Tell Me To Regret, Don’t Tempt Me - Chapter 14
Chapter 14
Louis’s gentle gaze was directed towards the imperial citizens. They were bright and cheerful, some with their lovers, others with friends and family.
“This is it! Isn’t it all thanks to His Majesty the Emperor?”
“Yes! When Emperor Henry created a large artificial lake in the Leria region, people thought he was crazy, but it turned out to be for preventing floods and droughts.”
Those seated next to them were quick to praise that it was thanks to His Majesty the Emperor that they could have such a large harvest this year.
The Leria region was the empire’s largest granary, but it was also prone to flooding. The imperial citizens who had pointed fingers and called the Emperor crazy for building a huge artificial lake there changed their tune when that lake served to prevent floods and provide water for the crops smoothly.
They marveled at the emperor’s wisdom and praised him.
Vivian nodded as she listened to their words, then tilted her head to the right when she saw Louis.
The soft, relaxed eyes had taken on a sharp edge, and Louis, bristling like an alert cat, rose from his seat.
“Let’s get going.”
“Huh? Okay…”
Following Louis as he hurriedly walked, Vivian suddenly became curious. She wondered what could have made him upset. No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t figure out the reason.
Despite arriving a bit early due to Louis’s haste, the circus tent was bustling with people.
“There is still some time left, but there are so many people.”
Observing the surroundings, Rayden remained vigilant, identifying the disguised guards nearby.
Perhaps because it was a circus, there were an unusually large number of children. Families queued up, holding their children’s hands, eagerly awaiting to enter the circus tent. The vendors selling balloons, snacks, and toys couldn’t hide their excitement from the hopeful glances of the children.
“Want to buy a balloon?”
Louis asked as a man in an eccentric costume was making balloons, which he was staring at so intently.
“I’m past the age where I want a balloon.”
Nodding at Vivian’s comment, Louis jerked his chin toward the entrance to the circus tent.
“Let’s go in early and find a seat.”
They found a place at the end of the line of people waiting to enter the circus. As the line slowly moved forward, Vivian’s heart began to race with anticipation. But at some point, the steps came to a halt.
People ahead started to stir, as if something had happened.
Vivian raised her heels and stretched her neck to see, but all she could see were the backs of the people in line.
“Uncle, can you go see what’s happening?”
“I can’t leave my spot.”
With Rayden’s firm words, Louis raised an eyebrow and stepped out of line.
“I-oh, no. Louis!”
The flustered Rayden looked at Vivian as he hurried after Louis towards the commotion.
“Stay here and wait.”
Rayden urgently said to Vivian, urging his feet to quicken their pace towards where Louis had gone. He frowned when he saw the cause of the commotion at the front of the queue.
“I told you, you can’t get in without a ticket!”
“But I said I’d pay!”
“No! This brat doesn’t understand. Even if you have money, you can’t enter without a ticket!”
A shabby-looking boy was lying on the ground. A circus staff member was yelling at him. The bystanders merely watched, not daring to intervene.
“Let me in! Please!”
The boy got up from the ground and grabbed the trousers of the circus staff again. The staff member callously pushed him away, as if wiping off something dirty.
As Louis was about to speak up, his eyes widened at the sight of a familiar small brown-haired figure that suddenly appeared.
“Stop that!”
A stern voice echoed.
“What’s this now?”
“No matter what, resorting to violence is not right.”
“Ugh, today’s just one thing after another.”
As Vivian wrapped her arms around the fallen boy, she shuddered as the circus staff approached with a stern look on his face. But standing steadfast, Vivian shielded the boy with outstretched arms.
“Get out of my way and stop ruining the business. Before I call the guards! Argh! Argh!”
As the staff member tried to push Vivian, his hand was swiftly caught by Rayden.
“How dare you lay a hand on her!”
Rayden quickly snatched the staff member’s hand, and with his immense grip strength, the staff member’s face reddened as he struggled to free himself.
“Ack, let go of me!”
As the commotion grew, more circus staff members began to appear.
“What’s with all this racket?”
Among them, a figure who seemed to hold authority stepped forward.
“Who are you?”
“I am the ringmaster of this circus.”
When Rayden let go of his hand, the staff on the floor cried out and hid behind the man who claimed to be the ringmaster, pointing a finger at Rayden.
“All I did was stop him from trying to get in without a ticket!”
“Enough, quiet down, Phil.”
The ringmaster with an ominous expression silenced the staff member.
“While our employee may have acted excessively, one cannot enter the circus without a ticket. Guest, let’s end it here since there are other guests present.”
The ringmaster’s words weren’t wrong. Even those who had frowned at the staff who had pushed the boy nodded in agreement.
