As the snow becomes a little thicker as minutes passes by, Reysha and Amadeo kept walking. However, unrest invades Amadeo’s mind about what has transpired earlier so he is a little fidgety. Without any idea what to say to the expressionless Reysha, he pushes himself into desperation.

“Miss Reysha…um…can you…keep it a secret to everyone?!” Amadeo suddenly blurted out that halted Reysha from walking. With a slow turn, Reysha faces him and then…

She smiled genuinely, an alluring smile that Reysha only shows once in a thousand days, a smile that even her family rarely sees.

A smile that so bright that was executed with sincerity, but that alone didn’t assure Amadeo. He knows that he said he wanted to see Reysha smile but his hair all over his body is standing like he saw a monster.

“T-that's really…cute…however…why do chills run down my spine…?!” Amadeo said while his body trembles with fear.

Reysha ignores his question and squats down on the snowy land. She scooped some snow and rolls it on her hand until it becomes a ball with a size as big as her fist. She specifically made three of it and stared at it with satisfaction as she nods.

She took the first snowball and look up at a large tree with leaves still intact to it. Suddenly, she aimed at the tree and…

SWOOSH!

THUD!

She threw the snowball at the three and from the place where she threw it, a man fell down from the branches, albeit, he didn’t utter any pained sound but his arching back alone made it seemed painful.

It was Spoof.

“One down, two more to go.” Reysha said as she scooped another snowball from her other hand. This time, she aimed at a large bush that was covered with thin layer of snow.

A rustle of leaves resounds the whole place like there are some people panicking in the hiding of the bushes. Reysha raised both of her hands with snowballs and aim at the bush.

With another sleight of the hand…

WHOOSH!

THUD!

THUD!

Two figures fell from the place as the snowball hits the back of their faces. Their faces fell on the snow and were deeply planted.

“Sod and Mes, I should have known.” Reysha said as two bandits, a twin appeared in front of them together with Spoof earlier who still struggles with the pain from falling.

Sod and Mes are twins with resembling faces but has a different hairstyle. While Sod dons a small ponytail at the back of his head, Mes wear his hair with his bangs tied up at the top of his head. Both of them have a striking feature of black hair with gradient red at the tip of each strand their hair.

The two are actually, before becoming a bandit, are already criminals. They are expert con artists and proficient with blackmails. They made a huge name in the Mesola Kingdom with all of their crimes against nobles, however, all of it was overshadowed by Falikh’s fame.

The two likes to listen to gossips and delve into someone else private life. The reason they are not used in information gathering is that their leads are only fifty percent reliable, which is the very cons of their love of gossips.

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The reason the twins are in the band of bandits is that Falikh helped them escape when they were caught. Without anywhere to go, they followed Falikh with his plan to create a group of handsome bandits.

Since Falikh is a very honest and frank man, even if they try to blackmail him, all he will do is to boast what he has done, even more, rendering their threat useless. Falikh’s shameless nature puts them in a bind but at the same time, gave them an awe feeling towards him.

As such, the twins became a witness of Amadeo’s supposed confession.

“We heard! We really heard it!” Merrily said by Sod as he rises from the snow.

“Yeah! Yeah! Amadeo, Amadeo, a man of a day off!” Sang by Mes that made it even more annoying for Amadeo.

“……” Spoof suddenly appeared beside Reysha with a nonchalant expression. It as if like his fall from earlier didn’t happen.

“Hey! You three! Why are you following us?!” Amadeo asked a really cliché questions. Reysha already knows from the start that these three are lurking about but she kept silent about it.

“Now, now! Calm down! Do you really want to go under Miss Reysha’s godly skirt?” Mes provoked Amadeo with a smug.

“Hey stop that! Don’t tell anyone about it, okay?” Amadeo who couldn’t think straight pleaded that two.

“I don’t know…I think we can…or can we?” Sod played with his word with eyes hinting at something. It seems that they do this for fun after all.

“Kuh…you two…” Amadeo could not say anything back at them and stand there defeated knowing that his shameful display will be exposed if he doesn’t bid to their will.

“Hey, hey, how about you Miss Reysha? You smiled! That’s really rare!” Sod then directed his sight to Reysha who is silent and expressionless.

“Oh? Didn’t Miss Reysha just show her precious smile to someone else? Oh? I wonder…” Mes followed Sod’s provocation. “I wonder what would happen if everyone knew about that? Do you want to know Miss Reysha?” he added.

“You don’t want people knowing about it right? Right? Could you do us a favor and we won’t tell anybody.” Sod gleefully said thinking that he cornered Reysha.

However, even Reysha can reach the peak of her patient even if she is not talking to Falikh. With a side step that beats a flash, Reysha’s knuckles landed on their heads.

BAM!

“Gah!”

“Kwah!”

The two got planted again in the thick snow with large bumps on their head. They struggled for a minute until they get their head out of the snow.

“Now, try to tell anyone about it.” Reysha menacingly said.

“Ow! No need for violence! We’re just kidding! Right, right?!” Mes said as he taps on Sod.

“Y-Yeah! We are just messing around!” Sod answered with a frigid smile as he still endures the pain creeping on his head.

“All that said, I don’t care if you say anything about Amadeo. Not my business.” Reysha once again said coldly as she turns around and continues walking.

“Ah! That’s unfair, Miss Reysha, please do something!” Amadeo pleaded as he clings on Reysha’s foot while the twins look at him with glittering eyes.

Since Amadeo pleaded that much, she couldn’t do anything but sigh.

“Hmm…then, if Amadeo himself said anything about how I smiled, I will hold all of you three accountable for it and will beat you up.” She said nonchalantly that gave Amadeo a new life.

Amadeo made a huge grin to the twins that made them back away a little as the tide was turned to them.

“You’re getting beaten too you know! Stop smiling!” Mes shouted with a pale face to the grinning Amadeo, however, with his reaction, it is his win and he doesn’t care if he gets beaten too.

“That’s an unfair condition! Why us too?!” Sod protested to Reysha, however, she just let out a scoff.

“What? Are you the authority here?” She said as she slowly turns around.

“No, Ma’am! You are!” Sod immediately answered with a straight back. Mes followed with a salute as he knew he couldn’t do anything anymore.

After that, they continued walking since the show is over. Reysha is walking side by side with Spoof.

“Why did you follow us too?” Reysha asked Spoof with questioning face.

“……” Spoof just made incomprehensible signs with his hands.

“I see. You woke and saw the twins tailing us, huh?” Reysha said and Spoof nodded.

“……” and again, more incomprehensible hand signs.

“Yes, I noticed it too. Salis, Lisb, and Ury noticed the twins but not you. Good job.” Reysha praised Spoof.

“……” Another endless flinging of hands happens.

“Don’t start me with your innuendos.” Reysha snarls at him.

Meanwhile, Amadeo, Sod, and Mes are looking at them with the same petrified questions in their mind.

“How can she even understand that?!” is what they shouted inwardly.