Chapter 21: The One Who Steps Forward

“Go and get ready…? Liana… Did I just mishear that?”

Here it came. Cecilia’s tearful attack!

Actually, this is good. It’s great for training my mind!

If I practice rejecting her like this, my heart will grow stronger too. Then I’ll be able to walk away comfortably! I’m going to say farewell to all the wishy-washy feelings that used to weigh me down before the regression.

I deliberately stared into Cecilia’s moist eyes. My chest ached with guilt.

“Lady Cecilia, are you crying?”

Startled, Daisy gently patted Cecilia’s back.

Maybe that was the trigger, because Cecilia’s clear eyes quickly filled, as if tears might spill over any second.

Argh, I can’t stand it anymore.

“I was joking. Let’s go.”

Phew. I held out pretty long! Well done, Liana!

“…You really startled me.”

“Hahaha. Sorry.”

When I laughed, Cecilia laughed along, tears still glistening in her eyes.

Daisy shot me a glare, as if asking what kind of joke that was.

On the way to eat, Cecilia chattered away beside me, while Daisy nodded diligently as she watched Cecilia’s profile.

‘But the stares are intense. They’re going to bore a hole through my face!’

Maybe because it was the first day of the semester, everyone was being careful with their words, but apparently, no one could hold back from staring. With everyone watching so intensely, I felt like I’d end up with a hole in my face.

Judging from the occasional words like ‘Evan’, ‘Crown Prince’, and ‘top student’, it was probably talk about Cecilia as expected.

“Liana! Are you listening to me?”

“Huh?”

“What are you thinking about that you’re not even answering me, huh?”

Cecilia suddenly leaned in. Her sulky face was adorable.

I touched her cheek and gently pushed her away.

“Cecilia.”

“You’re so mean, Liana!”

“Don’t just stick your face out anytime you want.”

“Huh…?”

Cecilia’s eyes went round.

‘It’s overwhelming!’

“Let’s go already.”

“Oh! Daisy! Come with us! We need to buy supplies!”

“Ah….”

Hmm. Right. It’d be nice if we all went together.

Daisy looked at me.

“It’s fine, I already have hand-me-downs.”

“Really? It’d be fun to browse together, though.”

Hmm. Was she watching my reaction?

Daisy’s glance was so brief I couldn’t tell.

“Then I’ll bring back some delicious desserts! Let’s eat together.”

“Huh? You don’t have to…!”

Looking disappointed, Cecilia grabbed Daisy’s hand, making Daisy’s cheeks turn red.

Hmm… I get how she feels. When Cecilia treats you like that, it really does make you feel special. Whew.

“Let’s just go.”

Standing here is drawing everyone’s attention!

Let’s get moving.

As I started walking, the two of them followed, chattering away.

*****

“Phew~”

“Liana, what are you doing? Haha. You look silly.”

When I breathed into the air, a white mist rose up.

Cecilia smiled gently and linked her arm with mine.

As soon as morning broke, we donned our academy uniforms and thick coats and headed out to the capital.

Thanks to giving a heads-up in advance, we were able to take the portal straight to the Convenience Hall. I stared blankly at the glittering Convenience Hall, sparkling with stained glass, but as soon as I stepped outside, the biting cold clawed at my face.

“Achoo!”

“Cough, cough.”

Carriages sped by, people huddled into themselves, hurrying along in short, quick steps.

There sure are a lot of people on the weekend! There were plenty when I came to the academy, but that was all students—today’s crowd was nothing like before.

Even in this cold weather, merchants were busy setting up street stalls, waving us over.

“Ladies~ I’ll give you a good deal!”

We looked at each other and laughed.

There was something about the capital’s liveliness that made people giddy.

Children ran past us, clattering down the street, while the bright lights of open shops illuminated the roads. There were the occasional dark alleys, but as long as you didn’t take the wrong turn, it was fine.

‘I’m really funny, aren’t I? Is it because it’s just the two of us, or because we’re not at the academy?’

It almost felt like before the regression.

The way I was so fond of Cecilia and missed her—my resolve to distance myself wavered to the point it felt laughable. Was it really possible for a determination made facing death to fade away this easily?