Vivian looked at the boy with his head bowed. In his gnarled hand, he clutched a handful of silver coins. It was enough to get to the far end of the circus.
“I’ll give you my ticket.”
Vivian opened her bag and pulled out her ticket. Then she placed it into the boy’s hand, which was still on the floor.
“Here, use this to watch the circus.”
“Vivian.”
Louis, who had been watching from behind with a disapproving expression, called out to Vivian.
“I’m fine.”
At Vivian’s words, Louis sighed softly and roughly brushed his hair.
“Rayden. Give me your ticket.”
Rayden, standing beside them, stared blankly at Louis’s outstretched hand.
“Huh? No, what?”
“Uncle. Give me your ticket.”
“What’s this about…”
Frowning at Rayden, who still didn’t understand, Louis started digging through his pockets.
“Now, what are you doing…….”
Pulling out the ticket from the pocket of Rayden’s vest, Louis walked over to the fallen boy.
“Here. Use this to watch.”
“Louis…”
Louis took the ticket from the boy’s hand and handed it back to Vivian, then pointed to the silver coins in his hand.
“That’s the price of the ticket.”
“Huh?”
Blinking slowly, trying to make sense of what was happening, the boy followed Louis’s fingertips with a slow gaze.
The silver coins he clutched like his life depended on it.
“Nothing in this world is free. Isn’t that the money you were going to buy the ticket with?”
The boy nodded and slowly opened his palm. It was so tightly clenched that his palm was red from the pressure of the silver coins. Slowly, he placed all the silver coins into Louis’s palm.
Silently putting the coins in his pocket, Louis looked at the ringmaster.
“Alright, we’re good now?”
Calmly observing the situation, the ringmaster nodded.
“If you have tickets, there’s no reason for us to stop you anymore.”
At his words, Louis alternately looked at the boy and Vivian then gestured toward the end of the line.
“Follow me.”
The boy and Vivian followed Louis as he walked ahead of them, their eyes darting back and forth. The trio, drawing curious stares, took their place at the end of the line again.
“I……. Louis.”
“…….”
Louis, expressionless, slowly turned around.
“Do you know what you did wrong? I promised your parents to protect you and brought you here. But what if you got hurt?”
“It’s …….”
“If you know, then just quietly watch the circus you wanted to see so badly and go home. Understand?”
“Yes.”
Vivian bowed her head, her eyes burning at Louis’ words. Despite Rayden’s instructions to stay put, the growing commotion eventually led Vivian to disregard his advice and head towards where the disturbance was happening.
While it was terrifying to stand up against the circus staff, she had no regrets.
What she did feel sorry for, however, was for Rayden and the guards, whose emergency alarm had been raised due to this commotion. Fully aware of this, Vivian couldn’t bring herself to look up.
How could I apologize?
Vivian, who had been contemplating while looking at the ground, spoke up.
“It’s because of me…”
A worn-out pair of shoes entered Vivian’s line of sight as she looked down.
“It’s because of me, so be angry with me.”
The shabby boy blocking Vivian’s path raised his head to look at Louis. From between his disheveled, dull blonde hair, his piercing blue eyes shone.
“I should be angry with Vivian because she’s in the wrong, why should I be angry with you?”
“That’s…”
“I’m not angry with her for covering for you, but you’re telling me to be mad at you. What kind of person do you want to make me?”
With a scornful glance, Louis turned away coldly.
Vivian reached out to stop the boy who was about to retort against him. The boy lowered his head at Vivian’s restraint.
Afterward, the three of them stood silently in line, waiting only to enter. With no more disturbance, the line quickly shortened.
“Go in and sit on the right.”
When it was their turn, the staff member who checked their tickets gave them a sour look and showed them to their seats. The seats were as good as Rayden had said they would be. The stage, illuminated brightly, was visible at a glance, with no obstruction to the view.
The many seats around the circular circus stage began to fill with people as the show went on. Most of them were families with children.
Sitting in the end seat among the consecutively booked seats, Louis sat with his arms crossed and legs crossed, with a sullen expression. Seeing his gaze, Vivian gently sat beside him, placing her buttocks in the middle seat.
“Come sit here.”
Calling the tense boy, Vivian patted the seat next to her. Hesitantly, he approached and carefully sat down, glancing around.
“Can I ask you something?”
Vivian asked the boy. He flinched at the question but shyly nodded his head.
“Why did you want to see the circus so badly?”
At Vivian’s question, the boy clenched his fist tightly. It was trembling so much from the force that Vivian gave an awkward smile.
“If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to.”
Turning her gaze away from the boy, Vivian looked around, but at the small voice coming from beside her, she turned her attention back to the boy.
“What did you say?”
“There’s… someone…I absolutely have to see.”