CHAPTER 045
"Wow, are you two a couple?"
The lady looked back and forth between Lewis and me with a gentle smile.
"You're even holding hands in a place like this. You must be a very loving couple."
"What? No!"
How could she misunderstand like that?
I quickly withdrew my hand and denied it.
"We're not like that."
"You're not?"
The lady's eyes widened as if asking, "Then what are you?" Why were you holding hands?
It did look strange, even to me.
I figured there was no point in arguing since she didn't know who we were anyway.
I awkwardly smiled and changed my tune.
"We're not, but... it seems like we might be soon. Haha."
At that moment, I felt a sharp gaze from Lewis's direction.
Marquis, please don't glare at me like that. I had no choice!
Unable to turn around to face Lewis, I inwardly shed tears.
Meanwhile, Bella was thoroughly scolding the merchant who tried to sell fake medicine.
"Does it make sense to say drinking this will make you ten years younger? Where did you get this medicine?"
"Well, it's not right to scold a medicine seller for selling medicine..."
"Bella, the man will cry. Take it easy."
Michael tried to stop Bella. Though he was intervening, he was smiling, which didn't help.
These siblings can be quite intimidating.
"Shouldn't we intervene?"
I suggested to Lewis again, but he looked at Bella with a displeased face.
"Let's pretend we don't know them."
"Pretend we don't know them?"
He really didn't want to get involved.
Lewis quickly grabbed Michael and said,
"She's causing such a fuss. I hope she doesn't think of sticking with us."
"Huh?"
"Let's not acknowledge her. We'll go separately and meet up at the Wisteria Arbor later."
And then we slipped out of the bustling crowd.
I followed him, feeling a bit bewildered.
"Just the two of us now."
He looked immensely relieved. He must have been really embarrassed...
At that moment, Lewis turned to me and suddenly said,
"You said it seems like we might be a couple soon?"
"What? Oh, that was just because of the situation!"
Why is he bringing this up now? So embarrassing!
Unconsciously, I tried to put some distance between us.
Then Lewis grabbed my shoulder.
"Where are you going? You have to stick with me."
"Ah..."
Lewis's lips curved into a sly smile. He sometimes had this mischievous smile, but today it seemed particularly gleeful.
Feeling deflated, I said,
"Yes... We're here to do something, so we should get on with it. Marquis, could you please let go of my hand?"
"I grabbed it because you kept trying to run away."
"It's uncomfortable!"
"Alright, alright."
Lewis raised both hands.
A minor rebellion succeeded! Once I regained my freedom, I spoke up.
"I found out some things about Boden."
"What is it?"
"The city's development as a tourist spot is due to its unique characteristics. The land isn't particularly fertile, and it doesn't have a large population."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. The city is small, so rumors spread quickly. If something happens, the news spreads fast."
"That's typical of a small town."
So my plan was simple.
"If we find someone who has lived here for a long time, there must be someone who knows your father. We'll find them and ask about him!"
"Do you think it'll work?"
His tone was full of doubt.
Lewis tilted his head and looked me in the eye.
"Do you think it will be difficult? It might actually work..."
As my voice wavered with dwindling confidence, Lewis replied,
"Let's give it a try."
He seemed uncertain but willing to try.
We started to move in earnest.
"I want to ask something."
Our first stop was where men were gathered, smoking water pipes. They were middle-aged men, but Lewis spoke curtly since they weren't people who knew him as a child.
The men quickly recognized Lewis as a noble.
"What would you like to know...?"
"Do you know a man named Peter Kendrick?"
The men looked at each other.
"Peter Kendrick? Do you know him?"
"Not really. I don't think so."
"They don't seem to know him."
I said, realizing we wouldn't find what we were looking for immediately.
We couldn't push the men further, so we left for the moment.
Still, if we kept searching, we might find someone who knew him, right?
"Before asking about your father, it might be better to find the locals."
If not everyone who knew Lewis's father had left the city, someone should know something.
After asking around, we finally found someone who reacted to the name.
"Peter Kendrick? He lived next door when we were kids."
"You know him?"
We found him! I looked at Lewis with a bright face.
