Chapter 113
“Okay, noona. I’ll explain it once.”
In the end, he settled on calling her noona.
He figured flattering her until he was freed would be faster than fighting for slave rights.
Please.
“We believe there’s a mastermind behind this latest missing-lady case. Right?”
“Yeah.”
“Maybe the young ladies, inspired by your novel, dressed up as commoners and got abducted by those bastards.”
In other words, our goal is to find the mastermind and recover the missing young ladies.
That way, the emperor would allow Aurora to resume writing novels.
“To do that, we need to get on their good side.”
“So I’m the bait.”
“Exactly.”
Aurora was in commoner clothes now, but she didn’t look like a commoner at all.
If she walked around the streets, she’d definitely stand out. They’d notice her too.
Aurora’s job was to lure them out.
“What about Leon?”
“I’ll be watching from a little distance.”
They take young ladies who are walking around alone. If I stay by your side, they definitely won’t approach.
I’ll stay within range to protect Aurora, then step in if anything happens.
“No matter what happens, I’ll protect you, so don’t worry. All right?”
“I’m counting on you.”
The briefing was over.
Aurora let out a long breath.
“Are you nervous?”
“Yeah. This is exactly like Aurora, right? I never thought the day would come when I’d become the protagonist of a novel. I’m so excited.”
So that was the kind of tension she meant.
Should I call it optimism, or boldness?
Anyway, it was a relief she wasn’t scared.
“Good. Then let’s get started.”
***
As the morning sun rose, the capital’s streets gradually brightened.
Shop doors that had been closed all night opened one by one, and people began to fill the streets.
Seeing the city just beginning to come alive, Aurora’s eyes sparkled before she knew it.
…….
Aurora glanced back discreetly.
Leon wasn’t there.
He had definitely been right beside her just moments ago, but before long he had vanished cleanly into the crowd.
She was alone now, but she wasn’t uneasy.
He’d said he would be watching from somewhere and would protect her no matter what.
Thinking that way strangely put her at ease. In fact, her heartbeat sped up cheerfully.
Aurora cleared her throat, straightened her clothes, and stepped into the crowd in earnest.
It wasn’t her first time walking the streets. She had done so before with the knights in tow.
But the street before her was clearly different from that time. It felt much more natural and alive.
More than anything, the fact that she was walking the streets alone was thrilling, like she was doing something bad.
Aurora completely forgot why she had come undercover and busily looked around like a child on an outing.
She blended into the crowd and moved about no differently from anyone else.
Now and then passersby stole glances at Aurora’s appearance, but no one paid her any more attention than that.
‘These people would never guess I’m a princess, right?’
They probably just saw her as an ordinary woman.
What would happen if she revealed her identity right now?
It would be complete chaos.
‘So this is the appeal of hiding your identity.’
The Princess Hides Her Identity.
Aurora experienced the appeal of the story firsthand.
After wandering around for quite a while, Aurora started to feel hungry.
‘Should I get something to eat?’
She looked around for something to eat.
“Miss, would you like a freshly baked cookie?”
That was when it happened.
A merchant called out at the perfect time.
‘Cookies.’
Aurora checked the cookies displayed on the stall counter.
They didn’t look tastier than the ones served at the palace, but this was an experience too.
“Two, please. How much are they?”
“That’ll be one gold coin.”
Aurora rummaged through her pocket. Inside were the coins she had prepared before leaving.
She’d planned to take out some ordinary coins and hand them over.
“……”
Aurora’s movements froze.
‘A gold coin…?’
Aurora was clueless about the world. She didn’t know how much a single cookie should cost.
But she clearly remembered a scene in the novel where Aurora handed over a gold coin to buy a snack, and Kyle said this.
What kind of fool pays a gold coin for one skewer of grilled meat?
In other words, one gold coin for two cookies was an absurd price.
‘What a rip-off.’
Then this was a time to call him out, not hand over money.
But Aurora belatedly remembered the purpose of this stroll.
She wasn’t here to leisurely sightsee. She needed to draw out the people who had kidnapped the young ladies.
Having thought it through, Aurora deliberately took out a gold coin.
“Here you go.”
Just as she was about to hand the money over to the merchant.
-Thud.
Someone grabbed Aurora’s wrist.
The gold coin that had been about to go to the merchant stopped midair.
“……”
Aurora slowly turned her head.
A man stood there wearing a worn, tattered tunic.
He looked barely old enough to be an adult.
The eyes beneath his tousled hair were quite sharp.
“Hey, why would you pay a gold coin just to buy a cookie?”
Aurora blinked.
“With one gold coin, you could buy everything at this stall and still have change. You’re getting ripped off.”
The man clicked his tongue.
“Hey, mister, have some conscience. Do you really think two cookies should cost a gold coin?”
“I-I was going to give change.”
“Don’t lie. I clearly heard you ask for a gold coin.”
Aurora couldn’t take her eyes off the man arguing with the merchant.
His words.
This situation.
It was too similar.
It was just like the scene in the novel where Aurora first met Kyle.
“Mister, don’t do business like that. Let’s go.”
The man led Aurora away and stopped at a nearby open space.
“Do you have any sense at all? You can’t just pull out a gold coin in the middle of the street like that.”
“Um, well…”
“Big cities are places where you can get taken for a ride even with your eyes open. Don’t just pull out money in the open. Especially not when you’re a woman alone.”
“I’ll be careful.”
Aurora’s calm attitude made the man sigh instead.
“Is this your first time in the capital?”
“Yes.”
“And you don’t know your way around very well?”
“Yes. I don’t know it at all.”
