"Konrad took the boy!" - Anastasia mumbled, completely confused - "Cali! Where ...? Why?"
Calisto only nodded in response.
"We'll take care of him." - she answered calmly and signed towards the gathered onlookers, trying to hint to her friend that this performance should be finished.
Devon turned in dismay, finally noticing how many spectators they had gathered with their performance. It was necessary to hurry up and sort out the situation quickly. The first thing to do was get the girls away from here and figure out everything in a calmer environment without prying eyes. But some passers-by must have seen how Lady Marsters and her companion dealt with the situation, completely disregarding the Black Judge's presence. Rumors were inevitable.
"Lady, thank you for your assistance in catching the criminal." - Devon began by raising his voice significantly so that those around him could hear as well. - "The Black Castle officers will take care of this thief."
Calisto looked at Devon in bewilderment, not understanding why he suddenly spoke in such a strange manner. Then it dawned on her, and something like gratitude flashed in her eyes. The girl nodded and silently grabbed Anastasia, who was already starting to smoke with indignation, walked towards the stadium's entrance. Lord Trevelyan happened to be on their way and was ready to step aside, letting girls enter first. But Callisto, to his surprise, without stopping, also grabbed his arm, dragging both inward.
Devon made himself move along, afraid that he will cause a scene if he pushes Lady away. But it was hard. The air seems to stick somewhere in his lungs, and all limbs became wooden. Usually, people did not touch him. More than that, he could count on the fingers of one hand, those who were ready to come close to him. Now though ...
Such a thin and delicate hand tenaciously wrapped around his forearm, digging her fingers into the rough fabric of his coat. The skin in this place began to pulsate strangely. The heat climbed up. Devon did not even realize at what moment they stopped. Only when the pink haze stopped flickering before his eyes, he finally realized that something was wrong.
The hold on his arm became stronger. How was it that this slim girl was so strong? Devon lowered his gaze at Lady Marsters.
Calisto was standing still, and her eyes became blurred, unfocused. Even her emotions now were unstable. He still couldn't distinguish well, however now she was so close, so Devon could bet that Cali now was in some sort of panic or confusion.
He glanced around, looking for the cause. They already went quite far from the exit and entered an inner market for commoners. The space around the stadium was separated into two: this one was full of small-time merchant tents that sold all kinds of trinkets, and an area for more wealthy people.
And, of course, the place they were at was packed with buyers and sellers. Outside, the crowd wasn't so thick, but now they were literally squished from all sides. Was that why?
***
Cali was in such a hurry to draw those two away from onlookers that she didn't realize what they run into at first. And only when they flew into the crowd at full speed, she felt as if she had plunged from the shallow water into a bottomless abyss. People shouted and moved in all directions, constantly pushing and shoving. Cali froze to the spot, not knowing what to do next.
All her senses went on alert. She wasn't used to such a crowded place, neither as a Stone beast nor as a Countess. Shadow was her comfort zone - where there were no people. Now she felt like she was on the battlefield again, and all her instincts screamed only one thing - Fight! Kill!
"Cali." - Anastasia called from the side, apparently noticing the confusion on her friend's face. – "We had to turn left at the gate. This part of the market is for commoners. Here we will definitely be robbed once again. There is no way we can go further. "
Having said this, Stacy moved a little closer and even hugged Cali around the waist, and then fixed her questioning gaze over her friend's head.
Calisto immediately turned to Devon, and it seems only now realized how close to each other they were. Because of the people squeezing from all sides, she was suddenly caught between those two. It was so weird but strangely comforting. For the first time in a long time, Cali felt how short she was, feeling like a teenager sandwiched between two parents.
Meanwhile, Devon, catching Anastasia's gaze, nodded and pointed somewhere to the left. After a moment's hesitation, he then covered Calisto's hand wrapped around his elbow with his palm and started moving. Cali flinched and barely had time to stop herself from pulling her hand away. But it seemed that Lord Trevelyan didn't notice this, confidently walking diagonally towards a small gap between the merchants' tents, dragging the girl along with him. Anastasia was following closely behind as if protecting Cali from the back.
The crowd in front of Devon parted like waves.