Lewis, more composed than I expected, asked her,
"Do you know anything about that man?"
I wondered what it felt like to ask someone else about his father.
The woman seemed to recall something and then spoke.
"He was a very smart kid. Whatever you taught him, he picked up quickly. Then he left for the capital. He said he had to study."
"Study?"
Did he go to an academy or something?
The woman continued.
"One day, a high-ranking person from the capital came. They met Peter and said they wanted to give him the opportunity to learn."
A high-ranking person?
Probably a noble?
"Peter was clever, but he wasn't in a position to attend an academy. The whole neighborhood was abuzz about it for a while."
Concluding her story, she said a high-ranking person took him to the capital.
It seemed Lewis's father went to the capital for that reason.
"Do you know what happened to him after he went to the capital?"
Lewis asked, but the woman shook her head.
"Well, I don't know about that..."
That was all we could learn from her.
Enough time had passed, so we decided to head back to meet the twins.
While walking together, Lewis was silent.
He seemed to be deep in thought, so I stayed quiet, giving him time to sort things out.
Lewis spoke up a little later.
"It's strange."
"What? Strange?"
"If a high-ranking person from the capital came to take him, he wouldn't have been just an ordinary kid, right? My father."
Lewis's question was this.
"But the father I remember was very ordinary. He worked hard to earn rent. He was skilled at farming."
"Ah..."
Lewis felt a disconnect between the father he knew and the one he heard about.
"A person talented enough to be taken to the capital for education, why would he live like that in the countryside? I thought my father was always a tenant farmer."
It did seem strange now that I thought about it.
He must have had a reason for not using his talents.
"Maybe he had no choice? We'll have to find out more to know."
"Yeah. We need to find out."
Lewis nodded dryly.
"The father I remember is so different... I can't even imagine what else we'll discover."
He shrugged, his expression showing how baffling and unsettling this all was for him.
Even though I wasn't supposed to feel sorry for him, I couldn't help but feel pity.
I stopped walking and grabbed Lewis's hand.
Then I led him to a nearby bench and, once he sat down, said,
"But he was a good father, right?"
"Yeah. Before he suddenly passed away, our family was doing fine. We weren't wealthy, but we were happy. Things went downhill after he died."
It seemed Lewis's father died in an accident.
"The father I thought I knew feels so unfamiliar now... Did my mother know about this side of him?"
"..."
"They wouldn't have hidden things from each other and gotten married, right? Since I can't ask my mother, I'll have to ask my aunt when we get to the capital."
He seemed ready to head to the capital immediately.
I didn't intend to stop him.
"I hope you hear what you want. I just hope it won't be too shocking for you, Marquis."
I wanted to encourage Lewis.
I also felt the need to lighten the serious atmosphere.
Is there anything to change the subject? Looking around, I spotted something. Not in the busy street, but in the flowerbed behind the bench.
"Oh! A clover!"
I jumped up and quickly went behind the bench to pull it out.
"A four-leaf clover! These are really rare."
"You found a weed, and you're that happy?"
Lewis looked at me as if I were strange.
"Weed? How heartless. Do you know how hard it is to find one?"
"And that's a three-leaf clover."
"Huh?"
Oh no. The clover I thought was four-leaf turned out to be three-leaf.
I was so excited thinking it was four-leaf...
Feeling embarrassed by my overreaction, I cleared my throat and said,
"Three-leaf clovers are good too. Their flower language is happiness."
"Is that so?"
Lewis gave me a look of approval and chuckled.
I placed the three-leaf clover in his hand.
"I'll give this to you, Marquis."
"To me? I won't attach as much meaning to it as you do."
Oh, come on!
I placed the clover on his palm.
"Just put it in a book. It's my wish for your happiness. You'll be happy every day from now on!"
Lewis's eyes widened slightly at my grand declaration.
Is his mood a bit better now?
I grinned at him.
"If you understand my intention, wave the clover."
He waved it!
A little later, we met up with the twins at the agreed spot.
"Why are you so late!"
"Sorry, did you wait long?"
We were gathering information and got a bit sidetracked. Lewis was feeling really down.
Bella, sitting on the bench with Michael, looked at us and asked.
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