Chapter 102: Chapter 102

In the middle of an empty wasteland, there was a single run-down house, and Luna couldn’t hide her disbelief.

“Is this some hidden gourmet restaurant or something?”

No, this can’t possibly be a gourmet place. After sparing such precious time, they end up here.

However, Antes seemed perfectly calm, as if expecting such a reaction.

“It’s not a gourmet place, but it is somewhere I’ve kept hidden.”

“What is it?”

“People.”

“…People? You’re saying you hid a person? Like human trafficking?”

Could he really be a villain? She thought he wasn’t!

As Luna began to genuinely suspect, Antes, hiding his disappointment as if to question their relationship and why she’d think so lowly of him, knocked on the door of the old house.

“Who is it?”

Then, a middle-aged man with a displeased expression appeared. He alternately looked at Antes and Luna, frowning as if trying to understand the situation.

Luna felt the same. Surely, this stern-looking middle-aged man isn’t a victim of human trafficking.

Excuse me, but who are you?

Seeming puzzled, Luna looked to Antes for answers, to which he brightly replied:

“Let me introduce you. He’s the craftsman who made the sample for you.”

“…What?”

Just like that, out of the blue?

After finishing up at the hospital, it was time to meet the jeweler, but she never imagined she’d meet him without prior notice.

Just like when they started dating, he truly was unpredictable. It would be nice if he signaled whether he was turning left or right. He’d drive straight, then suddenly make a U-turn.

“So, it was something like this?”

While Luna still seemed baffled, the middle-aged man’s reaction was different.

It was as if there had been some prior communication, and he briefly introduced himself.

“My name is Gwell. There might not be much to see, but please take a look around. Oh, it’s on the living room table.”

With that, he disappeared inside the house. Luna, who had been unable to hide her dumbfounded expression until then, finally came to her senses and asked Antes:

“What’s this? You said you were hungry.”

“I thought it wouldn’t hurt to stop by since we had some time.”

You’ve come all the way to the outskirts and just decided to pop in? Is there a restaurant in another city or something?

Luna grumbled, but having come this far, she couldn’t exactly ask to turn back.

It was sudden, but he was someone she had to meet.

Given that he said to look around, there must be some interesting crafts inside.

“Just as you said, this place is indeed astonishing.”

“Isn’t it?”

“It’s not exactly to my taste though.”

Regardless of Luna’s expression, Antes beckoned her to come inside.

Of course. If they had discussed this beforehand, she might have looked forward to it. From expecting a restaurant to a craftsman’s place, it was quite a leap.

But when Luna entered Gwell’s old house, she was astonished.

“My necklace must have been quite simple in comparison…”

How can it be so delicate? She couldn’t help but marvel at the decorative items, which looked like finely detailed paintings come to life.

Such beautiful things were just casually strewn about.

They were magnificent enough to be in a gallery, but were instead left neglected. She couldn’t help but feel frustrated as she walked around the house. Then Antes suddenly pointed at the living room table.

“What’s that? It looks quite impressive.”

“…Just a moment.”

Antes’s tone felt off, even more unnatural than Luna’s acting at the New Year’s party.

“Look over there.”

Regardless of her suspicion, Antes pointed to the living room table.

Curious, she turned her head and saw a box that seemed to scream, ‘This is the real deal! Look at this!’ Why was only this item so deliberately displayed?

Seeing Luna’s confusion, Antes nodded for her to approach the box.

And inside-

“This is… a ring?”

Inside the box was a ring, shaped like a flower with six petals. It felt familiar.

“Uh…? It looks similar to the ring I bought at the night market.”

Although the comparison might be a bit cheap, it did resemble it. The differences being the quality of the materials and the intricacy of the craft.

As Luna stared at Antes for an explanation, he delivered a well-prepared line.

“It seems this is the gift I was preparing for you.”

Who? You?

Even without asking, it was clear that Antes had prepared in advance, having already informed Gwell about it.

