PUBW 45

Chapter 45

As intended, Artif looked as if he’d just been struck on the back of the head—completely dumbfounded.

“Bachelor… doesn’t that just mean I don’t have to get married?”

Artif furrowed his brow, brooding, then came up with a solution somehow.

“Well, you see, I just want to live freely.”

That part was sincere. Once everything was settled, I really did want to leave everything behind and fly away like a bird.

“I’m a cool guy. I don’t do things like cling or tie people down.”

Cool, my foot. He was lying through his teeth without so much as a change in expression.

“You even get jealous of Handsome, though.”

“That’s because some lowly creature dared to covet you.”

“And yet you went and locked me up in a room, didn’t you?”

“You were the one being careless—expressing yourself so openly while in a cat’s body.”

“Oh, so if I act carelessly again, you’ll just lock me up again?”

“……”

When I kept nitpicking, Artif clammed up.

“Cool, huh. Yeah, right.”

“…I was just too anxious back then.”

“Still, you don’t lock someone up.”

“Alright.”

How much I hated being shut up in a room against my will, he had no idea.

“Shasha. I have one more thing to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“I heard the researchers stopped studying the Rika leaves. Is something wrong?”

He asked with a calm expression, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.

I gazed at him for a moment, then answered evenly.

“The Rika leaves have been tainted by demonic energy.”

“You mean… the Rika leaves turned into poison?”

“That’s right.”

Artif shot to his feet, making the table rattle.

“Shasha, are you alright?”

“As you can see.”

“No. Even if you didn’t ingest them directly, the toxins could have entered through your skin or respiratory system. We need to go to the temple right now and have the Pope heal you.”

He wrapped me tightly in his robe, as if to protect me, and made preparations to leave. Then he scooped me up in his arms.

“No, Artif. I’m fine, ack—!”

“We have to go right now. Even if you seem fine now, there could be a latent period.”

“Hey! I said I’m fine!”

My protests seemed to fall on deaf ears, and Artif hurried on, anxious.

The terrace doors opened, and the cool breeze hit my face. In desperation, I grabbed the back of his head.

“Stop!”

“Ugh!”

Yanking with all my might, I forced him to halt.

“Put me down. Now.”

But he stubbornly kept holding me, to the point where I was dumbfounded.

When I reached out with both hands and pulled at his hair, he gritted his teeth against the pain, but eventually had no choice but to let me down.

Rubbing the back of his head, he said,

“Shasha, you’re in danger. Anything tied to the Demon Realm is illegal—no one knows how to neutralize a plant corrupted by demonic energy.”

“Sit down already, will you?”

“Shasha. Listen to me. I can’t back down on this.”

He spoke firmly, almost unyielding.

“I already showed it to Seth. He just said he’d look into it more and took it with him. Nothing else.”

“The Pope may have divine power, but he’s not a reliable man. Apart from holy power, all his abilities are questionable. Just because he suddenly pulled himself together doesn’t mean his skills leveled up overnight.”

His assessment of Seth was scathing.

Considering Seth had called himself a “pants Pope” at our first meeting, well, it was kind of his own fault.

“I received Seth’s divine blessing not long ago, and today I used my own holy power too.”

“Even so, Shasha…”

“Enough.”

I was suffocating. Great, just what I needed—another person trying to overprotect me.

“If you’re just going to keep repeating yourself, then leave. I don’t want to talk anymore.”

Artif pressed his lips shut like a clam. Then, with a heavy sigh, he sank onto the sofa.

“Then I’ll take back the Rika leaves.”

“No. My physician is researching a way to remove the poison from them.”

“I never heard that.”

His puzzled tone made my stomach clench.

When I stayed silent, he seemed to realize something.

“…Don’t tell me you thought I deliberately gave you the tainted Rika leaves?”

“…Yes. Sorry. Everyone around me has been lying to me, so I couldn’t trust anyone.”

“So because I pretended not to know you were human, you couldn’t trust me either?”

