Having received the candy, Ariante, whether genuinely delighted or not, lowered her head with a cheerful smile, fondling the rustling bow several times. She had no idea that it was way cheaper than usual food, and even if she did, it was undoubtedly not important to Ariante.

“Where can you buy something like this?”

Maiana responded, “You can probably get it at a snack shop. Why, my lady? Do you want to buy more?”

“Yeah. I want to buy more. I’ll buy a hundred!”

A hundred, that’s cute. Maiana thought. There was no doubt that it was the biggest number she believed in. In such situations, she had to play along cheerfully!

“Oh my, a hundred? If you buy a hundred candies, the garden will be filled with candies, and you won’t even be able to enter your room, my lady!”

Upon hearing this, Ariante, who was holding Maiana’s hand tightly, looked up at her as if to ask what she was saying.

“How can a hundred fill the garden? Look, it’s so small. Even if there are a hundred, it won’t fill my bed. To calculate how many candies it takes to fill the garden, you need to know how wide the garden is first. But candies aren’t square, so they can’t fill the garden because they’re round, so they don’t fit perfectly.”

Though she didn’t understand terms like width due to her young age, Ariante’s observations were accurate in various ways.

Trying to cheer her up with some banter, Maiana found herself listening to a math lecture and looked at Ariante with a puzzled expression.

“…My lady, how about becoming a scholar later?”

Ariante, putting a candy in her mouth, vigorously gestured as if chattering away.

“No! Scholars are people who just study. They have to sit and read books all the time, and it’s boring.”

Maiana looked at the lively child with an amused expression.

“So, my lady, what would you like to be when you grow up?”

Rolling the candy inside her mouth, Ariante answered while hopping on two feet.

“Um… a person who makes candies!”

“Do you want to become someone who makes candies? Do you know how to make candies?”

How to make candies? Ariante suddenly looked at Maiana with vacant eyes. Then, she carefully rolled the candy in her mouth. How to make candies…?

“Well, you… make honey… hard.”

Maiana put all her strength into both her eyebrows. Honey was the first thing that came to mind when it came to sweet things. Though making candies with honey wasn’t unheard of, it was still a clever deduction on her part…

“Making honey hard, and then?”

“And then?”

Ariante’s pupils shook vigorously. Maiana looked at the child with a casual smile.

“Candies come in various flavors. There are strawberry candies, apple candies, and also cherry or pear candies. How do you make those?”

“Put them inside… inside! Fruits, right? But there are no apples in apple candies!”

“You didn’t see it! Or maybe they’re cut very, very small, so that’s why.”

“How small did they cut them? How did they cut them so small?”

“Dunno! Think about it! You’re an adult!”

“Even adults are curious sometimes.”

“Dunno!”

Having burst out in frustration, Ariante suddenly snatched Maiana’s hand and started running.

“My lady! You shouldn’t go alone!”

However, Ariante’s pouting didn’t last long. Shortly after, she stopped. They were in front of the fountain where Ariante wanted to go before sending a letter to Cedilloy.

In the evening, the acrobats were performing, wearing clothes soaked in colors, and jesters with cheap glittering outfits were captivating the crowd.

“Maiana! Maiana, look! What’s that?”
Excited Ariante nearly grabbed and tore Maiana’s wristband. She had noticed the jesters distributing paper balloons to the kids in the front row.

The balloons, inflated with air and adorned with cut-out shapes, created shadows resembling leaves, circles, and rabbit figures that shimmered with each exposure to sunlight.

It was the first time Ariante had ever seen such a toy. The room was filled with all sorts of wonderful things, things that the kids gathered here might not see in their lifetime. However, for young children, playing with the packaging of expensive and good toys was more enjoyable than the toys themselves.

“Lady, calm down! Please calm down.”

“Hey! That thing over there! What is that? I want one too!”

This won’t do. Maiana sighed inwardly. Ariante, whose face had turned red from excitement, clung tightly to her, and with a quick spin, Maiana turned away, hiding the fountain from their view.

Ariante couldn’t stay still either, struggling to break free from Maiana’s embrace. However, it was an impossible task.

“Lady!”

In a low but firm voice, Maiana, who had embraced Ariante and pressed her gently with her palms, comforted her. Ariante, who had been struggling, looked bewildered at Maiana when she finally paused.

“Now, calm down, okay?”

The bright blue irises, illuminated even more by the sunlight, moved slowly. Maiana realized that her voice sounded different than usual, and she immediately glanced at her, trying to regain her composure. However, her gaze remained distracted, wandering beyond her shoulders.