Red Tape

“Good work.”

The gold coin Erwin gave was enough to allow them to rest for a month. However, considering the Duke’s enormous wealth, it was an absurdly small amount.

“Can you deliver the clothes to the inn? “If you say it is for Calliwell’s room, they will know.”

“Yes, I will.”

Erwin turned away from the goat-bearded man who kept bowing and greeting him.

Liam asked, fiddling with the collar of his shirt that seemed uncomfortable around his neck.

“Where are we going next?”

“During an apple blossom festival, there is a big night market that opens all week. There is also an event where people float apples on paper boats in a nearby river.”

The goat-bearded man who had been behind quietly joined the conversation.

“Well, isn’t this your first time here? How do you know so much?”

Erwin smiled slightly instead of answering the question in a flattering tone. Liam, who was watching Erwin’s subtle expressions and even the slightest glances, could quickly tell that the end of his smile was bitter.

Is this because of that guy named Francis? Liam’s heart fluttered once again.

As soon as he left the tailor shop, Erwin took off the coat he was wearing. Erwin, who never had a single button out of place, felt very free after leaving the etiquette he had to maintain with Liam.

“Haa, it’s refreshing.”

“Master?”

“You shouldn’t call me that. Now that you’re dressed, you’re Erwin Carlywell.”

“Then how should I call you Master… .”

“Of course… ”

Erwin, who was walking a few steps ahead in the warm sunlight, turned back and smiled as if he had no idea too.

“Liam.”

A groan came from Liam’s throat.  This common name didn’t suit the young master at all.

***

“Let’s go over there!”

Erwin, who was in the lead, walked briskly through the crowd and noticed a street performance that was in full swing. A traveling band with various instruments played lively music, and people tossed the coins into a basket. Some excited spectators even went forward and danced.

It is the first time he has seen a street performance. According to etiquette, nobles are not supposed to mingle with the crowd watching such street performances or vendors.

However, Erwin is now completely free of the restraints that had been weighing him down, leaving them to Liam.

“What’s this? It smells good.”

Erwin, who was watching the performance with sparkling eyes, quickly got distracted and grabbed Liam’s hand.

This is the first time we held hands like this.

All of Liam’s nerves are focused on the hand he is holding. His heart pounded loudly. He was very worried that his sweaty palms might offend the young master.

The market is crowded with people, leaving no room to step. The voices of merchants soliciting customers echoed loudly, and the smell of greasy street food tickled Erwin’s nose.

The place he is led by the smell is a vendor selling skewers of apple slices dipped in caramel and sprinkled with cinnamon.

Francis told him. When he was young, he ate these skewers and lost two teeth in the hardened caramel.

The old-looking owner looked back and forth between the two of them.

“Oh my, you two are so tall.”

“Is that so?”

Erwin, who answered in a friendly manner, seemed to have let go of all of his usual noble demeanor.

As they are walking down the street, bumping into people here and there with an undignified appearance, holding a skewer in their hand, something catches Liam’s eye.

He stopped in front of a vendor selling various trinkets.

As expected from a place famous for apples and roses, there are many things with the motif of those two things. Among them, the one that catches Liam’s eye is a silver hairpin in the shape of a rose. For something sold by a vendor in a market, the finish is quite neat and the color is pretty.

Erwin followed Liam’s gaze.

“Hairpin?”

“….”

When he saw this hairpin, he immediately thought of Mary.

Whenever Mary had time, she would go to Bartholomew Avenue and look at hairpins in the jewelry store. Her only pride was her thick, smooth brown hair.

As if he had read Liam’s mind, Erwin asked.

“Did you want to buy it for Mary?”

“…. No, it’s okay.”

Liam realized late that he did not have enough money to buy such a lovely item.

Erwin, who was looking at Liam’s back as he turned around, picked up the hairpin.

“How much is this?”

Liam grabbed Erwin’s arm, who was paying for the hairpin without bargaining.

“Even if you……”

“Think of it as the price for playing this game with me.”

In fact, Erwin would have agreed even if he had requested something more valuable. If it weren’t for Liam, he would never have experienced this moment of freedom and happiness in his life.

