Episode 91

Chapter 91. Doesn’t Seem Like a Fake Face

Damn it. How did it come to this.

As he walked toward the carriage, Moritz lowered his head dramatically.

Obviously, he wasn’t drunk. Not in the slightest.

In fact, he was probably the most sober he’d ever been.

Step, step.

His footsteps felt especially heavy.

It’s all that bastard’s fault…

No, that guy deserved to be chewed up and spat out.

Moritz glared at his left foot. His eyes held the intensity of someone staring down a mortal enemy.

It was the same foot Karssen had stomped on under the table.

Twice.

He had stomped it so hard that it still hurt.

Is this why I became top of my class at the Academy?

Moritz felt a wave of existential dread.

If it weren’t for that cursed thing in Karssen’s hands, he wouldn’t have been forced to flee the restaurant like a fugitive.

What on earth was Mother thinking, handing that over to Karssen so easily…

He let out a long, weary sigh.

“So… what exactly are we looking for?”

The question came from Leonard, who was supporting him from the side.

Yeah. What the hell am I even looking for right now.

He had a million things to say, but none of them made it to his mouth.

“Something… important,” Moritz muttered vaguely, bowing his head even lower.

Ugh. The shame is eating me alive.

He couldn’t keep up this fake drunk act much longer.

They’re going to find out the moment we reach the carriage anyway.

As time passed, his nerves frayed further.

It felt like waiting for a death sentence.

The only silver lining was that the carriage was still nowhere in sight—

“Oh, look. There it is.”

“……”

Death sentences always came without warning.

Moritz’s mood didn’t just crash—it plummeted straight into hell.

“Why on earth did the coachman park so far away? We’ve walked forever. Let’s hurry.”

“…Right. Let’s go.”

No! I don’t want to go!

He screamed silently, dragging his feet in resistance.

But it was useless.

“If it’s hard to walk, lean on me more. You’re slowing down.”

Leonard had no patience for laziness.

“Wow… so thoughtful of you.”

In the end, Moritz accepted his fate.

Yeah. This is it. This is the end of the road for me.

He figured he had done all he could.

But of course, things didn’t end there.

“Sir Moritz.”

“…?”

Startled by the sudden call, Moritz looked up.

Leonard was staring at him with a strange expression.

Then, in an unmistakably cold voice, he said—

“You’re not drunk anymore, are you.”

“…!”

Moritz flinched.

He had been so caught up in his own internal meltdown that he hadn’t even noticed his tone had changed.

His pupils quivered.

Leonard didn’t miss it. His eyes narrowed.

“And you seem to be walking just fine.”

“W-Well…”

There was no point pretending anymore.

Moritz slowly removed the arm he had draped over Leonard’s shoulders.

“……”

“……”

Not a word between them.

Just cold silence, hanging heavily in the air.

After a long pause, Moritz tried to salvage the situation.

“Hahaha, I have a, uh… fast-acting metabolism. I get drunk really quickly—and sober up just as fast.”

Yeah. Let’s go with that.

“It’s a trait you develop when you grow up in the Karssen Kingdom, you know? Land of booze and all that.”

“I drink, I black out, I sober up, I drink again… That’s just how it goes.”

“You get what I mean, right?”

You know what I mean. Right?

Please.

Moritz tried his best to sound convincing.

But Leonard’s face only grew colder.

“Do you really want to hear my response to that?”

“…No.”

Moritz’s forced smile disappeared in an instant.

He knew. Of course it was a stretch.

He was just trying to cling to a sinking ship.

But seriously… since when was he this intimidating?

Besides Karssen, no one had ever made Moritz feel this kind of pressure before.

Yeah, I messed with the wrong guy.

His throat was completely dry.

And then, he thought of Karssen.

The man who had shamelessly thrown him to the wolves.

Where even is he right now?

Does he really like the Empress of a foreign empire that much? Enough to ditch his friend like this?

Your friend might be about to die, you bastard king!

At that moment—

“This time over there. That place looks interesting too.”

“Ugh, I get it, just slow down a little.”

Karssen, who had asked to be shown around the city, was moving briskly on his feet.

“Good. We’ve seen everything here. Let’s move on to the next place.”

Seriously, what is this, a boss rush?

He was acting like he meant to visit every single stall and shop on the entire street.

I followed closely behind, doing my best not to lose him.

At this point, I wasn’t even sure who was giving the tour anymore.

It definitely felt like our roles had flipped.

By the time we’d made it through about half the stalls on the street, Karssen suddenly asked me a question.

“Worried?”

“Huh?”

