🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 25
“Why?”
At Olivia’s blank response, Saint looked as if he was finished and turned to leave.
“W-Wait a minute!”
Olivia called out urgently.
This kind of childish threat! She shouldn’t have trusted this man in the first place. She should’ve just gone to Ruben’s store, where things ran solely on money, even if it meant getting involved in some hassle.
“P-Please promise me you won’t bother Lady Adeline again.”
Saint didn’t reply. Olivia knew he wasn’t much of a talker, but it was always frustrating at times like this. She couldn’t figure out what that cold gaze of his meant.
It wasn’t that she didn’t approve of the Lady’s interactions with her brother because Saint had some obvious flaw. It was just that… the Lady felt too good for him.
But this man in front of her was different. He wasn’t just dangerous—he was too dangerous.
Lady, what do I even do?
Olivia was on the verge of tears from the awkward situation. She desperately wished the Lady would just pop out of nowhere and fix this mess.
As she stood there, almost whimpering, Saint silently pulled out a small box from his coat and placed it on the table. When he opened it, a pale gray pearl shimmered inside.
The Pearl of Eden!
Olivia clamped her hand over her mouth to suppress the scream of delight that nearly burst out. She couldn’t believe he had brought back something that even a guild like Ruben’s Rosetower would’ve taken ages to retrieve!
Just a week ago, when she’d asked him to do this job, she hadn’t been sure if he could pull it off. But his capabilities had far exceeded her expectations.
Saint observed her stunned expression for a moment, then clack—shut the box with a snap. Olivia pouted at his action.
“It’s the real thing, right?”
Even though she knew the Pearl of Eden well, it was hard to distinguish a masterfully made fake from the real one. It wasn’t that she doubted his skill—it was just his attitude that made him hard to trust.
“It’s going to the Duke of Granard anyway, isn’t it? That man will recognize it at a glance.”
That was true. If it were Nox, he’d be able to tell right away.
“You remember the rest of our deal, right? As long as you do your part well, we’ll support you. The Duke’s already agreed. Oh, convincing Father might take a bit more time… but it’ll be fine.”
Her voice dropped a little at the mention of the Count but quickly returned to normal.
“We’re good now, right?”
As Olivia reached to take the pearl, Saint quickly pulled the box away.
“So.”
His gaze bore into her with unnerving persistence.
“What’s your answer to the question earlier?”
Ugh! Olivia screamed inside her head and shut her eyes tight.
Today was finally the day of Ruben Street’s long-awaited festival.
Since the original story guaranteed a safe festival, she decided to enjoy it to the fullest. Besides, Lake wasn’t even a character in the original—what better day to spend a peaceful time?
She’d planned to treat it like a picnic and enjoy it casually, but somehow both she and Ally had ended up going all out with their preparations.
She’d woken up at dawn to soak in a bath full of magical beauty-enhancing potions. She changed her hairstyle ten times and tried on countless dresses before finally settling on one.
After hearing twenty rounds of compliments from the other maids, they had finally settled on a look everyone approved of.
A pale white one-piece dress with a hint of blue hue—she loved it. Her platinum blonde hair looked even more radiant today, half braided and decorated with a floral pin.
It’s not even a date, so why do I look like this?
Maybe she was just nervous because she was meeting someone she’d only interacted with professionally in a personal setting.
The festival hadn’t started yet, so she tried reading a book, but it was no use. She ended up just staring blankly out at the garden until evening.
At this point, she had to admit it—she was definitely nervous. Even though nothing was going on between the two of them…
She remained that way until it was time to leave.
“Sir Lake!”
She called out cheerfully when she spotted him standing awkwardly at the entrance of Ruben Street. He looked perfectly put together—his tie was neat, and not a single wrinkle marred his navy coat.
As usual, Lake didn’t say things like it’s been a while or nice to see you. He just stood still, staring at her. Just as she was starting to worry that something was wrong, he finally spoke.
“You look dazzlingly beautiful today.”
Her face flushed at his gentle compliment and smile.
It was obviously just a polite remark, so why was she blushing? She found herself looking away from the soft eye-smile he always wore when he spoke.
I seriously need to fix this weakness for handsome faces.
