“That’s real, my lady. It’s a face that can’t be faked no matter what. Trust this Betty, will you?”

“Mela, this is silk imported from the East. Isn’t it beautiful?”

Leoprick was wearing a cloth mask bought from a street vendor, and we were looking around where the festival was being held.

Silk imported from the East, tapestries embroidered with exotic patterns, wreaths and bouquets woven with beautiful colorful flowers…

Amidst the various items and bustling people, while holding hands with him and walking around, I kept thinking about what Betty had whispered.

The words that even if I didn’t know, it was certain that Leoprick had feelings for me.

‘It might not be the marriage you wanted, my lady, but it’s certainly the marriage the Count wanted! That expression is really not something that can be acted out, I tell you!’

Of course, it was only natural for me, the flower of the social world from the Vermerian viscounty, to become the Crown Princess.

But even that couldn’t have happened without the Crown Prince’s intention, could it?

To put it bluntly, if it wasn’t me he wanted by his side but someone else, would this marriage have been possible even if it was me? That was Betty’s opinion.

The current Crown Prince wasn’t exactly in a position where he needed strong allies due to weak support.

She raised her voice, saying that such a person wouldn’t have tried to have an unwanted marriage.

While that seemed to make some sense…

“Look at that, Bella. We’ve never seen this kind of sight in the capital, have we?”

Right now, his face was nothing more or less than that of a ruler contemplating how to utilize the differences between the capital and this place, Waynes.

Looking at Leoprick like that, I decided to stop thinking about the hand that had been holding mine all this time, or about Betty who had been writing an impossible novel with an ecstatic face.

He just wants to enjoy the moment.

Because there are many people, he’s just holding onto me so as not to lose me, simply because I’m his wife.

I decided to enjoy the festival without thinking too much, just playing along with him appropriately.

There’s no need to make my already complicated mind even more complicated by thinking about this and that unnecessarily.

“Mela. Is there anything you want? Most of the things here only come out during the festival. They say there are many rare items, so take a look around.”

While I was nodding to myself after making that decision, he must have heard something from the street vendor next to us, as his eyes lit up again.

It was indeed interesting to see the street vendors who had brought items that couldn’t normally be seen, from Eastern silk to unfamiliar foods.

I looked around at the items in the street stalls as he pointed.

There were things that looked like mobiles to hang on walls, tapestries woven with strange patterns, and pictures with meanings I couldn’t understand.

There were also accessories that women could wear on their necks or ears, but among them, what caught my eye was…

“The young lady has an eye for it.”

Noticing where my gaze had stopped, the owner of the street stall chuckled in the imperial language mixed with a unique accent.

Feeling that laughter was both ominous and somewhat unsettling, I asked with a bit of wariness.

“…What is that?”

“It’s a fragment of an ancient relic that has now disappeared. Have you heard of magic? It’s said to grant any wish of the caster.”

“Magic?”

Magic, suddenly magic.

I silently laughed at the owner’s words.

A very, very long time ago, hundreds of years before now, I had heard that there was such a thing as magic.

Magic, which spread centered around the royal family who were said to be descendants of dragons, at some point became the exclusive property of the powerful.

They began to start meaningless wars, big and small.

It was the innocent people who died in these wasteful wars waged solely to show off power.

Unable to bear this sight, a certain prince took a few scholars who were studying magic as pure academics and disappeared with all the magic books and records spread across the entire continent.

There was no way to know where they had hidden.

However, even after that, whenever there were rumors of someone having records related to magic, they would appear out of nowhere, take those records, and disappear again.

After that, magic was passed down by word of mouth, but with no one to teach proper theory, the number of people who knew about it gradually decreased.

Eventually, it came to be seen as the exclusive property of the royal family who inherited the blood of dragons, and then it disappeared altogether.

So, it’s really like an ancient relic.

And now this shabby street vendor is suddenly talking about such magic?

As a merchant’s daughter, and as someone who runs a merchant group myself, I thought this person was quite a bold swindler.

‘How dare he speak of magic in front of royalty.’

Of course, this person wouldn’t know that Leoprick is royalty.

But even if he didn’t know, talking about magic that remained the exclusive property of the royal family and then disappeared was certainly not something a sane person doing business would do.

I looked at the still-smiling owner with an incredulous face.

“Magic, you say. How can something that has already disappeared still remain here?”

“It has disappeared, indeed. But can you be sure that what the prince who disappeared with those records left behind doesn’t exist anywhere on this continent?”

“So you’re saying that this bracelet is a relic left behind by that disappeared prince?”

“If you believe it, then it is. If you can’t believe it, it’s just a pretty bracelet.”

