“If I treated you the same way I treated Richard……wouldn’t that actually reassure him?”

After all, Richard was convinced that Lydia had a style that repelled men. However, this would only work with Arsen’s cooperation.

Lydia thought the probability of that was quite low. Arsen wouldn’t want to be associated with her in that way.

“That’s a good idea, Lydia. Let’s do it.”

“What?”

“But… we need to make it convincing.”

Lydia couldn’t believe her ears.

“Are you joking right now?”

Who was Arsen? Wasn’t he the man who had climbed over the wall of the Marquis’s mansion to avoid being linked to her in rumors?

Part of the reason Lydia had chosen to become a priestess was to avoid causing Arsen any trouble.

But what was he saying now? Not only was it okay for her to pretend to have a crush on him, but he wanted her to do it properly?

“I’m not joking. I gave permission because I think it’s a good idea.”

“Are you sure you’re okay with being linked to me in rumors?”

“Rumors have spread anyway.”

If he had wanted to completely avoid rumors and commotion, he wouldn’t have brought Lydia along in the first place.

When Arsen decided to bring Lydia to the border region, he had already resigned himself to dealing with a certain level of gossip.

“And anyway, you’ll just be pretending to like me one-sidedly, right?”

“That’s true, but……”

The rumor Lydia wanted to spread wasn’t that she and Arsen mutually liked each other, but that she unilaterally liked Arsen and followed him around.

“Once the Emperor’s people discover you following me around, they’ll return immediately.”

Currently, Richard’s greatest concern was the relationship between Arsen and Lydia.

He feared that the Evansi family’s power would grow uncontrollably through Arsen and Lydia’s marriage.

“When he receives the report, he’ll probably think you came all the way to the border because you have feelings for me.”

“He won’t immediately order me to return to the capital, will he?”

Instead of sending people to monitor the border region, he might try to separate Arsen and Lydia completely.

To cut off the bud before any relationship could develop.

“I don’t think so. I swore on my sword that I have no feelings for you whatsoever, so I don’t think he’ll act hastily out of anxiety.”

“You did? That’s good. Besides, if Richard calls me back to the capital now, it would start troublesome rumors for him. Like rumors that he still has feelings for me.”

False rumors circulating in high society was a common occurrence. Someone of the Emperor’s stature normally wouldn’t need to worry about minor false rumors, but Richard’s case was different.

He had seized the throne through a coup. While most supported Richard, not everyone recognized him as Emperor.

The young Emperor who had killed his brothers to claim the throne now had to work hard to establish his authority and demonstrate his abilities.

Nobles trying to expand their influence amid the chaos, and an Emperor trying to suppress them and reign supreme.

Though the coup had ended, another battle awaited Richard. To win public support, he immediately began addressing the mistakes of the previous Emperor and repairing the damage caused by the battles as soon as he ascended the throne.

He postponed both the royal marriage and the victory celebration.

In the midst of all this, Richard abandoned Lydia who had risked her life to support him. Regardless of Lydia’s reputation, it was enough to create the impression that the Emperor didn’t recognize debts of gratitude.

And to call Lydia back who had left of her own accord before that situation could be fully resolved?

“All sorts of rumors would spread.”

They might even face rumors they couldn’t imagine. Gossipmongers were experts at fabricating sensational stories.

“That’s why I said it was a good idea.”

Lydia nodded slightly. Though her initial suggestion had been made half-jokingly, as she talked with Arsen, she became more convinced it would be a good strategy.

“It might be even better if the rumors spread widely.”

If the Marquis returned and opposed Giselle’s adoption, Devon would be cornered. But if rumors spread about Lydia pursuing Arsen romantically, he might breathe a sigh of relief.

He would think he could secure Arsen even if things went wrong with Richard and Giselle.

Meanwhile, Richard would be unable to do anything as he watched Devon take Arsen away and Giselle’s adoption fall through. He would feel anxious about the growing power of the Evansi marquis family.

So he would predictably try to appease Arsen by offering him additional benefits.

“Then you could pretend you’re going to marry me to secure the border region from Devon, and extract a higher title from Richard as a condition for calling off the marriage. Honestly, it doesn’t make sense for you to guard this dangerous border region without any title.”

She had heard that the centipede-like demonic beasts were nothing, so what kind of demonic beasts appeared in winter?

Lydia shuddered just imagining it.

“Ah, don’t worry if this plan falls apart. I’ll definitely make this border region your land.”

“What was your original plan?”

“That’s a trade secret. Don’t try to find out.”

Lydia primly crossed her arms and slightly averted her gaze.

How could she look so prim while wearing priestess robes and holding a hoe? That was a talent in itself.

“This plan will be our secret.”

