I pondered Lambert’s words.

“If you feel sorry for abandoning me…”

“Kiss me first.”

If he was still seeking guidance because [Enchantment] hadn’t been fully neutralized, his request would make sense.

I couldn’t find any other reason for that kiss, except for that one.

“La-Lambert. Don’t tell me the effects of [Enchantment] haven’t worn off yet?”

“I’m not under the influence of [Enchantment] right now.”

“Ah. Then you mean you need guidance for mental and physical stability?”

If his wavelength hadn’t stabilized, it would explain why he seemed so wistful today.

“……”

However, Lambert didn’t answer. As if my words were incorrect.

I sighed discreetly.

If I didn’t kiss Lambert, not only would this man not back down but I might also be subjected to another forceful kiss.

In other words, if it was my fate to kiss him anyway…

“Alright. But promise me. That you won’t be as scary as you were in the forest.”

Lambert replied in a feverish voice, “I promise.”

I tilted my head to the right. I had only slightly pursed my lips, but Lambert’s lips came to meet mine, engulfing them.

His lips were as cold as his hand on my cheek.

Although Lambert wasn’t as forceful as he had been in the forest, he was persistent.

His lips wouldn’t allow any chance of escape, immediately following if I tried to pull away even slightly.

It felt as if Lambert’s unique scent, made more intense by the rain, was seeping into my entire body. Our intertwined breaths were hot and humid.

As my breathing quickened, I gently pushed against his chest. Lambert withdrew easily, as he had promised.

“I think that should be enough guidance, don’t you think?”

I wiped my lips with my sleeve.

“……”

Lambert didn’t reply but quietly stood up. In the darkness, I caught a glimpse of his face, which was shadowed with gloom.

He tried to disappear silently, just as he had when he visited my room. But just before leaving, he spoke to me.

“Benjamin.”

“Yes?”

“…Have you ever given guidance to Benjamin as well?”

I could answer that point with certainty.

“No. As you know, he doesn’t receive my guidance.”

That was the extent of our conversation. Lambert left my room.

He wore a small smile as if he had never been gloomy.

…A smile? I wonder if I saw it wrong.

I looked at the seat where Lambert had been sitting. It was slightly damp, proving that he had been there.

“Still, today’s guidance was the gentlest.”

The kiss with Lambert, who didn’t push me, wasn’t very off-putting.

***

The reason I woke up again was due to a sharp noise.

I had no friends at the center and no one to visit me, so why was my room so noisy?

I struggled to lift my heavy eyelids.

Yesterday, I had woken up because of Lambert and had barely fallen back asleep in the early morning.

I was really tired.

As I fully opened my eyes, bright sunlight dazzled my vision. And then I heard a woman’s sharp voice.

“Finally awake, are you?”

I rubbed my eyes and stared at the woman who had suddenly appeared.

The woman had vibrant red hair with noticeable waves.

She was a beautiful woman with slightly upturned eyes, like a cat, and I knew who she was.

“Yerena, I heard you’ve been hanging out with Benjamin a lot lately?”

Talking about Benjamin first thing in the morning.

I yawned loudly.

This is really annoying.

“You! Are you not listening to me properly?”

“How… yawn… could that be?”

Why is sleep never enough, no matter how much I get?

The woman seemed irritated by my indifferent attitude. Her gaze sharpened as if it would soon pierce the sky.

Click-clack. The sound of the woman’s angry heels echoed. She approached the bedside and pulled back the blanket I was covered with.

“Get up right now.”

Yerena had no power or backing. I raised my upper body as the woman commanded.

This woman’s name was Rosie McCloy.

She was the eldest daughter of the McCloy ducal family, who frequently visited the center despite not being an Esper or Guide.

She was manipulating the center using her family’s influence.

For reference, the second-largest shareholder of Chelsea Center was Duke McCloy, and the largest shareholder was Duke Vicente, Benjamin’s family.

Even the previous center director who used to delay my salary was Duke McCloy’s cousin.

For that reason, no one at the center didn’t know ‘Rosie’.

