EPISODE 44

“Can I take all the remaining pieces?”

“All of them, you mean?”

“Yes. What’s the price?”

Noah, momentarily flustered by the serious question from the woman, soon responded calmly.

“It’s 3 setas.”

The reason Noah had been selling only one piece per person was due to a recent surge in fraud. There had been reports across various guilds of artworks purchased cheaply from lesser-known but skilled artists being resold as if they were the works of famous craftsmen. Since Noah couldn’t put his name on such items, there was always a risk of being exploited for such scams.

However, somehow, Noah felt that these people would cherish the pieces.

As the woman willingly handed over three gold coins, two of the knights who had been standing at a distance approached and carefully packed the pieces. Noah, who had been gazing intently at the mother and daughter disappearing into the crowd, turned back to the siblings.

“Let’s pack up.”

“Y-yes!”

After tidying up the stall and collecting only the balance to be paid as a commission to the guild, Noah handed a heavy pouch to the siblings.

“The amount you need to repay is 1 seta and 3 kennies. You’d better take that with you. You never know what kind of trouble might come up.”

Hans and Ellie were speechless for a while as they looked at the money in the pouch. Hans asked with a trembling voice.

“Are we allowed to accept this?”

“Since you provided the materials.”

Noah answered lightly, and a bell could be heard from far away. After the bell rang four times and stopped, Noah exchanged brief greetings and turned to leave. If he hurried, he might return to the castle before evening.

Or so he thought.

“Excuse me!”

The loud voice grabbed Noah’s ankle. Meeting the girl’s piercing gaze calmly, Ellie asked in a slightly twisted tone.

“Why are you helping us like this?”

Not that there’s any particular reason. There is, but it’s not something one says to strangers.

Before Noah could respond, the impatient girl added.

“I’m not sure if it’s appropriate to say this to a benefactor, but I don’t believe in unreciprocated goodwill.”

“Ellie. Just a moment.”

“Shut up, Hans!”

Whose fault is this anyway? Ellie glared fiercely, causing Hans to close his mouth, feeling a renewed throbbing in the area he had been struck.

‘Are you crazy, you fool!’

When she heard that she might have been sold off as well, Ellie took off her shoes and used them to beat Hans mercilessly. Her rough behavior and the coarse curses seemed to prove that her life hadn’t been easy.

Of course, Noah didn’t stop her. Innocence wasn’t a valid excuse.

“You never know. We might be scamming you.”

As Hans tried to stop his audacious sister, Noah’s response came faster.

“Well, then you’d just lose some money and time.”

When someone has spent time helping and then receives words that resemble criticism, it’s natural for most people to get upset. However, the siblings were left speechless by Noah’s perfectly calm demeanor.

“I helped you for my own satisfaction, and whether you have any other ulterior motives is none of my concern.”

This was the extent of what Noah could do. He had no time to consider how the siblings would live from then on. It was merely a small whim brought on by the circumstances and his recollections of his own mother.

Whether it was a scam or not, what difference did it make? They were people he wouldn’t see again.

On the other hand, Noah understood why the girl might speak like that. Her worn-out dress, messy hair, and calloused hands drew attention.

Noah glanced at the young hands marked by the struggles of life and spoke.

“Sometimes, having a miraculous act of kindness in life isn’t such a bad thing.”

Hans might have been foolish, but he wasn’t a liar. He remembered the heavy feeling in his heart when he saw the woman lying in bed upon arriving at his home, and the face of the girl sitting beside her, wiping her mother’s face with a cloth.

Since these were faces he wouldn’t see again, Noah spoke with deliberate coldness.

“Consider yourself lucky. Sometimes, fairies do appear and grant wishes.”

Although, that person seemed more suited to being a fairy than he is.

 ‘I’m a fairy, so I can’t tell you my name.’

Recalling what Cordelia had said, Noah allowed a slight smile to form, though he quickly returned to his stoic expression.

“Don’t let anyone know that I gave you that money. It seems like you’re being targeted by some bad people, so it might be best to repay the debt and leave the area quickly.”

They didn’t look like the kind of people who had only scammed once or twice. If their connections were deep, it might not be very useful, but at least filing a report would be advisable.

After giving his final advice and turning to leave, a booming voice came from behind.

“Thank you, fairy!”

Hans smiled broadly at the benefactor who hadn’t even revealed their name. The awkward title made Noah’s back twitch slightly, but he didn’t turn around.

