The rest of the story is obvious. They exchange glances at close range, the woman gifts him a book as thanks, and afterward the man thinks of her while reading that book… that kind of common development.

‘Not exactly fresh, but it was quite a fateful meeting.’

So she’d planned to steal that coincidence. Though she wouldn’t go so far as pretending to fall in case Julian got hurt, she could at least load him up with books he’d love.

Winning his favor was the goal, but more than anything, she wanted to see him happy. Of course, it would be even better if he thought of her a little while reading those books.

“Do you like it?”

When she asked casually, Julian immediately nodded. His quick response made it clear the answer was sincere, not just courtesy.

As expected, she knew he’d like it. He’d especially appreciate the lack of crowds.

Aside from the elderly owner of the bookshop, the only customers were Chartia and Julian. The area was remote enough that there weren’t many customers anyway, and she’d rented out the entire bookshop for the day just for him.

“Shall we browse comfortably then?”

Chartia suggested lightly without revealing that particular fact.

He carefully examined the book classification signs, then strode toward the bookshelf on the right.

Chartia, watching Julian carefully select books from a distance, also picked out several books that looked fairly interesting.

All that remained was having a cozy reading time together, but as Chartia looked around, she belatedly realized there was a major problem with her plan.

Unlike the bookstores nobles frequented, this place had no designated reading area. In other words, there was nowhere proper to sit and read.

“There’s nowhere suitable to sit.”

Julian, who’d already selected several books, noticed the difficult situation.

“That’s true. I wanted to read a bit before leaving…”

Chartia nodded glumly.

‘Do we just have to buy books and part ways like this?’

But making her worries pointless, Julian solved the problem first. He removed his outer coat to create a place for her to sit, then casually plopped down on the dusty floor himself.

“It’ll be a bit uncomfortable, but…”

“Not at all!”

Chartia followed his lead without hesitation and plopped down on the floor.

It would have been a scene that would make attendants or knights gasp, but unfortunately, due to the cramped interior, they were all waiting outside.

“Shall we start reading then?”

Making a show of it, Chartia flipped open a book cover first. She’d chosen a book compiling dessert recipes—not because she was curious about the methods, but because the cake drawn on the cover looked delicious.

<How to Bake Moist Cake All the Way Through: 1. Put eggs in a deep bowl, mix well, then add sugar…>

Her pace skimming the text became fast and brief. Looking at the illustrations was enjoyable, but measurements and oven temperatures weren’t particularly interesting.

Eventually, having lost interest before long, Chartia stole a glance at the person beyond her book.

He was absorbed in reading, wearing the wire-rimmed glasses he always carried.

‘Wow, they suit him even better than the book described.’

His love of books had started from childhood—he’d secretly light candles and read all night until his eyesight deteriorated. Of course, once he reached mastery in swordsmanship, his vision recovered.

Either way, the habit of wearing glasses while reading remained, so even now he wore non-prescription glasses when reading, according to the description.

Finding him even more suited to the look than she’d imagined, she now openly observed him.

The sturdy arms extending beneath his rolled-up shirt sleeves, the large hands with prominent veins beneath them, the long fingers carefully turning the worn, rounded corners of the book.

If you made the word ‘perfect’ into a person, wouldn’t it be exactly like that man? Chartia thought so.

While she was staring at him so blatantly, Julian’s head suddenly lifted. Their eyes met directly. When she froze, unable to look away in surprise, he tilted his head slightly.

“Did you have something to say to me…?”

Good heavens.

What kind of adorable act was that?

The book she was holding nearly ripped apart… it didn’t, but her hands trembled. If she’d had strong grip strength, the book would definitely have torn in two. Certain of this, she hastily pulled the book into her arms.

She couldn’t commit the cruel act of tearing a book right in front of him, who loved books.

Chartia quickly calmed her agitation. It’s nothing. Just when she was about to deny it, her purpose suddenly came to mind.

She had to win his heart anyway, didn’t she? So there was no need to hide her feelings.

Regaining her composure, Chartia propped her chin on her palm and answered brazenly.

“No, I just discovered a new fact about myself.”

“Pardon?”

“I think men who read books are my ideal type.”

At the sudden statement, the blue eyes beyond his glasses began wavering a beat late. She could clearly see him hesitating about how to respond.

Finding that sight adorable too, she smiled, and he seemed to take Chartia’s words as a light joke or compliment, returning to his calm demeanor.

Chartia considered correcting his misunderstanding but decided against it. Instead, she naturally shifted her interest to the book he was holding.

“Is that book interesting?”

Julian had been concentrating on reading a faded book with a blue cover since earlier. Opening the book wide, having already made considerable progress, he nodded.

“It’s a sailor’s maritime log from someone who spent their whole life at sea. It’s realistic, describing not just work but living conditions in detail.”

“A maritime log… the sea?”

Her voice rose involuntarily at the welcome word. The sea! Wasn’t visiting the sea one of her dreams?

Chartia leaned her upper body close to him with an excited face. The page he’d opened showed a vast sea, though the drawing was a bit crude.

“Wow! Which region’s sea is this…!”

Swept up in excitement, Chartia quickly lifted her head and shut her mouth abruptly. Julian was closer than she’d thought.

Thump! Along with the sound of her heart dropping, Chartia barely came to her senses and quickly pulled back.

“I-I’ll go get more books!”

She scrambled to gather the dessert books she’d been neglecting and stood up. 

She wanted to leave calmly, pretending not to be flustered. Unfortunately, her weak legs couldn’t withstand the prolonged uncomfortable position and buckled.

This would definitely be an accident resulting in scraped knees. Sensing this, Chartia squeezed her eyes shut.

Crash.

When she felt no pain even after the noise of books spilling, Chartia slightly lifted her eyelids.

Only the books she’d been holding were scattered. Her body was caught in Julian’s arms. He’d apparently grabbed her swiftly.

“Are you all right?”

“Huh? Yes…”

Caught in his broad, solid embrace like at their first meeting, she looked up at him. His face was even closer than before.

Such a narrow distance that she could see herself reflected in his eyes.

This time, she couldn’t even think of moving away. She simply held her breath in his arms and reproached herself.

‘Why do I keep making these mistakes…’

Suddenly, one plausible hypothesis flashed through her mind.

Like earlier, wasn’t this current situation a ‘coincidence’ between Julian and herself? Like the original story where he coincidentally saved Rosenia and smiled brightly at her.

If he smiled at her now, she’d express gratitude for saving her twice and use that as an excuse to gift him loads of books. Then wouldn’t he think of her, like in the story?

However, her expectations shattered before long.

The face she met again wasn’t smiling—it was seriously hardened. Carefully releasing her waist, he spoke in a rather earnest voice.

“As I thought, we should eat first.”

“What? Eat?”

What kind of out-of-context statement was this?

Regardless of her confusion, he began hurriedly tidying up the surroundings.

“There’s a restaurant I know nearby. I’ll guide you there. Let’s take the carriage.”

“Wait, the books aren’t…”

Before Chartia could stop him, Julian called in the waiting attendant and handed over all the books she’d been holding.

“Send all of these to the Blanche estate.”

‘No, that’s not it! I came to buy books for you, not for me!’

Unable to shout this, Chartia gaped, then soon trudged after him.

She didn’t know how things had turned out this way, but one thing was certain—her plan had spectacularly failed.