I looked down, guilty, and nodded slightly.

“Then what about now? The fact you’re telling me this—does that mean you trust me completely now?”

I couldn’t bring myself to say yes.

I was still anxious. One single misplaced trust could bring disastrous consequences.

But there was one thing that set Artif apart from Chase or Caius.

“At least… I don’t think you’d ever harm me.”

Chase would shatter my soul and keep the husk.

Caius wanted me dead.

“So what you’re saying is… enough trust that we can meet alone at night, without telling Duke Retel or his son?”

That strangely detailed interpretation made me pause. Well, technically, it wasn’t wrong.

“Probably?”

At my vague answer, Artif’s face lit up with a dazzling smile, bright as sunshine.

“That’s more than enough.”

Somehow, I didn’t like the look of that smile. It felt sly.

After chatting a while longer, Artif finally went home when he noticed me yawning.

High society’s attention shifted constantly.

The so-called “fountain explosion incident” was no different. It only took a few days for the gossip-loving nobles to lose interest.

Around that time, I contacted Countess Gren.

“Lady, welcome.”

The Countess greeted me warmly when I arrived at the Gren estate.

“Countess, you must have had a hard time.”

I asked with concern.

Since the accident had happened at an exhibition she sponsored, she’d been called to the palace repeatedly for questioning.

“Hehe, I’m fine. At my age, I’ve been through worse. It’s just another story to add to the list.”

She spoke calmly, but since her husband, Count Gren, was a judge, things must have been particularly difficult for her.

And it was all my fault. Because of me—the former saintess—Countess Gren, my mother’s friend, had been targeted by Keenan.

“I brought you some medicinal herbs for recovery. Just brew them into tea.”

“Oh my, how thoughtful. Why don’t we go inside and have a cup together?”

“Of course. By the way, the painter…”

“He’s been here since early this morning, waiting. He’s usually so expressionless, but I think he was looking forward to meeting you.”

I followed the Countess into the mansion.

“He’s expressionless?”

Keenan used to be such a lively, mischievous child.

Now that I thought about it, when I’d seen him at the exhibition, he’d felt a little different.

“Strange, isn’t it? His paintings are full of emotion, but in person he’s very quiet. Here we are.”

The Countess led me into the garden.

At the tail end of May, the garden was in full bloom. Among the colorful flowers, I spotted hair like a glowing sunset.

Keenan looked up from his easel, met my eyes, then stood and bowed.

“Since it’s spring, I thought the garden would make a good background. Is that alright?”

The Countess asked.

“Yes, it’s lovely. The scent of the flowers is wonderful.”

It was clear a lot of thought had gone into the portrait session.

A small round table covered with a white cloth stood nearby, with a beautiful tea set arranged on top.

“Oh, my manners. This must be your first time meeting face-to-face?”

Before I could reply, Keenan spoke first.

“We’ve met before.”

His eyes briefly rested on me.

“Oh really?”

The Countess assumed he meant at the exhibition and didn’t think much of it.

“This will take a while. May I begin?”

Keenan asked bluntly.

Though she understood, the Countess looked a little troubled and glanced at me.

“I haven’t even offered you tea yet…”

“It’s fine. We’ll need a break in the middle anyway. We can have tea then.”

“That’s a good idea.”

Smiling, the Countess left us alone.

I sat down in the prepared spot, arranging myself naturally.

Keenan also sat at his easel and began sketching. Until he finished, I’d likely be seeing him often like this.

“I’m quite picky, you know. I’d like the details done well.”

Even the veins in the leaves, the folds in the petals.

“Understood.”

The scratch of pencil against canvas filled the silence.

Once I confirmed no one else was around, I spoke.

“What happened to you?”

Keenan glanced at me sidelong while still facing the canvas.

“I lived in Inse for a long time. But compared to that, I haven’t known Caius for very long.”

“That’s not what I mean. I’m asking how you’re alive.”