Chapter 78
“What…?”
What was this sudden act in the middle of the night?
Of course, grand events usually happened at night, but…
Still, this was nothing but bizarre behavior to her.
“When did I ever make such a promise?”
“On that day, on the terrace. You kissed me first.”
That was true… but that was just a casual gesture of affection!
“Wasn’t it a sign of consent? Of us creating a child together…”
“That was something done impulsively. It wasn’t consent…”
“In the book you were reading, it said, ‘You must look at the sky to pluck the stars.’ So, I thought I’d start looking at the sky earnestly from today…”
Eched spoke as he lowered his head slightly. His face became even clearer as he did so.
His silver hair, neatly settled and giving off an orderly impression.
His mysterious silver eyes, which strangely held a gentle light.
His sharp, prominent nose.
His fair, clear skin and lips that seemed naturally tinted.
And she knew very well how firm and beautiful the body hidden beneath his clothes was.
Although nothing extraordinary had happened, sharing the same bed had naturally led her to learn this fact.
Anyway, as she stared at his perfect features and kind eyes—which seemed to claim he was handsome in every aspect—she found herself briefly wondering if she should just surrender and lean into his embrace.
Of course, it wasn’t impossible…
But she wasn’t ready yet, emotionally speaking.
“I… I’m tired, you know? I have to leave early tomorrow, and I’ll be walking around all day again…”
Even as she spoke, her heavy eyelids kept drooping.
“And yes, I kissed you, but… it wasn’t consent; it was just something I did…”
So, you’ve misunderstood. Completely misunderstood…
She mumbled on, trying to fight off her sleepiness.
A faint chuckle reached her ears. Eched was laughing as he watched her struggle to stay awake.
“Alright. When you’re ready, then…”
Yes, when that time comes.
Though she had no idea when that day would arrive…
“Just know that my patience isn’t limitless.”
When one thinks of patience, one thinks of Eched, right? And if it’s Eched, patience should be his forte.
She was about to tell him to muster a bit more of that patience for her, but her lips wouldn’t move.
Something soft pressed briefly against her forehead and then withdrew. It continued to press gently against various parts of her face.
“Just sleep. Sweet dreams.”
Feeling the last touch on her lips, she finally succumbed to sleep.
***
The rustling sound woke her. As she struggled to open her eyes, the intense light immediately assaulted them.
“Ah!”
Groaning in discomfort, she turned over, hearing the sound of someone clicking their tongue as they opened the window.
“Miss, it’s time to get up.”
“Already…?”
Turning her head, she saw Kirin standing by the window. After tying back the curtains, Kirin picked up the water bottle on the table.
“The Duke has already woken up and left the residence.”
“Already…?”
“Yes, already.”
Now that she thought about it, the spot beside her was cold.
Gazing at the empty space where Eched had been, she turned back to Kirin.
“But why?”
“I wouldn’t know. He must have had something urgent to attend to.”
Kirin’s tone suggested she didn’t know the details either.
Would Eurell be the escort again today?
What could be keeping him so busy that he was rushing around early in the morning?
She felt a slight pang of disappointment at the empty space beside her.
Setting aside her lingering thoughts, she got up, finished her breakfast, and prepared to go out.
Today’s plans with Anella weren’t much different from yesterday’s. They would explore streets they hadn’t seen yet and watch the fencing competition.
Since they planned to stay at the arena for the awards ceremony, today’s activities would be less physically demanding than yesterday’s.
Afterward, she intended to coax Anella into returning home, showing her that rest was also an essential part of a good trip.
Their first stop was a bustling street where merchants from all across the Empire had gathered.
Passing through the noisy crowd, she found herself distracted by rare and fascinating items.
Past the merchants selling seeds and seedlings, past those selling daily necessities, she stopped in front of a stall displaying strange, unidentifiable objects.
“Welcome! All of these are my own creations!”
“What’s this for?”
She pointed to an oddly shaped object. It looked like a hammer, but instead of a wooden handle, it had a thick rope attached.
“This is a hammer.”
“A hammer…”
It didn’t seem like one at all…
A hammer with a rope instead of a handle didn’t look like it could drive in a single nail properly.
Though it might work as a weapon if thrown.
“Let me show you how it works.”
The merchant suddenly pulled out a wooden board with nails lined up.
Holding both the top and bottom ropes, he began hammering.
With each rhythmic bend and straightening of his knees, the hammer struck the nails perfectly. The merchant hammered as if he were dancing.
“This is how it’s used.”
The merchant wiped the sweat from his brow and smiled proudly.
