Chapter 9
“Hm, I guess this is good enough?”
I looked at myself in the mirror after entering my hotel room. I was supposed to meet Felix in 30 minutes, but I wanted to check how I looked. I didn’t have any makeup on, but honestly, I didn’t need it—my natural looks were already good.
“…Ha, so cute I could die.”
When Felix accepted my date invitation with a shy smile, he had looked confused when I said I needed to pick up some stuff. That’s when I realized I hadn’t explained my side of the story.
“I ran away from home. So I’ll be staying here for now.”
“You ran away… from home?”
“Yes. But my father and brother know I’m here, so you could just say I’m on a vacation.”
Felix looked a little surprised, but like the thoughtful man he was, he didn’t say anything about it being dangerous or ask if my family would worry. He simply asked which room I was in—turns out, his room was right next to mine.
He told me that he was usually in his room or the training area, so if I ever needed anything, I could come to him. And then he added:
“I didn’t mean anything strange by asking. If it makes you uncomfortable, I can change rooms.”
“No, no! I’m not uncomfortable at all!”
He looked so genuinely concerned that it actually made me feel warm inside.
After that conversation, we agreed to meet again in 30 minutes and went to our own rooms.
“He’s nothing like those annoying flirty guys I used to meet…”
When it was time, I stood up, put on my bracelet with magic storage, and left the room. The staff would take care of my luggage later.
The door opened smoothly and silently. As I turned around, I froze.
About ten steps from my room stood Felix. His hair was styled differently—half tied up—and he was holding a small bouquet of flowers.
He looked a little awkward, like he wasn’t used to this, and stared at the tiny bouquet like he wasn’t sure what to do with it.
And I… almost stopped breathing. His gentle eyes and new hairstyle were too much. Was this heaven?
“Oh.”
He noticed me a little late and walked toward me with his usual calm steps.
I quickly pulled myself together. Now I understood why my fans used to act so crazy when they saw me in my past life.
“Miss Flora.”
“…Did you wait long?”
“No, I just got here.”
Knowing his personality, I was sure he had been waiting for at least five minutes. But he didn’t say it, so I didn’t bring it up either.
“What’s that?”
I pointed to the bouquet. It looked small even in his hands.
It was a single lavender lisianthus flower, surrounded by green leaves and stems. Simple, but beautiful.
“Oh, I heard it’s nice to bring a small gift on a date. The flower reminded me of your eyes.”
He smiled softly as he said that.
I took his arm as we started walking, the bouquet carefully held in my hand.
‘Where should we go?’
Since this date was very sudden, I didn’t have any place planned. It wasn’t even lunch time, so eating was kind of awkward.
‘Ugh, I should’ve brought Dana and Lily with me.’
Those two always talked about good date spots in the capital with the other maids.
“Hmm…”
While I was thinking hard, Felix finally spoke.
“Miss Flora.”
“Yes?”
I looked up at him. He hesitated for a second before asking,
“Do you like boat rides?”
“Um… I think I do?”
I was a little surprised by the question, but I answered honestly. I’ve always liked nature. One good thing about this world is that there’s no pollution or overdevelopment.
He seemed a bit happier after hearing my answer.
“But why boat rides all of a sudden?”
“Well… there’s a place near the city where they do boat tours. The weather’s nice today, so I thought it might be a good idea.”
He explained everything in a calm, soft voice.
“Oh…”
I was surprised again—not just because his voice was nice, but because he seemed to know more about the city than I did, and I had been here longer!
“If you already had a place in mind, we can go there instead.”
He added quickly, probably thinking I didn’t like his idea. He looked a little disappointed.
No! I just said I liked boat rides!
“No, no! I like boat rides! I was just surprised that you knew more about the capital than me.”
I hurried to explain myself. How could I not like the idea when it came from my favorite person in the world?
Even if I had box seats to a sold-out opera tonight, I’d cancel just to go with him.
Then he said something that made my heart jump again.
“…I looked it up ahead of time.”
“Huh?”
“Dante… Ah, Dante Anderson. You met him before—he’s my aide. I asked him to find some places we could go together. There were other options, but today’s weather seemed perfect for a boat ride…”
Wait. So you’re saying…
“You planned all this just to go on a date with me?”
“…Yes.”
He nodded slowly, still looking a bit shy.
Oh my god.
‘So he planned a date ahead of time and then shyly told me about it?!’
My brain stopped working for a moment.
He’s just too sweet.
Rustle—
I snapped out of it when I heard a crinkle. I had unknowingly squeezed the bouquet too hard.
Oops.
Luckily, the flower was okay—only the wrapping was a little wrinkled.
‘I’ll cast a preservation spell on it when we get back.’
This was a gift from Felix for our first date, so I planned to treasure it.
I fixed the bouquet and looked up at him with a smile.
“Then shall we go on the boat ride that you so kindly planned, Your Grace?”
“If you’re really okay with it.”
His gentle smile made me laugh softly. I held his arm a little tighter.
“Of course I’m okay! But let me take you to dinner after the boat ride. My treat. Is that alright?”
“…Ah, then I’d be happy to.”
And that’s how we chose Hestia Lake for our first date.
We went back to the hotel to book a carriage since the lake was a bit far.
The Diatri Hotel offered all kinds of services, including cheap but fancy private carriages.
“We’re off!”
In less than three minutes, the carriage arrived and we were on our way.
‘Wow, it’s been almost two weeks since I’ve gone out like this.’
Humming to myself in excitement, I felt even more thrilled because I was going on this outing with my favorite person.
But just as I was softly humming the chorus of a very catchy idol song, I looked up—and made eye contact with Felix.
“…Ah.”
I froze.
In his eyes, I saw a quiet smile… and maybe a little amusement.
‘Ugh… seriously?!’
