Tie stared at the woman in front of her with shining eyes.

Round, pretty eyes.

A gentle smile and a warm expression.

‘She’s just like Teacher Isolje.’

The woman, who seemed to be the owner of the pub, gave off an atmosphere similar to the kindergarten teacher at Hanbit.

And that meant —

‘A good person!’

Dropping her guard at once, Tie jumped down to the floor and bowed politely.

"Hello, saajan-nim. Tie didn’t come for alcohol, Tie came to drink strawberry juice."

"Strawberry juice?"

"Yesss. If there’s no strawberry, orange juice is okay too."

Meanwhile, the pub owner, Adeline, lifted her gaze while concealing her wariness.

Two children and four men.

‘A strange group.’

She looked again at the children in front of her.

"Lucarion, what will you have?"

"The same as you."

The children clearly knew where they were and confidently ordered fruit juice.

Adeline frowned slightly, but still smiled.

‘That age. They want to imitate adults.’

There were quite a few children like that in her village of Kaldenbein Ridge as well.

The problem was that the adults they imitated lived rather harsh lives.

"Alright. Then two orange juices. We’re out of strawberries."

Tie beamed.

"Yaaay! Thank youuu!"

"You’re welcome."

"..."

"Well? Lucarion, you say thank you too."

"Thank you."

"Not to me — to that saajan-nim onni over there!"

"...Thank you."

Adeline laughed and turned toward the fruit crate behind the counter.

Most of the fruit had already begun to spoil, but fortunately she found two decent oranges.

She cut them in half, squeezed the juice, mixed it with birch syrup and clean water, and poured it into glasses.

After placing straws in them, she handed them to the children.

Tie accepted her glass with a radiant face.

Then Adeline shifted her gaze to the four men.

"And what can I get for you?"

One of the refined-looking men studied her cautiously.

"What you mentioned. Four."

"Birchbrew?"

"Yeah."

Adeline nodded and began pouring the drink into mugs.

At that moment, through the hanging thorns by the barrel, her gaze met that of one of the villagers.

‘Adeline. Is everything alright?’

Reading his lips, Adeline quickly smiled.

And shook her head as if telling him not to worry.

The villagers, who had been staring intently at the outsiders, finally looked away.

She had just handed over the last mug.

"You don’t get many visitors, do you?"

Enzo asked.

Adeline instinctively glanced at the other guests.

And with an awkward smile, asked back,

"Why? Because of what happened earlier?"

Enzo smirked.

"Of course. It’s the first time in my life so many people have stared at me at once. And the looks weren’t pleasant."

Adeline recalled the stares that had rained down on them when they entered.

Yes, from the villagers’ side, they had not been very welcoming.

"Well, actually..."

She was about to say something, but stopped.

‘...They don’t need to know.’

The dark side of Kaldenbein. They would be leaving soon anyway.

"Adeline! Another mug over here!"

Someone called out from the corner.

Adeline quickly turned to prepare another serving.

Bale watched her with a thoughtful expression.

"She’s a noble."

The moment they sat at a table in the corner, Bale said it.

"What?"

Basto’s eyes widened in surprise.

But Raul and Enzo nodded as if they had thought the same.

"I thought so too."

"So did I."

Basto looked at them. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

A few more customers had entered the pub.

Each of them glanced at their group before speaking with Adeline.

Basto looked at her clothes again.

‘A noble?’

A simple dress. Not a trace of makeup.

She was polite and kind, but she did not look like a noble at all.

And how could the owner of such a shabby pub be a noble?

"When she handed the mug over, she kept her elbow close to her body. And she turned the handle toward us."

"What caught my eye was the eye bow. At first I thought it was a coincidence, but she does it every time, and exactly for two seconds."

Basto frowned.

"So what? That makes someone a noble?"

Bale looked at him irritably.

"It’s not about the gesture itself."

"Then what?"

"The fact that she repeats it again and again, like a template."

Raul nodded.

"Right. A repeated action usually means it’s been trained for a long time and turned into habit."

Basto let out a quiet breath.

That was true.

If something was repeated without the slightest deviation, it was no longer coincidence.

"It looks like male etiquette."

"No, there are female elements mixed in."

While Bale and the twins discussed it, Basto looked at the seat beside him.

Astie and Lucarion were sitting there.

Astie was trying to imitate “noble etiquette.”

"Like this?"

"No, elbow to your body."

"Like thiiis?"

"Astie. You spilled the ice."

"Oh. Sorry..."

"..."

"Lucarion, do you want the fallen ice?"

"No."

"If you eat it, I’ll eat it too! One each, okay?"

"...Why?"

As expected of a child and a summon, the conversation was entirely unpredictable.

Meanwhile, Bale continued,

"Do you notice she has good relations with the villagers?"

"I noticed too. Honestly, in this village... the atmosphere is strange."

"The inn, and that pickpocket near the pub."

Bale fell silent.

He rotated his half-empty mug as if lost in thought.

And then —

"Another round for you?"

Adeline approached without them noticing.

Bale flinched slightly, looked at her, and nodded.

"...Go ahead."

"Then one for me too, lady."

"And for me."

Raul and Enzo ordered as well.

Adeline smiled and returned to the counter.

"Uncle Basto."

Tie tugged at his sleeve.

She looked at him with shining eyes.

"Can Tie have one more glass too...?"

Basto smiled briefly and answered firmly,

"No. Juice is enough."

Shock appeared on Tie’s face.

She puffed out her cheeks.

Lucarion expressionlessly patted her on the back.

That night,

the squad stayed in the pub until late.

When Tie fell asleep leaning against Lucarion’s shoulder, they returned to the inn beneath a dark sky heavy with clouds.

Perhaps the exhaustion of the past few days finally caught up to them.

They all fell asleep quickly.

But before dawn,

a deafening crash that shook the inn’s windows forced their eyes open.

[Ah, attention all residents of Kaldenbein Ridge! This morning, this week’s collection will be completed!]