Otherwise, why would he not come to procure weapons himself, and even send a rookie named Derek on an errand instead of Vice Commander Mateo, who should have been the one to pick up the commissioned sword?

She loved that uniquely innocent side of him. No, even if he wasn’t innocent, she’d still love him. 

The fact that Hersion was her lover, that he even existed in this world breathing the same air in the same era—it all filled her with a vague sense of satisfaction.

She always missed him and wanted to know if he was well, if anything had happened. Because he was the one she loved.

But somehow Meriel felt like she’d been struck hard on the back of the head, and it hurt. She never imagined he’d vanish without a trace after spending just one night together. Maybe right now he was training at the royal palace, laughing at how she’d been used.

‘That bastard.’

Meriel cursed him in her mind. Yet even while Hersion infuriated her to the point of madness, her heart still pounded for him.

Meriel wanted to punch her own heart. Her emotions were spiraling out of control. If only Derek weren’t here, she’d be mercilessly beating her chest right now while resenting Hersion to her heart’s content.

“What’s wrong?”

Just as her emotions were about to boil over even more intensely, Luna returned. Meriel rushed toward Luna as she opened the shop door and entered like always, tears welling in her eyes.

“Luna.”

Without a word, Meriel threw herself into Luna’s arms. Luna was flustered by this behavior so unlike Meriel’s usual self.

“What’s gotten into you all of a sudden? This isn’t like you. Did something happen?”

“Yes, I’ll tell you everything later.”

“Alright. By the way, we have a customer?”

“Yeah, he says his name is Sir Derek.”

“Good day to you.”

Derek bowed his head politely to greet Luna. Luna returned the bow and asked about his business.

“I’ve come to pick up the sword Vice Commander Mateo ordered. And I’d also like to purchase a wooden practice sword for Knight Commander Hersion to use.”

“Yes, understood.”

Luna answered readily, retrieved the sword Mateo had ordered, and rummaged through the lower shelves to select a suitable wooden sword for Hersion.

“The practice swords are displayed here, so please wait a moment.”

Luna was selecting a wooden sword to give to Hersion. Then Derek added:

“It doesn’t need to be an exceptional wooden sword.”

“Yes, but still, he’s the Knight Commander… Even if it’s for practice, I should pick out a quality one for him.”

When Luna answered thoughtfully, Derek showed a faint smile. Meriel watched his expression before looking away and frowning once more.

‘Why’s he smiling like that? Ah! Wait! Could he actually be hiding something about the Commander?’

What on earth was happening in the Rüharen Knights? Was Hersion really a wolf wearing an innocent mask? 

Meriel had a mountain of questions, but in this situation, she couldn’t open her mouth any further. Either way, Derek had come as a customer, so it was best to refrain from any more personal conversation.

Finally, Luna selected an appropriate sword and handed it to Derek.

“This should be sufficient. And here’s the sword to deliver to Sir Mateo.”

“Thank you.”

“Sir Mateo already paid for his sword last time when the Vice Commander came by, so you’ll only need to pay for the wooden sword.”

“Yes.”

Derek paid for the wooden sword Hersion would be using. And he requested a receipt as well.

“Understood, Sir Derek.”

‘Even a receipt?’

Meriel was certain this was definitely Hersion’s instruction. If it were for communal knight order supplies, a receipt would be necessary for accounting, but a receipt for a wooden sword Hersion wanted for personal use… Two theories came to mind.

First, it was a means to verify whether Derek had properly purchased it.

Second, it was for a household account book Hersion personally kept.

Thinking this made her feel even more resentful somehow. If the account book was the purpose, writing it was his freedom and she didn’t want to interfere, but strangely, it hurt. 

She’d rather hope that the receipt was so he could remember the shop’s name and have an excuse to visit later when he needed to meet her or purchase weapons. 

But not coming himself and doing this instead—what kind of behavior was this? 

He didn’t seem like that type of person, but he appeared to have a sinister side. She had no way of knowing what Hersion’s true intentions were, and it was suffocating.

Eventually, Derek gathered both swords and left the shop. Only then did Meriel open her mouth and let out a long sigh.

“What happened?”

Luna approached Meriel and placed a hand on her shoulder. Meriel forcibly held back tears that threatened to flow again and confided everything about her conversation with Derek while Luna was away.

“I see. But the Knight Commander will be fine.”

“That’s separate from the issue—I’m pissed. I feel like he used me.”

“He’s not that kind of person. Don’t think too deeply about it. If it turns out to be a misunderstanding later, you’ll be the one too embarrassed to face the Knight Commander, you know?”

“I don’t know. I don’t understand why Sir Derek avoided answering my questions either.”

