🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 11
“Haah…”
I plopped down onto a folding stool, clutching the basket filled with freshly harvested vegetables. Since the orphanage had to cut costs, they grew their own produce in a magically enhanced greenhouse.
And today, of all days, I was assigned there. Just by looking at the workload, it was obvious it’d be heavy, so even Lake rolled up his sleeves to help me. Of course, I quickly wore myself out and collapsed.
“These are safe to eat.”
Lake handed me a few small fruits. I accepted them with both hands and popped one into my mouth.
The juice burst out sweet as I bit down. Eating a few while sitting down helped me feel a bit more alive.
“This is different from what I imagined. I thought I’d mostly be playing with kids.”
I grumbled, glancing around at the still-humid greenhouse air and the endless rows of vegetables.
“If that’s what you’d prefer, I can speak to the supervising priest for you.”
I was tempted, but quickly shook my head. On second thought, with my stamina, I’d be exhausted after just five minutes of playing with children.
“No, it’s fine.”
Manual labor was probably easier than handling kids. Still, I worried my back might give out from this kind of work. The priest had to know that a typical noble lady wasn’t built for hard labor.
‘Was this the temple’s way of saying, “Make use of the escort we assigned you”?’
If that’s what they meant, then I was certainly doing a thorough job of it.
I felt a little guilty as I spaced out, watching Lake diligently pulling up vegetables on my behalf—until I noticed something odd.
Lake wasn’t wearing his usual silver greaves today. Instead, he had on a light gray jacket over a rolled-up shirt, clearly dressed for everyday wear rather than duty.
“You’re not in your knight’s uniform today?”
“It’s my day off.”
My eyes widened at his calm reply.
“You’re off duty, and you’re still escorting me?”
“Days off and escort duties are separate matters.”
At that, I let out a sigh.
So, he came to the temple on his day off just for me? If I were him, I would’ve had someone else do it. But he hadn’t—and didn’t seem to have any intention of doing so.
“What days are your actual work shifts? I’ll only come on those days.”
“It’s fine.”
“No, I’m not fine.”
Despite my firm declaration, Lake just smiled wordlessly. He clearly had no intention of telling me.
This frustrating man. I narrowed my eyes and glared at him, but he simply turned away and dodged the question.
“There’s a banquet being held by House Grandel in two days. Are you attending?”
That was an obvious attempt to change the subject. I debated pressing him further, but decided to just answer his question.
“No.”
I was about to say the truth, but I wasn’t Crescent’s noble daughter anymore, so I lied. Lake’s eyes drooped slightly at my answer.
“That’s a shame. I was thinking of going with my sister to introduce you.”
“Your sister?”
“She usually doesn’t go to parties, but for some reason she wants to attend this one.”
“Hmm… Well, I’m sure there’ll be another chance to meet.”
“I hope so.”
I briefly wondered if this event had appeared in the original novel—but it hadn’t. Lilith and Olivia first met at a palace ball, not at a banquet hosted by House Grandel.
Lilith never missed a party, so in the original story, she would’ve attended this one. If so, Olivia must’ve changed her mind and skipped it at the last minute.
‘But lately, nothing’s going the way I want.’
If I went, I’d probably end up running into her.
‘Should I just not go?’
Even the maids’ reactions had been odd. They hadn’t tried to stop me outright, so it probably wasn’t a huge deal, but still…
‘I really don’t want to meet Olivia.’
The heroine was an incredibly powerful character—one who always brought chaos wherever she went.
‘Maybe I should just stop this and leave the empire altogether.’
The thought of running away kept flashing in my mind.
“I’m not a priest, so I can’t use healing magic,”
Lake’s voice brought me back to reality. He had approached me while I’d been zoning out and now knelt down to meet my eye level.
“But I can do this.”
Whoosh.
A cool breeze swept over me, and in an instant, I felt refreshed. It wasn’t that the greenhouse air had changed—it was as if the heat had been drawn out from within my body.
“How does that feel?”