At that, the man rubbed his chin as if considering something.
“If you don’t mind, should I show you around the city?”
“You?”
“From the looks of it, you seem pretty clueless about the world. If a woman wanders around alone, it’s dangerous. Let me at least guide you.”
“Hmm…”
Aurora thought it over for a moment.
Was this situation, so eerily similar to the novel, a coincidence, or a deliberate setup?
She couldn’t be certain yet.
But the crime radar she’d developed from dealing with imperial investigators and prisoners at the palace was quietly ringing.
This man was definitely connected to the case.
Then she needed to drag this situation out a little longer.
“All right. I won’t refuse.”
“Smart choice. Then before we move, shall we introduce ourselves? I’m Cal.”
Aurora’s lips curled upward.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Laura.”
***
Guided by Cal, Aurora began sightseeing around the city.
“I saw earlier you looked like you wanted something to eat, so try this shop’s bread. It’s really good.”
“Do you eat it often?”
“Of course. When I pass by here in the morning and smell the bread from this place, I just can’t walk on by.”
“It does smell good.”
“Want to try one? I’ll buy it for you.”
“Huh? No, I…”
Before Aurora could stop him, Cal bought the bread and handed it to her.
“Here.”
“No. I should buy my own.”
That Cal was a bad person was purely Aurora’s intuition.
But what if Cal was a good person?
What if he was genuinely being kind out of pure goodwill?
Judging by Cal’s appearance alone, he didn’t look particularly wealthy.
That would be no different from a princess deceiving and extorting a poor commoner.
“It’s fine. Think of it as a gift for coming to the city. Go on and take it.”
But in the end, she couldn’t refuse the kindness. She accepted the bread somewhat dazedly.
It was warm and soft.
Aurora took a careful bite. A sweet honey fragrance spread.
“It’s delicious.”
“Right?”
Cal shrugged.
“Expensive things aren’t always tasty. The street has its own kind of flavor.”
The flavor of the street.
It was hard to put into words exactly what that taste was, but in a way, she understood.
It wasn’t as good as the bread from the imperial palace, but it was certainly a different kind of treat.
‘Come to think of it, Leon probably hasn’t eaten either.’
Besides, Leon was a slave, so he probably didn’t have a single coin to his name. He must be starving by now.
Aurora stared down at the bread in her hand. Then she gave a small nod.
“Ma’am, please give me another one just like this one.”
“Certainly.”
Cal asked from the side.
“Looks like it suits your taste?”
“Yes. It’s tastier than I expected.”
This time Aurora paid with copper coins instead of a gold coin.
She paid for the bread and took the paper bag containing the fresh loaf.
Then, after looking around for a moment, she approached a corner of a wall where people didn’t pass by much.
“Come here.”
“What are you doing?”
“There was a stray cat here.”
“A cat?”
Cal looked around.
But there was no cat in sight.
Aurora smiled calmly.
“It was just here a moment ago. It looked hungry, so I wanted to give it this bread.”
“You really worry about everything.”
Aurora carefully set the bread down beneath the wall.
“Shall we keep going?”
The two of them started walking again.
One step.
Two steps.
Aurora deliberately didn’t look back. She only flicked her eyes back for an instant just before turning into the alley.
Under the wall.
The bread bag she had definitely left there was gone.
“Heh-heh.”
A small smile spread across Aurora’s face.
“Why are you laughing all of a sudden?”
“Because the cat’s cute.”
***
I was watching over Aurora from atop a building’s roof.
At a distance that kept her within my line of sight.
At a distance where I could respond immediately if anything happened.
With a warm loaf in one hand.
I quickly took what Aurora had left beneath the wall.
“Who do you think you’re calling a stray cat?”
Calling a person’s name like you’re calling a cat, then leaving bread on the ground.
Of course, if I left it there, a beggar or a real stray cat might run off with it, so I had no choice but to take it.
Munch munch.
“Yummy.”
The outside was lightly crisp, while the inside was moist and soft. It even had just the right hint of honey flavor.
I’d happened to be hungry, so the timing was perfect.
Chewing the bread and folding the paper bag, I looked down.
Aurora strolling through the streets, guided by that mysterious man named Cal.
She had tried to buy cookies from a stall, and he’d suddenly popped out to stop her from being ripped off.
After that, he’d declared himself her guide and was leading her on a tour of the city.
Just like Kyle in the novel.
Even his name was similar.
It was obvious she was deliberately drawing Cal in.
Exactly.
Cal was indeed involved in this case.
The man who had immediately tried to sell cookies to Aurora was in on it too.
I saw him exchanging looks with Cal.
They’d picked Aurora as this hunt’s prey and were approaching her in cahoots.
‘Pretty slick.’
This wasn’t something they’d done just once or twice.
It was obvious they’d lured other young ladies in the same way until now.
At this point, I could be sure.
The culprits behind this case were bastards who had read ‘my’ novel.
If a character who acted exactly like the male lead from a novel appeared before young ladies who couldn’t tell reality from fiction, of course they’d fall for it hook, line, and sinker.
It was extremely meticulous—and vicious.
I sensed several gazes directed at Aurora.
The woman who had been pretending to browse the goods in front of a stall began moving slowly.
The guy smoking at the alley entrance gave a slight nod as Cal passed by.
Signal.
‘Is it about time?’
I shoved the last piece of bread into my mouth.
The carefully folded paper bag took on the shape of a fist-sized knife.
The paper knife slowly rose into the air above my palm. It moved freely, obeying my will.
This should be enough to toy with.
“Then I guess I’ll make my move too.”