Chapter 16 (Part 11)

Afterward, Grace confirmed through Hara and Hymen that all the sorcery and curses placed on her and Leonardo had been completely lifted.  

However, the surreal feeling didn’t go away.  

“What’s wrong, Goddess?”  

Noticing Grace’s expression, Hara asked with a playful smile.  

The five of them (minus Delia) had insisted on celebrating with drinks, so they were now having a drink in the middle of the day.  

Grace, holding a beer mug, responded absentmindedly to Hara’s question,  

“Oh, it’s nothing. It just doesn’t feel real yet.”  

Hara laughed heartily at her words.  

Clinking her glass against Grace’s, she said,  

“By tomorrow, you’ll be sure of it. You’re lucky the duration was short, so it ended like this.”  

“…I see.”  

Hara grinned at Grace and then turned to Leonardo, saying,  

“You might not have heard, but we’re planning to write a paper about this incident.”  

Leonardo, who had been watching Grace’s dazed expression, turned his head at Hara’s words.  

After a moment of thought, he nodded.  

“I don’t mind. I also have a related request for you.”  

“Oh, really? Let’s discuss that later, then.”  

Raising her glass, Hara declared it was time to drink.  

Smiling mischievously, she said,  

“To celebrate Goddess’s liberation!”  

“Hara! Don’t say such things…”  

Grace’s face flushed red with embarrassment, and Hara burst into laughter.  

Caleb, feeling out of place among the cheerful couples, suddenly recalled Delia’s expression from earlier.  

‘Why does this feel so complicated?’  

From the very first moment Caleb met Delia, up until now, he had been subjected to her embarrassingly direct advances—not quite courtship, but close enough.  

Delia made no effort to hide her interest in him, but for some reason, it felt burdensome.  

And why wouldn’t it? She was his superior’s sister and a high-ranking Priestess at that.  

‘I tried to think of it as a joke.’  

But the image of Delia’s face when she mentioned getting engaged was burned into his mind.

Feeling the bitterness of the drink, Caleb emptied his glass in one go, then stood up and said,  

“I’ll take my leave now. I need to finish the preparations for the commander’s task.”  

At his words, Leonardo nodded.  

As Caleb left, Hara chuckled and remarked,  

“Looks like something happened with that Priestess. He left with such a face.”  

Hearing this, Leonardo took the glass Grace was about to drink from and replied,  

“Caleb is avoiding my sister. And she keeps getting rejected.”  

At Leonardo’s explanation, Hara nodded in understanding.  

“Ah, I see. But, your sister seems pretty strong-willed… Can he handle her?”  

Though Caleb himself hadn’t said anything, Hara spoke as if the two were bound to end up together.  

But Leonardo simply shrugged and nonchalantly replied,  

“That’s their problem, not mine.”

As if it had nothing to do with him, Leonardo’s curt response made Hara burst into laughter.  

Raising her glass, Hara downed a large amount of beer in one go and said,  

“You’re right. Oh, by the way, we’re getting married.”

At Hara’s words, Grace, who had been struggling to snatch back her glass from Leonardo, froze.  

She looked back and forth between Hara and Hymen with a face that clearly showed she hadn’t seen this coming.  

Seeing this, Hara laughed loudly and playfully slapped Hymen’s arm.  

“See? I told you the Goddess wouldn’t know! She’s completely clueless about this stuff!”

Hymen, who had been nibbling on snacks since he couldn’t drink, rubbed his arm where Hara had hit him and muttered in a gloomy voice,  

“H-Hara, that hurts…”  

“Oh, come on, this is too funny.”  

After laughing a few more times, Hara wiped the tears from her eyes and said,  

“We’ve been dating since our academy days. Everyone’s been nagging us to get married already, so we’re finally doing it.”  

When Hymen, looking gloomy, asked if she didn’t want to marry him, Hara suddenly pulled his face closer and kissed him.

The bold move left Grace with her jaw hanging open.  

While Leonardo looked on enviously, Grace alternated between looking at the two of them.  

Then, in a dazed voice, she said,  

“C-Congratulations?”  

Even such a clueless response seemed to please Hara, who laughed and replied,  

“Thank you, Goddess! When the invitations are ready, we’ll send you one, okay?”  

“Of course.”  

Finally snapping out of it, Grace gave a proper response and nodded repeatedly.  

Hara, laughing heartily, poured Grace another full glass of beer and exclaimed,  

“Then let’s have another drink to celebrate!”  

Before long, Grace and Hara, after several rounds of drinking, both slumped over the table.  

