Chapter – 19
Chapter 4: Mari and Shasha
Before Poramen was ready, Mari asked Letus for permission and stepped outside the shop to say goodbye to Cecil and Caligo.
The children, who had been gloomily drawing in the dirt in front of the tent, widened their eyes and ran toward her as soon as they saw her.
“Mariposa! What happened?”
“Did you get scolded too?”
Cecil and Caligo stood in front of her, asking urgently. Even if they pretended otherwise, they must have been worried after being called in by the shop owner for the trouble they’d caused together.
‘They took most of the blame themselves….’
Of course, more than half the responsibility for the accident belonged to the twins—but it had started with Mari.
Mari smiled faintly and shook her head.
“I’m okay. Mr. Letus said he’ll take me home.”
“Your mom and dad aren’t coming?”
“Um….”
Mari closed her mouth at the question. Her mom and dad couldn’t come to Magia—nor could Croport.
When Mari avoided Caligo’s gaze, perceptive Cecil lightly nudged Caligo in the side.
“That’s enough. That’s not what matters.”
“What? Of course it matters!”
Caligo protested, but Cecil ignored him.
Instead, Cecil calmly changed the subject.
“More importantly, Mariposa—your doll. Did you find it?”
“No. Mr. Letus said he’ll find it for me. He said it’s hard to locate right now….”
“I see.”
Cecil nodded calmly.
Caligo shrugged and lifted his chin proudly.
“But our father handled most of it, so it’ll be fine.”
Right. Cecil and Caligo’s father.
Mari remembered that they were nobles and took a hesitant step back.
“I didn’t know Laktea was… a ducal house. I’m really sorry, you guys. If I was rude…”
Mari’s face turned pale, and Caligo replied bluntly.
“Did you really grow up in the countryside? Who cares about that stuff these days?”
“Yeah, Mariposa. Don’t worry about it. In the old days, they probably wouldn’t have come somewhere like this in person.”
Even Cecil’s composed, slightly aloof eyes widened.
Was nobility in the magical world different from the human world? Or was the social atmosphere simply different?
Mari glanced around uncertainly, but there was no conclusion a child could reach.
‘So… I can treat them normally?’
From the duke who bowed to Letus to the children wandering around without attendants, the nobles of Magia certainly seemed unusual.
Mari felt a brief sense of relief.
“By the way, you’re called the ‘Brats of Laktea,’ right? Just how much mischief do you cause?”
“Well… sometimes I see interesting futures, so I just step in a little. That’s how we got called that.”
“The count’s party we went to last time was really fun. We made the chocolates look like poop, and everyone freaked out!”
Caligo giggled.
Why would anyone shape delicious, expensive chocolate like something so disgusting? Mari frowned instinctively, then quickly smoothed her expression.
There wasn’t much time left. Soon she would be leaving this place.
Mari took in the faces of Cecil and Caligo and quietly spoke.
“Thank you so much for helping me today. I have to go now… I came to say goodbye.”
“Goodbye? Why are you talking like we’ll never see each other again?”
Caligo narrowed his silver eyes.
Mari smiled awkwardly and avoided answering.
“Cecil, goodbye. Take care. It was thanks to you that I got into the shop today. Thank you.”
“…Yeah.”
Cecil stared at Mari with those strange silver eyes.
After a long pause, the child slowly nodded and waved.
“Mariposa, goodbye. Today was fun.”
“Yeah. But maybe don’t pull pranks like that too often.”
Mari waved back and stepped away.
Caligo stood with his arms crossed, and Cecil kept a faint smile as they watched her leave.
They were the first magician children Mari had ever met in the magical world. If she had been a magician too, maybe they could have become good friends.
But she was human.
There would be no reason for her to return to the magical world.
With a dejected expression, Mari trudged back into the shop where Letus was waiting.
“Unni!”
The first to greet Mari as she stepped out of the old wardrobe was Shasha, her face covered in tears and snot.
Startled, Mari immediately hugged her.
