30.
Dark clouds had gathered over what had been a relatively peaceful work life.
‘If I had known it would turn out like this, I wouldn’t have taken a job in the Capital.’
I wish my memories of my past life had returned a little sooner—maybe ten years earlier.
‘But it’s not too late yet.’
A week had passed as I shuttled between being on high alert for every rumor concerning the royal marriage and being buried under a mountain of work.
‘It’s good that the day I’m meeting Everett came sooner, but…’
Perhaps because I was preoccupied with worries, my steps toward the meeting place felt heavy.
‘The royal marriage with the Kingdom Of Bellot seems to be becoming a foregone conclusion, but…’
No, if the Emperor marries the Crown Princess of the Kingdom Of Bellot, what happens to the Saintess?
And what about the Emperor’s personality?
What about my just-about-bearable, normally annoying work life?
I stopped in the middle of the road and let out a sigh, looking up at the sky for no reason.
‘For now, I should keep a low profile and watch how the situation unfolds.’
The Emperor of this era was like a natural disaster.
Even Kailus, the Emperor’s closest confidant, secretly thought the Emperor was unstable at this time.
Like a sea that looked calm, only to surge into a tsunami in an instant?
‘I suppose it was a narrative device to show how much the Emperor, who acted so cruelly, would change after meeting the female lead.’
But if 90% of the victims of that setting came from the Imperial Palace, shouldn’t the story be a bit different?
‘Many were caught off guard, thinking his personality was gentler than the rumors suggested, and paid a heavy price.’
Many nobles who dared to try and tame the Emperor had their heads rolled.
Recalling the cruel hand of the Emperor from the original story, I made a clumsy sign of the cross.
‘I have no such ambitions. So please, let the effects of the donation I made last month still remain.’
I finished my short, secular prayer, took a deep breath, and walked straight to the entrance of the exhibition hall where Everett would be waiting.
As Everett’s figure came into view from afar, my pace quickened on its own.
“Sir Rohas.”
Everett seemed to be deep in thought; he didn’t even notice me approaching.
Only after I called his name, walked up, and gently took his hand did his gaze, which had been directed toward a distant place, sharpen and turn to me.
“Miss Diaz.”
Everett, realizing it was me, gave a start.
He flinched as if wanting to pull his hand away, but when I looked a bit hurt, he stopped.
‘What is this reaction? This attitude?’
I pouted for all to see.
“Should we not hold hands?”
I didn’t actually intend to let go, but I arched my brows and probed him. Everett looked uneasy and carefully checked my expression.
“It’s not that…”
Everett said, avoiding my eyes as I stared directly at him.
His cheeks were unusually flushed today, and his golden eyes were somewhat hazy, but it didn’t seem like he disliked it.
‘Is he suddenly feeling shy again?’
Why?
We’ve already held hands several times.
Last time, we even linked arms for a moment; there shouldn’t be any reason to be embarrassed now of all times.
I tilted my head, naturally, without letting go of his hand.
After a little while, Everett, who had regained his composure, offered an excuse in a small voice.
“I didn’t have any other intention; I was just surprised because you took my hand so suddenly.”
When he met my eyes as I turned my head toward his voice, Everett’s words trailed off.
Then, his cheeks, which had barely cooled down, flushed red once again.
Knowing he was blushing, Everett squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again.
“I was really just surprised.”
Everett emphasized it once more, as if making a resolution to himself.
“Yes, I won’t take your hand suddenly from now on.”
I nodded obediently and smiled brightly at Everett.
At the same time, Everett’s gaze darted away from me.
His hand, held in mine, was burning hot, as if the heat had spread all the way to his fingertips.
However, I held Everett’s hand a little tighter.
‘As long as it isn’t “sudden,” it should be fine.’
I had laid a very small, slightly devious trap.
I snuck a glance at Everett’s reddened ears and chuckled inwardly.
‘Come to think of it, Everett seems like the type to be easily startled.’
He had an impression that made him look courageous, so it was unexpected.
‘It’s like a reversal of charm.’
I realized I was interpreting everything about Everett in a positive light, and my own cheeks heated up.
It was fortunate that Everett was still looking at the air.
My gaze turned in the opposite direction from his.
We stood like that for a while, showing each other our backs, hands still held.
