Chapter : 13
A night as dark as pitch.
Several pairs of unpleasant red lights announced the presence of monsters.
Relying on those lights, Sirinyu cut down countless monsters charging at him from all sides.
Recently, rumors had spread that a suddenly proliferating horde of monsters in the mountains outside the capital had attacked nearby farms and carried off livestock.
The moment Sirinyu received the report, he rushed straight here.
From the rugged mountain ridge echoed shrill screams that sounded as though they did not belong to this world.
With those cries as the finale, every red light vanished.
“Haa….”
Only then did Sirinyu finally release the breath he had been holding.
A sharp pain flared near his shoulder.
There must have been so many monsters that he hadn’t even noticed being scratched by one of their claws.
Sirinyu descended the pitch-dark mountain path without much concern.
The wound would heal soon enough anyway. There was a far more important thought that refused to leave his mind.
That day—he realized only later that the woman he had met by chance on the hill was the one spoken of in the prophecy.
And the reaction he had seen when his blood touched her bracelet.
He wasn’t completely certain, but he could guess.
‘A flawed contract.’
The blood of the Rifrix family possessed another power besides defeating the Demon King.
It was the power of contract—the ability to subjugate the one who received Rifrix blood.
According to the tales passed down through the family, such a contract had to be formed in a space where only the contractor and the contracted were present.
Moreover, the one offering the blood had to willingly deliver it into the body of the contracted.
That was why Sirinyu never imagined that a contract would form merely from his blood touching her bracelet.
He realized it only after it had already happened.
Chains formed of blood binding the two of them together.
The signs of a contract were unmistakable.
Yet if the contract had been properly formed, she wouldn’t have been able to escape—even if Sirinyu hadn’t wanted it.
After returning home, he searched through books related to contracts, but the only method described for breaking a flawed contract was the death of one of the parties.
Sirinyu recalled the gray eyes that lingered before his vision.
Her retreating figure as she fled felt vivid enough to grasp.
‘If you were going to run, you should’ve run farther.’
Sheathing his sword, Sirinyu raised his hand. A figure appeared soundlessly from the darkness.
“Find out where she is and what she’s doing.”
“Please, could you tell me your address? Please?”
Warm sunlight, a pleasant breeze, and me—begging an unknown man for his contact information….
What kind of situation is this?
Right now, I’m clinging to the hem of a stranger’s clothes, begging for his address.
To explain how things ended up like this, we need to rewind a little.
After leaving the imperial palace, I headed home in a carriage with Arkas.
I had used up all my energy for the day.
I quietly closed my eyes, attempting to cut myself off from the world.
But then I kept hearing rustling sounds beside me.
Ah—so I’m not the only one using this carriage.
When I cracked my eyes open and glanced over, Arkas was shaking the box I’d received at the palace.
“Hey! You can’t shake it like that!”
When I snapped at him, Arkas flinched and quickly set the box down.
“Sorry~ But what is it?”
“Dessert I got earlier. Well… there was way too much left.”
Is taking food to go considered rude here?
‘Then who’s supposed to eat all that? Leaving food gets you punished!’
No one had said anything, but grumbling internally, I hurriedly opened the box to check on the whipped cream cake.
Phew—thankfully, it was unharmed. Watching my expression, Arkas asked,
“Who were the young ladies you met?”
“Ah… Eloy? Vivian? Something like that.”
The names here are impossible to remember.
Arkas thought for a moment, then his face lit up as he recalled names that matched the descriptions.
“You mean Lady Calat and Lady Erilleon.”
“Oh! That does sound right.”
When I reacted with admiration, Arkas laughed and lightly poked my cheek.
“Now that you’re close with them, will it be hard to even see your brother’s face?”
“Doubt it.”
“You’ll still make time to drink tea with me, right?”
Why are there so many people in this town desperate to make friends…?
Slightly exhausted by extroverts, I took a cookie from the box and popped it into Arkas’s mouth.
He smiled pleasantly as he chewed.
“It’s delicious. Feels like it’s been ages since I last had something like this.”
As I rummaged through the box for snacks, I casually asked,
“By the way, is this something only nobles can eat?”
Arkas tilted his head.
“Not really, but it’s not something commoners casually buy. Especially if it’s from the palace. Why?”
Swallowing the sweetness spreading in my mouth, I replied,
“No, it’s just so good that I want the girls at home to try it too… but it seems hard to make ourselves.”
“You want to give it to the maids? Oh my… our Selly is so thoughtful….”
Before Arkas could start tearing up again, I quickly shoved a round bread roll into his mouth.
“There should be shops in the market district that sell things like this. Want to go together?”
I fell into deep contemplation. I desperately wanted to go home, but as a professional homebody, I had one ironclad rule.
‘When you go out once, you finish everything before going back.’
There was no way I could come out again just to buy dessert.
When I nodded with a tragic expression, Arkas—utterly oblivious—cheerfully changed the carriage’s destination.
“I’m so happy… to browse the market with Selly….”
Enough already!
I smacked Arkas’s arm. And immediately regretted it.
Ow—so hard. Is this guy hiding rocks under his clothes?!
As I rubbed my aching hand, the carriage came to a stop.
Looking out the window, I saw a dessert shop displaying bread and pastries between arched windows.
“Let’s go, Selly.”
As soon as we entered, a cheerful chime rang and a sweet aroma filled my senses.
‘Not that many customers.’
I briefly wondered if we were supposed to make a reservation.
Cute, beautifully arranged pastries and bread were displayed with price tags—but I had no idea whether they were expensive or cheap.
“If you tell me what you’d like, I’ll prepare it for you.”
The clerk, wearing a cute uniform, spoke as she presented sample slices on a pretty plate.
“Thank you.”
I picked up a piece and tasted it—the buttery flavor spread magnificently.
‘Does this place deliver? If it did, I’d eat this every day. I want a subscription.’
Meanwhile, Arkas tried to buy every dessert I glanced at. I hurriedly stopped him.
“No—calm down. Do you know how much all this costs?”
“You don’t need to worry about that, Selly. What else do you like?”
“If I said I like the shop, would you buy the shop too?”
I tossed the comment out without thinking. Arkas’s eyes widened.
“Should I?”
“No! I’m joking! I’m joking!”
I broke into a cold sweat stopping Arkas from seriously offering to buy the shop. I really can’t say anything around him.
We bought enough dessert to last days—even replacing meals—so there was no way it would all fit in the carriage.
“Sir, if you give us your address, we’ll deliver everything once the cargo carriage arrives.”
While Arkas gave the address, I stepped outside and looked around.
I’d never seen buildings like this in real life before—everything felt fascinating.
Instead of the usual flashy hanging signs, small iron signs depicting only the shop’s specialty.
Brick buildings with grid-patterned windows that looked like they let in amazing sunlight.
I walked over to take a closer look at the small ornaments and dishes displayed in the neighboring shop.
Then suddenly, someone burst out from around the corner.
Not being very agile, I collided shoulder-first with the person.
“Oh! I’m sorry!”
It was a light bump, so I instinctively tensed—but the person I hit suddenly flew backward.
I’m not exaggerating—he actually lifted into the air like he’d been hit by a carriage and crashed onto the ground.
“Oh my!”
Passersby stopped and screamed.
Panicking, I hurriedly looked behind me, wondering if a carriage had struck him—but there was nothing there.
Then… was I the carriage?!
Realizing what had happened, I rushed to the fallen person.
Judging by how lightly he’d flown, he might have been a child. If he’d hit his head, it would be serious.
“Are you okay?”
The person lying on the ground struggled to lift his head.
When I saw the face hidden beneath the hood, I gasped in shock.
