Merry Christmas to all my readers! To celebrate, I’m treating you to extra chapter updates. Please enjoy this special release of four bonus chapters! °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

(Lurelia’s Christmas Bonus – Update 2/4 🎉)

♡ To all readers who purchased these chapters before Christmas: I can’t express this enough – Thank you for your support. (*ˊᗜˋ*)/ᵗᑋᵃᐢᵏ ᵞᵒᵘ*

“Hey, coachman! Stop the carriage right now!”

The coachman stopped the carriage as Baron ordered.

Baron stuck his head out the window to take another look at what he had spotted earlier.

What came into his view was a person wearing a long robe with a hood pulled over. Next to that person stood a tall individual.

‘That person. Their back view looks just like Yerena.’

Moreover, they were near the potato wholesaler called ‘Hot Potato’ which Yerena had been frequenting lately.

It wouldn’t hurt to check.

Baron immediately got out of the carriage.

He wanted to enjoy the glory of finding the missing Yerena first.

***

‘Hot Potato’, located on the outskirts of Chelsea Capital.

I stared intently at the old building next to that potato wholesaler.

The reason that the unremarkable building caught my attention was…

“…Honey, welcome?”

Because of the banner that read 「Honey, welcome! ^0^」.

I glared at the banner with narrowed eyes.

I had a feeling I knew who might have put that up.

For some reason, I felt like the culprit might be nearby, so I looked around.

Sure enough, I saw a suspicious hooded man standing behind a stall piled high with potatoes.

I walked up to the hooded man.

“Honey?”

The hooded man twisted his body slightly, appearing embarrassed.

“Honey. It’s so embarrassing when you call me that outside.”

“……”

Excuse me. Who was it that told me to call you that?

Perhaps realizing that my mood wasn’t good despite his face being hidden by the hood.

The hooded man, no, the Guildmaster, answered normally.

“Haha. You came at just the right time. I just came out of the guild.”

“But what’s with that banner?”

“My feelings for you?”

“……”

I silently looked up at him again.

Only then did he answer properly.

“Haha. It’s a welcome greeting.”

“……”

“I’ve prepared an office for you there.”

“What! Really?”

“Yes. Really.”

The Guildmaster’s voice was tinged with a faint smile as he replied.

I tugged on his robe.

“Let’s go in quickly!”

The Guildmaster nodded and walked ahead.

My office, he said. It made my heart flutter, feeling like I was really starting a business.

The shabby building with no particular features seemed to be bathed in a halo.

Unlike its worn exterior, the inside of the building was clean. I thought the Guildmaster must have tidied it up in advance.

The Guildmaster went up to the second floor and opened an iron door.

“This is your office.”

“Wow!”

I looked around the office, unable to contain my amazement.

The space, about ten pyeong, was small but cozy. And it was already equipped with everything necessary.
(T/n: 1 pyeong = 3.3058 m². Thus, 10 pyeong is about 33.06 square meters.)

Desk, bookshelf, coat rack, and so on…

There was even a wooden nameplate that said 「Master」 on my desk.

“I’m the Master, right?”

“Yes. When you decide on an alias, we’ll engrave that too.”

Me, being the Master…

It felt like all the hardships I had experienced as Yerena were forgotten.

As I looked around, I noticed something a bit puzzling.

“What’s this small desk for?”

It was a tiny desk next to mine. It looked almost like it was for playing house.

Still, it had everything it needed, even a small chair to match the small desk.

It looked trivial and cute.

Before the Guildmaster could answer, Bless, who was hidden in my arms, popped out.

―Kyukyu! Kyukyu!

‘It’s mine! It’s mine!’

Bless used its small wings to elegantly pull out the chair. Then it sat on the chair.

Like a pot-bellied boss, it pushed out its white belly.

Its eyes, which had always been round, now drooped downwards.

Sitting in the most comfortable position, it left a single comment.

―Kyukyu kyuu.

‘Super comfy’… it says.

“Pfft.”

I couldn’t help but laugh because Bless was so cute.

“It’s a desk exclusively for the bird. It seems you’ve already noticed before I could explain.”

“You’ve prepared it so well?”

“It’s a rare monster bird with intelligence, so we should provide a place. It might play an important role in our business.”

