"But it's whatever," she shrugged, wondering why he seemed so serious. He eyed her for a while, and, without knowing what else to do, she eyed him back.
"If you tell me where the ring is," he finally said, "I can break the curse on you."
"Hm," she hummed, having a different idea in mind. "How about I'll tell you where the ring is if you adopt me as your heir."
The girl decided that she would give herself one year before she went back to claim her apprentice, needing the time to collect enough wealth and prestige for them to afford a place together.
And looking at the man in front of her, she figured she could use him for that goal.
"...Pardon?" He asked her again.
"You are pardoned," she allowed.
"What, no," he shook his head. "What exactly do you mean that you want me to adopt you as my heir?"
"Well, you're single, aren't you?"
"...Huh? What makes you think that?"
"No rings," she held up her scarred hands, calling out the fact that his gloved fingers were all bare. "And I assume that no wife means you don't have a child."
"I could still have a child," he dryly pointed out the flaws in her logic. "Or still be married and just not be wearing a ring." She of course knew them, but she figured she wouldn't get anywhere without a little bit of a gamble.
"But do you?" She wondered.
"...so you're just a little brat, aren't you?"
"That's me," she beamed at him.
"Well," he began, dropping his more dignified demeanor, opting to openly scowl at her instead, "what do you have to offer me? So far I'm not seeing anything that impresses me."
"My natural charm," she tried.
He waited for her to say something more, but she really didn't have anything more.
"What do you even want from me," he sighed.
"Money."
"You sure didn't hesitate."
"I just happen to know what I want."
"How would you becoming my heir even get you money?"
"Well, you're rich, aren't you?"
"No, I mean why not just ask for money? This seems far more complicated."
"I'm a complicated girl."
He stared at her as he stood up, his heavy cloak rustling. "You're very young to have such a serious curse placed on you," he decided, "and that interests me. You can help me while I come to deal with this 'ghost' and, if you impress me, I'll consider it."
"You don't seem easy to impress," she observed, taking his side as he began walking away, his pace slow and languid.
"I'm not."
"So then what kinds of things impress you?"
"That's for you to figure out."
"You don't seem very sociable."
"I'm better at conversation than you."
"I've never claimed to be good at talking."
"And when did I?"
"You didn't. I just figured I'd let you know in case you didn't realize."
"I realize."
"What are we even looking for?" She sniffled.
"Anything that resembles a ghost," he explained as he observed the floor below them. It was hard to make out anything in the dark, the girl turning to look behind her.
"Like that?" She pointed through the window she didn't break through. The street lamp across from them lit itself, revealing a shadowy silhouette before it doused again. Then there was nothing. "That seems like something that resembles a ghost."
"What are you doing just standing around then?" He demanded, leaping through the window. She made a face at him.
"Well clearly," she muttered, following after him, "I was waiting for you."
He landed lightly on his feet before setting off. The girl landed in a roll right after him, pausing before following him. Curiously, she turned around the corner. She saw a boy scramble away from her, falling onto his butt in surprise.
"Don't hurt me," he pleaded, throwing his arms over his face. She prodded him with the toe of her boot.
"Teo, what are you doing here?"
"Eh- you're here? Oh, thank the goddess," he leapt up, throwing his arms around her in his relief. She tried peeling him off of her, but he was clinging hard.
"You shouldn't be out this late. It's dangerous to wander the streets after the lights are out, you know that."
"But I wanted to be with you," he whined, squeezing her harder to fight against her trying to pry him off her. "You're always gone for so long whenever you leave."
"I don't live here," she felt the need to clarify, baffled. "I only come through here on my way to Illorcrust–the capital city. You make it sound like there's something to return to here."
"I'm standing right here," he complained.
"And?"
"You're such a bully," he whined.
"You shouldn't be so attached to me," she only sighed, patting his head. "What if I didn't come here, huh? Then you would be all alone out here and in danger."
"You said you would come," he muttered, puffing his cheeks. "And you always keep your word."
She hit him on the head.
"Have you even found the ghost yet?" He pouted, rubbing his head. Now that she was free from his grasp, she dusted herself off, looking him over.
"You need to get out of here. I don't have the means to protect you if something were to happen. I've already decided to look after someone else, I can't look after you, too. There's just simply not enough time."
"Look after someone else? Who?"