The owner grinned as he picked up the uniquely crafted bracelet I had been looking at earlier.

“But young lady, such objects usually recognize their owner.”

“Owner?”

“I don’t know what kind of magic is cast on this now, but from what I see, the young lady seems to be quite a good match for this item.”

Aren’t you also a beneficiary of such an item? The owner added with a chuckle.

And those words flew and stuck to me like a warning as I was looking at the bracelet indifferently.

A beneficiary of an object imbued with magic.

Me? Me, who has never even been near such an object in my life?

Even though I lived as a member of the royal family before I died, I had no interest in items related to magic that were said to be only in the royal treasury, nor did I know what kinds of objects were there.

All I knew was the names of some items in the treasury.

How could I have used an object imbued with magic?

No, if I’m a beneficiary, doesn’t that mean someone used such an object for me?

…But who on earth?

As I couldn’t answer due to the confusion flooding my mind, Leoprick, standing behind me, gently wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

“So, in any case, are you saying this bracelet would be good for my wife?”

“Good indeed. For someone like her, one item like this would be more beneficial than offering several carriages full of other goods.”

The owner chuckled and held out the bracelet he was holding to me and Leoprick.

It was hard to believe that a mere bracelet could be more beneficial than several carriages full of goods, but it was equally unbelievable that I was a beneficiary of magic.

I looked back and forth between the bracelet and the owner before speaking again.

“Are you also a beneficiary of magic? Since you’re selling an object said to be imbued with magic, and you can recognize someone as a beneficiary of magic.”

“Me? Well, you’d be mistaken to think all beneficiaries are the same.”

The owner shrugged at my words and placed the object in Leoprick’s hand.

“Originally, when an object finds its owner, it’s not supposed to be sold. So consider this a gift and put it on the young lady well.”

“No, we should pay for it. How much should I give you?”

Leoprick was firm even with the object given as if out of generosity.

He shook his head at the owner’s words and said he would pay, and the owner looked at him and smirked.

“Noble sir, you haven’t done business before, have you? The young lady over there would know what it means for an object to find its owner.”

“…Even so, every object should be paid for fairly.”

“If you insist, then later when you meet someone like the young lady, turn a blind eye just once. Whether that person has wronged the lady or done her good, just ask her to turn a blind eye once.”

Let that be the payment for the item.

The owner added that and then quickly left, going behind the tent of the street stall.

“Sir! What do you mean…”

When you meet someone like me later, he says.

Does he mean someone affected by magic like me?

Or someone who has returned through time like me?

Lost in thought, I stood there as if rooted to the spot.

Leoprick, holding the bracelet, tried to follow the owner but soon stopped.

Then he looked back and forth between the fluttering tent and me, standing there as if frozen.

“Mela, are you alright?”

And it was a little while later when he spoke to me.

When I let out a sigh that was almost like a groan.

Coming to my senses at his gentle voice, I raised my head to see Leoprick looking at me, standing in the same position as before.

I hadn’t even realized what situation he was in, lost in my thoughts.

I smiled slightly, amused at myself for being so confused by the words of an unidentified street vendor we met at a mere festival.

“Ah… yes. I’m sorry, Leo. Because I was paying attention to unnecessary things…”

“No, it’s alright. The owner’s words were worth paying attention to. Didn’t he speak as if he knew everything about you and me?”

“That’s true, but in fact, there are many people in places like this who try to deceive others with empty words. I knew that, but I fell for it for a moment.”

When learning about merchant groups, I often went to village festivals near the capital or street vendors with Hayley and Betty.

Each time, I met countless merchants who tried to coax people into buying their goods with quite plausible words.

I even naively fell for some of them, making unexpected expenditures.

Whenever that happened, Hayley would say, ‘You need to know how to distinguish between real and fake,’ and make me look for differences between those who had deceived me and the merchants from whom she had purchased items.

By the time I could completely distinguish between the two, she stopped going around street vendors with me.

The only strange thing would be that I couldn’t find any of the typical elements of a con artist that I had learned from Hayley back then in that owner just now.

That street vendor owner had no characteristics of a con artist other than blabbing as if he knew everything.

But in terms of spouting utterly incomprehensible stories, he was undoubtedly like a con artist, no matter what anyone says.

I briefly held my forehead due to the oncoming headache, then looked at the bracelet Leoprick was holding in his hand.

“I’m sorry. For taking an interest in such an object unnecessarily.”

“It’s alright. I also thought it would suit you. The object itself is pretty, after all.”

Leoprick smiled faintly at my words and held up the object in his hand.

“Would you hold out your arm, Mela?”