―Kyukyukyu…… kyukyu?

‘Suspicious man…… I kind of like him?’

“What did it say?”

“It says it’s taken a bit of a liking to you.”

“Just a bit?”

The Guildmaster also let out a small laugh.

As we faced each other laughing, Bless flew over to us.

It perched on top of the Guildmaster’s hood and pecked his head a couple of times.

―Kyukyuu! Kyuuuukyu!

‘I don’t trust you completely! Be good to my owner!’

“It says you should be good to me.”

At my interpretation, the Guildmaster dropped his right hand and drew a curve, like a gentleman bowing.

Then he said,

“How could I not be?”

It was an incredibly sweet remark.

The only problem was that Bless continued pecking throughout.

***

We decided to go to the Guildmaster’s study to talk more about the business. As we left the building,

We saw a splendid golden carriage parked not far away on the main street.

The carriage had a rather familiar crest painted on it.

‘That’s Baron’s family crest, isn’t it?’

An inexplicable sense of foreboding came over me.

At that moment, a beautiful man began to step out of the carriage.

His silver hair shone dazzlingly in the sunlight.

A man with pale skin and a slightly disgruntled expression. I knew this man.

‘It’s really Baron!’

Baron’s gaze, having alighted from the carriage, turned towards us.

He even started walking in our direction.

C-Could it be that he recognized me despite the hood?

It was a critical moment.

“Oh, what should we do? I need to avoid that person!”

The Guildmaster glanced at the man approaching us.

“Is he someone you know?”

“Yes! He’s one of the Espers I’m in charge of.”

While we were talking, Baron had come much closer.

“Eeek! He’s getting even closer!”

“That’s because you keep looking at him.”

“What should we do?”

The Guildmaster’s hand gently caught my chin.

He turned my face, which had been directed at Baron, towards himself. Not roughly, but kindly.

The Guildmaster’s face that I faced was hidden by the hood, with only his lips visible.

“For now, just look at me.”

Wow. Why is he acting like such a player?

“That person looks like he’d hate couples, judging by his face.”

“You’re right. He really hates couples. No, he probably dislikes everyone in the world. He’s a man with a lot of complaints.”

“Then let’s pretend to be a couple. He’ll be disgusted and leave.”

I was about to retort that it was nonsense.

But thinking about it again, it seemed to make sense.

It seemed like the best choice we could make in this urgent situation.

If we ran away like this, Baron would likely chase after us. The Baron I knew wouldn’t let suspicious things slide.

I wrapped my arms around the Guildmaster’s waist.

As I pulled him towards me, the Guildmaster let out a surprised sound.

I ignored it and gave instructions for the plan.

“Pretend to kiss me.”

The Guildmaster, who was momentarily flustered, quickly regained his composure.

“Request accepted.”

“If you really kiss me, you’re dead.”

The Guildmaster chuckled softly. As if finding my threat cute.

Soon after, the Guildmaster’s face tilted slightly. His hot breath touched my skin.

As I closed my eyes tightly, I remembered the kiss I shared with Benjamin.

That novice-like kiss, as if it was his first time kissing someone else.

Benjamin’s cool hand that touched my cheek, and his trembling fingertips…

I’m not sure why the kiss with Benjamin came to mind.

If we’re counting, I’ve shared far more kisses with Lambert.

Suddenly, I wondered if Benjamin had noticed my disappearance.

Even if he happened to notice, I felt like he would react indifferently.

‘Finally dead? Lived quite long…’

He might mock like that.

It was unlikely that Benjamin, who seemed to lack a screw, with zero empathy, would care about my disappearance and misfortune.

Just as I thought that far, I realized that the surroundings had suddenly gone quiet.

The occasional sounds of passersby talking, the sound of carriage wheels… all sounds had died out.

I swallowed hard.

The strange silence was odd, so I slightly opened my eyes that had been closed. What I faced were the Guildmaster’s lips right in front of me.

Red as if wearing lip gloss, with the corners slightly upturned, very pretty lips.

“……”

For some reason, it gave me chills to think that those pretty lips called me ‘honey’.

Not an unpleasant feeling, but a blushing one. My back felt hot and clammy.