The city was no different from usual, filled with various goods stores. People strolled the streets, either coming to buy what they needed or just for the fun of browsing. Amidst the crowd, there was always a noticeable group wherever you went.

“Wow! Yann, look at this! That’s a spinning top that costs a thousand coins!”

“Wow! Yann, that vase-shaped ornament is incredibly fascinating! It looks like a human face!”

“Oh, Yann! Look over there too!”

It was undoubtedly a noble young lady from a prestigious family who seemed to have come out for the first time. Despite wearing a hood, her distinctive features were unmistakable.

The gentle voices excitedly discussing things brought gentle smiles to the faces of the surrounding merchants. Even the young boys helping with arranging items on the stalls had the same reaction.

“Surely, she’s a noble, right?”

Although they had never received knight training, they had lived their whole lives in bustling marketplaces like this.

The men surrounding the girl with protective gazes were likely her escort knights.

“I wonder which family she’s from.”

In fact, the most well-known family among commoners was the Crustel family, the owners of the territory. However, I didn’t think that a high-ranking noble’s child would come out like this, in this manner.

So, no one expected it. The person standing behind the girl was none other than the designated heir of that family.

Clements had noticed it.

The purpose of inspecting the territory was to closely observe the real lives of the residents, understanding what they truly needed and whether there was any unreasonable treatment or discrimination. Therefore, walking around the city without revealing one’s status was natural.

It turned out as intended, but on the other hand, Clements and Davian were quite concerned.

“Aren’t they staring too much?”

Davian, who was following behind Diane, warned with a gloomy aura. He didn’t like the way others looked at Diane, and the glances that occasionally fell on her were unpleasant.

“Brother, do you have a problem with their eyes?”

“Davian, calm down.”

“…Sigh.”

Since Diane was an incredibly cute and lovable child, it was inevitable that people’s attention would be drawn to her.

More than that, what bothered Clements and Davian was the boys of Diane’s age who seemed to be attendants or lower-ranking employees of the merchants. Every time Diane came to browse items, the boys guarding the shelves would cough awkwardly and touch their heads as if grooming their hair.

Looking around as if there was no reason to talk to Diane was just an excuse.

“Hey, you, come here.”

When the impatient Davian finally reached out toward Diane, she turned to look at him and quickly pulled her hand away to prevent him from holding it.

“Hmph!”

Davian was visibly shocked, freezing stiff in place.

“Let’s go, Yann!”
Diane, whether aware of Davian’s feelings or not, walked ahead with only her escorts. Seeing his younger brother frozen like a statue, Clements patted his shoulder gently.

The reason behind Diane’s actions was not unknown to the two. However, they didn’t expect Diane to be so engrossed in sightseeing for such a long time.

In fact, Diane was not afraid of snakes, so she thought that she wouldn’t be scared of frogs, mice, or anything similar.

“…Mikael wasn’t supposed to listen to me.”

While the two desperately followed Diane’s retreating figure, Diane was completely immersed in sightseeing, forgetting about the frogs and mice she had seen earlier.

The city gathered various shops, so it wasn’t surprising that Diane, who rarely went out, was captivated by the diverse items around her.

“Yann, come over here!”

Diane was exploring all those fascinating things with Yann rather than Clements and Davian. Watching them from a distance, the two finally realized the situation. Clements was the first to give up.

“I’m going.”

Without being detained, Clements immediately approached Diane. Davian, who still had his fists clenched, pretended not to care but remained focused on their conversation.

“Little one, I was wrong. I won’t do that again.”

“Hmm.”

“If you believe me just once?”

“Then you absolutely won’t do it again?”

“Yeah, absolutely.”

“Okay! Then I’ll accept the apology!”

Diane readily accepted the words of apology, bringing a smile to her older brother’s face.

Observing such a scene, Davian anxiously tapped the ground with his foot.

Diane couldn’t have missed Davian’s uneasy appearance. Holding her fists, she approached Davian.

“Don’t you have anything to say to me, Davian?”

“…Do you really have nothing to say to me?”

“Me?”

“You said yesterday that you liked that snake more than me.”

“Um…”

“You said it was the absolute best in the world, directly to me.”

Seemingly realizing something belatedly, Diane rolled her eyes and clapped her hands together with a fist.

“Could it be that you’re upset because of what you said about liking the snake more than me yesterday?”

“Yeah, you definitely said that yesterday.”

“Hmm…”

“You said it was the very, very best. You said that yourself.”