" Perhaps it is because of his height and stature," - Cali reasoned to herself as she silently followed him. As soon as the thought flashed through her head, she felt her cheeks begin to burn. But the eyes still continued to return to this man's figure, involuntarily noticing how well the young Lord of the Black Castle was built.
Now, as he moved one step ahead, confidently pulling her forward, his back seemed so wide. Her skilled gaze instantly spotted how his muscles move under the thick fabric of his coat. Previously, she would only have noted that Lord Trevelyan is probably a skilled warrior and a strong adversary. But now rational thoughts for some reason disappeared from the head by themselves, and her eyes seemed to cling to the broad shoulders of this man: how smoothly and confidently he moved, like a large predator maneuvering in the stream of gazelles mad with fear.
Cali swallowed, noticing the strange nervousness that began to build up in her chest. Like a tremor of the earth long before an earthquake. Is that fear?
No! This feeling Cali has not experienced for a long time. And it was not at all about the Gorgon, who sealed her emotions. Long before that, Cali had lost this feeling in the dungeons of Glaco. So why did the mere presence of this man give her this strange nervousness?
Lost in her thoughts, Cali did not notice how Devon turned abruptly and brought them into the narrow passage between the tents. The girl came to her senses only when they emerged into a completely different world. The crowd's buzz was left behind, and the other side of any market was revealed to them—mountains of boxes and goods on the ground, scraps of cloth and rubbish. Everything here no longer looked so colorful and unusual. Most importantly, it was much more familiar to Cali, who was used to running around in the back-alleys avoiding crowded places.
Feeling the girl relaxed a little, Devon stopped and let go of her, although his fingers lingered on the back of Cali's hand a little longer, as if for a moment stuck to the girl's delicate skin.
Calisto looked up, trying to see at least something on the man's impenetrable face, but this time Devon for some reason, immediately looked away.
Trying to hide such harshness, Lord Trevelyan began to glance around, although Cali was almost certain that the man knew exactly where they were. The awkward pause was interrupted by Anastasia's enthusiastic voice.
"Wow! I didn't know that the market for commoners is just behind the fence from the area for wealthy and nobles!" - The girl exclaimed and then, grabbing Cali's arm, pulled her along.
"Let's go! You can't even imagine what a beautiful view opens from the garden." - Anastasia chattered while wildly gesturing to the other side of the wall. Cali obediently followed.
There wasn't much to see right now, as right after the iron bars, a wall of greenery was too thick to see through. But Cali was still glad to get moving as she finely was able to escape the feeling of nervousness that she suffered while being near Devon.
Meanwhile, Devon silently followed the two girls, not taking his eyes off the Countess Marsters' back. The thoughts about her crowded his mind. He could not figure out this girl at all. Being near her made Devon act like a fool. Her allure was too destructive to his brain activity.
However, stepping aside also didn't help much. Devon got the feeling that Lady Marsters's emotions, like paints, were mixed in a completely different palette. She was unemotional, strict, and commanding in an unexpected situation but lost herself in just a mere crowd. When he took the girl by the hand, a strange gray reflection appeared, but at the same time, he was ready to bet that there were some crimson sparks in it. It all didn't add up in his head.
And all this once again made Devon doubt. What if Countess Marsters initially knew about his curse and is now deliberately confusing him? What if she really is a spy for Ligarchy, and he is her target? She's too good to be true ...
Then what should he do with this marriage? Strangely the thought that Calisto maybe someone suspicious calmed Devon a lot. If she really is a criminal, he wouldn't feel so bad about keeping her by his side. But what if she is not?
Devon shook his head, discarding confused assumptions for a while, noticing how the girls had already approached the entrance to the side for wealthier racers.
At each such passage, at least one guard was always on duty, but fortunately, there was no need to prove one identity. Here it was enough only to hand the stern guard a bag of gold, and he immediately broke into a crack-toothed smile, letting both the ladies and Devon pass, bending over in a courteous and slightly ridiculous bow.
A small artificial forest started just behind the fence. The spreading trees provided pleasant shade and plenty of secluded meeting places. As soon as they entered the crunching red pebble walkway, Anastasia began to paint all the delights of this place.