Still, thanks to the cloudy weather, as the chilly air grazed our cheeks a few times, the flush soon subsided.
“Ahem, shall we go in now?”
I shook Everett’s hand lightly.
“Yes.”
Everett, who replied with a nod, still had slightly flushed cheeks.
*･☪D✶༄ ‧₊˚a⋰˚☆m✶༄ ‧₊˚
The fourth exhibition had plenty to see, as befitting a final show.
“They say there are artifacts related to ego swords today, too.”
My steps as I entered the exhibition hall were quite confident; it was a topic that even Everett, a knight, would find interesting.
However, unexpectedly, the section displaying artifacts related to ego swords was not very large.
“The catalog made it seem like a large portion, but there are only a few artifacts on display.”
As I expressed my disappointment, Everett smiled faintly.
“It was still enjoyable.”
For some reason, his eyes looked similar to how he looked when watching Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol performing tricks.
I would probably have this exact expression when feeding him dried chicken jerky.
Meeting his eyes, which resembled the sun of a spring day, I felt an itch that made me want to scratch my whole body.
I averted my eyes from Everett and tugged on the hand I was still holding.
“Then, shall we go over there this time?”
My ears felt hot. To the point where I wondered if I should have tied my hair up.
I dragged Everett, who followed me obediently, around here and there.
At first, it was to distract myself, but today’s exhibition had something that stimulated the heart of an ancient artifact geek.
I was soon completely absorbed in the display.
“It is said that when creating ancient magical tools, gemstones of different colors were used according to the type of magic to be inscribed. This influenced the color mana theory of later mages and…”
The small print on the information plaque of an artifact that particularly caught my interest was tiny.
I brought my face close and was reading it in a low whisper when I felt Everett laughing behind my back.
“Why are you laughing?”
I asked, turning around to face him.
Everett, caught laughing secretly, felt embarrassed and replied.
“Because you are cute.”
Perhaps it was a comment that slipped out before his brain processed it; Everett was greatly flustered after finishing his sentence.
“No, that is…”
Everett, who only moved his lips a few times, eventually closed his mouth and buried his face in his hands, unable to think of a proper retort. It was as if his mind had gone blank.
However, I was in a similar state.
‘He called me cute.’
The inside of the exhibition hall, which was quite cool because it was a stone building, felt as hot as it would be under the sun in midsummer.
I flapped my hands to cool the heat.
‘I don’t know what to say.’
A tension that made my heart pound swirled between the two of us.
‘Sir Rohas really said something strange.’
I blamed Everett for no reason.
Not a single word passed between us.
But in the crowded exhibition hall, it felt as if only Everett and I existed.
Out of awkwardness, my fingers wiggled on their own as if they had developed a will of their own.
“Um, well, I’ve seen everything here!”
“R-really? I heard the very next section is the highlight of this exhibition, shall we go see it?”
We, who had been standing there for a long while, moved our steps, suggesting we go see other exhibition artifacts without anyone being the first to lead.
We walked awkwardly, not even holding the hands we had been holding so well until then.
The artifacts, which would have usually fired me up, didn’t enter my eyes at all.
We walked around the exhibition hall two more times without even knowing what we were looking at.
‘I have to speak up to tell him to stop looking and leave, but I’m too embarrassed.’
Everett seemed to be in a similar situation, so we pretended to be more diligent than anyone else at observing the artifacts in our shy and awkward silence.
In the end, it was Everett who broke the silence.
“Um, the tea room we couldn’t go to last time.”
Is he talking about that tea room we stopped by during our previous meeting because there was time left on our restaurant reservation, but ended up not going to because it was too crowded?
“Yes, that tea room.”
I answered quickly before silence could wrap around us again.
“I remembered that Miss Diaz mentioned it was a place you go to often.”
Everett spoke as if he had really just thought of it.
However, from his gaze, which was slightly averted, and his awkward tone, I felt a similar sense of déjà vu as when he had memorized the catalog.
“It’s a place I went to occasionally. I haven’t been able to go lately because there are too many people.”
“Shall we try going again?”
Encouraged by my display of interest, Everett made the suggestion.
“I’d love to.”
I smiled brightly, putting aside the date course I had been preparing all week, which Everett would also have liked, for next time.