Seeing the completely drunk Hara, Hymen sighed, picked her up, and bowed his head.  

“I’ll take her home first.”  

“Please do.”  

After saying this, Leonardo also picked up Grace, who was completely out of it.  

Considering her usual tolerance, this amount of alcohol shouldn’t have affected her, but given the circumstances, it seemed to be an exception.  

As Grace mumbled incoherently in her drunken state, Leonardo comforted her and left the club after seeing Hymen off.  

“Hmmm.”  

Standing there, soothing the whining Grace, Leonardo noticed people around them looking at them curiously and smiled.  

Grace would surely be mortified if she knew, but Leonardo had no intention of keeping their relationship a secret.  

Carrying Grace boldly, he walked away.  

‘Marriage… Could it be possible?’  

Leonardo knew that obstacles would arise every time he and Grace tried to be together.  

But no matter what those obstacles were, he was confident he could eliminate them. He would clear the path and lay it out smoothly before Grace.  

With that thought, Leonardo carried Grace toward the Marquisate.  

‘I hope your feelings are the same as mine.’  

When the guards saw Leonardo carrying Grace off the carriage, they ran to call for others in astonishment.  

As he waited, Leonardo adjusted his hold on Grace and let out a long sigh.  

It seemed word had reached him, as the Marquis, who bore a striking resemblance to Grace, came rushing over from afar.  

“Greetings, Your Lordship.”  

“…”  

Catching his breath, the Marquis met Leonardo’s gaze, cleared his throat, and extended his hands to take Grace, saying he would carry her himself.  

It was clear he wasn’t pleased to see another man carrying his grown daughter so openly.  

Amelia, who had followed behind with Becky, lightly slapped the Marquis’s arm and said,  

“Do you really think you can carry Grace? Be reasonable.”  

Chiding him gently, she grabbed her husband’s arm and stepped aside, saying,  

“I’ll guide you to her room. Please take care of her.”  

“Of course.”  

With a pleased expression, Leonardo followed Becky, who led the way.  

Behind him, the couple’s light bickering could be heard, but Leonardo pretended not to hear it and walked on.  

“We’re here, Sir Fernandez.”  

Becky hesitated in front of Grace’s room, and Amelia gave a small nod of approval.  

Receiving her permission, Becky opened the door, and Grace’s scent wafted out.  

Smiling unconsciously, Leonardo gently laid Grace on her bed.  

Afterward, he exited the room and bowed to the Marquis and his wife.  

“I apologize for causing such trouble, Your Lordship.”  

The Marquis still looked displeased, but he didn’t say anything further and turned away.  

“Sigh, honestly…”  

Clicking her tongue lightly, Amelia watched Leonardo for a moment before nodding and following her husband.  

Watching them leave, Leonardo noticed Becky fidgeting nervously beside him and said,  

“Could you guide me out?”  

“Oh, yes! Yes, this way!”  

Following Becky out, Leonardo glanced back at Grace’s room.  

‘I hope your feelings are the same as mine.’  

With that wish, Leonardo left the Marquisate, his heart feeling inexplicably heavy.  

***

“…Ugh, my head.”  

Grace, who had fallen asleep after drinking beer in the afternoon, regained consciousness the next morning.  

Noticing that her uniform had been changed into pajamas, Grace pressed her throbbing head with her hands.  

As she took a deep breath, the stale smell of alcohol lingered in the air.  

“Ugh, my head hurts. Beer hangovers are no joke.”  

Muttering to herself, Grace couldn’t help but notice how unusually light her body felt, despite the hangover and headache.  

Instead of the usual heavy, sinking sensation, she felt refreshed.  

“…Is it really over?”  

Sitting up, she circulated her mana. It flowed freely, without any hindrance.  

Grace continued to test her mana until a knock at the door startled her.  

“Oh, Miss! You’re awake?”  

Becky entered and handed her a glass of honey water, saying,  

“The entire household was in an uproar last night.”  

“Huh? Why?”  

Drinking the warm honey water, Grace asked, looking clueless.  

Becky, observing her quietly, replied,  

“His Lordship asked to see you once you woke up.”  

“Father?”  

“Yes. Young Lord Fernandez came by last night.”  

Grace spat out the honey water she had been drinking.  

Her eyes wavered desperately as she looked at Becky, as if hoping for her to say it wasn’t true.  

But her loyal maid shattered her hopes.  

“His Lordship saw everything.”  

Grace froze in place, still holding the glass, a hollow laugh escaping her lips.