When he finished, the woman again smiled at him, and she stood up, brushing the dirt off her dress. “Thank you for praying for Nero.”

Flann, too, stood up from his spot, and nodded towards her. “I hope… he’s well now.”

“I pray for that too,” she responded. Then, glancing out, she stated, “Well, I should head back now. It was nice meeting you, young boy.” 

Flann nodded again. “Thank you… for telling me your story.”

The middle-aged woman looked at him with a compassionate gaze and said, “When my son left, he was about your age. Perhaps that’s why you seem similar to me.”

Flann gazed at her wordlessly, and she patted him on the head. “Take care.”

He watched as she made her way out of the cemetery, and out past the road. When she was but a small figure in the distance, he, too, left the grounds, and headed out on a different road. 

With no clear destination in mind, he wandered from street to street, observing the people that walked by. He heard snippets of conversations and the words lingered in his mind, both those he knew, once knew, and didn’t know. The sun was hanging a fourth across the sky, and Flann gazed at it, in wonder, before it hurt his eyes and he was forced to shut them. The afterimage of the sun still in his vision, he continued walking, a somewhat tightening feeling growing in his chest. 

Why did the pain of the sun in his eyes seem to hurt more in his chest? He paused in his steps, staring at the ground, where the afterimages danced about before him. As the lights grew dimmer and faded, so too did the feeling in his chest, and he wondered if it was an odd aftereffect that he didn’t know about. He kept his head low until the lights finally disappeared, after which he lifted his head to be shocked by a person standing directly in front of him. 

Flinching, he almost tripped over his own feet, and the lady in front of him quickly grabbed his arm, keeping him upright.

“Woah, sorry! Did I scare you?” She laughed. 

“You were keeping your head down for a while, so I was a bit concerned. Are you good?” 

Still recovering from his shock, Flann stared at her emptily, no words able to come out through his mouth. 

“Well,” the lady said, pulling him along to a nearby stall, “regardless, why don’t you try some of our bread?”

She went behind the stall and grabbed a soft, round bread that was baked until golden, and pushed it over to him. “Here, if you’re feeling down, this’ll lift your spirits for sure!”

Flann, having the bread thrust towards his face, flusteredly took it with both hands and hesitantly took a bite. The bread melted in his mouth, and a sweet taste from within the bread spread onto his tongue. Amazed by the sweet and delicious taste, his expression immediately lit up, and the stall owner laughed in response. 

“I did say that it was good, but your reaction goes beyond what I was expecting!” She wiped tears from her eyes, thoroughly amused by Flann’s reaction to the bread. 

After finishing the bite, Flann asked, his eyes sparkling from happiness, “...What is this?” 

“That is milk bread with custard filling on the inside,” the lady replied, “a simple recipe, but delicious nonetheless.” 

Flann looked at her, and then the bread in his hands, and then took a couple more bites, his cheeks puffing up from the bread inside. 

Watching Flann like a small animal, the owner asked, “There’s actually a pretty interesting story related to this bread. Want to hear?”

Flann briefly paused in his chewing to nod, and the lady laughed again before starting her story. 

“Actually, a while back, there was someone who tried this milk bread for the first time, and supposedly lit up just like you. It was the former second prince, Cassius Deimantas Thyresia. Although this recipe was always a commoner food, after the prince fell in love with it, it became popular with nobles, and even showed up in banquets!”

Having finished his bread, Flann directed all his attention to the stall owner. His eyes shone with curiosity, and she was very pleased with his response. 

“Of course, that’s what they say, because I have never been to a banquet,” she joked, “but that shows how delicious this bread is!”

“Although,” she paused, “it’s a bit of a shame, because it seems that that ended after the former king fell from grace.” 

Flann’s expression immediately dropped, and the stall owner almost choked from laughter at his extreme reaction. “Don’t worry, bud! It’s still as popular as ever amongst the commoners, so you can have it whenever you want.” 

Flann was shocked at the lady’s loud laughter, but after a moment, replied, “...I see.” Then, he took the pouch out of his pocket, and handed a small silver coin to her. 

Contrary to her earlier loud chattering, she went completely silent, and he grew nervous. “Is… is this not enough?” He took out another coin, giving it to her. 

Recovered from her astonishment, she pushed his hand with the coins back to him, shaking her head. “No, no, this is way too much for a single bread,” she exclaimed. “Do you not know the currency here?”

Embarrassed, Flann retracted his hand and asked quietly, “How much… is it then?”

The stall owner viewed him with amusement, and then placed both hands on his head, ruffling his hair aggressively, towards which Flann reacted with shock. “Since your reactions were so cute, you can have that for free.” 

Flann peered up at her, confusion visible on his face, and she laughed again in return at his tousled hair. “It’s on me. Keep the money, boy.”

Not wanting to cause any more of a fuss, Flann bowed a few times quickly, and said, “Thank you very much.” 

The lady grinned and waved him off. “Of course. Keep your head up this time!”

Flann nodded and waved back to her, before rushing off. The afternoon sun blazed in the sky, illuminating his back as he hastily made his way back to the Ruzena estate.