Chapter 10
“Bibi! Why are you running like that?”
Startled by my noisy entrance, Shasha jumped to his feet. Just from moving a little, beads of sweat already dotted his forehead. He tried to wipe it away with a handkerchief, but I refused. He must have been worried sick that I, in my emotional state, might cross a point of no return.
“Brother, go outside for a moment.”
“What?”
“Just for a bit. Please.”
Shasha didn’t listen. He insisted he wouldn’t leave, his mind clearly filled with the fear that I might do something reckless.
But in the end, he was forced out of the reception room. It was because Armin Gray spoke in a tone laced with a faint smile.
“That’s fine, Young Lord Loha. I also have something to discuss with Lady Loha, so it would be better if you stepped out for a moment.”
Since even Armin Gray said so, Shasha had no room to argue.
I ordered the remaining maid, who had been there to attend to guests, to leave as well. Once everyone shuffled out in a hurry, the reception room was left with just Armin Gray and me.
Armin Gray looked at me intently before speaking.
“Did you receive the gift?”
“Gift?”
“The letter I asked my mother to write and send. You haven’t received it yet?”
“Oh! That. I got it. Very well!”
I crossed my arms and glared at Armin Gray. It was the most commanding posture I could muster. When I did this, Shasha would usually break into a nervous sweat and try to appease me. But seeing Armin Gray’s smiling face, it didn’t seem to be much of a pressure for him.
“You don’t look very happy.”
“Why should I be happy?”
“Didn’t you say you liked that book?”
Hearing his question, as if he genuinely didn’t understand, I almost lost my temper. But, like a civilized person, I suppressed it and spoke.
“I have a question.”
Armin Gray’s shoulders shifted slightly at my words. It meant he was listening.
“The inquisition… the Inquisition of Heretics. Does it still exist?”
“The… Inquisition?”
Armin Gray frowned.
“Lady Loha, you must not have paid attention in your theology classes. They probably mentioned more than once how the inquisition was an ethically barbaric practice.”
In other words, it had been a complete lie.
“Then… then why did you say that to me that day?”
I couldn’t finish the question about why he had spoken to me like that. I wanted to grab his collar and shake him, but I held back.
Unaware of my inner turmoil, Armin Gray replied casually.
“It was just…”
“Just?”
“A simple joke.”
For a brief moment, a playful smile appeared on Armin Gray’s face before disappearing.
“I thought it was amusing to see you get flustered.”
I finally shouted.
“Hey!”
“Hey?”
“Yes! You! Who are you to talk about the Inquisition and scare people like that, and then turn around and say it was just a story your mother wrote?”
The moment I called him “hey,” Armin Gray’s perfectly composed face froze. His expression of surprise looked strangely awkward. I could tell he was a man who rarely had reason to be startled.
Seeing his reaction, I realized I had gone too far. But the water had already been spilled.
Feeling irritated, I kept shouting.
“…You were scared?”
“Of course I was!”
Of course, after that I switched back to polite speech.
Being angry and digging your own grave are two different things. Even if it’s embarrassing, it can’t be helped. Everyone has moments like that. Like arguing with your mom, slamming the door, then later peeking it open in fear of what might come next. Or making ridiculous excuses like, “It wasn’t me— the wind did it!”
Thankfully, perhaps because I used polite speech, Armin Gray didn’t seem too angry about the earlier way I addressed him.
“That shouldn’t be obvious. I’m more surprised you believed it.”
“Because… because! You kept talking about demons and scary things…”
“Even putting aside your lack of knowledge about theology…”
Armin Gray asked curiously.
“Did you ask your brother? He would have known right away.”
I became mute. Right—if I had even hinted at it to Shasha or anyone around him, I would have gotten the answer immediately.
A sense of self-loathing washed over me. When anger loses its direction, it only leaves you feeling foolish. It’s like when you misunderstand a joke and take it seriously—then realize you overreacted.
“I didn’t… expect you to be scared. I’m sorry.”
His calm apology reached my ears. Hearing it, I blinked in surprise.
‘He apologized?’
From what I had heard, Armin Gray was supposed to be arrogant and unpleasant. I never imagined he would apologize so easily.
But anger, once ignited, doesn’t disappear instantly. It takes time to cool.
I crossed my arms even tighter and said,
“Is saying sorry enough?”
“Since it was nonsense, I assumed you would realize it was a joke.”
I stared at him, speechless.
“There are things you can joke about and things you can’t.”
“I’ve never really made jokes before. It seems I made a mistake. But…”
As a rule, when apologizing, you shouldn’t add words like “but” or “you too,” because they only stoke the other person’s anger. Armin Gray clearly had little experience with either jokes or apologies.
“Even believing such nonsense is a problem. Even if Inquisitors existed, thinking they would arrest someone just for reading a romance novel doesn’t make sense.”
I looked at him, stunned. So it was nonsense?
“Nonsense?”
“Inquisitors wouldn’t care about a romance novel like that.”
“So now you’re saying it’s my fault?”
Armin Gray chuckled and set down his teacup gracefully.
“I wouldn’t exactly call it fault. It’s more that I underestimated how naive you are. I was wrong— I didn’t think you would be so innocent.”
“But you took the book!”
I stomped my foot in frustration. Watching me, Armin’s expression changed to something similar to the day we had met at the imperial palace.
“I took your mother’s novel to investigate it because you liked it so much. I thought you would be happy when you received the letter.”
It was a strange expression—playful and amused at the same time. Armin Gray leaned back and smiled lazily.
“Then you should have just said that from the beginning.”
“I couldn’t reveal your mother’s secret hobby to others without permission.”
That made sense. If Shasha went around telling people about my private interests without asking, I would be furious.
My heart felt conflicted. It was hard to argue further. His gentle laugh reached me.
“Sorry again. If I had known you would be so frightened, I wouldn’t have played that joke.”
It was a clumsy but sincere apology. I found myself nodding.
“Well… in that case, it’s fine.”
“So. What did you think of my gift? Were you too angry to like it?”
It was the opposite. I had loved it—an exclusive letter and seal from the mysterious author Alji’s limited edition. How could I not?
I shook my head reluctantly. Seeing that, Armin Gray chuckled again.
“So you liked it?”
“Very much.”
“I’m glad. It was worth the effort.”
“Effort?”
At my question, Armin Gray shook his head as if it were nothing.
When I had rushed down to the reception room earlier, I had expected some big incident. But unexpectedly, things ended quietly.
Only after the heat in my head cooled did I remember I was alone in the reception room with an unrelated man. According to social etiquette, a man and woman being alone together was considered improper.
Feeling suddenly shy, I quickly changed the subject.
“Then since we’re done talking… should I call Shasha back?”
“Bibi Loha.”
Before I could finish my awkward words, Armin Gray called my name. My heart sank.
Given the situation, it was the first time someone had addressed me like that. It was a strange feeling I had never experienced before.
I turned to look at him. His violet eyes were still watching me, smiling faintly.
“Last time we met, and today as well…”
With a small smile, he said,
“The rumors and the real you are quite different.”
“Rumors? I don’t know what you mean.”
I felt the tables turning. Armin Gray had been apologizing just moments ago, but now I was the one on the defensive. Sweat trickled down my back.
“The rumors say you’re a sickly and quiet young lady.”
I am sickly and quiet… I thought, but I was too flustered to answer.
“Yet you smile, you talk…”
Again, he chuckled softly.
“And you get angry.”
