lavish chandeliers hung from the high ceiling, flooding the room with light. The sumptuous paintings and beautiful tapestries on the walls depicted illustrious patrons of the past.

In the gleaming display windows, vibrant dresses stood in rows, and on a mahogany desk expensive fabrics for ongoing consultations were spread out.

Inside glass showcases, neatly arranged jewels and ornaments sparkled as clerks explained them to customers.

There was also a place where seamstresses had gathered together. Dressed in the latest fashions, they moved their needles with refined skill: some stitched expanses of fabric as wide as the sea, some carefully gathered pleats, others added delicate embroidery.

Customers, impressed by the craftsmanship, urged the attending clerks to put those very techniques into their own garments.

Aidoni pressed both hands to her mouth to swallow a squeal of delight. Her body trembled with joy; this must have been the place she had longed for above all.

Glancing all around, Noi tilted her head. “Huh?”

(…This shop…)

It was the place she had once brought Kardia to.

It had been expanded and the exterior had changed, but the fittings around the counter were just as they had been.

(How nostalgic…)

Back then, Kardia had been much smaller than Noi was now. He had clutched her hand anxiously, watching with a fluttering heart as she splurged on his behalf.

(And now—look at him.)

Carrying Noi, Kardia strode through the shop with a stately gait. From that profile, not a trace remained of the boy from those days.

(I wish I could show this splendid Kardia to the Kardia of back then.)

Entertaining that impossibility and nodding to herself, Noi suddenly lurched.

(What—!)

“Move! You’re in the way!”

A man shouted loud enough to ring through the shop. It seemed someone had shoved Kardia from behind. Thanks to Kardia’s firm hold she didn’t fall, but the sudden jolt was frightening all the same.

“Are you the proprietor? I want to place an order for my companion.”

Beside the man stood a woman in gaudy dress. With alluring eyes, she smiled seductively and leaned on him.

“I’m terribly sorry, sir. We’re swamped with orders for the ball at present—”

Just as Aidoni had feared, getting an order in was indeed difficult. For a popular shop, that was only natural.

But unlike Noi, who was ready to accept that, the pair showed no sign of giving up.

“You sure about that? I’m the Hyuetos Magic Count!”

“What!?”

Noi blurted out.

However, almost everyone else in the shop exclaimed as well, so fortunately her voice didn’t catch the man’s attention.

If anything, he seemed pleased to be the center of it.

He swept his gaze around the shop with a sneering grin.

“Blowing this whole tailor to bits’d be nothin’ to me, y’know!”

At that vile threat, Noi saw red. Sensing she was about to jump down, Kardia tightened his arms and held her still.

“Kar—!”

“Shh.”

Kardia pressed two fingers to Noi’s lips before she could protest. Faced with his intent gaze—as if he were weighing the situation—Noi fell silent and closed her mouth.

Then the manager came sprinting from the back.

“M—most terribly sorry, Hyuetos Magic Count! This one is still new… Hey! Apologize at once!”

“I—I am terribly sorry!”

Noi’s eyes widened. She had never imagined they would treat that impostor as the Hyuetos Magic Count.

(…Right—Kardia hasn’t come down to the surface in decades…)

The Hyuetos Magic Count had gone to the skies alone decades ago. They said he hadn’t approached the royal capital for many years.

No one in the royal capital knew his face or age.

What’s more, when Kardia came down to the surface now, he even used a false name in his own domain. Even his own subjects—let alone the capital—didn’t know that Kardia was the Hyuetos Magic Count.

On top of that, the idea that the Hyuetos Magic Count himself was still alive—and that he looked this young—was surely beyond anyone’s imagination.

The man counterfeiting the title of Hyuetos Magic Count was middle-aged. In the Esria Kingdom, the rank of count was hereditary.

Naturally, people would think that after the true Hyuetos Magic Count died, his son had succeeded him.