Startled, the pickpocket momentarily hesitated and looked at the person in front of him. It was the woman whose purse he had just stolen. Looking around, he saw no guards accompanying her.

It seemed she had come alone to find her purse. With that, his surprised heart calmed down. The thing that flew up earlier must have been an illusion.

“Phew. I was startled for nothing.”

“Give that back.”

The words from the woman, who looked smaller and harmless than him, just sounded ridiculous. But just in case guards might come belatedly. He quickly planned his escape. Nothing good ever came from getting involved with nobles.

“If I was going to give it back, why would I have stolen it? Noble lady, don’t get yourself into trouble by being alone. Just go.”

How hard could it be to shake off one woman? The maze of alleys might be complex for first-time visitors, but he knew the geography well. As he was about to quickly flee, the woman in front of him drew her sword.

‘Even if she’s a woman, it is troublesome when she draws a sword.’

But what was this? She was grabbing the scabbard instead of the sword. From when she awkwardly held the sword in one hand, he could tell she didn’t know how to use it.

“If you return it right now, I won’t do anything.”

“If I was going to return it, why would I steal it!”

“That’s true, I suppose.”

Seeing her calmly agreeing with his words, she was undoubtedly a strange woman. While she was standing there nonchalantly, he quickly moved his feet to run away. But in an instant, the woman caught up to him and swung the scabbard.

Thwack—! A dull sound rang above his head. His head buzzed as if his skull was ringing.

“You crazy woman!”

The pickpocket got irritated and pulled out the dagger hidden in his clothes. As he swung it, the woman dodged very quickly and extended her long leg to strike his stomach.

She must be a slender woman. Yet it was a powerful blow that made him cry out involuntarily. Holding his stomach with one hand, the pickpocket’s eyes rolled back and he lunged at the woman in front of him. Only then did the woman smile brightly as if pleased. At that moment, goosebumps spread all over the pickpocket’s body.

“This is how my body gets warmed up.”

The woman looked as if she had been waiting for him to lunge at her.

The guard knights watching Julieta from afar chuckled.

The dagger the pickpocket had been holding had long since rolled away on the ground, and the pickpocket, covering his head with both hands, was now crying out in surrender.

“I, I was wrong. So please stop now, ow!”

“If you admit you were wrong, why haven’t you thought to let go of the purse you’re holding?”

“I’ll, I’ll let it go! Ow! You should listen to people…!”

The scabbard she was holding now looked like a thick club. It was hard to distinguish who was the victim and who was the attacker.

“Ow! My, my wrist is dislocated…”

“If your wrist dislocates from just one hit, how weak is your body? Are pickpockets usually this whiny?”

Hearing those words, the guard knights all thought in unison:

‘I don’t think it’s whining, my lady…’

The knights were doubtful about how such a dull sound could be made from hitting someone.

“Is what I’m seeing reality?”

“If it’s the scene of the lady’s one-sided assault, then yes, it is.”

“We rushed over worried about unforeseen circumstances, even though the lady is skilled with a sword. It was truly a needless worry.”

They stood quietly, gauging when the situation might end. Then one knight nudged another and asked:

“Don’t you have anything to eat?”

“I did buy some dried fruit earlier. Want to eat this?”

At that, everyone rushed over saying they wanted some too. They all took a piece of dried fruit each and munched on it while watching Julieta educate the pickpocket.

If someone saw, they might point out neglect of duty. But truly, there was nothing for them to do.

After loosening up her body using the pickpocket as a human wooden dummy, Julieta stretched refreshingly. The battered pickpocket, now hoping for release, found himself despairing again.

“Alright. Say it again slowly.”

“I will never steal someone else’s money again!”

With his face all swollen, the pickpocket raised both hands and began reciting his wrongdoings.

“Your voice is too quiet. Want to get hit again?”

As Julieta moved to pick up the scabbard, the pickpocket flinched with a ‘eek’ and shouted energetically.

“I, I was wrong! I’ll do it again!”

“That’s right. Good job!”

Seeing Julieta smile happily, the guard knights thought it was finally over and were about to approach when Yezar appeared.

In one hand, he held a hat to give to Julieta. The knights who spotted Yezar smiled and offered him dried fruit.

“Lord, you’ve arrived? Ah, would you like some dried fruit as well, my lord?”

He had sent them to guard, but instead of guarding, they were peacefully eating dried fruit. Clearly, he should be angry, but.

