As we waited, the successful purchasers passed by, singing the bonbonnière’s praises.
“This is an amazing product.”
“I can’t believe this is a candy dish.”
A variety of emotions washed over me, ranging from happiness to embarrassment. The craftsmen had worked very hard on this product, and I was sincerely glad that the people in the capital recognized their talents.
“Francette, everyone’s praising your bonbonnières,” said Princess Griselda.
“Yes, it’s an honor.” I wouldn’t have been able to hear this feedback if I’d only watched from afar. “I was able to hear everyone’s thoughts since we came to buy a bonbonnière.”
The princess beamed at me. After an hour and a half of waiting, it was finally our turn.
“Um, do you still have bonbonnières?” Princess Griselda asked Solene nervously.
“Uh, let me see...” Solene turned around and rummaged through the boxes in the storeroom.
The women ahead of us in line had been able to buy them. Was there still one in stock for Princess Griselda? I watched anxiously.
“W-We do!” Solene exclaimed. “This is the very last one.”
The moment Princess Griselda heard that, she clutched her chest and burst into tears. She must’ve become emotional at the prospect of achieving her goal. While she was wiping away her tears, I went to pay for the bonbonnière.
“Wait, Francette?! Why are you here? Who is this girl?” Solene asked.
“I’ll explain later,” I said. “Let me pay for this.”
“A-All right.”
To keep the transactions timely while accounting for the long line, no packaging service was provided. Solene handed the bonbonnière over as is, and Princess Griselda accepted it carefully, cradling it like a baby.
“May you be blessed with happiness!” Solene said cheerily. It wasn’t her usual send-off—perhaps because she’d heard about the custom of giving bonbonnières out at weddings as a way of sharing one’s happiness with the guests.
When we went back outside, Princess Griselda turned to me with an excited look on her face. “Francette, I bought the bonbonnière!”
“Congratulations. I’m kind of happy too.”
“Thank you!”
There had been so many people in line that I had half given up on being able to buy it. We’d been fortunate that there’d been one left in stock, and now it was in Princess Griselda’s hands.
“I couldn’t have done it without you, Francette!”
“That’s not true. We never would’ve come this far without your efforts.”
“Thank you so much.” Princess Griselda hugged the bonbonnière lovingly and nuzzled it against her cheek. Wibble applauded her.
“Now then, shall we get you home?”
“Yes, let’s go.”
I extended my hand, and Princess Griselda grabbed it, holding on to it firmly. All I had to do now was get her safely to the castle, and my mission would be accomplished. She was probably exhausted by this point. I would’ve loved to carry her on my back, but I didn’t have the strength to hold up a seven-year-old for that long. I’m sorry for being so weak, I apologized in my heart as we hurried through the old part of town.
Just as we were about to reach the carriage stand, disaster struck again.
“Yo, remember me?” The man from earlier appeared once more, blocking our way.
But I have to get Princess Griselda back to the castle as soon as possible... I gritted my teeth. To make matters worse, the man didn’t seem to be alone this time. Three other men came to surround us.
“Huh, I thought you were kind of plain, but you’re actually really pretty!”
I had heard those words a hundred times while accompanying my sister. They hardly came as a shock to me.
One of the men crouched down and asked Princess Griselda, “Little girl, can we borrow your mom?”
Apparently they thought we were mother and daughter. Even if I’d gotten married at fifteen, there was no way I could have a seven-year-old daughter. But that wasn’t important right now. What mattered was that I didn’t want them to get Princess Griselda involved.
As I moved to hide her behind me, she did something completely unexpected: she slapped the man’s cheek with all her might.
“Guh!”
The attack seemed to do quite a bit of damage, perhaps because he hadn’t seen it coming. Panicking, I pulled Princess Griselda to me and hugged her tightly.
“Th-That hurt, dammit!”
“Uh-oh, now you’ve done it.”
“You broke his cheekbone.”
“How’re you gonna take responsibility for that?”
What were these men talking about? A frail little girl couldn’t possibly break someone’s bones. In fact, I was more worried about the princess’s hand.
“Let’s make ’em pay for damages.”
“One gold coin.”
“Nah, make it a hundred gold coins.”
One of the men pointed at the bonbonnière in Princess Griselda’s hands. “Hang on, that kid’s holding the thing from the newspaper.”
“If it was in the news, does that mean it’s valuable?”
“Hand it over, then.”
“It’s a peaceful solution for everyone.”
“C’mon, give it.”
The man’s outstretched hand was brutally slammed away by a Wibble-turned-hammer.
“Gyaaaah!”
“Wha?! Where’d that hammer come from?!”
“Dammit, another weapon?!”
“You’re not getting away with this!”
I tried to throw another smoke bomb, but the first man grabbed my arm.
“I’m not falling for that again!”
His hand also fell victim to the brutal judgment of the Wibble-hammer.
“Gwuuuh!”
My own hand now free, I flung the smoke bomb at the ground before the man’s feet. It was supposed to activate on impact, but it seemed that there wasn’t enough force. However, the action did succeed in making the man wary.
“That’s the thing that releases smoke that makes your eyes hurt!”
