26 Chapter 26 (Edited)

To give you a lame excuse, it made me very excited to see the outside of the castle for the first time in my life even though it was just in front of the drawbridge.

'Outside air!'

Of course, the Lagrange Castle was so huge that it couldn't be compared to ordinary houses, and the garden was outdoors, but the outside of the castle was really 'outside'.

'There are really merchants!'

Not just a few, but there were also merchants selling snacks such as cotton candy and grilled skewers, as if they were targeting people who came to see the fireworks.

Grasping Dietrich's hand and crossing the drawbridge, I jumped in place and looked back at him.

"Wanna eat! Wanna eat!"

"Why on earth are you so crazy about snacks?"

Dietrich sighed, slightly raising his eyebrows, as if my excitement didn't make sense. I pouted my lips at his criticism and kept sniffing my nose.

'That's because I'm always hungry.'

No matter how much Marilyn did her best to prepare the meal, it wasn't enough for us when we're still growing rapidly because the food cost was ridiculous in the first place.

I found the grilled skewers first and waved the coin purse that Josef had given me.

"Meat!"

The smell of yellowish chicken skewers in sweet sauce was deadly good.

A merchant who found me drooling in front of the stand gave me a toothpick with a kind smile.

"Would you like to try it?"

"Yeess!"

I opened my mouth to eat the chicken stuck at the end of the toothpick offered by the mister when Dietrich suddenly reached out to smack the hand of the merchant.

"Three seconds!"

If you pick it up in 3 seconds, you could still eat it!

I didn't even think to look at the merchant's bewildered face, but quickly bent myself and reached out to the meat. I'm sure there was already dust but that didn't matter anymore.

Guweh.

But Dietrich pulled me up on the back of my neck, so I couldn't pick it up at all in three seconds.

"Don't eat it, you idiot."

"Wai!" (Why!)

I was so angry that I clenched my fists.

"What if it's poisoned?"

"What do you mean poison? I'm not such a scary person, child."

It was the merchant who opposed Dietrich's words before I could. He glanced at me sitting on the ground, and handed me a small skewer as if in pity.

"It's made a little smaller, so you can eat, little girl."

"Kyaa!"

The moment I tried to accept the merchant's goodwill without any doubts, Dietrich stepped forward. He blocked me with open arms as if protecting me, and then silently glared at the merchant.

'I mean, I'm suffering from human mistrust, what the heck.'

I knew that the Lagrange was a scary family, but they couldn't possibly bribe all these different merchants.

'And nobody knows we're out.'

Hing…

"Eat food at home."

"There's only oatmeal in Dahlia."

Oats were the food that was consistently supplied in Dahlia, the oat porridge, called oatmeal, tasted like newspaper.

'Though I still eat it one way or another when I'm hungry…'

"Not tasty."

"Food is not eaten for taste."

'People can live on some good food!'

But no matter how hard I tried to convince Dietrich, he didn't budge.

I had to send cotton candy, chicken skewers, grilled brisket, and well-bloated calzones(pizzas that look like dumplings) from under my nose with tears and a runny nose.

'No way, if it's going to be like this, why did we come out here?'

When I sniffed in resentment, Dietrich looked at me as if he's annoyed.

In the past, I would have kept quiet because I was scared, but I was hungry and lost control. I cried as if I wanted Dietrich to hear.

"Stop sniffing around. It's annoying."

"Why won't you let me eat it! I'd even give it to you!"

"Do you want to eat while begging like that?"

'What do you mean begging!'

He really says mean words. A child was hungry so couldn't an adult help them?

I turned my head, snorting at Dietrich's words. When I didn't even respond to him, he opened his mouth firmly in an angry voice.

"If you want to eat like that, then go ahead."

I opened my mouth following Dietrich's absurd behavior.

He just said what he wanted to say and left me in the middle of the crowd.

It was a mixture of adults and children, but almost all of them were more than half as big as me and I could only see their legs with my eyes.

"Detrie!"

I hurriedly tried to follow after Dietrich and then stopped at a standstill in my place.

'I'm in front of the drawbridge anyway.'

Whatever.

I quickly gave up looking for Dietrich. I'm going to find the merchant who said he'd give me grilled skewers.

'Hmm? It's a different person than before.'

It was definitely the same stall, but the face was different. Where did the warm-hearted uncle from before go?