“Liana! What are you thinking about now, really.”

Cecilia pulled me out of the way before I nearly bumped into someone and scolded me.

“Ah, thanks.”

“Should we buy matching necklaces?”

“Necklaces?”

“Friendship necklaces!”

“Huh?”

“Come on, let’s go!”

Without even waiting for my answer, Cecilia dragged me off.

‘Why is she like this!’

Cecilia skillfully browsed the stalls as she pleased, haggling and paying, and before I knew it, she was putting a necklace around my neck. When she smiled, I couldn’t help but smile too.

As time passed, the crowd in the capital thickened.

We were careful not to bump into passersby.

To avoid the crowd around the fountain, we stood aside, and the cold made me shiver.

It’s definitely colder than at the academy!

Warming magic really is amazing. I marveled once again at the magic that protected the academy.

“Good thing we dressed warmly, right?”

Cecilia pressed close and looked up at me.

We weren’t that different in height, but somehow, it still felt odd.

This difference in height made me feel in real time that I had regressed.

“…Yeah.”

Cecilia smiled and tugged my arm.

“Do you like it?”

Cecilia’s words were laced with happiness. She pulled out the necklace she’d just bought, showing it off over her clothes.

Her long hair fluttered in the wind like falling petals. She looked radiant.

“Yeah….”

Ugh. She’s dazzling. It’s embarrassing!

Cecilia’s eyes sparkled.

“Let’s have lunch first!”

“Let’s buy what we need first.”

“Aww, Liana, you’re no fun!”

“No, no, no!”

I shook my head and pulled Cecilia along.

No! If I look at her face, I’ll end up giving in again.

“Liana, you dummy. It’s not that way.”

Cecilia hummed as she led me in the other direction.

“Cough, cough! Hack, hack!”

“Hey, are you all right?”

“Liana, what are you looking at?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

I glanced away from a man who was slumping to the ground. There was something strangely familiar about it.

Was it a bad cold?

“Let’s not walk around too much.”

“Haha. Liana, do you know how expensive that coat you’re wearing is? Don’t worry about catching a cold.”

“Anyway.”

I hurried my steps. My cheerful mood felt as if it was being sliced apart by the cold wind.

First, we should go into the shop that sells the standard-size cards I’d forgotten.

But then, Cecilia stopped.

“Liana, wait a second.”

The shop attendant rushed out and opened the door, but Cecilia didn’t budge.

I gave the attendant an apologetic look, then took Cecilia’s arm.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh no!”

Cecilia stamped her feet, looking distressed.

“I think I lost the necklace I just bought….”

“Necklace? You were wearing it, weren’t you?”

Cecilia pulled back her shirt and showed me her neck. Nothing was there.

“Did you drop it by the fountain?”

“I don’t know….”

Cecilia looked like she was about to cry.

“Should we get another one? I’ll make it for you this time.”

“No. That wouldn’t mean anything! You’re still wearing yours, but I’m the only one who lost mine…! I’m scared we’ll grow apart. We have to find it!”

“It’s not like we’ll grow apart because of a necklace….”

“Sniff.”

At last, Cecilia’s tears began to fall.

And once I saw that, I couldn’t win against her.

“…All right, let’s just retrace our steps once. If we still can’t find it, let’s get something else.”

“…Okay.”

Cecilia reluctantly nodded.

We looked around the ground as we retraced our way, but there was no way we’d find it.

There were so many people…!

With the crowd, it was almost impossible to see the ground. Someone would probably think we were searching for dropped coins.

But seeing Cecilia so determined to search, I just couldn’t bring myself to tell her to give up.

After a while of scanning the ground, we ended up away from the main streets. There were fewer people, which made looking easier.

“Miss! Please buy some flowers! Buy some flowers, please!”

“Miss! Miss! My mother’s sick!”

“My little sister is…!”

“Move! Move out of the way!”

“Waaah!”

The problem was, the security here wasn’t great.

Shabbily dressed children swarmed us, begging or trying to hawk something—I couldn’t tell which.

‘This is bad. How did we end up here?’

“Oh my… Your mother’s sick? Oh dear.”

“My little sister is sick!”

“Waaah. Sob, sob. Mamaaa.”

