Chapter 96

The news came so suddenly that the question “Why now?” naturally popped into mind.

There had been no word or indication from Eched, which made it even more unexpected.

The reason he suddenly left the capital was obvious.

The World Tree.

It was clear that Eched had gone to find it.

‘He’s been so desperate to find the World Tree, and now he’s finally gone.’

Even the raccoon hadn’t been seen since this morning, which only made her suspicion feel more credible.

“Leaving without a single word…”

As she went to work alone, she grumbled throughout the day.

The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she became at how he had left without saying a word.

That man still had a long way to go before becoming a proper human being.

After all, the most fundamental virtue of humanity is ‘affection.’

She was contemplating how to reform his thinking when a guest visited the counseling office.

“Lady Shaterian?”

Anella poked her head halfway through the door and called for her.

“Oh… Lady Anella.”

She looked at her with a puzzled gaze.

At this time, Anella should have been busy treating those consumed by dark sorcery. 

Why had she come to find me?

Anella, who exchanged a glance with Pell, eventually revealed herself fully.

“Is there something wrong?”

Given the endless stream of incidents, she wondered if something else had happened and instinctively prepared to get up.

“It’s not that…”

Anella hesitated, fumbling over her words.

“The weather is so nice today, isn’t it?”

“The weather?”

She looked up at the sky beyond the window.

Though there were many clouds, it was a clear day.

The air was chilly, but the lack of wind meant it wasn’t too cold.

“Would you like to go downtown with me?”

“Downtown?”

“Yes. The weather is nice today.”

“Uh…”

Caught off guard by the sudden request, she blinked in confusion.

She couldn’t quite understand what the weather had to do with going downtown.

When she didn’t answer immediately, Pell nudged her from behind.

“Go on. It’ll be a good change of pace.”

Though she had wrapped up the urgent matters, there were still plenty of small tasks left to handle.

Even so, Pell’s easy approval made her look at him suspiciously.

Was he that overwhelmed with work?

For some reason, Pell’s face seemed shadowed with worry.

“There’s no need to stare like that. Just look at your desk.”

With a sigh, Pell motioned toward one side of her desk.

There, several pens with broken nibs lay scattered.

“No matter how big the budget is, this is too much, don’t you think?”

Only then did she realize how many pens she had broken.

Though she had been grumbling about Eched’s sudden departure, it seemed she had been quite upset.

Feeling embarrassed, she quickly swept the broken pens into the trash can and pushed Anella out the door.

Dodging Pell’s sharp gaze, she followed Anella to the downtown streets.

“But why downtown all of a sudden?”

The excuse about the nice weather still didn’t make sense.

She pressed Anella for the real reason, but Anella hesitated to answer.

“Is this about relationship advice?”

It was the only plausible explanation she could think of.

“No!”

“No?”

She had been so sure.

“Hmm… Then why?”

“We’re friends, aren’t we? I heard friends go out and have fun together…”

Anella’s shy response was unexpected.

Friends.

It was the first time she had heard that word in this life, and for a moment, she felt dazed.

“Or… are we not?”

If she said no, Anella might cry.

Seeing her large, tearful eyes, she quickly shook her head.

“No, we’re friends.”

At her affirmation, Anella’s face lit up.

Overjoyed by being called a friend, Anella linked arms with her.

“It’s been my dream to eat delicious food and chat with a friend.”

What a modest dream.

It wasn’t a difficult wish to grant, so she decided to spend the day indulging Anella.

“And also… friends comfort each other during hard times, don’t they?”

“Comfort?”

She tilted her head, puzzled. Anella’s words sounded as if she thought she needed comfort.

When she asked again, Anella shyly nodded.

Then she added something that made her jump.

“You must feel lonely with the Duke gone, right?”

“What?”

W-wait, what was she saying…?

“You must feel so empty with someone you were always with suddenly gone. Actually, before he left, the Duke met with me. He asked me to look after you while he was away.”

If Eched had time to ask her that, he could have at least said something before leaving.

She barely managed to hold back the pout threatening to form on her lips.

“They say eating something delicious is the best way to lift your spirits when you’re feeling down.”

Lifting my spirits.

Hadn’t Pell said something similar?

“Did Pell…?”

Before she could finish her sentence, Anella avoided her gaze.