“About Sir Leonard and Moritz. You’ve been glancing back since earlier, completely distracted.”

“……”

So he’d noticed.

I nodded honestly.

“We left without saying anything, after all.”

Leaving them behind had been bothering me the whole time.

They were probably shocked by our sudden disappearance.

But Karssen spoke in a calm voice, as if to reassure me.

“They’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

“You say that like you know. You didn’t even see them.”

“Moritz is an excellent aide. I’m sure he can handle himself.”

“Normally, yes. But he seemed pretty drunk earlier.”

“That’s…”

Karssen trailed off and averted his gaze—very unlike him.

“Ah! I smell something delicious over there. Let’s go.”

Then he just waltzed off into a shop.

What the—he just changes the subject and leaves?

I checked the sign above the place Karssen had entered.

‘Huh? This is…’

A familiar sign.

I’d been here once before—the pie shop where I met Isaac.

As soon as I stepped inside, a warm aroma of pies enveloped me.

So many different flavors lined the shelves, more than I could count at a glance.

‘Back then, the drought had cut their supply short, but now…’

My efforts to end the drought must’ve helped after all.

I’d heard as much from Countess Chloe, but seeing it with my own eyes was a different experience altogether.

A surge of emotion swelled in my chest.

Last time I came, the owner had been running the shop alone, but today, his wife was helping him too.

Business must be good.

While I was feeling proud, Karssen walked a slow circle around the shop and then handed me a pair of tongs with a smile.

“There are so many types I’ve never seen before. Why don’t we pick out a few?”

“Sounds good.”

I nodded.

We moved along the display, picking out pies together.

Cream-filled pies, pies glazed with sweet caramel…

There was even a special pie they only sold 300 of per day.

I can’t resist limited editions.

I went to work with the tongs.

‘Ah! I should just get a whole box for Mary. I remember her and her little brothers devouring them last time.’

One by one, the pies stacked up—until, once again, I’d created a towering pie mountain.

Karssen, who had kindly taken over the tray, looked slightly overwhelmed.

“Isn’t this a bit much?”

“I have a lot of people I want to share them with.”

Yeah… this should be enough.

Satisfied, I smiled.

As we stood in line to pay, a child nearby exclaimed—

“Whoa, Mom! Look! It’s a pie mountain!”

…Well. That certainly drew some attention.

Still, I knew that wasn’t the only reason people were looking our way.

I glanced at Karssen from the corner of my eye.

Even if his hair and eye color had changed, that ridiculously handsome face of his was impossible to hide.

Even in plain clothes meant for a commoner, he somehow looked like he’d walked out of a fashion spread.

‘It’s like how celebrities make a white t-shirt and jeans look like a photoshoot.’

Completely unfair face and body, honestly.

Ever since we entered the shop, women had been sneaking glances at him nonstop.

The stares were so intense, I could feel them prickling the back of my neck.

But Karssen, as usual, didn’t seem bothered at all—like this kind of attention was perfectly normal for him.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like anyone recognized who we really were.

Just a random attractive commoner, maybe.

The line moved forward slowly, bringing us closer to the register.

That’s when the shop owner and his wife began whispering in concerned voices.

“Oh no, they’re here again.”

“Good grief, you’re right.”

“We can’t just kick them out…”

“But this has been going on for days. Of course other customers are going to get uncomfortable. It’s already affecting business.”

I tilted my head in confusion.

Them? Showing up?

Following their gaze, I spotted a pair of small silhouettes peeking in through the window.

They were children.

A boy, and a slightly smaller girl.

Their faces were pressed against the glass, eyes wide with anticipation.

Their sparkling eyes were fixed on the pies inside, their expressions practically tasting them already.

As I handed over the money, I asked softly—

“Do those children come here often?”

“Pardon?”

The wife, caught off guard, looked up from wrapping the pies.

“The kids at the window,” I clarified.

“Ah… those two. Yes, they come by nearly every day.”

She wore a conflicted expression.

“How long has that been going on?”

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it, dear?”

Her husband gave a solemn nod.

“Yeah.”

“They look hungry. Every time I see them, it breaks my heart.”

She began tying a ribbon on the box as she continued.

“We’ve thought about giving them something, a few times—no, actually, quite a lot.”

“I see.”

“But… well, rumors have been going around lately. About people pretending to be poor, just to beg for food.”

“Some even say the parents put their kids up to it.”

Her husband clicked his tongue in frustration.

“It’s a tough spot. We don’t know what to do.”

As the woman trailed off, I looked at the children again.

‘But those faces…’

They didn’t look fake to me. Not at all.