It was quite obvious, but Antes changed the subject and didn’t mention the giver.

“Why did you prepare this?”

“Because I thought you liked this design. Not good?”

“Not good? It looks like it was meticulously crafted with all your heart. Even the jewel shaped like a petal looked very expensive.”

The gift seemed a bit overwhelming compared to the sample, so when she silently stared at Antes, he looked back with eyes begging not to reject it.

Just that made her want to accept it. Probably because she had known him for quite a while.

“Why not? It’s beautiful. It’s also the right size so I can wear it everyday.”

The ring she bought at the night market was to her liking in design, but it felt awkward to wear regularly, so she thought she could wear this one instead.

“I knew you’d say that. Let me put it on for you.”

“What? Really?”

It’s not even an engagement ring, why would he put it on her? She thought it was weird, but Antes already took the ring and naturally slid it onto Luna’s finger.

No, something is strange. Giving the ring was weird to begin with, but putting it on was even stranger.

However, the brilliantly shining ring had been on Luna’s finger for a while now.

Looking down at it with mixed emotions, Antes gave a soft chuckle and commented:

“It suits you well.”

If you say that, this strange situation can’t feel any more bizarre.

Anyway, she accepted it as it was. Luna, who already had the ring on, decided to just accept his goodwill.

“Right. It must be thanks to the great taste of a person named Gwell.”

Of course, since Antes was hiding the truth, all the credit went to Gwell. Perhaps feeling bad about that, Antes added unnecessarily:

“More like, it’s because I gave some advice.”

“But in the end, it was given as a gift by Gwell, right?”

“If I hadn’t given advice, he wouldn’t have even thought of it.”

“I think, given how meticulously it’s crafted, Gwell could have made a beautiful gift without any advice.”

“…”

When pushed to that extent, Antes closed his mouth. Unfortunately, it seemed like the giver of the gift couldn’t even recover his initial investment.

Then-

“…What on earth are you doing using someone else’s name?”

From a distance, Gwell, who had been watching, appeared with an incredulous expression.

There’s a limit to how much one can tease someone who’s been in seclusion and trained alone.

Shaking his head as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have, Gwell handed something to Antes.

“Take this.”

It was a ring identical to Luna’s. The only difference was that Luna’s had a large flower-shaped jewel on the front, while Antes’ had it engraved on the ring itself.

Couldn’t he have put it in a box at least? Antes’ eyes sharpened as if to say, ‘What are you thinking giving this to me now?’

But since Luna had already seen it, there was no excuse. Trying to act natural, Antes put the ring on and spoke.

“I was feeling empty without a ring. I just said I needed one, and it ended up being the same design as yours.”

When did he say something so outlandish? Gwell scrunched up his face as if asking what on earth Antes had been saying since earlier.

“Anyway, since you’ve seen how skilled Gwell is, let’s go now. I’m really hungry.”

“Huh? We haven’t seen everything yet, have we?”

“Tell him to bring everything later. Look at it slowly then.”

Perhaps thinking Gwell would cause more trouble, Antes quickly pulled Luna up and tried to leave.

“Why? Can’t we just look now and go?”

Luna made a very logical argument, but this time Antes hurried her along, claiming he was about to faint from hunger.

“Wait! Sir Antes!”

Although Gwell, who now has the fate of visiting Luna with all sorts of items, also tried to stop Antes.

“…!?”

The hasty Antes suddenly turned his gaze to Gwell, shooting him a deadly glare.

If you open your mouth and create any more chaos, no matter how skilled you are, I won’t leave you alone, seemed to be the message.

‘What did I do…’

Even after making a ring as told, why was he threatened with murder? Moreover, in front of the lonely middle-aged man, he was even teased relentlessly.@@novelbin@@

“The world is so dirty…”

As Antes convinced Luna of a great restaurant and disappeared, Gwell muttered with a mix of exasperation and resignation.