"Why are you hiding behind the warehouse?" A deep voice demanded, the tall figure of a man towering over the both of them. They looked up at him.
"Him?" Mateo made a face at the sheer absurdity. "You've taken him under your wing instead of me?"
The man glared at the girl.
"No," she shook her head. "No way. My apprentice is far cuter."
"I've been told I'm cute," he defended himself.
"Why is that a point you're making?" She wondered, baffled. He shrugged.
"So who's this?"
"I am Mateo and I can introduce myself, thank you very much."
"He's annoying is what he is," she drawled.
"That's why I didn't let you introduce me," he puffed his cheek again.
"Did you end up finding anything?" She asked him, ignoring Mateo.
"No," he admitted, "but clearly you did."
"I didn't find him. He's just clingy."
"Which means that I found her. So I'm the only one here who found anything."
"You knew that I was going to be here."
"I still found you. Let's see all that you've managed to find. Oh right, that's nothing."
She shoved him over.
"So what's the plan now?" She asked.
"Yeah, what's the plan now?" He mocked her tone, shoving her back.
"Why don't you guide us," the man suggested, gesturing to the girl, slightly amused.
She blinked, having no idea what to do.
"What did those boys say about the ghost?" She asked Mateo. He crossed his arms.
"Oh, so now it's valuable information?" If she were one to do it, she would have rolled her eyes at him.
She thought through everything she'd seen, from the broken window to the street lamp flickering itself on. Wordlessly, she set off to inspect the glass of the street lamp, seeing that there was no smoke rising from the doused candle. Mateo instantly grabbed her hand in the darkness and she let him, the man following where she was looking and understanding what she was thinking.
"I think I figured our ghost," she figured, nodding to herself.
"...Are you going to walk us through it?"
"In a moment."
She waited until she saw a glimpse of something in the darkness, walking over to the hedge bush shaped around the nearby house's fence. She kicked down a terrified girl with her boot, betting she was around a couple of years older than her.
"You've been creating the illusion of a ghost, haven't you?"
"I- I don't know-,"
"Those troublesome boys have been hanging around here, haven't they? Even going so far as to throw stones through the window. With a lantern and a hand mirror, you've been creating the illusion of lamps lighting themselves and a ghost wandering the streets to scare them off, right?"
"I- I-,"
"You're not in trouble," the girl sighed, figuring maybe her eyes seemed too intense again. She tended to scare people when she first met them.
Except for her little apprentice. That was the first time someone had seemed genuinely excited to meet her.
"During the day I work at the flower shop, and I sometimes come out at night to finish my sewings to sell for some extra money," she admitted, lowering her head. Her pale blonde hair was dirty as it fell into her face. "I found one of the old sewing machines in the warehouse that still seemed to work and was able to finish up faster so I could actually get to sleep, but then as you said, that gang of no good boys started hanging around here and harassing me. I only wanted to scare them off, I didn't mean to start this rumor, honest."
"I found your ghost," she beamed up at the man. The older girl's brown eyes trembled seeing him tower over her. "Are you impressed?"
"No," he admitted. "In fact, I'm rather let down."
"Well," she huffed, "darn."
"But it was enough. You've piqued my interest, so I'll take you on."
"Take you on?" Mateo demanded.
"Really?" She grinned off-kilter.
"Woah woah woah," Mateo waved his hands. "We're a package deal. If you're taking her on, you're taking me on as well."
"...Since when have we been a package deal?"
"You don't need to look so disgusted."
"Um," the older girl interrupted, unsure really what to do. "Can I go?"
"I can't do anything to you, nor do I want to."
"You're free to go," the man agreed.
Her movements were stiff as she got up, offering a deep bow before running off.
"So what does it mean that you're taking us on?" Mateo wondered.
"You're really being serious about that?" She drawled.
"Will I take the chance to follow after you with this rich man instead of getting scammed on the streets? Why yes, I think I will."
"What about me makes me seem so rich?" The man asked, now a little curious.
"Your cloak."
"Your cloak," they said in unison.
"Fair enough," he figured, shoving his hands in his pocket as he set off. It was only a couple of steps before he looked back, gesturing with his chin for them to follow. "Well? What's taking you so long?"
"Told you I'm charming," the girl grinned, running after him.
Mateo shoved her over.