By the time Noah arrived at the castle, the sun was already setting. As he got out in front of the main gate and crossed the grounds, he tilted his head slightly when he approached the castle.

What’s going on?

Workers were bustling around both inside and outside the castle. Occasionally, there were people dressed in informal attire, not fitting the usual castle standards.

“Have you returned now?”

At that moment, Calia, who was coming out, greeted him. Noah bowed his head in response. As they entered together, faint sounds of commotion could be heard from a distance.

As they ascended the stairs, the noise gradually subsided. Surveying the surprisingly quiet and calm surroundings, Noah finally spoke.

“Yes, I had some business. However… it seems oddly chaotic.”

“Oh, I’m decorating a hall that was left neglected. I’ll also be busy with training starting tomorrow or the day after.”

“Training?”

“Yes. Cordelia called me for that.”

‘If you’re going to do it, do it perfectly! No one knows me better than my sisters.’

When asked why she was called, Calia, who had confidently lifted her chin and thought of Cordelia, covered her slightly rising lips with her hand.

“Honestly, it’s just so rude.”

Even though Calia spoke as if it were absurd, she didn’t seem particularly upset. Hearing the amusement in her voice, Noah shared a recently remembered fact.

“Yesterday, there was quite a commotion.”

“Not really. Well, at the time, it seemed like you were helplessly crying.”

“……I don’t cry that much anymore.”

Seeing Noah’s somewhat stubborn response, Calia’s hidden playfulness emerged. She openly laughed.

“So, does that mean you used to cry a lot before?”

“I didn’t cry much even as a child.”

Not in front of others.

When he cried, it always caused a commotion around him. Even if he hurt himself and scraped his knee, it wasn’t him who got scolded but those who took care of him.

From the day Noah realized this simple truth, he made an effort to avoid getting hurt or crying in front of others. Sometimes, when he reached his limit, he would sneak away from his residence to find a place where he could be alone.

It wasn’t so bad. In the end, this habit led him to meet Cordelia.

“Should I call you Countess?”

“As you wish.”

“You can speak casually with me. There’s a difference in status, and also…….”

“Are you speaking sincerely?”

“Yes?”

Calia’s gaze softened into a gentle curve.

“My eyes aren’t blind. I’ve already guessed that you’re not just an ordinary painter.”

Though she had been uncertain when alone with Cordelia, her certainty grew when she faced him with Isaac. Despite pretending to be calm, he seemed oddly flustered when dealing with him, and the meaningful comments he made only reinforced her suspicion.

Her father, who appeared relaxed on the surface, was more cold and thorough than anyone else. There was a reason why even Rick couldn’t surpass her father.

If someone could make her father nervous, they couldn’t be an ordinary person.

“And your face. I thought I’d seen it somewhere before. You look quite a bit like someone I know.”

“Who….”

“Probably, your mother.”

With this indirect comment, Noah could no longer respond and fell silent. His gaze subtly lowered diagonally.

Refusing Tyrain’s suggestion to cut his bangs short turned out to be a good decision upon reflection. People could recognize him from the briefly exposed face, and cutting his hair might have brought unforeseen issues.

Even aside from that, it’s said that the more you stand out, the harder it is to hide secrets.

“Uh, Cordy?”

At Calia’s call for her younger sister, Noah lifted his lowered head and looked forward.

Cordelia, wearing a green dress that almost touched her ankles, was walking toward them when she stopped abruptly upon seeing them. Her rolling eyes moved past Calia and landed on Noah.

While Noah hesitated, unsure of what to say, Cordelia turned her head indifferently. Without responding, she retraced her steps back the way she came. Calia looked after her in puzzlement. The faint sound of Cordelia’s shoes thudding softly beneath her right clenched fist seemed to echo despite her graceful steps.

Noah stared weakly into the air, his eyes rolling, as he tried to dismiss the strange emptiness he felt inside.

“Why is she acting like that all of a sudden?”

Calia, who had been touching her face, turned back to Noah.

“Things were so harmonious until yesterday. What happened? Did you two fight?”

“…I said something that might have upset Lady Cordelia.”

“She does seem pretty upset… but don’t worry too much. She sometimes has a stubborn streak in the strangest places.”

Noah awkwardly lowered his eyebrows at Calia’s sharp observation. Calia, as if understanding everything, whispered gently.

“But that’s part of what makes her endearing, don’t you think?”

The kind and considerate tone, as if she understood his feelings, eased the tension that had been prickling at him.

So Noah decided to be just a little bit more honest.

“…Yes.”