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Chapter 83
Different Dreams in the Same Bed
At first, it was only three meetings, but in truth, that number didn’t mean much.
Merlin kept seeking me out, lingering around, and imprinting his existence into my days.
Through countless encounters—so many I’d lost track of—I came to know quite a lot about him.
When another weekend arrived, we naturally met again and had dinner together. By the time we stepped outside, the night had already settled in and the air had grown colder. To escape the chill, we decided to head to a nearby café. For a moment, I thought of hiring a carriage, but since the distance was short, we decided to walk. That decision quickly turned into regret.
The cold bit at me, and a complaint slipped from my lips. Without hesitation, Merlin shrugged off his oversized jacket and wrapped it around me. It was warm—as if enchanted with a heating spell—and my body thawed almost instantly.
Once I felt a bit warmer, I noticed Merlin shivering beside me.
“Here, you wear it.”
I tried to hand the jacket back, but he shot me a look as if to say don’t be ridiculous and pulled the jacket tighter around me.
“I’m not cold. I’m a wizard, remember?”
He muttered some nonsense about how his heart was so warm he couldn’t feel the chill—yet he was still visibly trembling. Then, without waiting, he stepped ahead at the same steady pace as before.
“What are you doing up there?” I called.
“You said you were cold.”
“Then why are you walking in front?”
“To block the wind. I’m bigger than you—uh, than noona… I mean, than you.”
When he turned back, his face carried a bright, carefree smile.
“If I could, I’d hug you right now.”
Merlin had a knack for tossing out these sudden, disarming lines. Each time, I was forced to draw a boundary.
“Friends don’t do that.”
“Then we can just be lovers.”
“And what makes you think—”
Merlin never faltered, no matter how much I scolded him. His hopeful face… what was I supposed to do with it? Whenever I saw that determined look on him, I worried. Worried he’d get hurt. Worried it was my selfishness that might cause it.
Sometimes it even felt like Merlin could read my worries—as if he had some strange magic for it.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m the type who keeps his promises.”
“Just… don’t like a woman like me too much. It’ll only make me worry.”
Merlin tightened the jacket around me and leaned so close I could feel his breath. His eyes curved into a smile.
“That’s my problem to worry about.”
He could twist even wrong words into sounding right. He wasn’t a wizard—he was an alchemist of words.
That was when I saw them. Soldiers moving quickly in the distance. Something about their movements triggered déjà vu. The way they moved like shadows, the knot-shaped insignia on their uniforms… and in their hands—sketches.
No way… the Shadow Knights?
Back in Craid territory, Macaron had once told me about them.
And there, on the paper they carried—silver hair and violet eyes. Even from afar, I knew it was me.
I froze, trembling. I hadn’t thought Macaron would give up so easily, but I’d never imagined he’d pursue me all the way here. As emperor, he should have countless duties, countless affairs to stabilize. And besides, with Evelyn by his side, I thought I’d be the last person he’d ever seek.
So all my assumptions… were just foolish hopes.
Lost in thought, I almost met the soldiers’ eyes.
Merlin suddenly stepped in front of me and snapped his fingers. I lifted my head—now the crowd bustled past us, ignoring us completely. A transparent barrier, invisible to anyone but us, surrounded us.
“Seemed like you didn’t want to be found,” he said.
“……”
“Just stay here a while. I’ll let you know when it’s safe.”
His voice, lower and huskier than before, sent a shiver through me.
What exactly does Merlin know?
Whether he knew or not, all I could feel was one thing.
“…Thank you.”
My legs threatened to give out, but I forced myself to stay upright. If they had come this far, then this place was no longer safe.
Do I need to leave here too? But where else would be safe?
Leaving the empire entirely was something I didn’t want. My thoughts swirled until they landed on one suspicion.
Does Merlin know about my relationship with Macaron? Well… he did see the portrait.
Maybe he had used his connections to investigate me. Thinking back, Merlin hadn’t mentioned the imperial family once today—as if deliberately avoiding the topic. These days, when Macaron’s coronation was still recent, it was almost impossible not to bring him up. But Merlin had. Which made me suspect he knew everything.
“See? You should’ve treated me better while you had the chance. Like I did,” he quipped.
“……”
“Some people only start looking once you’re gone. Without realizing they’re the ones who drove you away.”
