The eve of the Founding Day was bustling with people. Aer, who was initially surprised by the larger crowd compared to her weekend visits, soon became engrossed in sightseeing.

Delicious aromas wafted through the air, and her head moved restlessly amidst the laughter of excited children and the lively voices of merchants.

Aer, who had grown up in an utterly quiet mansion, enjoyed this boisterous atmosphere.

“Louis, they’re selling chicken skewers over there. Want to eat some?”

“Yes, let’s.”

The two stood in front of the chicken skewer stall and bought skewers seasoned only with salt. Aer quickly took a bite, seemingly reminded of a past life memory.

“Mmm~!”

It was a taste that made her hum involuntarily. The slightly salty flavor with a hint of pepper was just to her liking.

Moreover, with two different parts of chicken alternating on the skewer, when the chicken br*ast felt a bit dry, it was immediately followed by the juicy chicken thigh, making for a pleasant texture as well.

“Aer, have this too.”

Louis found her adorable as she ate with a blissful expression even over a single skewer. He couldn’t take his eyes off her as he handed her a fruit juice bought from the neighboring stall.

“Ah, thank you.”

Aer drank the sweet and sour juice and smiled brightly.

For a while, the two sat on a nearby bench, eating chicken skewers and drinking juice while watching people pass by.

Everyone looked so happy. Seeing families, couples, and friends walking closely together gave a sense of happiness even to the onlookers.

It was a more pleasing sight to the two than any circus or play.

Although Aer felt a bit regretful that she couldn’t live such a life herself, she enjoyed seeing happy families. Having been an orphan in her previous life as well, she had always dreamed of a harmonious family.

“It seems I’ve missed out in this life too…”

She muttered quietly, feeling momentarily dejected, but soon changed her mind.

“No. I still have the chance to create my next family.”

It was a matter of meeting someone to love and having a happy marriage. Having children would create a family.

Louis was drinking juice to cleanse his palate while listening to her muttering.

Occasionally, Aer would unconsciously talk to herself when she was focused.

Today too, Louis couldn’t help but smile at her self-talk, though he kept it to himself.

“Ah! Louis. Until when are you free?”

“…I’m always free.”

Sometimes she made quite an assumption. That he might have other friends…

Or that he was an extremely busy person.

So she always checked his available time like this midway. At his answer, Aer smiled broadly and said,

“I heard there will be fireworks today. Can we stay and watch them together?”

“Yes, that would be nice.”

“Oh, then let’s go look over there too.”

Naturally taking his hand, Aer moved her steps busily. Louis followed her, his cheeks flushing.

When was the last time he had felt such a warm human touch…

It seemed like the first time since his mother’s touch when he was young.

Although the sun had set, the crowd hadn’t diminished. If anything, there were more people than during the day.

After having a light dinner at the night market, the two were moving through the throng of people when they were pushed into an alley against their will.

“Ah!”

Aer was flustered. Louis was equally bewildered.

“…Such things happen when there are so many people.”

“Indeed… There’s no gap to get out.”

As they were wondering how to squeeze back out, a faint sound was heard.

It sounded like someone trying to stifle their voice, but strangely, it reached their ears clearly.

Turning her head away from the noisy crowd, Aer tilted her head as she peered into the dark alley.

Was it because the outside of the alley was too bright? Although it seemed only a few steps away, the inside of the alley felt unusually dark.

“…ease let me go.”

At the clearly audible woman’s voice, Aer tightly gripped Louis’s hand.

He had already been hearing suspicious voices echoing in his head for a while. As he was contemplating what to do, he let out a small sigh at Aer’s reaction.

Aer seemed to think of him as a good person, but in reality, he wasn’t.

Being able to hear people’s thoughts, he heard all the painful thoughts of humans. However, he had never once tried to actively resolve them.

It would be more accurate to say that he had never even thought of helping, as he had never received help himself.

But Aer was different.

From Louis’s perspective, she seemed to draw lines with people, yet readily extended her hand to those in need.

If a classmate forgot their book during class, she would naturally share hers, and if someone struggled to keep up with the lesson, she would willingly help them solve problems.

She might not realize it, but Louis could tell.

Only the nobles who didn’t know her well had stern thoughts about her, while among her classmates, Aer was quite popular. Almost to the point of making him jealous.