Yezar felt like he knew what had happened without even seeing it. From the knights who were utterly at ease to the booming voice he had been hearing for a while.

Approaching where Julieta was, Yezar called her nickname.

“Rieta.”

At that, Julieta’s gaze fixed on him. Her brightly smiling face, like a fully bloomed flower, looked just like an innocent child.

“Ern, I caught a pickpocket! Didn’t I do well?”

Knowing her skills, he had let her go despite the danger, so Yezar smiled along with her.

“Yes, you did well.”

“I roughed him up a bit… Oh, he fainted.”

The pickpocket beside her had collapsed with a thud. Julieta poked him a few times, checking if he was still breathing or if anything was wrong, then asked Yezar in a bright voice.

“He seems fine except for fainting. Should we hand him over to the city guard?”

One of the knights eating dried fruit in the back muttered to himself.

“I’m glad that pickpocket isn’t me.”

Everyone nodded in unison. Yezar found himself smiling at the fact that the knights, who were usually busy fighting amongst themselves, had reached a unanimous agreement at this moment.

We safely handed the pickpocket over to the city guard and returned. When the pickpocket briefly regained consciousness, he tearfully begged to be taken away quickly, which was puzzling.

‘I used the scabbard instead of the sword when dealing with a civilian, worried I might not be able to control myself. Why is he so scared? He was so good at stealing other people’s money. Hmph.’

As I was puffing out my cheeks, feeling a bit indignant, Yezar asked me.

“Rieta, are you hurt anywhere?”

“Ah! I’m fine. I’m perfectly alright.”

Honestly, compared to the pickpocket’s face which was all swollen from being beaten, I was fine without even a scratch.

“That’s good then. The hat suits you very well.”

“It must be because Ern bought such a pretty one for me.”

I showed him the blue hat he bought and smiled brightly, and he smiled back. The time wasted catching the pickpocket suddenly felt regrettable.

“Let’s go enjoy ourselves again now. I’ve found my purse after all.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Walking through the areas we couldn’t visit earlier, we enjoyed the sound of people’s laughter and the bustling atmosphere.

‘A festival is a festival indeed. Everyone laughing and chattering happily. It’s nice to see.’

Before we knew it, we had walked around until sunset and took a brief rest at the square.

“We walked a lot.”

“Indeed. Are your feet alright?”

“Of course. I changed into comfortable shoes, so I’m fine.”

Just then, a soft singing voice drifted in. It had a bouncy, lively rhythm.

“The singing sounds nice.”

“Music is essential at festivals, after all.”

As I hummed along with the song. Before I knew it, people had gathered around the square and started dancing.

I saw children laughing brightly as they kept time, couples, and lovers shyly blushing as they held hands and danced.

Somehow, I felt excited. Although I had learned to dance, I had never properly danced before, so I was clumsy, but I still tapped my feet to the rhythm and shook my head.

‘If I ask Yezar to dance with me, would he dislike it?’

Such a thought came to me unconsciously. Even though I would surely step on his feet if we danced together.

At that moment, Yezar extended his hand to me.

“Rieta, would you like to dance with me?”

“What?”

I wondered if I had spoken my thoughts aloud instead of just thinking them.

“I want to dance with you.”

“But, but I might step on Yezar’s feet.”

Flustered, I called him Yezar instead of Ern, even though I knew I should use Ern.

“Ah, so-sorry. Ern.”

“Why are you so flustered? It’s alright if you step on my feet. I’ll lead.”

His hand remained outstretched in front of me. Although I was worried if it would be okay, I carefully took his hand.

“I really might step on your feet hard.”

“I’ll try to avoid it well.”

He answered calmly. I placed my hands on his shoulder and arm, and slowly moved my body to the beat. I tried to recall the dance lessons Wizlet had forced me to take, but.

He guided my body. My feet moved naturally following his movements.

‘Ah. It’s easy to move.’

His words about leading were not a lie. Although my dancing skills were clearly clumsy, following him was not difficult.

Yezar whispered to me.

“It seems I won’t get my feet stepped on, contrary to your worries, my lady?”

That made me laugh spontaneously.

“It must be because my husband is so good at dancing. I’m starting to wonder if there’s anything you can’t do.”

“Well. I want to avoid showing my mistakes in front of you, my lady, so it’s a secret.”

Seeing his cheeks redden as he said that, I couldn’t help but laugh again.