🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 26
The man stopped speaking any further, and the old man asked again.
“Why did you kill the monster?”
“That was me, sir.”
Rowen cut in with a bright smile as he answered.
Then, glancing back briefly, he gave a small signal with his eyes. The man trembled, bowed awkwardly, and quickly ran off in a hurry.
“Is that true? You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”
“I’m fine.”
Joohee, who had been silent, spoke to the old man.
“I’ll be going now, sir.”
“Alright, I understand. Are you leaving with Rowen?”
“No.”
Joohee shook her head firmly.
An awkward silence lingered at her answer, but she didn’t care. She bowed politely and left the herb shop.
Rowen followed her out as well after exchanging quick farewells.
On their way back home, Joohee felt uncomfortable with the stares people were giving her.
Mel seemed to sense it too and flew closer to her, whispering.
—Joohee, their looks are strange.
“Don’t mind it.”
Joohee subtly scanned her surroundings.
It felt like people were more wary of her than before.
No one approached her anymore; they only kept their distance and watched her cautiously.
Then, she made eye contact with Shelley, who looked anxious and was glancing around.
The moment Shelley met Joohee’s eyes, she flinched, rushed into the grocery store, and slammed the door shut.
Even the sound of the lock clicking echoed loudly.
Joohee showed no reaction, but Mel grew more irritated, flying around in frustration.
—What’s her problem? She should be apologizing, not acting like that! Unbelievable!
“……”
—Joohee, should we call Undine and splash her with water? She’s so annoying!
Joohee stared silently at the tightly closed door with cold eyes.
Something about this felt off.
Rowen seemed to sense it too and whispered.
“Something feels strange. We should leave quickly.”
Joohee nodded. She didn’t plan on taking Rowen back to her house anyway, but she agreed for now.
The knights who had followed after finishing their cleanup tried to accompany Rowen, but he stopped them, forcing them to stay behind in the village.
Rowen followed her all the way to the edge of the village, where Joohee stopped and looked at him.
“…Why are you following me?”
Rowen looked at her with wide, innocent eyes.
“We agreed to go together.”
Joohee suppressed a sigh.
Instead, she asked something else.
“Aren’t you busy?”
“It’s fine. I finished all my work.”
“No, that’s not what I mean.”
“Then…?”
Rowen tilted his head.
What was Joohee worried about if not imperial duties?
As he tried to guess, what came out of her mouth was completely unexpected.
“Don’t you have a woman you love?”
“…Pardon?”
For the first time, Rowen’s always-smiling face cracked.
It was so sudden he couldn’t respond properly.
“You should be spending time with the woman you love…”
“Wait, Joohee.”
Rowen hurriedly cut her off.
Joohee tilted her head, as if confused.
“What are you talking about? A woman I love?”
“Well…”
Rowen recalled the storyline.
When Rowen, as the crown prince, met the female protagonist who had crossed dimensions, he would inevitably fall in love with her. After he became emperor, she would naturally become empress—that was supposed to be the ending.
He assumed she had already appeared.
But Rowen’s reaction was strange.
“Whoever told you such nonsense… I only have you, Joohee.”
“……”
Joohee looked at him with trembling eyes.
It was hard to believe he was lying. His gaze was too straight, too sincere.
“…Did someone appear at the temple?”
“I don’t know who you’re talking about, but nothing like that happened at the temple.”
“Nobody… appeared?”
“No.”
That can’t be right.
Joohee tilted her head.
She would need to talk more with Rowen.
“Joohee, you look like you have a lot of questions…”
“Let’s go inside first.”
They couldn’t stand there talking forever, so they headed to Joohee’s house.
* * *
Rowen entered the house and looked around.
Nothing had changed since he left.
The only differences were thicker blankets and winter clothes.
The fire he had lit before leaving was still burning, so the house wasn’t too cold.
He sat down, and Joohee sat across from him.
“…Have you been well?”
“Yes.”
At his careful question, Joohee nodded briefly.
Rowen quietly observed her expression, but she looked indifferent, which made him feel a little disappointed.
So he spoke almost like he was complaining.
“I haven’t been well.”
“…?”
Only then did Joohee’s expression shift slightly.
Rowen smiled faintly and continued.
“Would you believe me if I said I only thought about you every day?”
“……”
“I told you before—I cleaned everything so there wouldn’t be any bugs around you.”
It was obvious “cleaning” didn’t mean sweeping and mopping.
There was no way the emperor himself would be holding a broom.
“If even a bug comes near you, I’d feel extremely disgusted.”
“……”
“If you were me, you’d understand why I’m like this.”
“Rowen—no, Your Majesty. I’m sorry, but I really don’t want to know.”
Rowen’s expression immediately hardened.
His gentle smile turned cold, and his bright green eyes darkened.
Joohee looked away and stood up.
“I have no intention of going to the palace with you, so please leave.”
Even if Rowen wasn’t the male lead, she had no intention of following him.
Living here alone was more comfortable.
If she went to the palace, she could already imagine what people would say.
Of course, she could ignore it—but she hated even hearing such things.
And even if things were slightly delayed, once the female protagonist appeared, she would inevitably be pushed aside.
She would become completely irrelevant.
“I hate complicated things. I don’t want people talking about me either.”
“Is that the reason?”
“…?”
Joohee turned back to look at him.
Rowen, who had looked stern, was smiling again.
“Don’t worry. If anyone speaks ill of you, I’ll rip their mouths off. If anyone points a finger at you, I’ll cut off that finger. What’s the problem?”
His expression was so cheerful it almost sounded casual.
But his words were chilling.
Joohee frowned.
“That’s not the issue.”
“Then what is it? Tell me. I’ll fix everything.”
“I already told you. I don’t want to go to the palace. Please stop.”
“Joohee…”
Joohee stood up sharply, cutting him off.
She thought he would finally understand and leave.
But Rowen did not move.
“Your Majesty.”
“Can’t you call me by my name?”
He looked pitiful, but Joohee shook her head.
“Is it okay for you to be away this long?”
“I’ve taken care of everything urgent.”
Joohee sighed internally.
He either didn’t understand or was pretending not to.
She needed to be even more direct.
“No matter what you say, my decision won’t change. Please stop making things difficult and go back.”
“……”
“I don’t want to go to the palace.”
“I understand.”
Rowen nodded—but didn’t move.
“Your Majesty, please leave.”
“……”
“I’ll be going down to the village tomorrow. You can return then.”
Rowen tilted his head with a faint smile.
Joohee intended to forcibly separate from him if needed.
So for now, she allowed him to follow her for the rest of the day.
* * *
Shelley peeked out slightly, watching Joohee’s back.
Her hands were still trembling.
She shut the door again and leaned against it.
Just thinking about that monster made her shiver.
Why did the monster appear in the forest when that girl came down here? And why did it head straight toward her?
Shelley believed it was all Joohee’s fault.
“It’s definitely… definitely not my fault.”
She had only pushed things because the monster seemed to be targeting that girl.
Unable to stay still, Shelley stood up and gathered the villagers.
With a pale face, she said,
“Everyone, the reason the monster came down here… it’s because of that girl.”
“That girl?”
“You mean Aeryl!”
Shelley shouted loudly.
The old herb shop owner frowned.
“Don’t say such nonsense. That’s just speculation.”
“But think about it. Has a monster ever entered the village before? Never. And when that girl stayed here for a long time, the monster came.”
The villagers exchanged uneasy glances.
“Don’t you see? The monster is following that girl!”
