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~Chapter 27~
…Huh? What did you just say? Someone’s courting me?
Am I misunderstanding what “courting” means? Or does it mean something else in this world?
I was seriously confused by this ridiculous rumor.
‘There’s no smoke without fire, but this is way over the top!’
It was a rumor beyond what I could make sense of.
Sure, when I first joined Luche, Yushen did follow me around more than normal. He also spoke strangely to me.
I admit that.
I guess people saw that and totally misunderstood, spreading the rumor…
‘But he did that to keep an eye on me, not because he liked me!’
How am I supposed to clear up this misunderstanding?
…There’s no way. Except maybe having Yushen explain it himself.
‘…No, that wouldn’t work either.’
People who already believe a wild rumor will twist anything to fit what they want to believe.
And honestly—why do people at the temple love gossiping about romance so much, real or fake?
It’s not like they have tons of free time!
To be real… Luche really is a boring workplace.
That’s what I’ve learned from actually coming here every day. The central temple is so strict that Luche gets affected too.
If you don’t go out on missions, nothing ever happens, and the work is always the same. Maybe that’s why people get excited about these kinds of wild rumors.
‘Being the only woman here probably makes rumors spread even faster.’
I still don’t know why all the other female members left Luche.
Nothing’s happened to me so far.
“Oh! Wasn’t she called out on her first day?”
“Yeah, her!”
“And the medical team said…?”
“What?!”
One knight spoke so loudly I almost got caught eavesdropping.
Maybe because of that, I couldn’t hear the rest of the story.
But from the shocked reactions, I knew for sure it wasn’t something normal.
And the source was the medical team?
Wow, talk about being stabbed in the back by the people you trust.
“Did they see something?”
“I didn’t ask that far.”
“That’s so unfair! Why are they the only ones who saw it?”
…Excuse me? They didn’t even see anything, so what’s so unfair about it?
“Are you a kid? Why are you upset over that? So, are they dating now?”
“No, I heard they’re not.”
“Why? They even kissed!”
“Who knows? Kissing before dating is trendy now.”
Wow, so that’s what they were whispering so quietly about—a kiss. Ha… what a weird trend.
I shook my head and put my fist to my forehead.
The more I listened, the dizzier I got.
‘Rumors really do grow bigger and wilder.’
I had no idea where to even start fixing this. The rumors definitely weren’t going to get any smaller.
‘Seriously, nothing ever happened between me and Yushen! It’s true I got called to the supply room on my first day, but a kiss? No way!’
The supply room wall even collapsed on us…
‘…Well, we were pretty close then. The mood might’ve looked weird… but that was it!’
“But when did they supposedly fall for each other?”
“That’s the mystery. Nobody knows.”
“They didn’t know each other before, right? I heard Aydin brought the recruit in.”
“They could’ve known each other outside and used Aydin as a cover!”
“Oh, maybe!”
…Sorry, but from my perspective, none of that makes sense!
It’s true I knew Yushen from outside—but I was the one being chased!
‘If only I could share the real story, all these rumors would die instantly.’
“Even last week, the Captain didn’t have to go on that mission but tagged along because of the new recruit.”
“Yeah! I went with them—he totally stuck close to her the whole time.”
“Wait, is that really true?”
“Which part?”
The three of them just kept talking, never guessing that I was right behind them listening.
I wanted to run up and shake them, demanding who started the rumor, but I held back.
‘Calm down, just calm down.’
I needed to find out as much as possible.
The more I knew, the easier it would be to trace the rumor to its source.
‘I swear, when I find them, I’ll pull all their hair out!’
“…They say the recruit and the Captain were in his tent together.”
“So what?”
“Why do you think?”
The gossiping knight just covered her mouth, embarrassed.
‘Ugh. Who saw that? There was no one around!’
I had no way to tell if someone really saw it or just made it up.
Still, with all the weird rumors at the last outpost and now this, I started to seriously suspect someone was stirring things up on purpose.
I’d figured out what kind of rumors were spreading about me, so I decided to leave before my ears got any more tired.
“Sniff… Our Captain is finally getting married!”
“Then what about the Saintess?”
The three finally mentioned something I’d always wondered about since joining Luche.
‘The Saintess…’
If it was about Yushen and the Saintess, there was only one person that could mean:
The original female lead, Idellia Hartwick.
Even if they were just joking, I had to listen closely.
The only thing I knew about Idellia was that she was the Empire’s greatest Saintess.
I perked up my ears like a rabbit.
“They’re not even dating, so why would it matter?”
“Yeah. Idellia was always the one chasing after the Captain.”
“But… Idellia really liked him a lot.”
Thankfully, they were talking about Idellia, just like I guessed.
“That’s why I’m worried about the new recruit.”
“Yeah, the rumor’s already spread that far.”
“Will Idellia just let this go?”
At the last question, everyone fell silent.
I could guess that the silence didn’t mean anything good.
I was worried too.
In the original story, Idellia liked Yushen… more than you could imagine.
Based on what Winter once said to Yushen and the knights’ concern for me, Idellia was probably just as in love with him as she was in the original.
‘…Will I ever be able to get close to the female lead?’
My original plan was to become friends with her and help her get together with Yushen, but these rumors have totally ruined that.
Why does nothing ever go as planned since I joined Luche? The only thing I succeeded at was tricking Aydin.
I sighed so deeply it felt like the ground would collapse under me.
‘Still, I shouldn’t lose hope. It’ll be hard alone, but you never know until you meet her in person.’
I was nervous about meeting Idellia soon, but I was also sure I could find a weak spot—because Idellia didn’t have any friends.
Even after everything, as the original story ended, she never got a real friend.
So, even if it was a bit sneaky, I planned to target that loneliness and become her friend.
I already managed to get close to Aydin, so why not the female lead too?
‘And once we’re friends, maybe the rumors about me and Yushen will finally stop.’
Come to think of it, maybe Yushen already heard these new rumors.
He probably knew about them, just like last time—so why didn’t he tell me?
This time, the rumors are even worse than before, so he can’t just say he was embarrassed.
Maybe I should go talk to him.
Last time he came to find me, so I should go to him first this time.
‘This is all Yushen’s fault anyway, so I have every right to complain!’
Also… honestly, I just didn’t want to go back to work.
Doing the same things for weeks was getting so boring.
If Tayla asked why I was late, I planned to say the Captain called me.
She wouldn’t be able to say anything—everyone would believe he needed to see me because of the rumors.
Now that I knew the truth about the rumors, they weren’t as bad as I’d feared, and I had a way to deal with them. Might as well take advantage of it.
I slipped away without the trio noticing and headed for Yushen’s office.
I hadn’t explored all the buildings yet, but at least I knew where his office was.
The very top floor of the temple.
As the leader of the Empire’s best holy knight order, Yushen had the whole top floor to himself.
‘Since I’m going, I might as well see what his office is like. If it’s nicer than the medical team’s, maybe I’ll ask for a transfer to secretary.’
I made my way to the top floor.
Climbing those stairs, I missed having elevators in this world.
“Oh?”
A friendly voice came from above me. I looked up at the familiar face.
“Long time no see, Miss Montrose.”
“…Ah.”
It was Winter Hartwick, just coming out of Yushen’s office.