Seeing an opening in his hesitation, I pulled Princess Griselda by the hand and began to sprint for the recently arrived omnibus. Unfortunately, as we took off, the carriage began to leave.
“No!” I lamented. There was no choice but to keep running.
A beat later, the men were on our tail. “Get back here!”
Princess Griselda’s hand dragged mine back as she lagged behind me. I could tell she was already at her limit. Maybe I should have Wibble swallow us both up and esca—
“Got you!” came a voice from right behind us. One of the men had grabbed Princess Griselda’s arm...in theory. In reality, the arm he had taken hold of was Wibble in disguise.
“Punishmeeent!” Wibble punched the man in the face.
Squatting down on the spot, unable to muster the energy to move farther, Princess Griselda huffed out, “Fran...cette...I can’t...go on...”
“Yes, you can!” I crouched in front of her and told her to get on my back.
“No...I can’t...do that. Francette...run away...by yourself...”
“Selda!”
I needed to at least hide her somewhere. Just as I was about to pull her into my arms, a wooden stick appeared in front of my eyes. The man had approached us at some point and was now looming over us menacingly. I hugged Princess Griselda protectively and closed my eyes as she cried in my arms.
If only I’d taken her back to the castle from the very beginning, she never would’ve had to go through something so traumatizing. I was overcome with regret.
“Dieee!”
I gritted my teeth and braced for impact, but the pain never came. Instead, I heard the clang of the stick hitting something hard.
“Huh?!” Slowly opening my eyes, I saw the kaolin slime before me. “You’re...”
“Fran!”
I turned around to see Gabriel. “Gabriel? Why are you here?”
“There was a big commotion because the princess went missing, so I was looking for her. I searched around the central district before going back to the inn to ask for your help, and that was when I found your letter. As soon as I read it, I wondered if Princess Griselda had gone to buy a bonbonnière. I didn’t expect to find you two together, though.”
My letter had led to the princess’s early discovery.
“Fran, is Princess Griselda unharmed?”
“Yes, of course.”
Gabriel looked at the girl clinging to me and his expression softened in relief. Princess Griselda was safe.
“Why you...!”
“Wah!”
The man kicked the kaolin slime away and tried to approach us.
“Not so fast!” Wibble turned into a giant butterfly net and restrained him. The more the man struggled, the more it tangled around his body.
“Dammit! What the hell is this?!”
“A bug-catching net. You’re a pest, so I caught you!”
I couldn’t help but laugh at Wibble’s harsh words. Even Princess Griselda, who had been crying, smiled.
“I see the princess!” That was the siren duke’s voice.
A group of knights rushed towards us and restrained the men. A woman, presumably Princess Griselda’s attendant, also ran up to us and hugged the girl’s small frame.
“Thank goodness you’re safe, Griselda!” the siren duke exclaimed.
“I’m sorry for sneaking out, Magritte,” said Princess Griselda. “It’s all my fault.”
“I know you’re sorry; don’t worry. I’ll let His and Her Majesty do the lecturing.”
Her words made my blood run cold.
“Fran, are you all right?” Gabriel asked.
“I-I might not be. I was the one who brought Princess Griselda all the way here.”
“You did?”
“Yes, so don’t be upset with her.”
Princess Griselda tried to explain, but her attendant began to guide her away. “Francette, thank you for everything!” She held up the bonbonnière as she waved goodbye.
The siren duke walked up to me with a smile. I couldn’t help but tense up.
“You did well, Francette,” she said.
“I-I did?”
“You kept Princess Griselda safe, didn’t you?”
“Y-Yes, but...” I hadn’t been able to stop her. If I had brought her back to the castle as soon as I’d found her, things never would have escalated to this point. “My poor judgment put her into a terrible situation.”
“No, that’s not true.”
“But if I’d brought her back to the castle...”
“You couldn’t have. That would’ve been asking for the impossible.”
Why was it impossible? I tilted my head in confusion.
“Once she’s got her mind set on something, she won’t listen to anyone’s objections. So even if you’d stopped her, she would’ve found a way here somehow. I shudder to think of what would’ve happened if she’d come here alone.”
Did that mean I hadn’t made the wrong decision to accompany her here instead of taking her back to the castle?
“Don’t worry, Francette. No one will blame you for what you did.”
When I heard those words, I nearly collapsed on the spot. Gabriel caught me before my knees hit the ground. He scooped me up and proceeded to carry me in his arms, bridal-style.
“Eep! G-Gabriel, you don’t need to carry me.”
“What are you talking about? You’re clearly unsteady.”
I couldn’t deny that—not when all of the strength had left my body. I couldn’t even stand properly.
Wibble came back from restraining the man and hopped onto Gabriel’s shoulder.
“Fra, do you want Wibble to be your bed?”
Anyone could tell that lying down in a public place with pedestrian traffic would attract attention and be horribly embarrassing. I had no choice but to accept Gabriel’s kindness.
“Fran, let’s head back.”
“Yes, let’s.”
After getting caught up in an unexpected commotion, I returned to the inn in Gabriel’s arms.