“He doesn’t have a mom, and I don’t have a dad!”

“Move! I was here first!”

“Let go!”

“Ow!”

“Calm down! Everyone, stop! Don’t fight… ah.”

The fountain was visible in the distance.

‘Phew. Good thing we didn’t go too far…’

“Line up and I’ll give you something…!”

Oh no.

“Cecilia, what are you doing…”

We were surrounded by children, encircled like a wall. With so many packed around us, pushing aside a few wouldn’t make a path. To make matters worse, Cecilia had already taken out her coin pouch and was pulling out gold coins. Oh no!

“Wait!”

Just before one of the kids grabbed the gold coin, I snatched it away.

“What are you doing! Give me back my coin!”

The child yelled and flailed his arms and legs.

Ouch. He smacked my shin as he flailed. If I showed pain, they’d probably make an even bigger scene.

“Let go! Let go of me!”

“Hold still and I’ll let go. If you keep fussing, you won’t get anything.”

I held the boy’s arm firmly with a calm face. I had no idea where this strength of mine was coming from. Cecilia tried to stop me and the boy kept struggling—what a mess.

But when I held on and looked down at him without saying a word, eventually the other kids grabbed his arms and pulled him away from me. He glared at me, fuming.

“Liana, why are you doing this! Are you trying to take the child’s money?”

Who’s taking whose money! If you give them a gold coin, they might end up dead in a back alley!

They were already pushing and pinching and trampling each other—their faces were a mess.

I wouldn’t have known either, if not for Ollie. The terror that misplaced sympathy can bring.

“Cecilia. Stay still.”

Be grateful! At least there are only children here!

At this point, the only thing to do was to hand something over and leave quickly. I tucked Cecilia’s coin pouch deep into her clothes and looked for my own.

“Liana! Don’t you feel sorry for these kids?”

Cecilia’s voice trembled with emotion.

‘You can’t just give something away with no strings attached.’

How did so many gather so fast? It was really strange.

Even if they swarmed us based on our appearance, there were just too many.

‘I have a bad feeling. Should we just run away now?’

But if the kids grabbed our legs as we ran, that would be bad.

“If you’re going to give something, give them these.”

“But those are copper coins….”

She sounded so disappointed.

“Cecilia. Hurry.”

The kids jostled us, pushing and crowding in.

We’re going to fall over at this rate!

“Everyone, please don’t push…!”

Like anyone would listen to such a feeble voice!

Cecilia waved her hands, looking completely flustered, but the children just pressed in more.

“If you keep pushing, you won’t get even a single coin.”

I stepped forward, and the kids drew back for a moment.

“If you don’t want it, keep behaving like that.”

For a second, I remembered Margareta, radiating intimidation without hesitation.

“Liana….”

“Hey! Who do you think you are!”

One of the smaller kids yelled, all worked up. My ears are going to burst!

“I’m the owner of that pouch.”

I glanced at the pouch Cecilia was holding tightly in both hands, and the child closed his mouth. Then, as if remembering something, he opened it again.

“That’s enough. Line up. If you don’t, you get nothing.”

“What the…”

“This is so annoying….”

“Wow… Liana, you’re amazing.”

“Let’s just give this out and leave.”

Cecilia’s face was pale with shock.

With trembling hands, Cecilia handed out coins, and the kids took them and scattered down the alleys. By the time most of the kids who’d surrounded us had each gotten a coin and left—

“Liana, why do you have so many coins?”

“…Yeah, really.”

“Huh?”

The pouch full of copper coins was tucked inside my coat.

Ollie must have put it in there, right? There’s no way she could have predicted this would happen… More likely, she wanted me to have some for cheap purchases. If she actually foresaw this… that’s scary!

“All done?”

“Thank you!”

The boy who’d first asked us to buy a flower bowed his head and held out a flower.

It was a blue wildflower, the color of Cecilia’s hair.

Amazingly, the flower had bloomed even in this cold, and its bud swayed gently in the wind. The boy’s hand clutching the flower was red and chapped.

“Oh my, thank you….”

Cecilia beamed and reached out her hand, but the boy shook his head.

“No! Not for you.”

The boy was looking at me.