It was clear Merlin didn’t know the real reason I left Macaron. To him, I must’ve seemed like a runaway wife, and Macaron the villain who made me flee. Perhaps even an obsessive man chasing after the woman he’d driven away. Honestly, that’s what anyone would think.
“He’s not like that. Not him.”
The words came out sharper than I intended. When I looked up, Merlin’s face was stricken.
“…Sorry. I overstepped.”
For the rest of the day, he never mentioned Macaron again. Instead, he smiled as if nothing had happened, carrying on light conversation. On the way home, guilt gnawed at me.
“…I’m sorry,” I said.
Merlin looked down at me silently.
“You’re always saying sorry or thank you.”
His wounded gaze reminded me of a forlorn puppy. My mouth opened and closed soundlessly before I finally looked away.
“If you don’t like me, just say so. I’ll back off.”
“That’s… that really hurts to hear.”
“……”
“I’ve never thought that way. I like you more today than I did yesterday. And tomorrow, I’ll like you even more than today. So at least… let me have hope.”
“……”
“As a friend.”
Merlin bent his tall frame to meet my eyes, then ruffled my hair.
“You can allow me that much, right?”
With a faint smile, he stayed outside until I entered, watching until the lights in my room came on. Only then did he leave.
I closed the curtains silently.
The next morning repeated itself. Merlin showed up at the shop again, smiling as though nothing had happened, and life resumed as usual.
After he began addressing me as “madam” in front of customers, they quietly assumed I was married. It prevented any unwanted attention from strangers, which had been my intent, and it worked perfectly. Naturally, rumors spread that Merlin was my husband, but I made no effort to correct them. Things were going the way I wanted, so why bother?
Still, Merlin had been postponing our personal plans for days, busying himself with my shop errands and my Merchén trading meetings. Yet every morning, he still showed up here instead of going to the Mage Tower. When I once asked if it was okay, he muttered that a talent like him could work from home without anyone daring to object.
Apparently, the Mage Tower wasn’t as strict as I’d imagined.
How could they let such a lazy wizard be?
But I couldn’t say that. Because Merlin wasn’t lazy at all.
Every day, he was working—on protective wards.
Lately, the headlines were full of the feats of grand wizards. As if to advertise the search for me, the entire empire was being turned upside down. Newspapers described it as a massive project to enrich imperial lands, but I knew better. Nobody would dare call Macaron a mad emperor for deploying such spells—except perhaps Merlin, who seemed to know the truth. His urgency in setting up wards made that clear.
Normally, warding took vast amounts of time, and I worried endlessly about it. But what should’ve taken weeks, Merlin accomplished in a blink with his exceptional skills.
Soon, not only my shop but even my house was fully shielded. Thanks to that, I enjoyed a few days of peace—and learned much more about Merlin.
That he was even more gifted than I thought. That he truly was one of the rare wizards with no fixed specialization. That he was the Mage Tower’s youngest prodigy.
All these things—mostly from his own bragging—still held weight. Especially since all his boasts were magic-related, they carried credibility.
Of course, it also meant he often hinted at wanting to take me to the Mage Tower.
And so, today, I finally agreed to go.
I knew the southern tower well—it was where I’d gone several times to commission wards. I could find it with my eyes closed. But I’d never seen inside. After being turned away at the gates enough times, I learned the hard way that it wasn’t a place just anyone could enter.
Once, I even disguised myself in an expensive dress and heavy makeup, but that didn’t work either. The guards used every system at their disposal—even fingerprint magic—to keep outsiders out.
I had nearly given up and considered going to the western tower instead.
If I hadn’t met Merlin, I’d still be struggling with wards even now.
The thought made me appreciate him anew.
Still, the southern tower wasn’t somewhere I particularly wanted to visit. But Merlin, with his usual shameless charm, convinced me. He said there were plenty who had never been to the tower, but none who visited only once. He teased me not to beg to live there later, then showered me with more of his endless boasting.
In the end, his cheer won me over. I decided to skip work today and indulge in a little adventure.
Though I insisted I could go alone—after all, I could find the place easily, and I didn’t want to trouble him in the morning—I half-expected him to show up anyway. Merlin was the type to appear with a grin, claim he was “just passing by,” and toss me a playful heart from his chest.
But to my surprise, he didn’t come.
It didn’t take long for me to guess why.
Instead of coming himself, Merlin had secretly assigned one of his subordinates to follow me.