Though his hammering was almost like a performance, she couldn’t help but clap along…
“Is there really a need to hammer so laboriously…?”
“….”
The merchant didn’t respond. They both silently stared at the neatly driven nails in the board.
“Well, would you like to see this instead? Have you ever found keys too flat and inconvenient? If you accidentally drop them into a sewer, how much would it cost to replace them? That’s why I created this!”
What the merchant proudly displayed was a key with a rounded handle. It looked like a thumbtack head with a key attached to it.
“You can stand it upright like this, and even if you drop it, the wide head prevents it from falling through holes.”
The merchant demonstrated by standing the key on the ground and dropping it between prepared metal bars, showing how it didn’t fall through.
It seemed like a useful key, but it had two major flaws: poor portability and practicality.
“That key… can it even turn in a lock? And more importantly, can it be removed?”
“Ah…”
The merchant inserted the key into a prepared lock. Though the key’s head was larger than the lock, it managed to turn. However, if it were a door lock instead of a padlock?
The key wouldn’t even fit flush against the door to turn.
Once again, it was a useless invention.
An awkward silence followed. She was about to leave quietly when a pouch in the corner caught her eye.
“What’s this?”
“Ah! That’s truly one of my greatest inventions! It’s a sleeping powder that works with just a small amount.”
“How effective is it?”
“I guarantee it’s incredible. The day I completed it, I accidentally inhaled some and woke up three days later! Haha!”
That didn’t… sound like something to laugh about…
She rolled her eyes at the merchant, who looked proud.
“But I wouldn’t recommend buying it. Even a small amount is extremely potent…”
“Hm…”
Sleeping powder, huh…
“I’ll take it.”
She reached for her coin pouch. She had thought of a good use for it.
“Excuse me? It could be really dangerous…”
“I said I’ll take it.”
“Well, in that case, just one gold coin…”
The merchant seemed to doubt his pricing but couldn’t hide his joy when she handed over the gold coin without hesitation.
The merchant, gauging whether he had set the price too high, couldn’t hide his joy when she readily took out the gold coins.
She couldn’t test it somewhere beforehand just in case, but since it claimed to induce sleep in small quantities, it couldn’t be anything other than a magical powder.
“What are you planning to do with that?”
Eurell asked her suspiciously.
Does he still see me as the Shaterian from my academy days?
“It’ll come in handy somehow.”
She carefully tucked it into her bosom, worried someone might take it.
Then, she realized she had been distracted by the merchant’s invention and had lost track of Anella.
Looking around hastily, she spotted her not far away, observing something with two knights.
“Eurell. Shouldn’t you be protecting the Saintess… I mean, Anella, instead of me?”
Adjusting the hood of her slightly slipping robe, she reprimanded Eurell.
“If the Saintess were harmed, the Commander would be in trouble. But if something happens to you, Lady Shaterian, my life would be at risk.”
Eurell nonchalantly added that this was why he stayed by her side.
How annoying. It was oddly irritating.
She shot a sidelong glance at Eurell and then turned her attention to Anella.
It was about time to head to the plaza where the swordsmanship competition was being held.
“Lady Anella.”
She called out to her, but it seemed she couldn’t hear her over the noisy surroundings.
As she approached her and reached out her hand, she suddenly felt an odd gaze.
She quickly scanned the area, but the presence vanished in an instant, leaving her unable to pinpoint its source.
A sudden sense of danger struck her. The Saintess she was holding hands with might be exposed to danger.
“Lady Anella, shall we end today’s outing here?”
It might get even more dangerous. It was better to avoid troublesome, tiring, and risky situations altogether.
“Does that mean we won’t even get to see the swordsmanship competition…?”
Anella’s eyes, which had been sparkling with excitement earlier in the morning as she talked about who might win today, now looked utterly dejected as she gazed at her.
“Well…”
She avoided her earnest gaze.
Why was she asking me that?
If Anella ended up in danger, she’d be the only one blamed for it.
But as someone assigned to assist the Saintess, she couldn’t deny her wish to visit a place for safety reasons alone.
If it was dangerous, they could simply strengthen the escort. The Imperial stance was to protect the Saintess at all costs.
“…Let’s go. Honestly, I also wanted to see the award ceremony for the winner.”
After all, the winner would undoubtedly be Contestant No. 5.
Anella beamed and linked arms with her. Her eager gestures urging them to hurry made her chuckle helplessly.
And so, they arrived at the plaza where the swordsmanship competition was taking place.
Amid everyone’s anticipation, Contestant No. 5 appeared.
Wielding a very familiar sword, no less.
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