She imagined slapping her own cheeks to snap out of it. Completely unaware of her thoughts, Lake smiled faintly and began to walk, and the two of them started wandering through the festival together.
They stopped to enjoy a bard’s song, ate delicious food while listening to an upbeat band, and chatted about watching a play at a large tent.
It was going perfectly.
Really—it was.
But why…
The sight before her made her feel dizzy.
“I hear many knights in the Holy Order are overworked these days. Seems like our young master has plenty of free time.”
“Not as much as a certain priest, I’d imagine.”
On the way to the play, they spotted a familiar black silhouette across the street.
Before she could even recognize him, the black figure had already approached and greeted them—sparking utter chaos.
“You clearly lack basic manners in how you speak to a priest. I suggest starting over with your training.”
“This is Ruben. Temple etiquette doesn’t matter here.”
Their petty exchange of childish jabs made her head spin. Lake clearly wasn’t planning to back down either.
“Hey.”
She wedged herself between the two and pushed them apart, then looped her arms through theirs.
Lake on her left, Saint on her right. Under any other circumstances, being between them might have felt reassuring.
“If you two keep fighting, I’m really going home.”
She shot a glare at Saint on purpose.
Saint looked unimpressed. He didn’t even show a hint of apology for ruining their time. This stubborn, arrogant attitude reminded her of someone else with black hair…
“Why are you even here?”
It was a public festival, so maybe they’d just run into each other by chance. But knowing his personality? No way. He had to have come here on purpose. For example—
For example…
She had a bad feeling and immediately tried to erase the thought.
“I thought it’d be nice to spend time with you.”
The very thing she tried to erase—Saint said it out loud, completely unbothered.
“Is that… a problem?”
He shamelessly asked.
She pursed her lips instead of answering, and he gazed at her steadily. His light blue eyes looked shallow at a glance, yet oddly deep. There was something magnetic about them—dangerous even.
Anyway, regardless of how childish he acted, the man had presence.
“Seriously, if you two fight again, I won’t forgive either of you!”
She began dragging them both along the street. People gave them sideways glances, but she couldn’t care less.
“This food is pretty famous in Ruben.”
Following Lake’s suggestion, they walked up to a food stall. But with both arms occupied, she couldn’t grab a skewer.
“Perhaps you should let go now?” Lake asked gently.
“Absolutely not.”
She stubbornly refused, making Lake chuckle. Despite her stern tone, he kindly grabbed a chicken skewer and held it up to her mouth.
She took a big bite and grinned with satisfaction—it was as tasty as Lake had said.
Then she noticed a grotesque-looking scorpion on a stick beside it.
They actually eat that?
She grimaced and moved past it—until she suddenly had a great idea.
She let go of Lake’s arm. He smiled warmly as their eyes met, as if to say go ahead, I’ll wait.
With her free hand, she grabbed the scorpion skewer.
“Would you like to try this?”
She sparkled her eyes at Saint, holding the skewer right under his nose. She wanted to mess with the guy who had interrupted their nice time. But he didn’t even flinch.
“Wow… you’re so boring.”
Unable to return something she already touched, she stuffed the skewer in her mouth and began chewing.
It was her first time tasting scorpion, when something odd caught her eye—Saint’s outfit was different than usual.
The black color was still there, but it wasn’t his usual uniform. In the past, he looked like a straight-up assassin. Now? He looked more like a low-rank mercenary.
The tight-fitting top revealed his physique clearly. The sword strapped across his chest with leather straps looked intimidating, but his overall appearance was rather ordinary.
“You actually look normal today.”
“…Normal?”
His eyebrows twitched in irritation, prompting her to quickly clarify.
“Your clothes, I mean.”
“Indeed. The usual outfits you wear as a priest aren’t exactly conventional.”
“Exactly, exactly.”
Given that today’s Saint was even more unlikeable than usual, she wholeheartedly agreed with Lake. And he wasn’t wrong, either.
“I’ll work on that,” Saint said with complete seriousness.
“Wait, that’s not what I meant.”
She gave an awkward laugh at his deadpan reply.
After that, the three of them wandered through countless stalls. And after all that time together…
Why am I actually enjoying this?
She started to wonder if this was okay.
