Whether excited by Laila’s positive response, Eustar’s expression brightened considerably. He, like a child on their first outing or an excited puppy, eagerly led Laila around here and there.

If Laila showed even a little interest, Eustar immediately took her to shops or street stalls.

He cheerfully and warmly introduced her to trinkets and snacks covered in sugar, salt, or sauce – things that were trivial compared to the jewels she usually saw in the royal palace.

At a stall run by a lively young lady selling accessories, Eustar bought Laila a hairpin. It was decorated with a cornflower shape made of stiff blue fabric pieces sewn together.

“My, how sweet of you!”

As Eustar gently brushed aside Laila’s hair to pin it in, the stall owner whistled and cackled. This caused Laila’s face to turn red with embarrassment, but Eustar seemed thoroughly delighted.

“Do you see that small altar over there? That’s an altar to the god Gilonic. People believe if you offer flowers and pray there, your wish will come true within a month.”

“Is that why there are so many flower sellers gathered around?”

“Yes. Would you like to try, Laila? I know you don’t believe in gods, but just for fun.”

After considering for a moment, Laila shook her head.

“I don’t think it’s good to pray just for fun. There might be people sincerely making wishes.”

Eustar nodded with a gentle smile.

He was adept at finding paths that were cleverly less crowded while still allowing them to see every corner of the busy district.

As Laila was admiring the exterior of a clothing shop with large windows displaying colorful fabrics and laces, she suddenly wondered how Eustar knew the area outside the palace so well.

“Eustar, do you come to places like this often?”

“Why? Does it seem that way?”

“Well, you haven’t gotten lost once. It doesn’t seem like we’re just wandering aimlessly.”

Eustar looked at Laila with a mischievous smile. It was as if he was saying she was quite perceptive to notice.

“When I was young, I always begged to go along whenever my elder brother went out on inspections. Then I’d slip away and wander around here and there.”

Laila’s eyes widened. As she did so, a sugar crystal that had been on the corner of her mouth fell off.

“Wasn’t that dangerous?”

Eustar said:

“At the time, I thought I was on a grand adventure. I’d imagine how I’d handle dangerous situations if they arose. But looking back now, there were always employees and soldiers following me. My brother must have noticed me slipping away, but I was too young to realize that.”

As he slightly bowed his head, the wind blew. Laila saw his hair, gleaming like snow in the sunlight, flutter gently behind his back.

Eustar, chuckling quietly, continued in a gentle voice:

“Above all, people must have known the king was out on an inspection. Everyone knew I was the prince. So even without the employees or soldiers, there were people everywhere who would have rushed to stop anyone trying to kidnap me…”

Just then, a street vendor pulled freshly fried bread from a pot of bubbling oil and offered one each to Eustar and Laila to try.

Eustar accepted with thanks and handed the bread to Laila, winking as if to say ‘See?’

“Look, it’s like this. On days I went out, I’d end up eating so many snacks that I’d stubbornly refuse to eat dinner when I got back, and get scolded by my elder brother.”

Laila took a small bite of the steaming bread, then blew on it with a “Whew” before saying:

“Well, everyone would have known you were the prince. Because you probably dressed similarly to how you do now. Who else would wear clothes like these? Right?”

Eustar burst out laughing.

“That’s right. I might as well have been walking around with a sign saying ‘I’m the king’s younger brother.’ Back then, being younger, I wore even more fluttery and sparkly things than I do now.”

Eventually, Laila couldn’t help but laugh out loud too.

She had a hard time imagining what kind of clothes the young Eustar might have worn, but she pictured noble boys she’d seen buried in outfits covered in ruffles and lace. The thought that Eustar once had such a phase made her unable to hold back her laughter.

“Eustar, what’s that?”

Laila, with a piece of bread still in her mouth, pointed somewhere with a rare expression of curiosity.

Eustar looked at Laila with a surprised expression.

“Is this your first time seeing that, Laila?”

“Where would I have seen something like that? You know about Rizzikus. I told you it was a place where not even peddlers would visit, let alone have street stalls.”

Ah, of course. Eustar nodded in understanding and took Laila’s hand.

“Then let’s go try it. Trying it once is much better than hearing a hundred explanations.”

What Laila was curious about was a game where you throw balls to hit moving targets.

There was a thin rail set on a long piece of wood, and when wound up, the rail would spin at random speeds with blue, red, and yellow targets moving left and right.

After Eustar paid, the owner handed out three balls matching the colors of the targets.

“Choose one. You aim to hit the rail of the same color. The prize depends on how many you hit.”

Laila glanced at Eustar once before choosing the yellow ball. The owner handed Laila a basket containing about twenty yellow balls, then wiggled his fingers to wish her luck.