The two people who left the market were pushed by the crowd of people and arrived at the riverside.

People praying for a good harvest are folding paper boats to float on the river.

In a panic, the two of them took the paper and candles that the people had given them, and they learned how to fold the paper into the shape of a boat after placing the candles on it to keep it from getting wet.

When the bell from the town church tower struck 6 o’clock, the people used it as a signal to release a paper boat with a single apple blossom on it into the river.

Amid the adults praying for a good harvest, the children are busy competing to see whose boat is the fastest and whose boat sank first.

Time flew by amid the laughter and stories of people in full bloom, like apple blossoms.

They had walked so far all day that they had to take a carriage on the way back to the inn.

Erwin opened the window of the old carriage and looked outside. Apple trees are planted everywhere, just like garden trees.

Whenever the wind blew, flower petals would fall like raindrops. Suddenly, Erwin remembered the saying that catching falling flower petals would bring good luck, so he stretched out his arms and spread his palms out the carriage window.

Erwin, who was born and raised in the cold north, had never seen such a sight of petals falling like snow.

The petals fell in an unpredictable direction, regretfully brushing his palms before flying away.

In the end, Erwin, who didn’t catch anything and stared blankly at his empty palms, stretched his arms out the window of the golden carriage again. This time, he also stuck his face out.

“Young Master… It’s dangerous. Don’t do it!”

“I can do it. I’m not a noble right now. I don’t have to follow etiquette.”

Liam suddenly remembered himself when he first arrived in Glassdale.

I, too, had stretched out my hand to grab a snowflake. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get it.

Thinking about it, the master is the same as snowflakes to me. No matter how hard I stretched out my hand, I could never have it.

Liam, who had been staring at Erwin’s smiling face, quickly turned his head away.

It’s as if he is looking at a jewel that he is afraid of being greedy for.

He is afraid that he will forget his role as a watchman who has to protect the jewel.

It’s not like I can become a real noble just by wearing these clothes and I’m not a woman to begin with.

All of a sudden, I felt like crying.

***

The two of them returned to the inn to have dinner at the restaurant on the first floor of the inn. Although it is a restaurant attached to the inn, it’s a place that serves quite a formal dinner.

The dishes are laid out in front of them. Erwin snickered as he watched Liam, who was repeatedly picking up and putting down his spoon, fork, and knife with a confused expression.

“Are you going to juggle with cutlery?”

Then, as if to tell him to follow, he gestured with his eyes and began to eat elegantly, holding the fork and knife that he was supposed to pick up. Liam followed Erwin diligently, glancing at him.

As I felt when I taught him to dance, Liam is a fast learner. Regrettably, he was not born a noble.

When he is almost done eating, one of the inn staff carefully brings him a letter.

Erwin read the thick paper with the Hervey family crest on it and put the letter down with a complicated expression.

“What happened?”

“I guess word has already spread that the Calliwell family’s carriage came in yesterday.”

It would be unacceptable for a guest whom he would never meet in his entire life to stay at an inn, so he said that he had prepared a room and asked them to come and stay comfortably.

“They have shown me kindness, so it would be polite to accept it.”

“Should I pack my bags?”

“… Yes.”

After leaving the inn, the two loaded their luggage onto the carriage and headed to Bayden Hall, located not far away.

A mansion is a reflection of a family’s status and wealth.

The mansion of Viscount Hervey is small compared to other viscounts.

The modest mansion, like a villa in a remote area, was just as Francis had said, that the viscounts did not like luxury and were frugal for generations.

The crowd at the festival delayed their arrival by several hours, and they were greeted by a man who introduced himself as the viscount’s butler.

The two were given two adjacent rooms but they only accepted one of them.

Liam wanted to take off these sharp clothes right away. The clothes are so stuffy that he wondered how anyone could wear them every day. Erwin stopped Liam as he tried to take off his coat.

“Do you want to go for a walk with me? I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep.”

Liam nodded, and late at night, when everyone was asleep, the two went out for a night walk.