83. Damn Young Masters (4)
Nikolai and Katya’s group arrived in front of the building following the traces of magic powder.
“Why did they come to a circus?”
Katya muttered, looking at the large tent made of colorful fabrics.
“This isn’t a circus.”
Nikolai said in a confident tone.
“Why not?”
“There should be animal cages nearby, but I don’t smell any animals.”
“Ah, you’re right!”
“Besides, the state-authorized circus troupe already did their circuit performance in Hersen in spring. The next show is in winter.”
Since circus performances themselves were entertainment premised on risk, governments kept a close eye on them.
As circus shows became popular, troupes started popping up everywhere, and accidents frequently occurred due to inadequate safety equipment, like tents collapsing.
So the Grand Duchy of Hersen had selected only one traveling circus troupe from the Eastern Continent that followed safety regulations well and had a notably low accident rate, authorizing their entry and performances.
Nikolai knew this well because he was the one who had signed the permit.
“Then something illegal must be happening inside that needs to be disguised as a circus.”
“That’s highly likely.”
Of the two entrances, nobles in their finest clothes entered through one side while burly, rough-looking men entered through the other.
Seeing this, Nikolai had one thing in mind.
“A fighting arena?”
Katya blinked as she received his whispered guess.
Nikolai had received reports that illegal gambling fighting arenas were secretly flourishing.
He had heard they operated strictly on a membership basis to avoid crackdowns and only allowed entry through invitations from existing members.
He had planned to deal with it after resolving the Despot Club first, but now an opportunity arose to clean up both at once.
“Since it’s members-only, entering through the front door will be difficult…… Then should we change clothes first?”
“What?”
“We’re both in party attire. We can’t go in like this without membership cards.”
“Where exactly are you planning to change?”
Nikolai asked in bewilderment, gesturing around.
The area where the large tent stood was an empty field with not a single low building in sight.
There were a few street trees, but even those were sparsely placed and difficult to use as perfect cover.
Katya casually pulled out a blanket from her bag.
“If you hold this under that tree, Grand Duke, I can quickly change behind it.”
“No way, quick or not.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want anyone seeing your body.”
“The fights must have started since there’s no one outside now. Who would see?”
Though Katya laughed and joked, Nikolai stood firm without budging.
“The knights are here, and Boris too.”
“That’s why you can block their view properly.”
“There are wild animals, and birds passing by, and even that moon will see.”
“Pure nonsense. Even if I change, I won’t be completely n*ked, just briefly in my chemise, which you’ve seen when I bathe anyway.”
“That’s because I’m your husband……”
“That was before we were married, remember?”
He closed his mouth since she wasn’t wrong.
Whether before or after marriage, he didn’t know what to do with this defenseless woman.
Katya pushed against Nikolai’s back urgently, saying they had no time.
“I’ll go in alone after changing. You stay here.”
“I’m the only one who knows the members’ faces. You probably couldn’t see them properly earlier since it was dark.”
“That’s……”
“We’ll lose them all if we keep dawdling like this!”
“…… Can you change quickly?”
“I’ll change lightning fast, so don’t worry and just be a good screen.”
Nikolai finally held up the blanket with his arms spread under the tree.
He briefly turned his head back and mouthed to Boris and the knights waiting at a distance:
‘All of you turn around.’
Though Katya was already hidden by the blanket, they followed the Grand Duke’s fussy and prickly order and turned around.
Meanwhile, Katya changed quickly though clumsily, and finally covered the crude knots of her dress laces with a shawl.
“I’m done. Give me that. I’ll shield you.”
“No need.”
Nikolai handed the blanket to Katya’s arms and promptly stripped off his top, changing into commoner’s clothes.
“Oh my, how can you undress just anywhere!”
“Who cares if anyone sees my body. It won’t wear out.”
“So mine would wear out?”
Katya pouted with her gaze elsewhere.
Nikolai, who had already finished changing, gently patted her head.
“Let’s say it wears out even just from me alone seeing it.”
“Tch.”
“How were you planning to shield me with such a small body anyway?”
“It would have worked if you just bent down a little.”
She said while subtly rising on her tiptoes.
Even then, their significant height difference didn’t decrease much.
“A little?”