“Alright then!”

With an energetic voice, the owner began winding a large spring with both hands. When the clicking sound stopped, the rail began to move accompanied by a crude drum sound.

Laila, flustered, held the ball not knowing what to do before throwing it at the target. A yellow target that was passing by slowly tipped backward then stood up again.

“Good job, Laila! You hit one. Keep throwing, hurry!”

Eustar said. Laila, her cheeks flushed red, threw the balls earnestly. When only ten seconds remained, she aimed at the targets with all her might, but… the targets of other colors cunningly blocked the yellow ones!

“Time’s up. You hit five, so your prize is…”

The owner, rummaging in a small sack, grinned. Laila could see that one of his front teeth was missing.

“Lemon candy! You’ll do better next time!”

Laila accepted the small candy the owner offered with a slightly dazed feeling. Whether it was because of the drum sound heard while the rail was moving, or because she had concentrated too hard on hitting the targets, she was confused about what had just happened.

Eustar burst out laughing as he looked at Laila.

“Laila, what’s wrong? Are you disappointed with the result?”

“No, that’s not it.”

Just then, the owner smoothly interjected:

“At times like these, shouldn’t His Highness the Prince step up?”

He had been pretending not to know, but it seemed he too was aware of Eustar and Laila’s identities. Eustar slightly raised one eyebrow as he turned to look at the owner, then turned back to face Laila.

“He’s suggesting it. What do you think, Laila? Should I take revenge for you?”

“Revenge is a bit… But you should try too, Eustar. The targets move really strangely. I thought I could hit them, but I couldn’t.”

Both Eustar and the owner laughed loudly at her words. When Eustar handed over some coins, the owner again presented three colored balls.

“Now, Your Highness. Please choose!”

Blinking as he looked down at the balls, Eustar picked up the red one and looked at Laila.

“If this were a coin, I’d ask you to kiss me for luck.”

“A kiss? What do you mean?”

“To wish me luck. But it seems a bit odd to ask you to kiss the ball. Would you kiss my cheek instead?”

Laila’s eyes widened round, as if wondering why on earth she should do that. But when Eustar lowered his head, her body moved as if drawn by a magnet.

Laila’s slightly parted lips brushed Eustar’s cheek. In that moment, Laila suddenly realized it was the first time she had initiated a kiss with Eustar.

“Thank you.”

The owner began winding the spring. Eustar took two balls from the basket and held them together, then as soon as the rail started moving, he aimed at the red targets and threw them in order.

With a cheerful ‘pop!’ sound, the targets flipped backward then stood up again.

Eustar didn’t even wait for the targets to stand back up. He didn’t throw the balls one by one either…

Two, three balls flew quickly and accurately towards only the red targets. Sometimes he would hit a target again just as it stood up, knocking it down once more.

Not only Laila, but even the stall owner couldn’t close his mouth at the speed with which Eustar threw the balls and the way the targets fell.

There was still time left and the rail was still turning, but Eustar turned the empty basket upside down and shrugged.

“I’m out of balls now.”

“What? Oh my, goodness gracious, Your Highness!”

The owner burst out laughing and grabbed the still-spinning spring.

“If Your Highness came here every day, I might have to close up shop. Very well! You’ve won first place today, so I’ll give you the prize. After all, I’m a man who gracefully accepts defeat.”

Passersby kept glancing at Laila incessantly. Some couldn’t take their eyes off her until she passed by, then suddenly turned their heads and chuckled. Others gaped as if they had seen a leopard casually strolling through the bustling street in broad daylight.

“…Everyone’s staring, Eustar.”

“Hmm, maybe it’s because you’re so cute?”

“Are you joking right now?”

“Of course not. I’m serious.”

Eustar’s lips pressed tightly shut as he glanced down at Laila. His tense mouth quivered slightly.

Laila looked up at him with a pouty face. As she did, the two rabbit ears poking up on her head fluttered and shook. The ears of the giant rabbit doll Laila was hugging also shook.

Eustar couldn’t hold it in anymore and bent over laughing. Laila stared at him with a bright red face.

“Eustar!”

At Laila’s thoroughly annoyed voice, Eustar waved his hand.

“Sorry… I’m sorry. No, but I’m not laughing to tease you. I’m really laughing because you’re so cute.”

The first prize from the game stall was a giant rabbit doll about half Laila’s height. The owner, priding himself on his generosity, had said, “I’ll throw in something that suits Your Highness perfectly,” and handed over a neatly packaged headband as well…

“I’m taking this off.”

Just as Laila was about to pull off the rabbit ear headband, Eustar gently stopped her wrist, shaking his head.