Chapter 166

“Father is probably in the palace right now. He usually stayed at the capital villa near the palace rather than the northern castle. I live alone here.”

Saying that, Maya’s face looked a little lonely at first glance.

However, soon after, Maya changed his expression as if in remorse, and spoke with a brighter voice.

“But actually, I prefer to live here. This is a secret from my father. I will only tell you.”

“…… !”

“Because this place is much warmer than the castle in the northern part of the kingdom. And as you can see, there is a stream next to this villa. I fish there every afternoon, and it’s really fun.”

Saying that, I couldn’t believe Maya was the child that had a melancholic expression on earlier.

He looked really happy.

“Oh, come to think of it, now is fishing time.”

Maya glanced at the grandfather clock hanging in the hallway and stopped.

Then he looked back at me and smiled slightly.

“If you don’t mind, would you like to go fishing together?”

“Uh, I’ve never done that before…….”

I hesitated and hesitated. Fishing, like in my past life, was a word that was far from me.

I wasn’t really confident about how to catch a jumping fish…….

“Huh? It’s okay. Of course it will be the first time. Usually nobles aren’t good at fishing. So I’ll teach you.”

So as he spoke with sparkling eyes like that, I couldn’t refuse.

‘Clearly, Maya must have been fishing alone until now.’

It’s fun to do it alone, but if you spend it like that every day, you may feel lonely at times.

‘Yes, as friends in the same kindergarten, let’s do this together.’

Eventually I nodded.

“Then I’ll try.”

“Really? Then I will bring you a fishing rod.”

Seeing Maya’s back running excitedly towards the warehouse, I smiled.

‘You look so happy, Maya.’

If I could see a new side like that, I thought I could go fishing together for a while.

Maybe it’s because Maya was calm all the time in kindergarten.

But after a while, Maya came back with a net in his hand, not a fishing rod.

“Sorry, I must have stored the fishing rod incorrectly. The only fishing rod I had was broken, so I brought the net first.”

“You say you catch fish with a net?”

I asked in amazement.

He must have had incredibly fast reflexes to catch it like that.

If you touch the fish even a little, it will notice quickly and slip away.

“Yes, I know how to do it because fishing is a hobby even when I’m in the kingdom. And there are shallow places where the brook is only up to the ankles.”

It’s a fact I didn’t know.

Did Maya have such a hobby?

It was quite unexpected because I only knew that he would become the cold and chic Northern Duke of the future without fail.

“…… !”

I don’t know what he interpreted my surprised expression as, but Maya added with a sigh.

“But if you don’t like getting your clothes wet, you don’t have to. I think it would be nice to just be by the side.”

“Well, then I’ll sit nearby and watch.”

“Good. Then let’s go to the river.”

Maya grabbed my hand and pulled me closer with his bare hand.

It was a light step.

“Wow, the water looks clearer up close. I see a lot of fish…….”

It was the first time I had been to a river or stream so close, so I tilted my head toward the water, being careful not to get the end of the dress wet.

It was so shallow that it felt like they were right in front of me.

“Sit here and watch.”

Maya placed me on a chair near the stream and quickly rolled up his pants and wrists and walked into the stream.

Splish, splash.

The sound of footsteps echoed in my ears.

‘You look fun.’

Maya glanced at something with an ambitious expression, and then he seemed to be doing something with his net.

At that time, instead of looking at Maya, I suddenly remembered something.

These were the things I bought in kindergarten today.

“Where was it?”

I was carrying my bag all the time, so I rummaged through the inside and found what I was looking for.

“Music box, I found it!”

In fact, strictly speaking, it wasn’t something I bought with money.

It was an item that Alice gave me as a present after the market game was over, saying that it was not sold yet.

A music box made with the touch of a fairy.

She said that each music box had a different shape and sound.

‘I didn’t have time to listen to it in kindergarten.’

Curious about the sound of the music box played by the fairy, I carefully opened the music box.

And…….

[♫♩♪-♫♩♪]

“Wow!”

I briefly admired it.

Truly, it was a music box with the most beautiful and clear sound I had ever heard.

But, then.

“Wh, what?”

Maya, who was in the middle of catching fish, tilted his head as if strangely.