Chapter 73: Founding Festival (4)
“This fuck… Didn’t I tell you to take good care of your little sister?”
I spat out the words in a chilling tone. My low, sunken voice made Evan jump in surprise.
“H-Hyungnim… I just blanked out for a second… Ack-! Hyungnim, timeout! My bone, my bone!!”
The guy grimaced in pain but didn’t stop. Sure, I wasn’t entirely blameless, but this idiot who got lost in the rides and neglected his kid sister was the biggest culprit. People around us glanced our way, but I ignored them.
Then Rana stepped in from the side to stop me. “Kyle. Shouldn’t we find Ria first?”
“Y-Yeah, hyungnim… Even if it’s me, Ria’s still just a kid…”
“And you knew that, yet you pulled this shit?”
“Eek-!”
I smacked him again out of sheer exasperation.
“Hoo…”
First things first—I needed to figure out what to do. “Rana, is there a lost child center or staff who help find people at the amusement park?”
“Yeah, there is. The park’s so huge that kids get lost every year.”
“Then can you contact them? Evan and I will search directly.”
“Got it.”
Rana hurried off right away.
“And you…”
“What should I do?”
I glared at him fiercely, and Evan straightened up.
Before setting out to find Ria, I yanked out some of Evan’s hair. For the magic. With genetic info, tracking spells worked even better… But then I remembered Ria’s backstory and tossed it aside.
“Hyungnim, if you’re just gonna throw it away, why pull it out…”
“Give me your hand.”
“Yes, sir.”
Some time had passed since they’d held hands while walking, but skin cells should still linger. I fiddled with Evan’s hand, searching for traces of Ria’s skin.
“Hyungnim…”
“What.”
“I-I don’t know what you’re doing, but can you let go? Two guys doing this looks kinda weird…”
“I hate it too, so stay still. If you wanna find Ria.”
Using Ria as leverage finally shut Evan up. Like I said, I felt shitty too, but to find the kid, there was no choice. Real no choice.
I finally pinpointed Ria’s traces after checking both sides. I cast the tracking spell immediately.
But the light of tracking didn’t shoot straight toward the target. It split into multiple paths, refusing to pinpoint a location, shifting directions constantly before snapping off midway.
The cause? Hundreds of spells embedded throughout the castle. The interference from other magic prevented it from working properly. Space-related spells were the worst offenders.
No way could I chase every strand to verify. I refined the spell as much as possible, narrowing it to two lines.
“The light will cut off somewhere. Don’t panic—search the area.”
Evan nodded. Before he left, I added, “And Evan.”
“Yes, hyungnim.”
“We’ll talk later. Alone.”
“Uh… Saying it like that scares me…”
He sensed the anger in my quiet tone and started sweating bullets. I smiled and said, “If you find her after me, you’re dead.”
“I’ll get back first, no matter what!”
Evan bolted after the light. Once he was out of sight, I followed my own strand.
*Sniff.* She wiped her runny nose. But it was no use. The snot that had burst free long ago showed no signs of stopping. Her tears were the same. They’d flowed until her eyes were red, yet they kept coming no matter how much time passed. Her sleeves were already soaked, leaving no way to wipe them.
Ria just huddled somewhere in the castle, sobbing quietly.
Of course, Ria wanted to escape this place and find her brother. But that wasn’t easy. She’d gotten separated from the group in the crowd and been swept away to this unknown spot. All because she’d let go of her brother’s hand for a moment.
She was scared of it happening again, so venturing out blindly was daunting. Besides, the amusement park was too unfamiliar for Ria. Even when she’d first arrived in the empire, she’d been overwhelmed, eyes darting everywhere. The park was no different.
And it was full of strangers. Especially nobles—people of higher status than a commoner like her and her brother’s group, dangerous folks she always had to watch her behavior around.
That’s why she lacked the courage to go out. A 12-year-old country girl was still too immature physically and mentally.
Once her crying subsided a bit, Ria hugged her knees and waited quietly. Maybe her brother or someone would come looking. They must’ve realized she was gone by now.
“Hm…?”
Then a glowing orb slipped in through the window gap. It was enough to spark a child’s curiosity. Ria approached, wondering what it was.
“Ah…”
But it vanished just before her hand reached it.
“Hic…”
Tears burst forth again. The curiosity she’d mustered was gone, leaving her lingering emotions to fill the void. Why was she in this mess? It was so heartbreaking that Ria hugged her knees tighter, burying her face. Tears streamed down her knees.
That’s when it happened.
“What’re you doing here, kiddo?”
She peeked up at the incredibly rude tone. A man with fierce eyes stared down. She didn’t know his face, but even a country girl like Ria had heard the name: the scoundrel noble, Kyle Arden.
“What. You’ve been crying?”
“…I haven’t.”
She hurriedly wiped her eyes, but her sleeves were still damp.
“You have. How far could you have wandered that you’re bawling like this?”
“…I said I haven’t.”
Irritated, Ria snapped curtly. Inside, she panicked. Rumors said Kyle Arden beat even kids like dogs. Sure, her brother called him a good guy, but who knew what he’d do alone with her.
Ria trembled and squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for possible pain.
But no matter how long she waited, nothing happened. She cautiously opened her eyes.
A large hand—about as big as her brother’s—extended before her.
“Not going?”
Ria hesitated.
“Everyone’s waiting. Come on.”
Only then did she take Kyle’s hand. But maybe from sitting too long—her legs buckled as she stood.
“Tch tch, move a little.”
Her body floated up. Before she knew it, Ria was on Kyle’s back.
