I'm a court magician. Recently, I’ve been worrying about the princess staring at me. - Chapter 19

As requested, I invited the princess to spend the day with me, and we were now walking down the main street on the east side of the capital. The buildings were adorned with balloons and flags, and countless stalls lined the road.

There were just as many people walking up and down the street. A lot of them were eating at the same time… It wasn’t very good manners, but today was special, I suppose.

“So this is what it’s like—the Founding Festival.”

“It’s amazing… This is my first time seeing it. Wait, you haven’t either?”

“No, I had to wait in my room every year.”

“That’s… I’m sorry.”

I understood that it was for security purposes, but after seeing the festival in person I sympathized with her.

Suddenly, Her Highness giggled.

“That’s alright. For this year, at least, I’ve been kidnapped.”

“Well, that’s not quite…”

I was about to deny it, but now that she mentioned it, wasn’t this basically a kidnapping? She looked happy enough, but this was a crime. I joked about being beheaded all the time, but for something like this a beheading might not even be enough!

Alright, let’s calm down a little. Bella was working behind the scenes to make sure nothing would happen. All I needed to do was focus on entertaining Her Highness.

“By the way, is there anywhere you’d like to go?”

“To be honest, I’m fine with just being able to walk around and see the festival. And I hardly get used to it, how you call me.”

“Be patient. It would be terrible if they found out.”

Right now, Her Highness was not the princess. Instead, she was the only daughter of a reasonably well-known company. This backstory would explain the inconspicuous clothing and wide-brimmed hat. I called her by a different name, too, and also applied a short-range intermediate spell that inhibited recognition. Of course, it didn’t affect me, so to me she looked the same as usual. Also, I went back to how I used to be because it was troublesome.

“That would be troublesome, wouldn’t it? For you especially.”

“So, what do you say we enjoy the festival without getting caught?”

I held out my hand.

“…Yes, let’s.”

Her cheeks flushed a little, and after a moment’s hesitation she took my hand.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing! So, where do you want to go?”

“Let’s see…”

I glanced around at the stalls full of delicious food, fun games, and festive balloons.

There were quite a few options. I can’t buy what I think Her Highness seems to have gone out of, and she might get hurt.

I led Her Highness by the hand to a nearby food stand.

“Excuse me, could I get two grilled skewers with sauce?”

“Aye!”

The shopkeeper responded enthusiastically and handed me two steaming hot skewers. The smell of the savory char and rich sauce was irresistible. There’s something about festival food that just makes it taste so much better.

“Be careful, it’s hot!”

“Thank you.”

I paid for the skewers and gave one to Her Highness. She took it and tilted her head to one side.

“Um…?”

“You’ve never had anything like this, have you? The royal palace probably doesn’t serve this, so I thought it might be nice to try something the rest of us eat. Isn’t it good?”

As the shopkeeper had said, the skewers were hot. They were fresh, after all. I blew on mine a few times and gingerly took a bite. The taste of the sauce permeated through my mouth and mingled with the texture of the meat. For some reason, I felt a bit nostalgic. When I was living in my old village, I would hunt in the forest and cook my spoils with sauce and spices.

The princess mimicked me and bit into her portion.

“That’s good!”

“I’m glad to hear it. Don’t eat too quickly, though. You might choke.”

“Yes.”

We’d be missing out on the rest of the festival if we stayed, so it might be better to eat while walking. Everyone around us is doing the same, so it should be fine, right? Not that I was ever one to be swayed by peer pressure.

“Your Highness.”

“What?”

I leaned in to wipe a smudge of sauce remaining on the corner of her mouth. Not wanting to waste it, I licked my finger.

“—!”

“You had some near your mouth. I guess you’re not quite used to it yet.”

“A-ah, thank…you.”

Her Highness blushed and stared at her feet. Yeah, it’s great to be able to say that properly.

Her reaction had me feeling a bit embarrassed myself.

“No problem. You seemed to enjoy that kind of food, so shall we go on an eating tour?”

“I’ll turn into a glutton, won’t I?”

“What’s wrong with indulging every once in a while? If anything, you look kind of thin. Are you eating well?”

“In moderation, I guess… If you eat too much, you’ll have extra fat, you know?”

“I admire your sense of beauty, but you should be staying healthy too. Let’s eat a lot today.”

“…It seems to me like you’re just hungry.”

Busted.

“Let’s go.”

“We’ve been here for a while now!”

We walked quickly, holding hands so as to not separate from each other.

The princess was absolutely right. The past few days of preparation made me skip a few meals, so I was in dire need of nutrition. Consider it my reward.

We stopped at another stall to try some fresh juice.

“I’m turning into one already…”

Her Highness grimaced, but we were having fun. The juice was tart, which only further brought out its sweetness.

“I’ve heard the fruit they use is good for your skin.”

“Is that so? I’m impressed. It tastes great, too.”

“Right? I—”

As I was speaking, a sudden chill went down my spine. I whipped around to stare at the alley behind me. Someone after the princess? No, I doubt she was found out so quickly. Then, are they after me?

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing at all. Why don’t we keep going? There’s a lot more we haven’t seen.”

I can’t worry you like that.

Pushing down my dark thoughts, I led the princess through the streets.

◇

“Did he notice…”

In sharp contrast with the festive main street, the alley was dark and deserted. A bulky hooded man stood there, muttering to himself.

“I’m sure you covered your tracks, but… that man has good sense.”

The hooded figure disappeared into the shadows.

Aside from himself, no one knew that he had been there.