“Sh-Shasha.”
“Unni, where were you…? We looked for you for so long….”
Mari stroked Shasha’s hot, damp face and held her tightly.
She didn’t know how much time had passed, but judging by the dark sky outside the window, it was fully night in the human world.
When she looked up again, she saw Croport behind Shasha, puffing on his pipe, his eyes narrowed.
Mari hiccupped and stiffened.
“Cr—hic! Croport…!”
She clapped a hand over her reddening face, but the hiccups wouldn’t stop.
Croport looked at Shasha clinging to Mari and at Mari’s relentless hiccupping, then let out a long, slow sigh.
“Have you eaten?”
“N-no—hic! Not yet.”
“That toy shop owner didn’t even feed you?”
“Huh?”
Why would someone kindly feed a child who had broken into their shop?
Just as Mari was about to defend Letus, Croport waved his hand dismissively.
“Come quickly. It’s already past nine.”
As Mari headed toward the kitchen, she stared in shock at the wrecked house—the sofa and carpet in disarray, cabinets overturned, antique display shelves in chaos, even the trash can flipped upside down.
“What—hic! What happened?!”
The house looked as if a pack of wild beasts had rampaged through it. Croport clicked his tongue and replied coldly.
“What do you think? We were looking for you.”
“Me…?”
“You suddenly disappeared. The four-year-old started crying. You weren’t anywhere in the streets. With nothing else to do, we tore the house apart.”
Though he spoke of desperation, Croport radiated something closer to killing intent.
Mari said nothing and quietly walked to the kitchen.
Though the soup was cold and the bread had hardened, the exhausted children sat at the table with bright expressions and began eating hungrily.
Shasha gulped down soup with her tired body from all the crying, and Mari stuffed bread into herself after running around all day.
Croport, who had been watching Mari, ready to scold her, felt his anger deflate and sighed.
“Mariposa… never go into the storage room—no, the laboratory—again.”
Mari froze mid-chew. With her mouth full, she could only nod quickly.
The sight made her look like a squirrel, and Croport let out a small laugh.
“Going that far just because a toy disappeared? Do you have any sense at all? If something like today happens again—”
But cute was cute, and scolding was scolding.
Not wanting the food to get stuck in her throat, Mari carefully put the bread down and watched him. Croport hesitated, then sighed and waved his hand.
“Forget it. Nothing happened in the end, so I’ll let it go this time. But never—never let this happen again. Understand?”
“Yesss….”
Mari nodded. As the tension eased, she tore off a piece of bread and dipped it into the soup.
After a while, Croport suddenly asked,
“By the way, how did you get into Rudicer’s shop? It wasn’t even open yet. Security must have been tight.”
Mari was an ordinary human child.
She might be clever, but a powerless child couldn’t possibly break into a magician’s store.
At Croport’s sharp question, Mari faltered and glanced around nervously.
“Well… there were kids named Cecil and Caligo. They helped me.”
“Cecil and Caligo?”
“Yes. Cecil has precognition, so we could get inside.”
A crack appeared in Croport’s cold, expressionless face.
He stared at Mari for a long time, as though seeing the children in her memory, then asked in a low voice,
“The children of Laktea?”
“Uh, yes. That’s right. You know Laktea too?”
Sensing his strange reaction, Mari quickly added,
“They don’t know I’m human. They probably just think I’m some kid from the countryside.”
Croport didn’t answer. His appetite seemed gone as he lowered his gaze.
After a long silence, Mari cautiously asked,
“Did I do something wrong? Was I not supposed to meet them?”
“…No. That’s not it.”
Croport felt around the table for his pipe but noticed the children were still eating and stood up instead.
Mari and Shasha looked at him.
“Keep eating. I’ll eat later.”
Shasha nodded while chewing bread, and Mari watched him with unease.
She wanted a clearer explanation, but Croport left the kitchen without sparing her a glance.
In the end, Mari could only stare at the seat Croport had occupied, unable to take another bite for quite some time.
