~Chapter 7~
Even though I’d been careful, Yushen finally found out who I was. But at least our talk ended peacefully.
No matter how it happened, the point is that unless I leave the temple on my own, there’s nothing Yushen can do to me.
I tried to act polite, bowed my head a little, and started to walk away from Yushen.
Or I tried to.
“If you run away from this temple, this agreement is over.”
If he hadn’t said that, I would have just left.
I stopped when I heard the word “agreement.”
Does that even sound like an agreement? It sounded more like a threat.
I turned halfway and looked at Yushen, speaking in a sarcastic voice.
“Wow, that was an agreement? It sounded like a threat to me.”
“If that’s how you heard it, I’m sorry. Sometimes people hear things differently than what was meant.”
Wow, why do I feel like I just lost this round? He really knows how to make people mad. I guess I was underestimating him because I thought of him as “soft-hearted.” Now I see why he’s the captain.
“Until a decision is made, you should avoid being seen by the temple people.”
“Yeah, sure, whatever.”
I couldn’t answer nicely. If he talks like that, why should I?
Yushen glared at me for a moment, then left first.
When he was finally out of sight, I let out a tired laugh.
I wanted to do the opposite of what Yushen said, but I held it in. It wouldn’t help me, and acting like Leana would only make things worse.
“Ugh!”
Even though no one was around, I got goosebumps. It was the side effect of being watched by Yushen for days.
He watched me himself, not sending a subordinate. It was uncomfortable and worrying.
Even if I didn’t want it, Yushen would find out everything about me soon.
Yesterday, I told him to stop overdoing it. Maybe that worked, because I didn’t see Yushen today.
I guessed he was busy and went to my cleaning area.
“But something feels weird lately.”
How can I say this? I hardly saw anyone around me. Like everyone was avoiding me.
It made sense to not know many people since I was new here. But even the people I got along with stopped talking to me.
It was like they disappeared.
And when I did meet someone by chance, they gave me weird looks. Not exactly mean, but not friendly either.
‘Even Lucy has been acting different. I don’t think I’m imagining things.’
Why? What happened to make everyone act like this? Did Yushen start some strange rumor about me?
‘…No, he’s not the type to do that.’
It seemed like my reputation got worse, but I had no idea why.
Finally, I gave up guessing by myself. I needed to talk to someone about this.
“…Tia?”
“Lucy, hi! It’s been a while.”
I went to the vegetable garden behind the dorm. It was Lucy’s area—she’s my roommate.
Even though we lived together, I hadn’t seen Lucy for a long time. She came in after I was asleep and left before I woke up.
I was happy to see her, but Lucy looked surprised. Like she never thought I’d come find her.
I walked over and linked arms with her, just like she always did to me.
“I want to ask you something.”
“You can’t just come find me out of nowhere like this!”
“You do it all the time.”
“……”
She couldn’t argue, so she bit her lip.
Then Lucy grabbed my arm and took me somewhere.
We went to the storage for animal feed. Hardly anyone came here except Lucy.
Maybe she didn’t want anyone to see us together.
“…What do you want to ask?”
“Are you in a hurry?”
“That’s what you’re curious about?”
“No, but you’re acting like you really need to go to the bathroom.”
“It’s not that.”
“That’s good then.”
Lucy’s face got stiff. She was clearly hiding something.
Did I pick the right person to ask? I was secretly happy with myself.
“People are avoiding me lately. Do you know why?”
“……”
“No matter what it is, I’m fine. Just tell me everything.”
Lucy’s lips stayed shut. She paced around, making worried noises.
Then she stopped and looked at me with a serious face.
“…Tia, do you know there’s a rumor about you in the temple?”
“If I knew, would I be here asking you?”
“Oh…”
“What kind of rumor is it?”
“Promise you won’t get mad after you hear it.”
“Did you start the rumor?”
“Of course not!”
“Then I promise I won’t get mad at you.”
Feeling safe, Lucy came closer and even lowered her voice.
“People are saying you have some… dirty love scandal in the temple.”
“Huh? Scandal?”
Is it that kind of scandal? Why would that rumor start?
There are more women than men in the temple, so I wouldn’t be flirting with any guys…
Wait. Who is supposed to be in the rumor with me…?
“Is it Yushen?”
“Oh my god! So it’s true?”
Lucy’s face turned red. She must have thought it was real since I guessed right away.
“It’s not true! Why would I have anything like that with Yushen?”
“Wow, you just say his name so easily…”
Lucy’s eyes went wide. She cared more that I said his name than what I meant.
Now I knew, once this conversation is over, there will be even crazier rumors about me and Yushen. Lucy talks to everyone.
Whatever. If it’s already a mess, let’s make it more fun! After all, I’m not the one who’s going to get in trouble for it—it’ll be Yushen.
“So what are they saying exactly?”
“You know, things people do when they’re in love.”
“There are lots of things people do when they’re in love.”
Lucy gave me a very suspicious look.
This was a bad feeling.
“How was the kiss?”
“…What?”
“People said they saw you kissing the captain!”
I was speechless.
That’s ridiculous. I never kissed Yushen, and I never will!
“What are you talking about? Why would I ever kiss him?”
“Someone saw it happen!”
“Who was it?”
“…Tia, do you know how scary your eyes are right now? It looks like you could kill someone.”
Shoot, she noticed.
I’ll find out who spread the rumor later. For now, I need to get more info from Lucy.
“Forget that. Just tell me what they said they saw.”
“A few days ago, after prayer, when the main exit was blocked, someone saw you and the captain sneaking out the back door together.”
“That’s it? They made a rumor just because of that?”
“Of course not! It looked so suspicious they followed you. Then they saw you two really close together—”
“Stop!”
I didn’t need to hear more. I could guess the rest.
We weren’t even talking nicely that day! We were fighting!
“Why did a rumor like that start when we just argued?”
“Oh my gosh! So it’s true you two snuck out together?”
“Is that what’s important right now?”
“Of course it is!”
I sighed. Does everyone in this temple have their ears closed?
Yushen and Lucy are both so clueless sometimes.
“The captain is everyone’s prince.”
…Even though I hate to admit it, he is really handsome.
Still, if people saw him working, they wouldn’t call him a prince anymore.
“Even if we’re not close, right?”
“Honestly, it doesn’t matter if it’s true or not. People care more that someone like you has a rumor with someone so important.”
“Why?”
“Because they’re jealous. That’s why people have been avoiding you.”
Oh, my head. I didn’t expect such a stupid reason.
I kind of understand it. Most people working here are my age or younger, so they get carried away with gossip.
But still… Isn’t ignoring me too much?
Sigh, forget it. Thinking about it now just makes me feel worse. Let’s just focus on the facts.
So this all started because Yushen acted in a way people could misunderstand.
I guess someone saw him getting close to check my mole, and made the wrong guess.
Lucy, who avoided me before, now wouldn’t stop asking questions. I quickly shut her down and went back to my cleaning area.
“Tia.”
When I came back, a girl I didn’t know called me.
“The assistant priest is looking for you.”
“For me? Why?”
“I don’t know.”
Her smile made me uneasy. I had a bad feeling about this.
