Chapter 47
‘It’s because Caspar keeps talking about lovers and stuff like that.’
In her past life, love was meaningless—she had died from working endless overtime while repeating housework over and over.
Still, it was natural to feel a little flutter from someone showing kindness, giving her a holiday, and feeding her delicious food.
Even if Caspar had been a woman, it would have been the same.
‘But Caspar is always joking.’
He spent all his time talking about what amused him. That clearly meant it was all a game.
Just looking at how he cross-dressed and briefly tempted the Count, he seemed to have a real talent for it.
‘So the nickname “womanizer” isn’t just a rumor.’
He probably acted even more charming in private, so there was zero chance of anything serious between them.
It was impossible. That tiny, fleeting feeling she had developed had to be folded away carefully.
‘Right, Floria?’
She called out silently to the body’s original owner, staring at the empty air, but there was no answer.
She took it as confirmation. Bitterly, she closed her eyes.
“Unnie, can you help me with my studies?”
“Oh? Sure.”
Rose, who had been writing diligently at her desk, ran over excitedly. Floria opened her eyes and smiled faintly.
‘Of course, how could I be thinking of anything else?’
With a child holding a book and looking at her with bright eyes right beside her, all tangled thoughts flew away.
For now, it was fine. She didn’t know when her distracting thoughts might return, but at least now, they were gone.
‘It was better when I was just lying in bed worrying.’
Yes, that was definitely better. Floria knelt in front of the confessional, hands together as if praying, facing the man who had been looking at her expectantly.
“Since that day, I can’t forget you. You stay in my mind, and you appear in my dreams every night.”
The man speaking was Baron Beanel Narjan Youngshik. The same one who had gone off excited after she told him he would meet a woman he liked in three days.
‘He doesn’t even know what I look like…’
All he had ever seen were her lips moving when she spoke. Why couldn’t he forget her?
And why, of all people, did he think she was the woman he liked? She had barely spoken a few words to him in the confessional.
‘Maybe he’s just randomly guessing.’
Beanel’s name had been on the very first page of Count Ridante’s ledger. He had bought dozens of slaves while lamenting that he couldn’t find a suitable partner, yet he did this behind the scenes.
Floria couldn’t even look at him properly, her disgust almost making her nauseous.
She felt a slight tremor in her hands as she clasped them in prayer. She tried to steady her breathing.
“I’m sorry, but I’m a priest of the Elio Temple. I cannot meet with anyone freely.”
If she spoke more, it would surely get out of hand. She refused politely but firmly.
But Beanel didn’t back down. The shy blush on his face was gone, replaced with a sly smile as he stepped forward.
“Yes, you are a priest of the Elio Temple. Just a priest. I am willing to meet you personally, and yet you dare refuse…”
“Floria is dating Duke Caspar!”
The shout echoed through the confessional, stopping Beanel mid-sentence.
He slowly turned toward the voice, unsure how to fix his awkwardly lifted mouth.
Floria herself was startled and froze, forgetting to back away quietly.
“…What?”
Exactly! Floria wanted, for once, to support the correction.
“Floria is dating Duke Caspar. If you continue approaching her, Duke Caspar won’t forgive you.”
The priest speaking with confidence was Reilly. She nodded seriously, as if confirming the truth.
‘Reilly… why are you doing this now?’
Floria had been getting along well with Reilly. She considered Reilly her closest friend in the temple. But to suddenly say something so absurd, right when Floria’s feelings for Caspar were already confusing, was even more shocking.
If Caspar heard this rumor…
“Impossible.”
Beanel gave up immediately, abandoning any intention of checking the claim. Even though a lower-ranking priest had intervened, he completely lost his resolve.
It made sense—if the claim was true, he had no idea what Caspar might do to him.
Beanel’s pupils shook nervously, then he headed for the confessional door, as if resigning.
But—
“I heard my lover is having a hard time. Is that true?”
He stopped mid-step, murmuring as he entered the confessional.
Beanel stiffened and looked up at the man blocking the doorway. He had to tilt his head back to see him fully.
“D-Duke Caspar!”
Beanel faltered and avoided his gaze.
The figure blocking him was Caspar, dressed neatly in a black uniform with black gloves.
“I just heard that some noble youth confessed to my lover.”
Caspar tilted his head, his voice unusually displeased.
“Th-That’s…”
Was it really true that Floria was Caspar’s lover? Beanel’s body trembled.
“Luckily I was nearby. Otherwise, it could have been troublesome.”
Caspar brushed his chin, then leaned forward, staring Beanel down.
“Are you that noble youth?”
“…….”
If he admitted it now, what would happen? Beanel tried to answer but couldn’t.
Caspar’s yellow eyes, deep and intense, seemed like they could pierce and crush him.
“It can’t be, right?”
“…N-No! It’s not me!”
Beanel shut his eyes tightly, shouting. Even if he were caught lying later, admitting the truth now could be dangerous.
Sweat ran down his forehead, neck, and back, yet he didn’t even notice.
“Hmm… maybe that was just wrong information.”
Caspar’s eyelids twitched as he raised his body again. Then he scanned the people in the confessional with a puzzled look.
“Didn’t anyone hear that today is my lover’s last day working here?”
“I-I see… I must have misunderstood.”
Beanel relaxed slightly, thinking he had survived—but immediately regretted it. Caspar’s presence was even more overwhelming than before.
“So… you knew who my lover is, and yet you approached her?”
“…….”
“You dared approach her knowing who my lover is?”
Beanel’s head spun. The lie had already been discovered. Caspar had never said who his lover was, only that he had one. The priest’s sudden interruption made him assume it was Floria.
Caspar’s piercing gaze continued to pressure him. Beanel’s legs nearly gave out. Then, suddenly, Caspar smirked.