His eyes curved like crescent moons as he smiled gently. I could almost see flower petals swirling around him.
“Ah…”
A soft gasp escaped me before I even realized it. Honestly, with looks like his and a personality like this—it was unfair. Truly.
“It’s amazing.”
Had he been watching me closely even while working? He was so thoughtful.
So thoughtful, it drove me mad. It wasn’t for nothing that he was one of the main characters in the original story. He made me hope for something I shouldn’t.
‘If only he weren’t Olivia’s brother…’
These kind gestures were probably just a part of his kind nature, meaningless to him. That made it all the more bittersweet.
After the volunteer work, I parted ways with Lake and walked over to the temple courtyard. I had arrived a bit earlier than the scheduled pickup time. With a little time to kill, I thought about taking another look around the temple.
That’s when I noticed a strikingly handsome man standing beside the iron gate, his brow slightly furrowed.
When we met that morning, I was sure he had worn a robe over his uniform. Now, though, the dark attire beneath was fully visible—something that could easily lead to misunderstandings.
“What are you doing over there?”
Either way, it was a familiar face, so I cheerfully called out. He relaxed his expression slightly when he saw me.
“Waiting.”
“For me?”
He didn’t nod, but his silence made the meaning clear enough.
Was he here to keep me quiet about him being a priest? I remembered how he had cut off Lake’s explanation earlier in the day.
Was he planning to silence me? How exactly would he do that? In a flash, all sorts of dark thoughts crossed my mind.
“Are you coming to the library again today?”
Ah… so it was about that. I let out a small laugh, relieved.
“What if I say no?”
“You won’t.”
His tone was serious and firm, even though I was just joking. Did that mean he’d drag me there if he had to? Another scary thought crossed my mind as I slowly walked toward him.
“Don’t we need a carriage?”
Instead of answering, he silently looked down at me. His eyes—like a clear sky—were somehow cold and dry. Staring into them felt suffocating.
“Excuse me.”
A large hand in a black glove covered my eyes. My ears rang. A gust of wind blew, whipping my hair before it settled again.
When the hand lifted, the first thing I saw in the brightened view was the library’s front door.
“Huh?”
There wasn’t even time to be impressed by the magic that had brought me here. The surprise slipped out on its own.
It was the same location as before, but the atmosphere was completely different.
“It’s changed a lot.”
Whereas the library had once felt dim and cozy, now it was bright and fresh. The lighting was better, flower vases were scattered about with fragrant blooms, and even the books looked newer and shinier.
“Do people come by often?”
“No.”
He answered as he sat at the front counter. It looked like the perfect place to relax with a book and a cup of tea—what a shame.
“So if you stop coming, it’ll go out of business.”
“Is this your way of asking me to keep visiting?”
He nodded without shame. I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously for a few seconds before relenting.
I didn’t dislike reading, the library was close to the temple, and the man in front of me didn’t seem that difficult to get along with.
More importantly, if he was a priest, that meant I was building another connection within the temple. No real reason to refuse.
“By the way…”
I hesitated.
“Do you prefer being called ‘Librarian’ or ‘Priest’?”
He had introduced himself as a librarian, but Lake had called him a priest. I didn’t know which to use for the man standing before me.
“Neither. Just call me by name, please.”
“Oh, okay.”
“My name is Saint.”
The name was completely new to my ears—but it felt oddly familiar. Too familiar.
“A-ah… I see…”
I racked my brain, scrambling for something else to say.
“I’m Edelline. Mind if I look around the library a bit?”
“Go ahead.”
Quickly ending the conversation, I turned and headed toward the bookshelves. I grabbed a thick book at random and opened it.
Pretending to be absorbed in it, I flipped the pages—but of course, none of the content registered. This was just a performance to avoid raising suspicion.
Saint.
No matter how much I tried not to recognize it, I couldn’t ignore that name.
He was one of the villains in the original story—an assassin who carried out Lilith’s orders and killed countless people.
‘Is there a curse on me or something…?’
A very reasonable suspicion, all things considered.