"What?"

The skinny young man stopped me from coming near the stand.

"If you don't have money, don't even smell it."

"I have money."

With the man's cold words, I quickly rummaged through my pocket, but there was no coin left in the front pocket of my dress.

'Hic. Where'd it go?'

Did Dietrich take it earlier? Josef didn't give me a lot of money, but he still gave me enough to buy some snacks!

"No money, right? Then go away! Shoo, shoo!"

"Is it not possible to just sample a little?"

"What sample! If I give out to kids like you, there won't be anything left!"

The man waved his hands in front of me, then he looked at me carefully and smiled, showing his teeth.

"Hmm. Well, if you help me stick meat on a skewer from behind there, I can think about it."

The man said and gestured with his chin the place where piles of empty skewers and chunks of chicken spread out.

'Is there any child protection here?'

A man trying to make a child like me do labor was disgusting, but there's a saying that there's nothing free in this world.

'I will definitely eat it.'

At this point, let's see it till the end. I flopped down near the skewer.

'I can't see the market well behind the bushes, but I can see the fireworks.'

When I carefully threaded the meat into the skewer as the man ordered, flames began to embroider the sky.

'I wanted to see it with Dietrich.'

He wasn't a child who would be impressed because the colorful fireworks that illuminated the dark night sky were beautiful, but I wonder if he would think they were pretty.

I glanced up at the red flames like rose petals and pierced the meat on the last skewer.

"It's all done!"

"Hmm. Yes, it is. Here."

It seemed so small in return for the labor, shivering away in this cold, but I was able to get a chicken skewer.

"Yum!"

The hot sauce and the meat juice of the chicken filled my empty heart and flowed out.

'It's so good.'

Why didn't he let me eat this delicious thing? I pouted my lips at Dietrich's cold face which came to mind.

"I can take this to him at least."

Whew. What's good about being the younger sibling? Now that I think about it, Dietrich refused the food provided in Dahlia because he didn't want to beg 'Derek' so he filled his stomach with his hunt.

'Because he's that kind of kid, he might even hate food given by a merchant.'

I wish I could tell him that it's okay to receive help.

I crossed the drawbridge and returned to Dahlia with the half leftover chicken skewers.

I didn't even dream that something would be happening while I was away.

***

"Leatris seems to be in need of funds. She's even doing business in front of the castle."

At Dietrich's question, the middle-aged man, who packed chicken skewers into his pocket, raised his eyebrows.

"What do you mean? What about Liatris?"

It was a vague and nonchalant voice, but Dietrich was convinced with his words.

"Are you saying you don't know the name of Liatris when you're doing business on the land of Lagrange?"

Leatris Euler was the woman that Derek, the current Grand Duke of Lagrange, loved. Derek was a powerful man who could not distinguish between public and private affairs, so all the private power exerted internally and externally came from her.

For example, even the insignificant right to engage in business in front of the castle.

"Ah. Of—of course, I know Madame Leatris."

The man, pretending to sell chicken skewers in front of the drawbridge, hurriedly replied, avoiding Dietrich's gaze.

Dietrich, instead of tying him up with his shadow and scaring him, changed his mind and reached out his hand instead.

"Give it to me."

"Wha, what?"

"Give me food that is not poisoned."

He had resistance to poison so a small amount was no problem, but Anissa was different.

'If she gets sick, we don't have the money to call for a doctor.'

Without saying a word to Dietrich's brazen demands, the merchant suddenly changed his attitude and began to grovel.

"I didn't come after you, young master. There are so many children in Lagrange, and there are illegitimate children outside the castle."

"Your motives are none of my business."

At Dietrich's cold answer, the merchant no longer made excuses, but pointed to the charcoal burning brown.

"You can take the skewer on the far right."

"If you're lying, even if I have to storm through Leatris' castle, I'll have your neck."

"....It's to the leftmost corner. I was mistaken."

The merchant quickly changed his words and laughed as if the threat by him, who was still a child, worked.

Dietrich, ignoring the merchant's deception, took the skewer in his hand, and returned to the place where he left Anissa.

Until then, his plan felt perfect.

He protected Anissa from Leatris or Catherine who usually prepared the "fireworks" to deal with Derek's illegitimate children. That behavior would have seemed like he cared enough about the child.

The only problem was that the child he left was no longer there.