It was clear that something had been discussed between the two.

Pell must have been bothered by the sight of her breaking pens with a sullen face.

Explaining the misunderstanding to Anella seemed like too much effort.

Though the reasons were different, she was indeed feeling a bit down.

Agreeing that eating something delicious might help, she followed Anella to the downtown streets.

Their destination turned out to be a rice cake shop.

The air outside was filled with the nutty aroma of freshly steamed rice cakes, likely made just moments ago.

Sniffing the air, Anella exclaimed in delight.

“This place has become quite famous recently.”

“Yes…”

She was well aware of that fact.

Anella dragged her into the shop.

The shop was noticeably less crowded than during its early days.

The fact that they didn’t have to wait in line to enter was proof of that.

“They say the shaved ice here is delicious, but it’s made with crushed ice, so it might be too cold to eat now.”

Ah, the weather.

It was no wonder sales of their signature nurungji shaved ice had plummeted.

“Warm food is better in winter, don’t you think?”

“Of course.”

Aside from the freshly steamed rice cakes, there were no warm menu items to be found in the shop.

As she examined the menu, which was clearly designed with summer in mind, she realized something.

There were no winter-appropriate items!

When it came to winter, nothing beat snacks like fish-shaped pastries or skewered fish cakes from street vendors.

Or perhaps a steaming hot bun from a convenience store.

But since it was a rice cake shop, something rice cake-related would be more fitting…

“Maybe tteokbokki?”

However, making tteokbokki would require preparing gochujang, which could be tricky. It would need more thought.

Still, it was fortunate that she had identified the shop’s problem so quickly.

Seeing it firsthand was always the best way to understand.

“I’m glad we came to the shop today.”

“Really?”

Her approval made Anella smile proudly.

“Well, since we’re here, let’s try the shaved ice everyone talks about. We can also have some rice cakes.”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

They shared the food they ordered, chatting as they ate.

Most of their conversation was trivial, the kind of talk one forgets as soon as it’s over.

Yet it was more enjoyable than the forced banter she had used to try to liven things up.

She realized how much she had missed such simple, meaningless conversations.

***

Throughout the day, dark clouds loomed, and by afternoon, rain began to pour.

It was the start of the monsoon, marking the end of autumn.

“It looks like it’s going to rain heavily for a while,” remarked Pell, watching the thick raindrops splatter against the window.

“Indeed…”

For the past few days, the documents had been diligently processed, and on a day like this, not even counseling sessions came in, leaving the workload significantly reduced.

Sitting idly, she stared blankly at the pouring rain.

Where could Eched be now?

Was he wandering through this rain, searching for something whose location was unknown?

Although she knew his body wouldn’t catch a cold, she couldn’t help but worry.

She wished he’d return quickly if he couldn’t find what he was looking for.

“With rain like this, there might even be flooding.”

Pell commented.

“The relief supplies should already be prepared, right?”

Her thoughts flowed seamlessly, eventually landing on the Welfare Department.

Flooding usually affected commoners the most, so it seemed wise for the Welfare Department to prepare in advance.

Knowing Sevji’s familiarity with the lives of commoners, she trusted they would have already made the necessary preparations.

“I’ll head to the library for a bit.”

Rather than wasting time sitting idly, she figured going to the library would be more productive.

Moreover, she thought that even someone as thoughtless as Eched would have taken some means of communication. If she found something new, she might even try contacting him—and perhaps scolding him a little in the process.

When she arrived at the library, the gloomy weather made it darker than usual.

However, the dim lighting didn’t hinder her ability to read, so she roamed the bookshelves, searching for texts related to ancient times.

“No matter how much I read, there are always books I haven’t seen before.”

The library felt like a treasure trove, endlessly fascinating.

The claim that it housed every book in the Empire didn’t seem like an exaggeration.

She wondered how long she had been reading books that, while different, contained similar content.

The previously silent room was suddenly filled with a faint noise.

She raised her head, puzzled.

Surely, she was the only one in the library.

Tap, tap, tap, tap.

The sound of something lightly hitting the floor grew louder.

A chill ran down her spine, but the sound was oddly familiar.

As expected.

What appeared before her was none other than the raccoon Divine Beast.

She was startled by the raccoon’s sudden appearance, and the raccoon seemed equally surprised.

“What are you doing here?”