Rosie was Benjamin’s number one follower, and she would rush to the center at the slightest news of the elusive Benjamin’s appearance.

Despite her struggles to meet Benjamin, she rarely succeeded.

Perhaps that’s why she didn’t like it?

Rosie would occasionally vent her frustration of not meeting Benjamin on me.

And separately from that, I knew a secret about Rosie that only I was aware of.

‘This woman. She appeared as a villain in the novel.’

Rosie was mean to the female lead who would appear later. The more Benjamin and the knights of Alan’s Order showed interest in the female lead.

As is often the case with the fate of villainesses, Rosie’s family would be ruined by the end of the novel.

It was the price for constantly tormenting the female lead.

‘What a pitiful woman. Although she has a bad personality, her only crime is liking Benjamin.’

“Lady Rosie, I’m not the one you should be angry at.”

“Then who?”

“There is someone. A pretty lady who will appear soon.”

“…Don’t tell me Benjamin likes her?”

“It’s possible…”

“Tell me clearly!”

I fixed my gaze on her and replied.

“Stop yelling. This is why Benjamin doesn’t meet you.”

So, this was more like advice.

Benjamin, with his somewhat complex mental world, didn’t particularly like noisy things.

I didn’t know his exact preferences in women, but it was certain he preferred the quiet type.

There was even such a narrative in the novel.

[Rosie endlessly chased after Benjamin, and Benjamin endlessly avoided the noisy Rosie. Their game of hide-and-seek was like a Möbius strip that never ended.]

Even I would prefer the less talkative and more thoughtful female lead over the prickly Rosie.

But my sincere advice seemed to have fueled Rosie’s anger.

Before I knew it, Rosie’s hand, raised in the air, struck my cheek hard.

Slap! My head jerked to the right. It happened so quickly I had no time to avoid it.

My cheek hurt like hell. I could also taste the metallic flavor of blood in my mouth.

Ah… I’m really sick of this.

I felt utterly disgusted with the center.

“Don’t get cocky. How dare a mere C-rank guide like you try to advise me?”

Who are you to barge into someone else’s room first thing in the morning and act like that?

“Just tell me where Benjamin is. People saw you two talking in Pandora Forest yesterday.”

“How would I know that? You should go ask Duncan instead.”

“Duncan? Oh my? Are you casually calling the Center Director by name? Not content with hanging around Benjamin, you’ve seduced the Center Director too?”

“……”

“You cheap girl, abandoned by your parents.”

The words “crazy b****” rose to the tip of my tongue.

But I swallowed those words with great effort. Because I knew Yerena’s place well.

If I grabbed Rosie’s hair and fought here, I wouldn’t even break even.

I might even be dragged to the McCloy ducal family and beheaded for insulting a noble lady.

The life of a baroness like me, almost a commoner, was worthless to the privileged.

I need to earn money quickly and leave this place.

My resolve was strengthened even more because of Rosie.

“Anyway, don’t do anything conspicuous. I’ve warned you clearly.”

Yes, yes.

I didn’t answer and just chewed on my lower lip.

“As you said, I should go see Duncan.”

Click-clack. The sound of her heels grew fainter.

Bang! The sound of the door slamming shut hit my ears.

“Hah… It seems I have one more reason to leave the center.”

If I stayed here, who knows how much more Rosie would torment me.

I rubbed my throbbing cheek with my hand.

At that moment, Bless, who seemed to have returned from a morning walk, flew in through the open window.

He hovered around my slightly swollen cheek.

―Kyuu kyuu kyuu?

‘What happened?’

If I told him honestly, Bless would probably fly off to peck at Rosie right away.

No matter how much of a strange bird he was, there was no way he could handle a human dozens of times his size.

I shook my head.

“It’s nothing. My cheek just swelled up because I slept wrong.”

―……”

Bless just stared at me silently.

“Really. Don’t worry.”

―Kyuuu…

‘I’m worried…’

Still, it was comforting that this strange bird worried about me.

I grinned as I caught the flying Bless with both hands.

“Thank you.”

What would I have done without you?

At that moment, another knock sounded, announcing someone’s visit.