TBULF 11

chapter 11

“I can tell from your eyes.”

“Tell me what….”

“Darling, honey, husband—all the intimate couple nicknames are strictly forbidden.”

“Th-then….”

“At this very moment, you are the architect, and I am the client. That’s it.”

Of course, I felt like I was being recognized just a little as an architect…

But this is an emergency.

‘I need to do something so that neither my self as an architect nor my self as a wife will be forgotten!’

I had no idea what to do!

Just at the moment I was a little overwhelmed by Raphael’s presence,

A squirrel, who had been observing the situation carefully, suddenly sent a quick message like a relief pitcher.

“Your approach is quite straightforward, huh? Surprisingly, a rare and special type. Are you a lifelong single? Hahaha!”

I sent a message back seriously.

“……Yes, that’s right.”

I didn’t know how to flirt with someone I liked.

‘But I do know one thing. This is the exact moment to flirt!’

With a resolute expression, I opened my mouth.

“Mr. Raphael, your façade is truly wonderful today as well!”

“……Façade?”

“Yes! As you heard earlier, the front of a building is called a façade, and it means your exterior is really impressive!”

“…….”

In the sudden silence, I added another line.

“Also, the load distribution on your blueprint is so perfectly calculated!”

If I explained how architecturally perfect his blueprints were…!

He might understand my heart!

I looked at him earnestly, and Raphael…

…Bang.

With a loud noise, the office door shut.

“Get out.”

With a strangely satisfied expression on Serentia’s face, Raphael sent her outside the door.

An ordinary person might have found Serentia’s flirting confusing.

But here were Raphael and Tein (who had just appeared from somewhere).

One of them didn’t understand emotions at all, and the other didn’t understand romantic feelings at all.

So Raphael’s expression was subtle, and Tein…

“Wow… Serentia, you’re really professional. You must be a master at romance. To express love using a technical term like façade!”

“…….”

“An inexperienced lover like Raphael might quickly fail at the push-and-pull game.”

“Shut up.”

Yes. They were not ordinary people.

Serentia, Raphael, Tein.

All three were equally clueless when it came to romance.

“‘The façade is wonderful’…!”

“Shut up.”

“Is ‘shut up’ a trending phrase? You seem to overuse it these days…”

Only after Raphael sharply lifted his pen did Tein finally fall silent.

Raphael returned to checking the documents.

Five minutes passed like that.

As if Serentia’s flirting had never happened, everything returned to its usual calm.

But there was one exception.

<Annex Architecture>

Architect: Serentia Rosemary (planned)

On top of his <City Planning Map> document.

Not the Grand Duchess, but the architect—Serentia’s name remained.

Yes, just a business partner.

But…

‘…No, it’s strange for a mere business partner.’

Raphael had always lived calculating situations and probabilities.

But just now, a tiny variable entered his probability calculation.

The pen, which had been rolling smoothly, suddenly stopped.

Raphael shook his head internally.

Among outsiders, there were occasionally people who shone like sunlight.

‘Among them, that woman is uniquely strange.’

But all of them eventually left without changing the North.

‘Usually, that liveliness fades within a week. But she’s been here more than a week… maybe even a month.’

While there’s still liveliness, it’s fine to let her run wild.

Raphael ignored the sensation Serentia caused and decided to have lunch.

The lunch lasted exactly three minutes.

Water and tasteless, dry military bread made up his meal.

Chewing and swallowing—that was the end of it.

Raphael chewed the bread absentmindedly.

But…

‘Has this bread always tasted like this?’

Normally, when he ate, he only felt the act of chewing.

The military meal’s unique bitter aftertaste almost—just for an instant—seemed noticeable.

On the way back, I walked cheerfully, ignoring the dark fog of doubt in my mind: ‘My flirting might have gone wrong.’

I clutched the badge labeled <Cairosen Castle Collaborative Architect> and smiled.

Being recognized as a ‘collaborative architect,’ I would earn a star each time I performed well.

[Cairosen Castle Collaborative Architect ★☆☆☆☆ (1/5)]

The badge, held by only ten people in Cairosen Castle, was now in my hands.

‘It’s still a one-star badge, and if Lady Isidel dislikes the building on completion day and destroys it, I’ll have to return it…’

I was already at a start line similar to before reincarnation.

I heard that if I earned all five stars, I could gain enough power to become a real influencer of the Cairosen family.

Designing the ‘major places’ where powerful people lived meant knowing some of their security and secrets.

That was why the Rosemary architectural family had such high prestige as collaborative architects for numerous noble houses.

But an even sweeter reward for me was…

‘If I become close to the castle’s influential figures, I’ll get the perfect position: sticking right next to Raphael every day!’

That would definitely be mine.

My chest swelled with excitement, and even my pocket money seemed to make me feel elated.

Humming and dancing joyfully, I suddenly heard the squirrel’s voice from somewhere.

“Since you started this because you like Raphael, isn’t it twice as good that you’re also being recognized as an architect?”

The squirrel’s single message hit me right in the core.

It was true.

Alongside my crush on Raphael, there was a sense of pride in being recognized as a professional.

My goal was still to fall in love with Raphael…

‘After reincarnation, I feel I’ve grown just a little.’

Thinking that, I looked at the acorn tree the squirrel was riding and tried to smile…

…Wait, what?

‘The squirrel isn’t next to me, so why can I hear its voice?’

“I’m outside the outer castle! You’ve been recognized just a little, so now we can send messages even from 100 meters away! Mwahaha!”

…Wow, really, only good things are happening?

‘If I keep being recognized in Cairosen Castle…!’

The squirrel’s ability will improve, and maybe something good will happen for me too!

But the next morning, I woke up refreshed and realized.

Instead of good things…!

“There’s really no way to see Raphael now?!”

I had to focus on constructing the salon, and Raphael had started another city plan.

Meaning, we could only meet from exactly 7:31 PM to 7:32:30 PM.

One day, one minute thirty seconds.

The only time was when Raphael checked the <Epinethia Salon> every day.

But…!

He didn’t even look at me.

He just checked the building in front of the salon and left coldly.

Looking at me lasted only a fleeting moment.

Roughly 0.1 seconds.

‘Strangely, even that seems to be part of his routine…’

But 0.1 seconds is really extreme!

“Cough, cough…”

Coughing blood…?!

‘…Nope.’

Luckily, maybe because I saw Raphael even slightly, it was only saliva, no blood.

‘Wait, is this really lucky?’

I’m sure the squirrel said…

“……(omitted)…Spending every night alone with him in a dark and damp design office…(omitted)…”

…Where on earth is this dark and damp design office?