Refrain from Obsession - Chapter 15

Louis, who had stepped outside, took out a small notebook from his pocket and made notes. It was a message and information for Astin, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.

What would be the easiest thing to do for someone who could look into everyone’s mind?

Even if it was a secret no one spoke of, he could know everything. Just thinking near him was enough for him to hear it all.

After jotting down the latest information in tiny letters, he folded the paper.

Meanwhile, Aer had also asked for everything she needed and was drafting the contract.

When Louis returned to the room, as Astin looked at him, he deliberately placed the note under a flower vase.

Aer, who was examining the contract, couldn’t notice this.

“Hmm……”

Aer carefully reviewed the contract. Expecting possible poisonous clauses, she was relieved by the unexpectedly clean contract terms and signed it.

“Well then, I’ll give you the down payment first. The remaining amount will be paid after selling the healing stones.”

Astin placed a pouch of gold coins on the table.

“Don’t we need to pay for the service?”

At Aer’s question, he lightly shook his head.

“It seems like it’s your first time using our information broker service, so I’ll make it free this time. It’s beneficial for us anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”

As he said this, he kept glancing at Louis.

Finally sensing something odd, Aer gently took Louis’s hand, who was sitting next to her.

“……He’s my fiancé.”

There was no mention of him being gay in the original work, but she said it just in case.

Those red eyes should have sparkled a bit.

Aer worried that she might have brought Louis unnecessarily, didn’t notice Astin’s dumbfounded face.

Louis, too, was bewildered at first but then slightly raised the corners of his mouth. He could hear Astin’s scream in his head.

Knowing that he couldn’t answer, Astin kept questioning in his mind.

【My Lord! When did you get engaged! Who is this person?】

“So, when should I come back?”

“……I think two weeks should be enough.”

“Good. You certainly work fast.”

Just two weeks to sell the healing stones and even set up a bank account.

Aer happily left the room with Louis. The waiter waiting in the corridor opened the wall door again.

Delighted, Aer quickly took out 3 gold coins from her pocket and handed them to Louis.

“Payment for the 3 healing stones.”

“Ah, yes.”

Louis said as he received the gold coins.

“Thank you, Aer.”

“No, didn’t you bring more that time? Why did you only bring 3?”

“……”

Louis briefly recalled the healing stones he had tainted with his energy while fiddling with them in his room, thinking of her.

“It’s fine.”

“Well, if Louis says so, I guess it can’t be helped.”

As they came down to the first floor, the sweet aroma wafted again. Aer asked Louis.

“Shall we have some dessert and tea here?”

Now that they had money, she wanted to eat something delicious while they were out.

“Shall we?”

At Louis’s words, Aer couldn’t hide her joy. Just as she was about to ask the waiter for a table, an unpleasant voice interrupted.

“Oh my? If it isn’t the shameless Bestia and a commoner?”

Anna, whom they hadn’t seen often despite being in the same academy due to different classes, was at the cafe with her group. They seemed to have just arrived, meeting at the entrance.

Aer, who was about to be guided to a table, frowned in displeasure.

“My goodness. They’re letting a commoner inside?”

“I know. Wasn’t the inside only for nobles?”

“That’s how it was in the capital…… Wasn’t it different for the Latina branch?”

The whispers from Anna and her companions grew louder.

Then, someone who looked like a manager, not the waiter who had guided them, approached.

“My Lady, is there a problem?”

“I thought commoners weren’t allowed. Was I mistaken?”

“Yes, all those who use the interior of our cafe are nobles.”

“Then why is that commoner brazenly inside?”

“Ah….. Well……”

Aer berated herself for not checking the cafe’s regulations, caught up in the thought of going out with a friend.

She had never been to a cafe with anyone before.

Who would she have come with when she was ostracized not only by her family but also in social circles?

She had just intended to stay for a bit after finding the information broker as she had seen in the original work.

She felt sorry for Louis. If she had just suggested leaving, wouldn’t they have avoided this humiliation?

“Louis, let’s just leave.”

She wanted to quickly leave the place without any unnecessary arguments. Louis, who had been quietly observing, replied.

“Yes, it’s not like this is the only cafe around.”

Aer passed by Anna’s group. At that moment, Anna whispered with a mocking smile.

“You suit well with a commoner.”