“I-I can walk on my own…”
“Stay still. This is faster.”
Ignoring her protest, Kyle walked on. Sensing he’d ignore any complaints, Ria gave up and stayed quiet.
Then the light from before approached Ria.
“Finally made it. Fucking amusement park. What’s with all the complexity?”
Kyle muttered, then converted the belated tracking spell into a message spell and sent it off.
“What… is that?”
“Magic.”
He answered curtly and kept walking. Ria pouted inwardly, lips pursing.
Then voices came from ahead.
“By the way, kiddo.”
“My name’s Ria…”
“Yeah, kiddo.”
Ria clamped her mouth shut. Kyle Arden was totally selfish. She had a name—Ria Felix—and he called her whatever he wanted. He’d done the same with the candy basket earlier. Handing over a basket full of sweets out of nowhere—what was she supposed to do? It was tasty, though…
“Just one question. Why do you hate me so much?”
“P-Pardon…?”
What kind of ridiculous question is this? Ria thought.
“First time we met, on the train, even while playing—you kept glaring. With that hating face. Don’t deny it.”
“……”
She’d thought no one noticed… But now that he had, what would happen? Nobles who punished insults still existed. Trembling, Ria asked, “S-Sorry. Please don’t hit me… Or at least not my face…”
“Cut the nonsense and answer.”
His exasperated tone made Ria open up cautiously. “It’s because… my brother only talks about you…”
“What, that’s it?”
It wasn’t “just” that. Since returning from the academy, her brother hadn’t skipped a day without rambling about “hyungnim this, hyungnim that.” And once, he’d ditched their playtime. Later, she heard he’d been so focused on training he forgot. He hadn’t been like that before enrolling. He’d changed after. And the cause was obviously this guy—her brother’s senior and mentor-like figure. She’d lost the brother she knew because of him. How could she not hate that?
“You don’t know, Mr. Kyle Arden. Hearing it every day is torture…”
“I get that, but… And what’s with the formal title? Call me casual.”
“M-Mom said with nobles…”
“You call Rana ‘unnie,’ so you’re discriminating now?”
“N-No, I… Okay. O-Oppa…”
Ria felt the corner of Kyle-oppa’s mouth twitch up against her back.
“Kiddo.”
“Yes…”
“One bit of advice: you’re stuck dealing with that. Geniuses are like that. That dummy would’ve ended up similar even without me.”
It was just that Kyle Arden was his biggest interest. If not him, it’d be Veil or someone else. Evan was exactly that type.
“Don’t badmouth oppa…”
“Family’s got you taking his side, huh.”
He sounded exasperated, but said nothing more after. Ria stared at his back intently.
By then, they’d reached the meeting spot. Rana and Evan were already there, having gotten Kyle’s message.
Evan rushed over the moment he saw his sister. “Ria! Sorry! I got distracted and…”
“It’s okay, oppa.”
She’d resented him at first, but his apologetic hug melted it away. Unless it happened again, she’d forgive him.
“Evan, come here a sec.”
“Uh… hyungnim? Later maybe…”
“No backtalk. Follow.”
Kyle dragged Evan off. Rana filled the empty spot.
“Sorry, Ria. Unnie and oppa got too into the park and didn’t watch out. You okay? Hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine, unnie.”
Rana hugged her tight. It was sweet she said that after Ria had been alone nearly an hour.
Then Ria spotted her brother kneeling far off, getting scolded by Kyle.
“Unnie.”
“Something to ask?”
“That Kyle… oppa. Is he really a scoundrel?”
“Heehee, different from the rumors, right?”
“Yeah.”
It’d bugged her. His words and actions matched the rumors, but inside? Not at all. He had that thing called consideration. Just look at how he treated the group—or her.
“But he was a scoundrel. Went to trial earlier this year. I saw it.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Rana nodded.
“Still, Kyle’s kind now. Gentle, always caring, totally changed. Though his behavior’s still a bit rough, as you see.”
-Waitwaitwait… hyungnim! That’s enough, ack! I get it…!
Ria nodded at her brother’s beating. Yeah, he hit without mercy.
Then she noticed Rana’s odd gaze toward Kyle.
“Unnie… like Kyle-oppa?”
“Yeah, I do.”
The instant reply. Ria had suspected something off about them.
“Oh, did Ria start liking Kyle too? That’d be tricky. Empire law says under 13 and…”
“N-No, I like someone else…!”
Flustered, Ria’s face flushed as she replied.
“Good then. Wouldn’t know what’d happen if Kyle committed another crime.”
Rana smiled brightly.
Anyway. When her brother first mentioned the scoundrel’s name, Ria had every worry imaginable. Was he corrupted? Bullied? Some other trouble? But per Rana-unnie, current Kyle-oppa seemed decent. Decent enough to entrust her brother to.
-Hyungnim, mercy!!!
-Quiet. People are staring.
Of course, a beating to knock some sense into him seemed best right now.
The amusement park fiasco ended like that.
“I’m hungry.”
“Yeah, lunch is already gone.”
“Shall we grab some food?”
“Oppa, I want a hamburger.”
After running around so much, all four said it in unison. Their stomachs growled simultaneously from the hunger.
So Kyle and Evan went to buy simple eats.
“Be right back.”
“Ria, I’ll get something yummy!”
Leaving the siblings alone might’ve been better, but trust in Evan was shattered long ago from the incident. Rana and Ria sat in a spot, waiting.
That’s when a man approached, saying something weird.
“Aigo, hello. I’ve come to deliver good words.”