Chapter 29

And like two people who totally missed each other, without caring how much time has passed, we’ve been hugging for some time, The moonlight deepened, and the temperature became colder.

And my heart which was boiling earlier had now quietly calmed down even before I knew it. Then I leaned my body a little and looked at Calix. He looked calm. Like the distant sea where the typhoon passed and briefly gained tranquility.

The faintly smiling lips were slightly blue. Then I spoke softly, worried about him.

“You’ll catch a cold if we stay here outside a little longer.”

“I don’t catch colds.”

Calix answered haughtily. I scowled at him with a frown on my face.

“Calix often catches a cold since childhood, so Tused to take care of you, remember?”

As far as I know, he has a constitution that easily catches a cold. But when asked, with a blink of an eye, Calix somehow avoided eye contact. What is it? Was I wrong? As I closed my mouth and ponder, Calix cleared his throat and said.

“In the past…… it used to be like that. But not anymore.”

Uh, is that so? I passed it off insignificantly. Not paying much attention to his somehow odd reaction. Well, it could be like that also.

Then I sighed at the notion that came to my mind.

“But now I have a bigger problem. My identity has been revealed here–.. Don’t tell me, Si….. No, I didn’t know that the Divine Lady would bring it up.”

I, who almost called the Divine Lady, ‘Sia’ hurriedly changed the title. I was worried Calix had noticed something, as cold sweat runs down my back. Then Calix stared at me ‘mysteriously and spoke calmly.

“There will be no rumors about you spreading. I will tell the lord to give a gag order to all those present at the banquet.”

“….. Thank you.”

I smiled bitterly. It’s not that I don’t trust Calix, it was because I knew that the rumors would spread anyway.

It was also possible that the servants of the lordship have already run their mouths everywhere. Sia, it was clear that she would also spill stories about me when she went back to the capital. Because Sia doesn’t seem to like me.

”There’s no helping it.’

We might experience some hardships because of some criticisms and ridicule, but even that was a matter for me to endure. Because I decide to stay with him. Just like embracing future instability.

I faintly sighed and said.

“You don’t have to go to the lord and ask for a favor just for me. Calix.”

“But…..”

“The rumors will spread anyway.”

I smiled bitterly. Calix looked at me with a puzzled look on his face. I gently reached out and lightly touched his cheek. Then, a large hand wrapped around mine. He closed his eyes for a moment and leaned his cheek against my hand

“If it’s your will.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Calix opened his eyes and looked at me. I smiled at him, meaning I was okay. Then Calix sighed deeply and hugged me tightly. I patted him on the back and asked.

“By the way, Calix. Is it okay not to go back to the banquet hall?”

Calix answered, snuggling further into my arms, like a cat looking for warmth.

“I’ve already shown my face. To that degree, I’ve kept my manners as a sign of respect to the temple.”

“That’s true but……”

I was worried. Isn’t this going to be a disadvantage to Calix and his estate?

What if evil spirits appear in Glaston, and the Knights Templar does not dispatch Paladins. It will be a big problem.

If you’re a lord of a territory and offended the Temple, you’ll be excluded from the blessings of the God Phoenix, which you can receive every year.

The temple had every means to wield power.

Furthermore, with the appearance of a Divine Lady, the power of the temple must have skyrocketed to the skies. And Sia’s unseeming attitude was proof of it.

As expected, I shouldn’t just let it pass over like this. I think it would be better for Calix to leave the banquet properly.’

After making such a decision, I carefully pushed Calix away, and as if asking why, his blue eyes that were filled with discontentment looked at me. And his expression seemed to be begging.

He was like a dog whining because he didn’t want to get away from its owner. My heart wavered, but I came to my senses right away and brought up the main point.

“Calix, I think you’d still better go back to the banquet hall.”

“NO…..”

“Do it, please? Go and end it well. I’ll be waiting here.”

Then Calix frowned his eyebrows.

“Where am I supposed to go, leaving you alone? And in the middle of the night like this….”

My eyes opened wide and soon a smile appeared on my lips. Does this person still think of me like a little puppy?

I wasn’t a dog or a child, and above all, this was the courtyard of Lord’s Castle. The soldiers were always on patrol, and the walls were guarded by knights, which proves that this place was not the least bit dangerous.

And I couldn’t go back to the banquet hall with Calix either. Because it would be like giving a pretext to Sia, who seemed to extremely hate me. I was expecting that the other people’s eyes wouldn’t be pleasant either.

‘We shouldn’t make things more complicated than it already is.’

I slightly put on a smile on my face and said.

“It’s the castle, Calix. What dangerous thing can happen here?”

“lf a monster suddenly appears…..”

I shook my head.

“I heard it on my way earlier. The Divine Lady decided to surround the lordship with a barrier.”

“Yes, she did.”

Calix sighed, not knowing how many times it might already be. And as if reminded of Sia, his eyes, which temporarily blurred, were full of disbelief.

“I don’t trust that woman.”

“But still, she’s the Divine Lady.”

Or maybe, there’s also the possibility that the Divine Lady is one with the evil spirits. No, it might be just one of my absurd paranoias. Sia was certainly able to use divine power. I personally saw that.

‘There’s no doubt that Sia is a Divine Lady, there is no doubt that she has divine powers.’

And although she hates me, she won’t be able to do anything to me at the moment. Because a crowded banquet hall is not a good place to use shallow tricks.

‘It might be like that for now, but I have this ominous feeling that she’s going to put her evil plans into actions someday when the opportunity comes.

Because sia doesn’t seem to be merciful like the Divine Lady from the original story.

”But how could that be?’

I was mulling over that perception when suddenly I saw a person rushing our way.

That man was the attendant of the lord. And soon after, the servant who arrived in front of us bowed down and informed.

