Laurent, with a letter of recommendation from Monsieur Drebang, his father's close friend and a man known as a legendary Musketeer, traveled from Bastogne in southern Elans to the capital, Paris, to join the Musketeer Corps.
'Is this the capital of Elans, Paris?'
After being inspected at the city gates and tethering his horse at the horse-tying area, he walked along the capital's streets to find the Musketeer Corps.
Unlike Bastogne, the narrow alleys were crowded with people, and four-story buildings, rarely seen in Bastogne, were commonly lined up.
As was typical of young nobles from the provinces visiting the capital Paris for the first time, he looked around here and there, often bumping into passersby.
Each time he bumped shoulders, he apologized, but the people of Paris, said to have cold hearts, simply glared at Laurent and went on their way without a single apology.
"Hmph... such heartless people..."
Laurent rubbed his left shoulder, which he kept bumping into people with, and walked towards the location of the Musketeer Corps.
Pak!
"Ack! I'm sorry..."
Eventually, still distracted by the sights of Paris, Laurent bumped into a passerby again and reflexively bowed his head to apologize.
But he felt a strange sensation in his chest, as if something was being pulled out.
'Huh...? A pickpocket...?'
Surprised, Laurent felt around his chest to see what had disappeared.
His coin purse and the musket pistol his father had given him were still there.
"No... way?!"
Laurent opened his coat to check for the letter of recommendation that Monsieur Drebang had written.
"It's... gone!"
Startled, Laurent shouted loudly.
Passersby looked at him at his shout, then indifferently went on their way again.
Turning around, he saw the pickpocket who had stolen the letter of recommendation leisurely walking through the crowd.
"Have you ever seen such an impudent bastard! Stop right there!"
If he was going to steal something, he should have stolen the coin purse, but why steal Monsieur Drebang's letter of recommendation, which was as important as his life and the reason he had ridden a horse for weeks to come to Paris?
"Stop! Stop!!"
Laurent pushed through the crowds with his arms, chasing after the pickpocket.
The pickpocket noticed that Laurent was chasing him and began to increase his speed.
"That... that bastard?!"
Laurent continued to chase the pickpocket, not caring whether he bumped into people or not.
Peo-ok!
"Ugh!"
Laurent, who was mindlessly chasing the pickpocket, ended up bumping into a drunkard who was drinking at a table outside a tavern.
Regardless of the collision, the drunkard grabbed the back of Laurent's neck as he tried to continue running.
"I'm sorry. I'm in a hurry... I'm chasing someone!"
Laurent repeatedly bowed his head and apologized to the drunkard who had grabbed the back of his neck.
Turning around, the pickpocket saw Laurent being held by the drunkard and stuck his tongue out at him with a sneer.
Laurent was angry and tried to chase after him, but the drunkard, for some reason, didn't let go of the back of Laurent's neck despite his continued apologies.
"Do you think an apology is all it takes? What about the beer I'm drinking and my clothes! What are you going to do about this?"
Laurent saw the beer splattered all over the man's chest and realized that he was demanding money.
Normally, Laurent would have challenged such an impudent drunkard to a duel to set an example for everyone, but the situation was urgent, so he decided to settle it with money.
"I'm sorry. Here... this should be enough."
Laurent took out two 10-blanc silver coins from his chest and handed them to the drunkard.
"20 Blanc? Do you think this outfit is only worth 20 Blanc?"
Laurent was taken aback by the drunkard's words.
20 Blanc was enough to buy a shirt like that in his hometown of Bastogne.
"Isn't that enough for the clothes a drunkard like you is wearing? Don't be unreasonable."
Then the drunkard grabbed the back of Laurent's neck and shook him violently.
Laurent grabbed his hat, which was about to fall off, and glared at the drunkard.
"Aramis, that's enough."
A beautiful woman was stopping the drunkard from the side.
"No, he looks like a noble brat from the countryside. Since he's come to Paris, I should teach him how to behave in the city."
The drunkard growled as he grabbed the back of Laurent's neck, but Laurent's eyes were only drawn to the woman sitting at the table, cynically stopping the drunkard.