"I like it here so much! There is a small forest on this side. Bushes, flowers and all that." - She began to chirp, quickening her step. "Then we'll enter the park. it is very beautiful there. There are also some merchant's tents. But they are completely different, not what we saw in the regular market. Here you can find curiosities from all over the world! Horses and even some legendary beasts."
Devon coughed, trying to stop Anastasia, who was chattering nonstop. Still, she was so carried away that his warning went unnoticed. Besides, judging by Lady Marsters' soft smile, she was not at all annoyed by the girl's excessive enthusiasm.
Anastasia continued her tirade even as they stepped into the open space. Every lawn, every flowerbed, was planned and decorated so neatly that it seemed as if the local gardeners even comb the grass every morning. The merchants' tents were easy to spot. They were so richly decorated that they literally shimmered in the rays of the sun. Everything around seemed like a huge carpet covered with a skillful ornament of greenery and flowers with the merchants' shops like jewelry on top of it.
The main difference from the commoners part of the market was that only light music was in the air instead of the crowd's hubbub. On the paths, one could notice not so many visitors strolling about. Only closer to the entrance to the stadium, there was a small gathering of flashily dressed people.
Devon frowned. He did not often visit this particular part of the stadium, but it was easy to guess that such a stir could only be caused by something unusual. And today, he would very much like the incident with the thief boy to be the last surprise.
Lord Trevelyan glanced around, trying to figure out which way is better for them to get to the stadium to avoid colliding with this gathering. Only now, he completely missed one small detail, or rather one big, eccentric Lady in their group.
As soon as Anastasia's eyes fell onto this flashy group, her gaze immediately lit up.
"Cali, there must be something very interesting going on there!" - She whispered, bending over to her friend out of the corner of her eye, noticing that Devon in thought does not pay any attention to them.
"The last time I was here, the merchants brought a real Pegasus! Can you imagine?! It was so exciting!" - She continued eagerly, tightening her grip on Cali's arm. Calisto immediately tensed a little, feeling a strange note in her friend's voice and noticing how she secretly casts odd glances at Lord Trevelyan.
Anastasia was surely up to something. Cali just opened her mouth to stop her but Anastasia slyly winked at her friend and then abruptly rushed forward, pulling the girl behind her.
Cali heard Devon's voice behind them, but it was too late. Like a mad horse, Anastasia was already dashing at full speed towards the crowd. Cali didn't struggle, afraid that she could accidentally jerk this girl too hard and make her fall. The only thing she could do is relax and submit herself to this eccentric girl's will.
Just a few paces away from people, Anastasia finely slowed down and turned around to grab Cali.
"Wow! That was one hell of a dash!" - She exclaimed, unceremoniously jumping up and down. Then she spotted Devon, who was running after them with a face that promised many "wonderful things," and smiled even wider.
"Let's go and see what's going on here before this grumbling Black Lord catches us."
Cali just shook her head dejectedly. Anastasia laughed impishly and begun to wade through the crowd of richly dressed onlookers, unceremoniously pushing away everyone in her path.
People began to grumble and even snap when Cali tried to squeeze in after. Due to her small figure and agility, she quickly managed to catch up with her friend, who had already emerged on the other side and stood right on the border of free space.
Calisto was already quite close when Anastasia suddenly turned in her direction.
"Devon is right. We shouldn't be here!" - She said hastily with a very strange expression on her face. And then she even tried to grab Cali and push her back into the crowd backward.
"Wait, Stacy!" - Cali tried to stop her, fearing that in such a crowd, she would definitely step on someone. She tried to turn around as quickly as possible, only at that moment, her gaze fell to the middle of the free space, and Cali halted as if frozen.
Calisto knew for sure that this meeting was waiting for her sooner or later. But for some reason, just today, she turned out to be absolutely unprepared for such a collision with her past. She used to think that she would feel pain or anger, and maybe even shame. But now, the only thing that came to mind to describe her emotions while seeing Prince Raphael and Lady Brant was bitterness. Piercing, disgusting bitterness in the mouth.
And the most amazing thing was that the scene before her was like a mirror image of her last day in Arilla six years ago. An unbearably handsome prince in a richly decorated frock coat and a miserable lady, dazzling even with tears in her eyes behind him. Was fate so eager to play a trick on her again?!