“Well, maybe more than a little.”
“Ah, are you already starting to control your husband’s body? Telling me to only undress in front of you?”
As Katya glared at her husband acting like a sly fox, she suddenly grabbed his sleeve and yanked it down hard.
Thanks to that, the seam ripped and Nikolai instantly became sleeveless.
Before he could be surprised, she tore off the other sleeve too.
His muscular forearms were now fully exposed.
“W-what are you doing?”
“Didn’t you see the people entering through the back door earlier? The doorman won’t believe us unless you look like this.”
Boris and the knights snickered seeing Nikolai stutter in surprise at his wife’s sudden action.
The Grand Duchess indeed had a tamer’s instinct.
After having Boris and a few knights wait outside, Nikolai and Katya headed to the back door with the remaining knights.
As they tried to naturally follow other competing fighters inside, the doorman blocked Nikolai’s path.
“Haven’t seen you before.”
Well, Nikolai’s appearance was quite eye-catching.
“Are you really a fighter?”
At his suspicious gaze, Katya wrapped her arms around Nikolai’s waist and pressed close to him.
“My honey is handsome, isn’t he?”
Nikolai looked down with round eyes at her smiling up at him with bedroom eyes.
Honey?
When she finally called him by the term she had so despised but he had wanted to hear so much, Nikolai completely lost his composure.
Confused whether this was dream or reality, Katya smiled sweetly and whispered in ventriloquism.
‘Smile, smile.’
Following his wife’s command, Nikolai finally spread his lips wide on both sides in an awkward smile.
There had never been worse acting.
Like Grand Duke like knights. Nikolai was equally untalented at impromptu acting.
Unable to watch her husband’s wooden performance any longer, Katya stepped in as relief.
“My honey gets that misunderstanding a lot because nobility just flows from his face. Thanks for the compliment, but it’s almost his turn and we’re short on time. Let us in quickly. You know he won’t get paid if he misses his fight.”
The doorman chuckled at her banter.
“So you came to cheer on your lover. But it might not be a pleasant sight for a girlfriend. All the others who came to confirm their lovers were real left crying.”
“It’s fine. My man is strong and has never lost.”
Katya answered with a confident face.
“Oh, feeling confident? Looking forward to it.”
The doorman lowered his guard and let Katya and Nikolai inside.
The knights waiting in line behind them pretending to be part of their group also passed through safely.
Meanwhile, Mikhail quickly became excited watching the fighting matches, forgetting his earlier worry about his brother chasing them.
Being terrible at sports, he often got vicarious satisfaction watching such violent scenes.
When he was young, he had always envied his brother who was good at swordfighting.
That was still true now.
The only difference was that he could no longer watch his brother’s sparring matches from the side like before.
“You idiot! You should aim for the opening on the side!”
Mikhail shouted curses, completely absorbed in the match.
Not just him, but everyone in the audience had money on the fights, so when their favored fighter seemed about to lose, they would throw things at the stage and jeer.
It was always easiest to give advice from the sidelines.
Just as the fighter sensing victory turned toward the audience for a ceremony,
The fighter lying face down on the floor suddenly jumped up and kicked him down.
“That’s it!”
“Well done!”
“No, no!”
As the almost-won fight reversed, joy and sorrow crossed the audience.
Seeing that scene, Mikhail unconsciously recalled the face of the woman who had thrown her shoe at him earlier.
She had been good at fighting too.
So pretty yet skilled in martial arts—Mikhail’s cheeks had unknowingly turned pink as he thought of her.
It was natural for people to admire what they themselves lacked.
“Hey.”
Growing curious about that woman, he tapped the arm of his classmate sitting next to him.
Due to the noisy venue, his classmate put his ear right up to Mikhail’s mouth.
“What is it, Your Highness?”
“That woman who chased us at the end earlier. Who is she?”
“Ah, she’s a commoner who attends Molnitsky Girls’ Academy. What an unrefined and fierce girl. She had such heavy hands that everyone got knocked out.”
“You idiots. Losing to a girl?”
“Your Highness hasn’t fought her so you don’t know. Just once—Huh? Look at that, Your Highness!”
His classmate pointed at the stage in surprise mid-conversation.