Seeing her platinum blonde hair and blue eyes, like the lake he often played in back home, Laurent was momentarily stunned.
He wondered if a person could be so beautiful.
As soon as Laurent saw her face, his heart fluttered, and he had never felt this way before.
Laurent wondered if his current feeling was what Monsieur Drebang always talked about, 'love'.
"Uh... um..."
"What are you looking at?"
"Eheuheum!"
Laurent, who had been staring at her face, blushed and turned his head away when their eyes met, then glanced at her furtively.
At my words, the young man cleared his throat and turned his head away.
"Oh, really? You have time to look at women? What are you going to do about my clothes, you punk!"
The drunkard shouted loudly at Laurent, as if he was angry, and Laurent shouted back at him.
"Not being satisfied even after receiving 20 Blanc is no different from being a bandit!"
"What, a bandit?"
Laurent shook off the drunkard's hand that was grabbing the back of his neck.
"If you're not satisfied even after receiving 20 Blanc, let's settle it with a duel later."
Laurent took off his left glove and threw it accurately at the drunkard's chest.
"A duel? Good. Let's meet at the fountain near this tavern at 12 o'clock."
The drunkard picked up Laurent's glove and smiled wryly.
"Hey, Aramis."
"Stay still, Marie. This is a duel between men."
"Aramis, I know how you feel, but duels are against the law..."
As the woman tried to stop the duel between Laurent and the drunkard, the drunkard covered her mouth with his hand.
"12 o'clock, the fountain. I understand. Be there then."
Laurent nodded and then ran towards the pickpocket who was running away in the distance.
As he got closer to the pickpocket, who had been far away, the pickpocket knocked over the surrounding junk to prevent Laurent from approaching.
As he avoided the obstacles and chased after the pickpocket, Laurent ended up bumping into a man who was trying on clothes and looking in the mirror at a clothing store.
"Kyaaak!"
"Be careful! You stupid blind man! How stupid do you have to be to bump into me in such a wide place!"
The man, dressed in a fashion that even Laurent's uncle wouldn't wear, being from the countryside, supported the woman next to him and glared at Laurent with a frown.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm in a bit of a hurry..."
Laurent patted the back of the man's neck, asking him to let go, but he didn't budge.
"Judging by your accent, you're a hick from the south. Are you excited to be in the city for the first time?"
"Pardon?"
"I guess you couldn't contain your excitement at seeing tall buildings for the first time and wanted to run around like a wild horse, huh?"
He began to ask rude questions, using the fact that Laurent was from the countryside against him.
"I heard that country bumpkins don't even know how to behave in lakes and that nobles swim naked with commoners, is that true?"
He couldn't forgive him for disparaging Bastogne, his father's territory.
"Listen here! Even if Parisians are rude, there's a limit. Where did you learn to insult someone else's territory like that?"
"Hehehe, this is definitely the best way to mess with country bumpkins, isn't it?"
"Ohoho."
Laurent's face began to turn red as even the woman next to him started laughing.
"Take back those words right now!"
"What if I don't want to?"
Laurent's anger soared to the top of his head as he shrugged mockingly.
"It's just frustrating that I'm too busy right now to beat you up with these two hands."
Laurent took off the glove on his right hand and threw it at his chest.
This time, because he was filled with emotion, the glove hit his face instead of his chest.
"Oh my... are you challenging me to a duel?"
"Oh my..."
The man smiled and waved the glove in front of Laurent's eyes.
"That's right. Let's postpone any complaints until then."
Laurent looked at him with eyes full of determination.
"Alright. Come to the fountain nearby at 1 PM."
"The fountain near the tavern?"
"Yes, come there."
"I understand. Please keep your promise."
"Good. Let's have a manly fight!"
The man let go of the back of Laurent's neck.
Laurent tried to chase after the pickpocket, but the pickpocket had already disappeared from sight.
"Ha... I'm really unlucky..."
Laurent rubbed his face with his hands and headed towards the place where he had tethered his horse.
The problem was whether he could join the Musketeer Corps without the letter of recommendation that Monsieur Drebang had written.
"Monsieur Drebang had definitely told me to be careful..."
Laurent suppressed his rising emotions and walked through the streets of Paris in a lonely manner.
