We made a large detour around the lake and encountered a set of stairs. After descending them and walking for a while, we finally arrived at the village. It was small compared to Laster and Semme, but the lit streets were bustling with people. There were many staples for tourists, and vendors called from all around.
“Wow, Kira, look! This place is amazing!” I exclaimed.
“No street food,” Kira told me sternly.
I haven’t even said anything!
He must’ve noticed me staring longingly at the hot-spring-boiled eggs and steamed buns, though...
There were a great many bathhouses, and we chose one in a corner of the village that looked like it had been around a while. We figured that would be quieter and more relaxing than the larger ones.
When we went to pay, the attendant said hoarsely, “My, aren’t you two a beautiful pair. I don’t think I’ve seen you before. Where are you from?”
“Semme,” I said. “We’re camping near the lake.”
The attendant’s face stiffened. “Near the lake, you said?”
We were puzzled by the reaction.
Leaning in, she whispered, “Look, I’m telling you this for your own good. Turn around and go back to Semme now.”
“Huh?”
“The lake is...cursed.”
✦ ✦ ✦
After Evelyn and Kira headed to the mountain village, Mamaropa continued preparing dinner. Knowing she was cooking for her adorable new friends, not just herself, made her want to put more effort into the food.
She was in the middle of trying several spice combinations to find something that would match the fish’s flavor.
“Mm. This tastes good,” she said after tasting the seafood curry.
As she nodded, satisfied, Mamaropa noticed a group emerging from the dark woods. They wore minimal equipment but looked quite imposing. Mamaropa quickly surmised they were knights from the royal palace—thanks to the familiar rugged face at the front and a young man she recognized next to him.
“Your Highness, please don’t take point.”
“Why? Europa told me to find some person.”
“You may not be aware of this, but your sense of direction is awful. We’ve already gotten separated from some of our squads because of this. And how many times must I remind you that we’re looking for Evelyn?”
“You should be ashamed of scapegoating others like this.”
“Your Highness should be ashamed to be alive.”
“Ngh! That was a good one! You really are Europa’s cousin!”
“That doesn’t feel like a good thing...”
The two seemed to be arguing about something.
“Why, if it isn’t Prince Igna and Theodore,” Mamaropa said.
“Huh? Lady Mamaropa?!” Theodore exclaimed, shocked.
Igna gave Mamaropa a salute. “It’s been a while, Duchess Caté. Europa is doing well and abusing me as always.”
“I’m glad you two get along so well,” Mamaropa said. She nodded, then looked at the group. “By the way, why are so many of you here? Are you lost?”
“No, we’re not,” Theodore answered.
“Then why are you playing in the forest in the dark? It’s dangerous, you know.”
Theodore scratched his cheek sheepishly. “We’re not playing either... We’re looking for my fiancée.”
“Your fiancée,” Mamaropa echoed. “That would be Lady Evelyn, the former saint, correct?”
Theodore nodded stiffly.
Mamaropa’s expression softened. “Ah, I’m quite late, but congratulations on your engagement.”
“Thank you very much.” The young count looked at the gentle-natured noblewoman. She’s so unique.
It wasn’t quite that she disrupted his rhythm but rather that, every time he talked to her, he found himself matching her leisurely pace before he knew it. Mamaropa was a woman who, in a good way, was completely different from Europa—who didn’t disrupt others’ rhythms so much as she obliterated them.
“But...regarding my engagement, you see...”
“Did something happen?”
Theodore pressed his lips together. He’d almost said too much. “Ah, there was something I wanted to ask you for advice about, but...now is not the time. You see, Evelyn left a note lamenting her own life and vanished.”
“That’s...concerning,” Mamaropa said, furrowing her brow.
“Do you have any ideas, Lady Mamaropa? Evelyn should be with a black-haired boy named Kira.”
“A black-haired boy named Kira, you said?”
Her adorable black-haired, golden-eyed guest came to mind. The names matched. Were Theodore and Igna looking for her two new friends, who were currently relaxing at a hot spring?
No, surely Evelyn is not Saint Evelyn...
Mamaropa wanted to meet her beloved saint someday, but there was no way Saint Evelyn would just happen to appear where she was camping.
I might lose my mind if she did. But perhaps she should mention it to Theodore, just in case.
“Theodore, I’m currently camping with two young people named Evelyn and Kira.”