“Your Grace, the Divine Lady is looking for you.”

11……”

Calix’s face crumpled at that moment.

He rubbed his eyes with an irritated look and muttered, “Damn it…..” Then he looked back at me and said.

“I’m sorry. Laure. I’ll be right back as soon as possible.”

Inodded and held out my right hand at Calix. And a ring engraved with Alice’s magic was placed on my index finger.

After recognizing that, Calix’s eyebrows warped. I smiled and said.

“I’ll use this in the meantime, so don’t worry too much.”

However, Calix continues to procrastinate, as if extremely reluctant to go. I stood tall at my decision and threw bomb-like words to him.

“Please consider the people in your territory, Your Grace.”

“…….”

“It will be a big problem if you don’t get support from the temple later.”

Then Calix’s blue eyes sunk darkly. I understood how he felt. He would have felt guilty for disregarding his territory and traveling for seven years.

No matter how rumors circulate that he’s crazy, and even though he says himself that he’s not in his right set of mind. Callix Rochester was the ruler of his territory and a pure-blooded aristocrat. He cares for the residents in his fief.

Calix looked down at the floor with a mixed expression on his face, then raised his head a moment later. Looking straight at me, he said.

“You’re right, Laure. I’ve been acting like an idiot all this time.”

“Neglecting my responsibilities.”

The shade on his face darkened. Then I held his hand tightly as my heart aches for him.

“We can just go back to where we were from now on.”

“Yes……”

Calix smiled weakly and put my hand to his lips. And with his lips on the back of my hand, he said.

“If you just stay by my side…..”

“I will.”

Tanswered without hesitation.

“I’ll wait here for you. Calix. When you come back —- Let’s go back to the capital with Letty and Alice.”

After that, Calix’s reaction was strange.

When Letty’s name came out, he seemed hesitant for some reason. And as I look at him suspiciously, I heard Calix’s mysterious voice.

“Right, your daughter……”

“She’s a very lovely child.”

Topened my eyes wide with surprise. I never thought that such words would come out of Calix’s mouth. Being perplexed by the unexpected situation, Calix gently kissed my forehead.

“I’ll be right back, Laure. And about last time…..”

He suddenly avoided my gaze, then blinked rapidly. Then he said in a small voice, after smacking his lips several times,

“I apologize…..”

Last time?

Ah

…

Timmediately understood what he meant, so I laughed. Calix’s cheeks flushed gently. He couldn’t look at me as if he were truly sorry, but left a kiss on my cheek again and turned around.

“I won’t take long. I’ll try to get back before an hour passed.”

“Okay. See you.”

Calix looked worried like a person leaving a child away near the water. And as he walks toward the hall, he looked back dozens of times, until at last, we could not see each other completely.

I sighed and sat on the bench. The air moistened by the mist of the night touched my cheeks. Looking at the sky in the distance, the fog that ascends from the sea was somehow hazy.

‘It’s foggy today

The weather has been amazingly nice recently, but will there be a late typhoon coming? I was worried if the ships anchored in the harbor would be all right. Of course, the people here were used to the bad weather, so they rarely suffered serious damage due to it.

…….But aside from the weather, I’m more worried about the guests lurking on a foggy day like this.

On thick foggy days, hidden pirate ships with flags often entered the port and plundered.

In the past, the damage caused by pirates was large, but as the lord started bribing the pirates, the frequency of plundering decreased.

However, pirates also have their principles, so there were those righteous outlaws who only aims for the treasure of the lord without touching ordinary citizens, while there were those who looted citizens’ wealth

Among them, the worst pirates were those who committed arson and murder.

They were famous in origin, so there was no one who didn’t know them, nor did they play tricks to hide their flags and pretend to be ordinary ships. They proudly invade the country with its unique and terrifying pirate flags. Firing bombs from a distance.

Thave lived in Canelo for 7 years and have seen such a group of pirates three times.

When the noise of the canyons began to be heard from the direction of the harbor, the soldiers who would rush to the port would readily evacuate the citizens first.

Thanks to this, the damage was minimal, but it was said that it has been less than 10 years since such an evacuation system was established.

‘Although the lord is a greedy man, he’s not bad at what he does.’

However, what was unfortunate was that his son, James Camnell, was the one to inherit his position and was a total failure.

‘If I were him, I’d have Amelia as my successor… Well, is this place still conservative because it’s on the outskirts?’

The lord hated not only his son but also his daughter. James, the eldest, is a big drinker and a big troublemaker. And the second daughter, Amelia was unruly and rebellious.

It’s true that James Camnell has been doing some detestable things that’s why the Lord doesn’t like him, but I don’t understand why he hates Amelia. I’m sure there was a reason why she doesn’t listen to the Lord.

And one of the obvious facts is that the Lord is the worst kind of father ever.

”I heard it from Alice, and it seems that Amelia wants to get out of the family’

There were only two ways to do that. Either marry and leave or abandon your name and status and get expelled from the family.

Of course, if you want to lead a comfortable life, it will be the former, but if that will only be an extension of the days when you were persecuted by your father. I will choose the latter.

I think Amelia was a person to choose the latter rather than the former. Because she was a clever and bold person.

Looking at the stars in the night sky, I prayed for some luck in her future.

Then I sat there blankly for a while and felt chilly.

I still had Calix’s coat around my shoulder. I pulled on the hem of the coat tightly and wrapped it around me. The fog that covered the horizon was getting thicker.

‘When will Calix come?’

Tput my feet on the bench and sat down like a rolled shrimp. Is Letty asleep by now? I said I will just say hello and will try to return quickly —- She’s not crying because her mom isn’t coming, right?

No, Letty must be the one soothing the crying children rather than the one crying.

And as I looked down at the ground with a soft smile, I heard a rustling sound.