When he arrived at the place where he had tethered his horse, there was a note on Laurent's saddle.
[Illegal horse and carriage parking violation: Fine of 25 Blanc]
It was like being slapped when you wanted to cry. He had come up to the capital, had his letter of recommendation stolen, had two duel appointments, and now he had to pay a fine of 25 Blanc, which made him feel like bursting into tears.
Laurent approached the administrator who was writing fine notices on other carriages.
"Listen here! What is this nonsense about a 25 Blanc fine!"
Laurent grabbed the administrator's shoulder and shouted, causing him to frown.
"Didn't I write it on the note? I clearly wrote illegal horse and carriage parking violation, didn't I?"
"Isn't 25 Blanc too much for tethering a horse for a short time?!"
At Laurent's words, the administrator smirked and sneered at him.
"That's why you country bumpkins are like this..."
"What did you say?!"
Laurent shouted at the administrator, who was muttering and sneering at his origin and territory.
"Oh my! Please stop shouting. I don't know what it was like where you lived, but if you tether a horse like this in crowded Paris, it takes up that much space, doesn't it?"
"..."
"That's why only permitted horses and carriages can be parked in designated areas. What kind of nerve do you have to tether your horse on the street when you haven't even been in Paris for long?"
"Haa..."
Laurent scratched his head nervously and sighed.
#
The next day, as it became noon, we headed to the fountain from the tavern where we were gambling.
"You said you were going to duel at the fountain at 1 PM?"
"Yeah, I was buying this outfit yesterday when some cocky brat bumped into me. So I was going to give him some mental education, but he said he was in a hurry, so I told him to apply for a duel here today at 1 PM."
Lotos nodded at Aramis's question.
"It's the same for us. I was drinking at a table outside the tavern when a young man bumped into me."
"So?"
"So I demanded the price of the clothes and beer, but he only gave me 20 Blanc."
"Isn't 20 Blanc enough?"
"Do you also think that this outfit I'm wearing is worth 20 Blanc?"
"Hmm... no matter how I look at it, 15 Blanc seems enough..."
Lotos stroked his chin and pondered at Aramis's words.
"You're getting old too. How can this look like it's worth 15 Blanc! This outfit is worth 30 Blanc!"
"Heo-igo... 30 Blanc?"
"Yes, it's worth 30 Blanc."
Suddenly, Lotos boasted, wearing a green vest and a blue coat.
"Speaking of clothes... how's my outfit?"
"You know, I think you've already asked that question for the fifth time since this morning."
"I'm asking you to evaluate my fashion sense, but why are you all so harsh?"
"No, but who on earth dressed you like that?"
I sighed and scanned Lotos's outfit from top to bottom.
"What's wrong with this outfit? The store owner praised me, saying it was an excellent choice."
"Of course a merchant would praise you when you're buying the clothes they're selling. Would they curse you instead?"
"Th... is that so?"
"Have you lived half your life and you're still like that?"
I shook my head, holding my forehead.
"No... Fernand... no, Marie! Listen. Is this outfit really that old-fashioned?"
"Being old-fashioned is one problem, but isn't that vest about to burst because it doesn't fit your body type?"
"Is that so? I think it looks good and makes me look wild."
Lotos flexed his arms, showing off his arm muscles.
"Euh-hyu..."
I sat down on the fountain and started eating black bread.
"You're already eating even though the duel hasn't started yet?"
"Isn't it lunchtime now? I'm just eating because I'm hungry, so mind your own business."
"Well, it might end up being boring, so just eat now."
"Oh, that cocky bastard is coming over there."
While Aramis and I were talking, Lotos pointed his finger and pointed to a young man approaching us.
"Has he come?"
"You're both here. 12 o'clock, 1 o'clock."
The young man had dark circles under his eyes, as if something had happened.
"Hmm... are you sure you're okay to duel in that condition?"
"Of course. Come at me."
The young man drew his rapier and pointed it at Lotos and Armis.
"It's a duel!!!"
A passerby who was watching us shouted and alerted everyone.
"Kyaaak!"
"Let's get out of here!"
Citizens began to evacuate here and there, not knowing what would happen.