She wanted to retort to that annoying remark, but Aer had no choice but to leave.

If she engaged in a verbal spat here, it would only give them more reasons to pick on Louis.

Her joyful mood instantly turned unpleasant. Once outside, the two walked in silence for a while.

Louis glanced at Aer, who was walking with her lips pursed. Hiding his identity due to a promise to his father, he felt sorry for her.

He briefly recalled his father, who had sent him to the academy as if bestowing a favor. He had told him to keep a low profile at the academy.

While he found his father’s desperate attempts to hide his existence ridiculous and was skeptical about coming here, now he was glad he came to the academy thanks to Aer.

The thoughts of numerous people passing by flowed into him. However, Aer’s mind, which he was most curious about, remained clear.

Having never thought he’d meet someone whose thoughts he couldn’t hear, this moment felt unfamiliar yet comfortable to him.

However, unlike him, Louis was concerned that she had become uncomfortable. He looked around and gently grabbed Aer’s sleeve.

“……Louis?”

“This way for a moment.”

Aer followed him with a puzzled expression.

As they entered a small alley, her pink eyes widened at the scent that filled her nostrils.

“This is……”

“It’s an alley where perfume shops are gathered.”

“……So that’s why it’s filled with such lovely scents?”

“Latina is famous for its perfume artisans. Didn’t you know?”

“……No.”

Aer, who knew more information from books than from her lived experience, had never heard of this before.

“Thanks to Aer, we’ve got some money, so I’d like to give you a gift.”

“……Oh, no, you don’t have to!”

If we’re talking about who got more money, it was her. Who’s giving a gift to whom here?

“No. After all, it was Aer who discovered the healing stones.”

“Still. I earned a lot too, and I’m so grateful that you came with me today.”

“The feeling is mutual.”

For Louis too, it was his first time going out with a friend.

Given the circumstances, going out itself was difficult, but he had never imagined going out with someone, especially someone whose thoughts he couldn’t read.

Also, he wanted to gift her a perfume.

He wanted to be able to recognize her approach by her scent first, since he couldn’t hear her thoughts.

Louis stood in front of a perfume shop and said,

“This is said to be the first shop that opened here. Would you like to go in?”

“……”

Aer hesitated, but she was curious. There was no way she could dislike perfumes.

“Then…… shall we just take a look?”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

The unpleasant feelings caused by Anna dissipated, enveloped by various sweet, fresh, and cool scents.

“Welcome.”

As they entered the store, a clerk approached.

“Is this your first time in our shop?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Then, please come this way.”

The clerk led the two to an area with tables. He brought papers and various bottles to the two seated side by side on the sofa.

“I’ll help you sample the scents.”

“Yes!”

The clerk skillfully applied perfume to the papers and handed them to the two.

“This perfume is……”

As they listened to the clerk’s explanation, Aer and Louis smelled the fragrances one by one. Louis was drawn to a perfume with a sweet yet fragrant tea scent.

He thought it would suit her. He liked the idea of her smelling of the sweetness of fruit and the aroma of the black tea he enjoyed drinking.

But he couldn’t easily recommend it. His face turned slightly red at the thought of wanting her to have a scent he liked.

It felt like an incredibly embarrassing thought.

‘Am I wishing for my trace to be on Aer?’

He quietly watched her sample the scents. With her eyes gently closed, savoring the fragrances, her eyelashes were blue. The pink eyes visible through her slightly parted eyelids were as vivid and beautiful as flowers heralding spring.

Thump.

Feeling a strange heartbeat, he quickly averted his gaze in confusion.

“Louis, I like this perfume. What do you think?”

Louis took the sampling paper she held out. For a moment, their fingers touched. Just from that, Louis’s cheeks turned slightly red again.

The sample Aer offered had a very sweet floral scent. It was similar to the perfume he had chosen.

A fragrance that seemed to have gathered all the sweetness of apricots and peaches to bloom a fragrant flower seemed to suit her well.

Aer associated the perfume, reminiscent of osmanthus fragrance, with memories from her past life. It was as if the scent of the osmanthus near her home had drifted here.

“Then, let’s go with this one.”

Louis quickly purchased after confirming her relaxed expression.

Not wanting to end what had been a good day with unpleasant memories, he felt relieved only after seeing Aer humming a tune.

Still unaware of where that sense of relief came from.