Letting out a small sigh, he turned his head to where Aer was looking.

Although they were trying to hide, their thoughts were clearly audible in his mind.

[Do you think they’re looking?]

[Should we quietly dispose of them?]

[Tch, if only it was just the girl, we could simply kidnap her too…]

The thoughts of those committing crimes seemed to be in sync, as if they were conversing even in their minds, which Louis found amusing.

Amidst this, a thought rang out like an intense message.

[…Please save me, I beg you.]

“Hah…”

As Louis sighed, Aer whispered simultaneously.

“Don’t you feel like there’s a presence?”

It seems that even without mind-reading, there’s a sense that humans give off. Louis looked at Aer with curious eyes, impressed by her ability to detect a presence he couldn’t feel.

“…No matter how I think about it, this alley seems unusually dark compared to others.”

“Just a moment…”

Louis let go of Aer’s hand to take out the dagger he had brought just in case.

Though he regretted the loss of warmth, it seemed these weren’t amateur criminals, so he wanted to be prepared.

But they were faster. They suddenly sprang out and grabbed Aer first.

“Kyaah!”

She too was in the process of taking out her magic tool. However, she dropped it due to the strong pull.

“Aer!”

Louis immediately rushed forward, but the men were quicker in holding a dagger to Aer’s neck.

“Tch, how annoying.”

The three men, who had been secretly kidnapping people for human trafficking during every festival, bound Aer and another woman, then glared at Louis.

Their expressions were full of displeasure. They seemed irritated that their work had been interrupted.

“You know what will happen to this woman if you come any closer, right?”

Louis put down his dagger at the threat, pondering what to do next.

If he removed his glasses and used hypnosis, the situation could be easily resolved, but then Aer might notice his ability.

The reason he had entered the regular class, hiding his awakened status, was solely one:

He didn’t want to catch his father’s eye…

He had always lived cautiously, careful not to expose any vulnerabilities that others could use against him.

As he wrestled with the decision to either maintain his carefully crafted facade or reveal himself to rescue Aer, the men were gradually retreating, taking both Aer and the other woman with them in binds.

Although their plans were all audible in his mind, Louis was about to remove his glasses to hypnotize them when suddenly someone flew in.

The man who nimbly rolled his body swiftly broke the wrist of the man holding Aer with a quick movement.

“Argh!”

Catching Aer who almost fell, the man spoke in a cheerful voice.

“Fancy meeting you here, Aer.”

Kai’s golden hair seemed to illuminate the dark alley. The radiant man caught even the two trying to hide in the darkness with his quick hands.

His movements were elegant yet agile and strong. He easily subdued the ordinary men with just a single finger.

Louis felt a surge of displeasure at Kai’s sudden appearance. Moreover, he was angry at himself.

While considering Aer a friend, when she was in danger, he had been weighing her rescue against exposing his abilities.

Regret washed over him for his calculating attitude, but his chance to act had already passed.

“Thank you, thank you so much.”

The captured woman said to Kai, tears streaming down her face. He tightly bound the three men with the jacket he was wearing.

“I suppose we should leave the handling to the guards?”

Aer responded to Kai’s words with a dazed expression.

“Uh… I guess so?”

“Hey, Louis. Could you call the guards?”

Kai called out to him familiarly. Louis, sunk in self-loathing, nodded in agreement.

Aer watched him for a moment as he quickly disappeared into the crowd. The commotion in the alley briefly drew people’s attention, but they quickly dispersed upon seeing the situation resolved.

“This doesn’t seem like amateur work.”

Aer nodded at Kai’s words. Hadn’t they already captured one woman before Louis and Aer discovered them?

Aer approached the woman who was lying down crying and helped her up.

“It’s alright now. Try to stand up.”

“Hic… Thank you. Thank you so much…”

As Aer saw the woman’s face as she raised her lowered head, she tilted her head slightly in familiarity.

Pondering where she had seen her before, Aer soon realized the woman was a character from the original story.

After all, such vivid red hair was quite rare.

Kaylee was the craftsman who had made the female lead’s accessories in the original story. The female lead had paved her way to success by wearing those accessories, but why was she in Latina instead of the capital?

And in such a ragged state, no less?