SUPER SIDE STORY 15…………………………………
Thanks to Ivelina and Arsene taking turns caring for him with utmost devotion, Ruamin’s fever went down quickly.
Only after the fever subsided was Roselia finally allowed to see him.
Ruamin hadn’t completely recovered yet, so he still had to stay in bed.
Roselia jumped onto the bed and hugged him tightly.
“Ru!”
“Rosel!”
They had only been apart for two days, but Roselia and Ruamin acted as if they hadn’t seen each other in years.
Everyone in the room burst into laughter at their exaggerated reunion.
“You must never do something like that again, okay?”
“Okay… I understand…”
When Roselia scolded him firmly, Ruamin nodded with a gloomy expression.
But she soon softened and hugged him again.
Ruamin giggled, then suddenly said, “Ah,” and looked toward Selene, who was standing nearby.
He bowed his head politely.
“Thank you for saving me, Your Majesty.”
“Huh? No! It was just something I should have done.”
“Still, thank you. I’m really grateful.”
Ruamin bowed again.
Selene didn’t know how to respond, so she walked closer and patted his shoulder.
“Well, if you’re grateful, then don’t do something that dangerous again. Got it?”
“Yes!”
Ruamin answered energetically and nodded.
The next day, Ivelina went out with Selene alone.
It was to keep her promise to show Selene around the Empire.
Arsene looked at Selene with a slightly jealous expression, but he didn’t say anything.
When they arrived at the shopping district by carriage, the streets were packed with people.
Selene’s eyes sparkled at the different atmosphere compared to the Kingdom of Astina.
“Wow… this is amazing. There are so many people.”
“Well, it is the capital. But Astina has plenty of people too, doesn’t it?”
“That’s true. But it feels strange not smelling the sea.”
Ivelina looked around and nodded.
“You’re right. In Astina, the smell of seawater always lingers in the streets.”
For a moment, it almost felt like she could smell the sea again.
“Was there anything you especially wanted to see or do when you came to the Empire?”
“Hm… I didn’t really think about anything specific before coming, so nothing comes to mind.”
Selene said this with a slightly embarrassed smile.
Ivelina smiled reassuringly.
“Then we’ll just look around everything.”
As they walked down the street, Selene drew people’s attention.
Her clothing looked exotic compared to the Empire’s fashion.
While most imperial citizens wore thick, fully covering clothes, Selene’s outfit was made of thin fabric that revealed her arms and legs.
Ivelina almost asked if the stares made her uncomfortable, but since Selene didn’t mention it, she decided to remain silent.
Selene suddenly said with a regretful expression,
“I was going to bring you a gift—clothes from Astina—but I got so busy that I forgot.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I thought Astina clothing would suit you very well.”
With her pale skin and slender figure, it would surely look beautiful.
“So when I return to the kingdom, could you give me your measurements? I’ll have outfits made and send one for the Grand Duke too.”
“Oh, you really don’t have to…”
“I want to.”
“In that case… alright.”
Ivelina nodded with a small smile.
The first place they went was a restaurant.
They had deliberately come out around lunchtime, so it was the perfect time to eat.
“I made a reservation at a restaurant that specializes in spicy dishes, since I thought it would suit your taste.”
“What? Really? That sounds exciting.”
Selene’s face brightened.
Apparently she had been worried about having to eat rich food again.
The restaurant was crowded, but since they had reserved a good table in advance, there was no problem.
They were seated on the terrace on the second floor and ordered the restaurant’s most popular dishes.
The restaurant was known for serving food quickly, and in less than thirty minutes all the dishes had arrived.
The table was soon filled with food, and Selene swallowed.
True to its reputation as a spicy restaurant, most of the dishes were bright red.
The spicy aroma alone made it feel hot even before tasting it.
“Eat plenty, Selene.”
“You too, Ivelina.”
Selene cut a large piece of lobster and put it in her mouth.
The chewy, springy lobster meat mixed perfectly with the spicy sauce.
Across from her, Ivelina also widened her eyes and nodded.