“I told you not to think too deeply about it. Anyway, it’s getting late. If you’re too tired, I can handle the rest of closing up, so you can go in and rest.”

Luna kept soothing Meriel, who looked truly exhausted, and she thought there was probably nothing wrong at the Rüharen Knights. Sir Derek avoided answering Meriel’s questions probably because he had good reason to do so.

Luna hoped this wasn’t just a misunderstanding on Meriel’s part. She wanted to believe it wasn’t, but there was always that one-in-a-million chance, and you could never truly know what was in someone’s heart. She didn’t want Meriel to get hurt.

‘It’s probably nothing serious, but there’s definitely something going on. The radio silence too.’

Luna thought this as she prepared to close up shop. But Meriel couldn’t stand by and watch Luna close up alone anymore. She was a business partner too, and she couldn’t just sit idle.

She also felt sorry for not properly helping with work because of Hersion.

Meriel truly wanted to help her and diligently moved her body to forget the negative thoughts about Hersion. 

Luna tried to stop Meriel belatedly, but she devoted herself to the work until the end. As a result, closing up was completed more quickly and smoothly than expected.

That night, Meriel couldn’t sleep properly. Once she lay in bed, the various worries and anger about Hersion that rose up again wouldn’t leave her alone.

In the end, Meriel spent the night lying on her bed with her eyes wide open.

* * *

A week had passed since Derek returned with Mateo’s sword and Hersion’s practice wooden sword. During that time, Meriel had spent seven days in constant anxiety, unable to know how Hersion was doing.

‘Just let me run into you! I really won’t let it slide.’

Among her various theories, what made Meriel most anxious was the hypothesis that Hersion had been acting to get one night with her. 

If it turned out to be true that Hersion had ghosted her after just sleeping with her, she’d be furious. 

No matter if he was the Royal Knight Commander, she’d have to confront him properly about it to feel satisfied.

The most positive assumption was the theory that he’d been too busy to even have time to contact her. If it were the latter, she’d be a bit hurt, but at least he hadn’t deceived her, and that alone would bring some relief.

All week long, Meriel spent her days with a truly chaotic state of mind, various emotions about Hersion tangled messily in her head. If there continued to be no contact like this, she’d really go to the royal palace somehow to see him.

Even if Luna tried to stop her, Meriel wanted to go to the royal palace at least to confirm Hersion’s whereabouts. 

And if she was lucky enough to run into him, she’d dig up and interrogate him about everything she’d been burying in her pile of grievances.

When Meriel was sighing, someone opened the door and entered. Could it be Hersion? 

It had become habit to check every customer who entered, wondering if it might be him, so her gaze automatically moved to the door this time too.

“Oh!”

It was the person she’d been missing all this time. The person she’d even hated, suspecting he might have run off after spending just one night with her. The person whose whereabouts she’d been so curious about, her precious lover.

Hersion walked calmly into the shop. Meriel couldn’t believe the scene before her eyes and kept rubbing them before looking at Hersion again.

“Knight Commander!”

She shouted loud enough to shake the shop without thinking. Hersion knew Meriel was in an excited state, but still approached her with calm steps as she stood at the counter, staring at him blankly.

“It’s been a while.”

Hersion stopped walking and showed his delight to Meriel with a silent smile. Meriel was startled by Hersion’s sudden appearance but couldn’t take her eyes off him for a while.

She’d planned to confront him the moment they met, but her voice wouldn’t come out as her heart intended. That was because the idea that he’d ghosted her after one night was purely her own assumption.

Tears kept threatening to well up. Without any apparent harm, not even an injury or a scratch, completely intact, he’d come here without warning.

Just having Hersion arrive safely made all the anxiety Meriel had been suffering melt away instantly like snow. As she kept looking at Hersion, tears eventually flowed down unconsciously.

“Why, why are you only coming now?”

Meriel asked in a protesting tone as her pent-up hurt exploded belatedly. Hersion answered softly, flustered.

“There were circumstances.”

“What circumstances?”

Could it be… Had he really been assigned some top-secret mission? Were there really reasons he couldn’t come himself?

Meriel formed theories as her consciousness wandered.

“What circumstances exactly? Do you know why Sir Derek avoided answering when I asked about your situation? If you know, can you honestly tell me everything?”

Meriel pressed Hersion for a truthful answer in an increasingly tearful tone toward the end. Hersion closed his eyes, took a moment to steady his breathing, then faced Meriel again.

“It’s going to be a long story.”

“Is it? Yes, fine. Then let’s go inside and talk.”

“But Miss Luna doesn’t seem to be here.”