CH 180

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“You! It’s disrespectful to obstruct my carriage!”

“Pl-please forgive me!”

It seems like they’re having some trouble, but I wonder what’s going on? Curious, I parted the crowd and approached the carriage.

Peeking through a gap in the crowd, I saw a girl who looked about the same age as us sitting in front of a parked carriage, throwing herself down in front of a man who seemed to be some sort of nobleman, pressing her forehead against the ground and keeping her head down.

Behind the girl, a small boy is crying. His knees were scraped and bleeding, as if he had fallen.

“What happened?”

I ask the lady at the shop just beside me.

“Well, it seems that the little boy ran out in front of the nobleman’s carriage and fell down.”

“Eh? But during the celebrations, this street is supposed to be closed to carriages and horses, right? Then it’s the nobleman who’s at fault.”

The woman frowned when I said that.

“That’s right, but the other party is a nobleman, right? We commoners can’t complain. I feel sorry for those children, too.”

I see. So that’s how it is.

The people around seem to be thinking the same, but no one tries to help the children. Since it’s such a big festival, there are likely to be knights and soldiers patrolling the city, but even if they were there, they wouldn’t be able to expect a decent response from the rowdy nobles.

Even as I was thinking about this, the young nobleman’s anger did not subside, but became even more intense.

“Absolutely infuriating! This is what happens to people who don’t know their place!”

The man said as he vigorously raised the whip he was holding.

A whip? Do you usually carry something like that with you? What a ridiculous guy!

I jumped out immediately, but Percival was one step faster. He caught the whip that was just swinging down with one hand.

“It’s not a commendable thing to wield a whip on an unresisting opponent.”

“Wh-what is with you!”

“If you’re going to ask what, shouldn’t we be the ones asking? Right now, carriages and horses are not allowed to pass through here.”

“Ha! So what? I’m from a ducal family.”

Ducal family huh. Is this the dignity of a ducal family? I think it’s better not to say it in public too much, as it will cause trouble for the other ducal families.

“So what? His Majesty the King of Tornx has decided to restrict the traffic in this street during the celebrations. I don’t see how you, a noble, can so brazenly ignore that? Or are the ducal families of this country higher than His Majesty the King?”

“Nah!”

Oops, I’ve inadvertently agitated the man.

“Y-you, cheeky little brat!”

The man with a red face tried to whip me, but Percival had a firm grip on the whip.

“Damn it! L-let go!”

“I refuse.”

Percival answered calmly without changing his expression.

The man tried in vain to pull it out, but in the end he gave up and took his hand off the whip.

“You guys! You know what will happen if you go against me, right?”

“Well? What’s going to happen?”

I tilted my head and looked at Percival, who shrugged and shook his head.

“I’m going to ask my father to throw you all in prison and sell you to slave traders! It’s too late for you to regret it now!”

Ha? Father? This man, he’s asking his parents for help at this age?

Slave trading is also banned here in Tornx, but felons can be handed over to slave traders with the king’s permission. In short, he is going to cry to his father, the Duke, and ask His Majesty the King for a favour.

But would His Majesty the King approve such a thing?

“……I see. I understand. Then I would like you to get a formal letter to that effect from the Duke and deliver it to the royal castle where we are staying. We have been invited to this ceremony and are staying at the palace. They will probably know it if you mention Percival Belisario of Solmontana.”

“Oh, I’m Saphiras!”

“……Ha? The royal castle? Solmontana……?”

“E-Edion-sama, any more than this is…….”

The person who seemed to be a servant, who had been standing behind the man until now, finally moved. I guess they realised that it was not a good idea to pick a fight with the people from neighbouring countries who had been invited for this celebration.

“I-I’ll let you off the hook this time!”

The man who had been waving his parental authority around so much changed his attitude immediately and tried to get into the carriage.

“Oh, wait!”

“Wh-What?”

“You forgot this.”

When Percival held out the whip, the noble son snatched it and got into the carriage as if to escape.

“Hurry up and get the carriage moving!”

“Ah! You’re not supposed to go through here, so please go slowly and watch out for passersby!”

As I called out to them, I heard a loud banging sound from inside the cabin.

He must be venting his anger on the door. He’s a hot-tempered guy. As expected, the coachman looked embarrassed at the accusatory stares of those around him, and carefully moved the carriage and left the scene.

“Are you alright?”

I offered a hand to the girl sitting on the stone pavement.

“Th-thank you! I don’t know how to thank you…….”

“No, you don’t have to thank me. The man is the one who is at fault. Above that……”

I turn to face the crying boy. His knees were scraped and heavily stained with blood and dirt.

“This hurts, doesn’t it?

I magically produce water to wash the wound clean, and Percival wraps the wound with a handkerchief.

“Mm. It’s okay now. Boys get stronger after falling. But from now on, when you walk down the street, be careful of horse-drawn carriages.”

“……Mm.”

“Really, really, Thank you so much……”

The girl bowed repeatedly as she disappeared into the crowd, hand in hand with the boy. The people who had gathered for the commotion were all heading off to their respective destinations.

“You guys have courage! I’m so relieved that you were able to outwit those despicable nobles!”

It’s the lady from the shop who I had spoken to earlier.

“Here, take this if you like.”

The woman offers me a small, bulging bag. When I took it and opened the bag, I could smell a slight sweet and sour odour.

Inside was a bag of dried orange fruit.

“This is?”

“Dried apricots. Ours are extra tasty!”

I noticed that the lady’s shop is lined with bags of various dried fruits and nuts. Among them, there are many bags of dried apricots, which must be one of the most popular items in the shop.

“Thank you, I’ll have some!”

“You came all the way, so please enjoy the festival.”

“Yes!”

Waving to the lady, we resume our stroll.

“Hey, that guy from earlier, do you really think he’ll bring a letter to his father, the Duke?”

“A proper nobleman would not do something like that to a guest from a neighbouring country who came to celebrate the king of his own country.”

“I see. But, if he’s from a ducal family, maybe we’ll see him at the evening party.”

“Yeah, he’ll probably be there.”

……I have a feeling I’m going to get caught up. in it I’ve got to make sure I don’t cause trouble for Aurora.”