“Is this ‘deceive your allies before deceiving your enemies’? Fine. Since we need to make those people return as quickly as possible, shall we start today?”

As the saying goes, strike while the iron is hot—there was no need to delay this plan. The only things needed were the right mindset and acting skills.

“If you had stayed at the mansion instead of the temple, it would have been easier for you to seduce me.”

“Are you still on about that? I’m not really going to seduce you, just follow you around, so it doesn’t matter where I stay.”

Sir Arsen is surprisingly persistent, isn’t he?

Lydia assured him not to worry, claiming she was an expert at chasing after men. At the same time, she thought:

Well, that’s not something to brag about.

“But why are you so eager to have me stay at the mansion? Anyone watching would think you’re the one courting me.”

“It’s, it’s not like that.”

“I know. Because you’re……”

As if daring her to finish that sentence, one of Arsen’s eyebrows quirked upward.

Lydia had been about to tease him for being socially awkward, but she noticeably avoided Arsen’s eyes and twisted her wrist holding the hoe.

“I should finish digging up these flowers.”

Lydia’s shoulders trembled slightly as she crouched in front of the half-excavated lily of the valley.

It’s fun to tease him because he doesn’t look like that type.

Watching Lydia dig up the lily of the valley while suppressing her laughter, Arsen ran a weary hand through his hair.

It had been a purely impulsive decision. There was no particular reason to use this method to drive away the Emperor’s people. He could have found plenty of other ways if he had looked.

Yet he had accepted Lydia’s proposal, which could only be explained as an impulse.

Should he change the plan now?

But there was one definite advantage to this method. If Lydia followed him around, he wouldn’t have to spend time monitoring her.

He was busy, and Lydia was someone who needed watching, so wasn’t this beneficial in that regard too?

The thought that he might be rationalizing briefly crossed his mind, but his thoughts scattered as Lydia stood up.

“I’m done. Let’s go now.”

Satisfaction dripped from Lydia’s face as she cradled an armful of lily of the valley.

Could digging up a few flowers with her own hands really make her that happy?

With Arsen’s help, she could have dug up twice as many in the same time, but Lydia had insisted on doing it herself.

She was certainly stubborn.

Arsen wasn’t particularly kind or gentle. If someone in his knight order had been this stubborn and wasted time, he would have certainly reprimanded them.

No, he probably wouldn’t have waited for them in the first place.

So why didn’t Lydia’s behavior irritate him? Perhaps because her triumphant look of achievement wasn’t so bad.

Arsen picked up the hoe that Lydia had abandoned as she carried only the lily of the valley, and walked a step behind her.

Even with her tied up long, always-flowing hair, and wearing plain priestess robes without any decorations, Lydia somehow still had a fluttering quality about her.

Was it because of her hair swaying in rhythm with her bouncy steps when she was in a good mood?

She seemed like a woman who would fly away with a single puff of breath.

It made him wonder if all the ribbons, lace, and frills she used to wear were meant to make her look bigger.

A bite-sized woman like her following him around wouldn’t be particularly bothersome, so why had Richard made such a fuss about being sick and tired of her?

Since Richard wasn’t a weak man, Arsen was curious about what aspect of Lydia had made Richard throw up his hands in surrender.

He usually didn’t care about other people’s feelings, so what was this whim?

Arsen felt himself swaying back and forth along with Lydia’s rhythmically swinging hair.

“We’re here, Sir. You didn’t need to escort me this far.”

As the temple came into view, Lydia turned to Arsen.

“From now on, you shouldn’t show me such kindness. I’m supposed to be the one chasing after you, not you chasing after me.”

“This isn’t chasing after you.”

“Then what is it?”

“Close surveillance.”

At Arsen’s words, Lydia pouted her lips, asking if he still didn’t trust her.

“Anyway, this goes against the plan.”

“Is this against the plan?”

As he spoke, Arsen held up Lydia’s hoe. Lydia’s eyes immediately widened.

If he said her round eyes also resembled a winter rabbit’s, would she get angry?

The true beauty of winter rabbits appears in winter—if he showed her then, would her misunderstanding be cleared up?

But perhaps Lydia would leave before winter came. She had said she hated the cold. And the bright spring weather suited her well.

“Thank you. How could I have forgotten this? If it weren’t for you, I would have spent a long time looking for it.”

Lydia took the hoe and smiled with her eyes crinkled in embarrassment.

“Oh, right. And thank you for sending Sir Randel to help clean the temple. Without Sir Randel, our temple would still look like an abandoned house.”

Was that so? Randel said they had become friendly, so this rascal had been coming here every day to help with the temple restoration.

And then he used me as an excuse.

He should have corrected her. He should have explained that Randel had probably lied out of embarrassment. That would be the truth.

But for some reason, Arsen didn’t want to.