Episode 26
After getting ready, I left the Duke’s mansion with Adrien. The city wasn’t too far, so we decided to walk instead of taking a carriage.
“Is there anywhere you want to go?”
“Hmm…”
I didn’t really know any places, so I couldn’t answer right away. I tapped my chin, thinking for a moment, and then a place popped into my mind.
“How about we go to Hari’s Dessert Shop?”
“Hari’s? Oh, you mean that famous dessert place? Yeah, let’s go.”
Since even Adrien knew about it, it must be really popular. With our destination set, we started walking.
“They say noble ladies love that place. Even maids line up just to buy some to-go.”
“Really? Are we going to have to wait a long time?”
“That’s for take-out. Eating there should be fine.”
“Oh, I see.”
When we arrived, there was a big crowd. Just like Adrien said, the tables weren’t full, but the line for take-out was super long.
But don’t we have to wait in line to order anyway?
While I was still wondering, Adrien left me at a table and walked up to the counter—not to the end of the line, but all the way to the front.
Then a staff member saw him, ran inside, and soon someone rushed out—it looked like the manager based on their clothes and how they acted.
“Welcome, Young Master Lurn!”
“Hi, Mei.”
The staff all greeted him loudly, and Adrien lifted a hand to wave back.
He placed our order directly with the manager. I watched with wide eyes and asked him when he came back to the table,
“Why did they take you aside like that?”
“Oh. Actually, our family owns this shop.”
“Really? I didn’t kn—”
Halfway through, I stopped myself. I had answered too naturally, and if the original Eilene already knew that, I might have messed up.
“You didn’t know because I never told you. You don’t really come around this area, right?”
“That’s true.”
Adrien leaned on his hand and smiled. I let out a tiny sigh of relief.
Phew. That was close.
My curiosity almost got me in trouble, but thanks to Adrien, I didn’t have to wait in line. What a lucky break.
I looked over the desserts in the display case. The colorful treats were more than enough to win over any girl’s heart.
And as I stared at the cute and pretty sweets, a memory popped into my head—vivid desserts on a small table at night, and the Grand Duke with his soft smile across from me.
The memory of him suddenly made my chest ache. I missed him so much—my favorite.
“Here are your desserts.”
Just as I was getting emotional, the server brought our desserts. The beautiful sweets were placed in front of us, and all my tears disappeared instantly.
Ugh, I’m such a hopeless foodie.
“Wow. Thank you for the food!”
Even the prettiest mountain looks better on a full stomach.
I picked up my fork and started eating. I scraped off a piece of cake, poked it with my fork, and placed it on my tongue. The cream melted like cotton candy, leaving only a sweet taste and soft texture behind.
“Mmm, it’s so good.”
I was so into the dessert that I didn’t notice Adrien staring at me. After a while, I looked up and saw his surprised face.
“Huh? What is it?”
“You never liked sweets before. It’s kind of surprising to see you enjoy them.”
“Ah…”
Oops. I forgot to consider Eilene’s original food preferences. What do I say now?
I decided to just make something up.
“P-People’s tastes change as they get older, right? These days I’ve been craving sweet things more.”
“Hm. That’s true.”
Usually, people start liking sweets less as they age, but the opposite can happen too.
Thankfully, Adrien wasn’t the suspicious type, so he seemed to accept my excuse.
I mean, who would think someone’s been possessed by another soul just because they’re eating cake?
Relieved, I kept eating and didn’t leave a single crumb behind.
“Remember when we ruined the garden and hid in the food storage? The house went into chaos looking for us. The butler found us later that night, both asleep with cookie crumbs all over our faces. Haha! Do you remember how badly we got scolded after that?”
“Haha. Yeah, I remember.”
“The butler still brings up that story every time he sees me. He mentioned it just the other day again!”
As flavors danced in my mouth, Adrien happily chatted, mostly about childhood memories with Eilene. I had to listen carefully even while eating.
“Mm-hmm, yeah.” I replied lazily but made sure not to miss anything.
Sometimes just nodding is the safest move.
“Come visit sometime. My parents really miss you. So do Navien and Charles.”
Navien? Charles? Who are they?
Every time a new name popped up, I had to stay alert.
Even with all my effort to act natural, Adrien seemed to notice when I hesitated for a moment. His smile faded a bit.
“Well, I guess it’s not easy for you to go out now, huh? Because of your status.”
He looked so sad when he said that.
Oh no, don’t make that puppy-soaked-in-rain face!
Feeling guilty, I blurted something out without thinking.
“Maybe… I could visit at least once?”
“Wait, really? You mean it? Yes! That’s awesome!”
Adrien was truly someone who wore his heart on his sleeve. My words made him light up with joy.
I could understand how he felt. His childhood friend suddenly became the Emperor’s fiancée, someone completely out of reach. That must’ve hurt.
And to be honest, the only reason I said yes was because I knew the Emperor would probably break off the engagement soon. So it should be fine… right?
We left the dessert shop and walked around the market for a bit. Even on a weekday afternoon, it was noisy with busy townspeople.
As the sun started to set, shadows stretched through the alleys and the air grew chilly. A cold breeze wrapped around my body.
I was wearing a simple dress, not something that kept me warm.
“Achoo!”
Suddenly I felt a chill and sneezed. I quickly covered it with my arm, but I couldn’t stop a bit of snot from escaping. Sniffling, I heard Adrien’s worried voice.
“Looks like it’s getting cold.”
“Yeah.”
Without saying much, he took off his coat and gently placed it over my shoulders. I could feel the warmth he left behind in it.
“Oh, I’m okay.”
“A lady shouldn’t catch a cold. I’m strong, so I’ll be fine. Let’s hurry.”
“Okay.”
He smiled warmly in just his white shirt.
Grateful for his kindness, I nodded silently. As I picked up the pace, Adrien suddenly brought up another memory.
“You know, your sneeze just reminded me—do you remember that time?”
“What are you talking about?”
Ugh. I really don’t. Can we skip the story? I won’t know it anyway.
Their childhood stories were what I feared most. I was already exhausted from pretending all day. But I couldn’t say that out loud, so I just smiled.
“Back when I came to the mansion with a sprained arm from sword practice—remember? We’d promised to meet, and you scolded me for coming while hurt.”
“Oh, r-right.”
“And the weather had suddenly turned cold like this too. That’s when you accidentally sneezed on my arm.”
“Whaaat?”
Eilene really did something that rude?! She must’ve been so embarrassed. But then Adrien said something unbelievable.
“And my arm got better after that.”
“What?”
“I thought you had healing powers back then.”
“No way. That’s impossible.”
At first, I thought he was just reminiscing. But then I realized this might be a huge secret.
I waved my hands and laughed it off, but inside I was freaking out.
Wait—Eilene had a special ability?
If it were true, that would be a big deal. My head spun from the surprise.
“It’s like saying a crow flew by and made a pear fall.”
“Huh? What does that mean?”
“It means the two things have nothing to do with each other.”
I acted like it was no big deal, and Adrien scratched the back of his head, looking awkward.
“Well, even you said the same back then. It was probably just a mild sprain, so it healed quickly.”
“Exactly. That makes more sense.”
I brushed it off with a quick answer.
But my heart wouldn’t lie. It was racing with excitement.
Even though I was overwhelmed by the surprise, I felt a strange sense of hope.
Could it actually be true?
If I thought of this world as the real world, it wouldn’t make any sense. But I knew this was a novel world—and in a world with magic, it wasn’t impossible for Eilene to have a special power. It might really be true.
