His face was so solemn as he unleashed a torrent of compliments that I almost wanted to retort, “What committee are you judging for?!” His cadence was brisk and a little terrifying.
“Sir, you understand!” Zaara said.
“It’s only natural.” Klaus swelled with pride.
I looked away. “Um, then, I gratefully accept.” In the corner of my mind I was crying, Flowers are the symbol of this festival, and they’re supposed to help men and women get together. Are you sure you want to base the motif off the feudal lord? However, I couldn’t bring myself to say such an uncouth thing out loud with Zaara beaming at me like that.
“Oh yeah! I’m going to enter the cooking contest, so please swing by if you have time,” she said.
“Yes, of course. Good luck!”
“I’m aiming for victory!” she exclaimed zealously.
I parted ways with Zaara and headed for a different area. I pretended like I hadn’t seen Klaus furtively ask Zaara to set aside a flower basket for him. After that initial encounter, people continued to call out to me with every step. Villagers gave me vegetables and sweets one after another, and my attendants ended up with their arms full.
On the off chance something does happen, it’ll be bad if their hands are out of commission... They should put the gifts somewhere and come back. However, they’re so loyal that they will be unwilling to step away from me. I’ll just have to make my rounds while heading toward my carriage.
As soon as I left the festival grounds, the people disappeared. The hot, frenzied air particular to crowds faded, and it became easier to breathe. I was drawing deep breaths as I walked when I heard voices coming from the shadows of a building. I couldn’t ascertain exactly what they were saying, but it didn’t sound peaceful. Just as I was wondering if I was witnessing a fight, Klaus stepped in front of me. Before I knew it, the other knights had also taken up their positions in a defensive circle around me.
The voice was coming from far away, but I managed to make out, “...now you’ve done it. Bastard! Bring it...” The context was unclear, but I sensed danger.
It sounds like there are several people arguing back there. No, that was one person’s voice, so someone may be getting threatened.
“Beat it!” someone roared angrily.
My guards grasped the handles of their swords.
Right as Klaus took a step forward, a loud “Gah?!” rang through the air. Not a second later, someone came flying out of the shadows.
My eyes popped open in surprise as a large man tumbled in front of me. He must’ve landed quite hard, because he stayed on the ground moaning. That didn’t change the fact that he was a stranger though, and my knights had me take a few steps back.
What happened? What is going on? Someone must’ve sent this man flying, but my guards aren’t moving a muscle, not even Klaus.
I heard the sound of pebbles crunching under someone’s foot. I looked up with a start to see another person emerge from the shadows. Their face was shrouded by the hood of their cloak, but judging by their stature and build, I guessed they were a man. He looks scrawnier than the man on the ground. Did he really knock him over?
“Halt!” Klaus yelled sharply.
The hooded individual obediently stopped and raised his hands in the air to show he had no intention of resisting.
“What happened here?” Klaus asked.
“That man was being violent, so I simply put a stop to it.” It was the voice of a young man. He didn’t have an accent, and his level tone gave off a certain air of class.
Upon closer inspection, his clothes were awfully well-made. At a glance, he was dressed like a commoner, but the lack of wrinkles on his shirt peeking out from under his cloak, the sheen of his leather boots, his buttons—there were too many things that gave away his high status.
I’d thought it might’ve been a fight between people who’d gotten swept up in the festivities or ruffians hired by Duke Schletter, but he didn’t seem to fit either case.
“And who are you?” Klaus questioned.
“I’m...no one suspicious,” the young man responded hesitantly.
Anyone who answers with “no one suspicious” is definitely suspicious! And I think he knows it. His voice lacks conviction.
Klaus regarded him warily and was about to ask a follow-up question when another person appeared from behind the slender man.
“Um...” It was a young woman. She wore a beleaguered expression as she glanced between the man and Klaus. “He’s telling the truth. That one on the ground was hassling me, and this man helped me.”
Deep creases were etched into Klaus’s brow. He didn’t doubt her words—after all, both he and I knew the woman. She wasn’t a villager, nor was she a traveler. She wore the guise of an ordinary person here for sightseeing, but she was actually one of our knights.
Unlike at normal festivals, it was highly likely that incidents bigger than drunken fights might break out this year. There were knights in uniform patrolling the village, but we had also deployed several knights and agents in casual clothes to blend in with the festivalgoers. She was one of them.
Probably what happened is that when she was accosted by the large man, she didn’t retaliate immediately, so she could see what he would do. Then the second man passed by and helped her. She’s not wrong for wanting to sound out the large man’s motives, and the other man isn’t bad for helping her when he passed by, of course. It was just unlucky timing.
Eyes closed, Klaus massaged his brow with his thumb and sighed. “I’ll hear what you have to say at the guardhouse,” he said curtly.
One of my knights approached the fallen man and bound his arms so he couldn’t struggle before forcing him onto his feet.
“Is that permissible?” Klaus asked me.