“What?! Really?!” Theodore said, eyes wide. “Are they here now?!”
“No, they’ve gone to the mountain village.”
“Lady Mamaropa, could you tell me more about what they’re like?”
Mamaropa thought about the pair. “Let’s see. They’re both very adorable, earnest, and kindhearted children.”
“Huh? Wait, did you say children?”
“Yes. Children,” Mamaropa said with a firm nod and serious expression. “Young children, without a doubt.” To her, at least.
Though Mamaropa seemed kind and flawless, she did have one particular quirk—to her, everyone appeared to be adorable children! Evelyn, Kira, her own daughter Europa, Theodore, Igna, and even the middle-aged and younger knights behind them. Without exception, they all looked like younger children to Mamaropa. Adorable, irresistible children who tickled her motherly instincts.
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, Mamaropa’s quirk tended to be dismissed with the excuse that she was a bit strange but ultimately a good person. And of course, to Theodore—who had known her a long time, given that they were related—Mamaropa felt a bit strange but ultimately seemed to be a good person.
“They’re such kind children,” she said. “They worked hard to help me prepare meals, washed the dishes, and even invited me fishing. I can’t count how many times I wiped tears from my cheeks.”
She was, in fact, tearing up even now, and delicately dabbed at her moist eyes with a lacy handkerchief.
“I’m so worried for them. Evelyn and Kira apparently left home after leaving a letter for their guardian. To think such cute children went missing! Their guardians must be beside themselves with worry.”
Igna glanced sharply at Theodore. “What do you think, Theodore?”
“What do I think? Simple, Your Highness,” Theodore said with a sigh. “I cannot lose sight of the truth simply because the names match. Evelyn is lovely, but she’s an adult woman. Kira is young, but not ‘young child’ young.”
“Meaning?”
“The children camping with Lady Mamaropa are not at all the Evelyn and Kira we’re looking for! This is a red herring. It’s the kind of trap amateurs tend to fall for.”
“Ah. Brilliant deduction,” Igna said, not at all objecting to the very incorrect conclusion the bumbling detective had confidently reached. In fact, he didn’t care either way to begin with.
“So it’s a red herring after all,” Mamaropa lamented. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be of help, Theodore.”
Theodore shook his head. “No, please don’t worry about it.”
In the end, they hadn’t found any leads on Evelyn’s whereabouts, but it wasn’t something Mamaropa had to apologize for.
“When they return, I’ll ask them if they know anything about Lady Evelyn,” Mamaropa offered.
“Thank you, Lady Mamaropa,” Theodore said, then turned to Igna. “Your Highness, I’m going to the village to make inquiries. Could you search around the lake?”
“No, I’ll go to the village,” Igna said. “I’ve been there before, so I know the terrain.”
Theodore squinted suspiciously at Igna. “But Your Highness doesn’t even know who we’re searching for. The idea of you making inquiries makes me extremely anxious.”
Igna’s guards were too loyal to contradict him, after all. Theodore couldn’t trust them to pick up the slack either.
“I know exactly who,” Igna said, scoffing. “It’s Apron.”
“Like this one?” Mamaropa asked, making her apron flutter.
“That’s not it,” Theodore said flatly.
“Enoki?” Igna asked.
“Ah, we’re fresh out,” Mamaropa replied dutifully.
“That’s not it either! We’re looking for Evelyn! E-v-e-l-y-n! Not Europa, not Apron, not Enoki, Evelyn! Your Highness can’t even get the first letter consistently!”
“I know. I was simply joking,” Igna said, clapping an incredulous Theodore’s shoulder. “Making inquiries around the village is far more tiring. Searching around the lake would be easier on your stamina.”
Theodore’s breath caught. Though he was irritated at Igna’s foolish behavior, he couldn’t deny that the prince was being considerate, in a way. He was voluntarily taking on the more burdensome task, having noticed how fatigued Theodore was.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
“No need to thank me.”
“I’ll leave the village to you and search near the lake, then.”
Igna ordered the remaining ten knights to split into groups of five. He and Theodore would each lead one group to search separately.
Mamaropa was watching them set out when the curry boiled over.
“Oh, the pot!”
She used potholders to move it slightly away from the center of the flame. As she did, a thought occurred to her.
“Right! Theodore is the lord of Semme now. I could’ve asked him to contact Evelyn and Kira’s family...”
But when she looked around, Theodore was already gone.