“It’s even more delicious than I expected.”
“Right? It’s totally my style.”
Whenever the spice became too strong, eating the salad drizzled with sweet sauce balanced it perfectly.
“The most famous dish here is this one.”
“Really?”
The dish Ivelina pointed to was flat noodles stir-fried in spicy sauce with various vegetables.
There were also large shrimp in it, making the texture excellent.
Ivelina and Selene finished the meal very satisfied.
While eating the sherbet served as dessert, Selene let out a satisfied sigh.
“That was really good.”
“I’m glad it suited your taste.”
Ivelina laughed softly and cooled her mouth with the sherbet.
Next, they planned to stroll through the streets and then visit the tea house Ivelina had previously gone to with Karina.
It happened to be market day, so the streets were lively.
Selene looked delighted by even that.
Ivelina had worried it might be uncomfortable for her, but thankfully it wasn’t.
“Come see our homemade jam and cookies!”
“Take a look at our bracelets! We even have wish bracelets!”
Vendors called out everywhere.
As they squeezed through the bustling crowd, Selene looked around curiously.
After leisurely browsing the market, they returned to the wider road where carriages traveled.
Selene shook her head.
“I didn’t expect there to be so many people.”
“You should come to the north sometime. There aren’t many people there. Of course, you’d have to dress very warmly.”
“Alright. I’ll make time to visit someday.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
As they walked toward the tea house, they suddenly saw a carriage racing recklessly from afar.
At that moment, a little girl holding her mother’s hand dropped the handkerchief she was holding.
The wind carried it into the middle of the road.
The girl let go of her mother’s hand and ran toward it.
Seeing this, the girl’s mother screamed.
“Roselin!”
The coachman noticed the girl too late and pulled the reins desperately, but the speed didn’t slow.
A terrible accident was about to happen.
Crash!
There was a loud bang and the sound of horses crying out.
People screamed as all eyes turned toward the scene.
The girl’s mother collapsed to the ground.
Miraculously, the girl was unharmed—
but the carriage wasn’t.
It looked like it had crashed into something and shattered into pieces.
Standing nearby, Ivelina let out a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, she had managed to cast a defensive spell in front of the child just in time.
The carriage had crashed into the barrier and broken apart.
The girl’s mother rushed over and hugged her tightly.
“Roselin! How could you do something so dangerous? What if you had been seriously hurt?!”
As her mother scolded her, the child burst into loud sobs.
People whispered among themselves, confused by what had happened.
Because of the large disturbance, guards quickly arrived.
Ivelina quietly watched the scene, then said to Selene,
“Let’s go, Selene.”
“Huh? Oh—okay.”
Selene nodded and followed her.
Since the road was now blocked because of the accident, they decided to take another route.
As they walked in silence along a different street, Selene finally spoke.
“Ivelina.”
“Yes?”
“That earlier… you did that, didn’t you?”
“Did what?”
Ivelina tilted her head.
“You saved that child. That was you.”
Instead of answering, Ivelina simply smiled.
“Why didn’t you go tell them you saved her?”
“Well… I didn’t feel the need to say anything. The important thing is that the child is safe.”
Selene already knew from their letters that Ivelina could use magic, so she wasn’t particularly surprised.
Still, Ivelina really was different from ordinary people.
Most people would have boasted everywhere about saving the child.
But Ivelina didn’t show it at all and quietly left.
Selene muttered to herself,
“You really are unusual.”
“Hm?”
“I mean… impressive.”
Ivelina smiled.
Fortunately, the cakes at the tea house also suited Selene’s taste perfectly.
“They’re not too sweet and not heavy either… they’re really good.”
Even though they had eaten not long ago, Selene finished three slices of cake.
Seeing her enjoy the food so much made Ivelina smile warmly.
They relaxed while eating cake and resting before slowly standing up.
Before leaving the tea house, they didn’t forget to pack some cake for Roselia and Ruamin.
“Is that cake for Roselia and Ruamin?”
“Yes. The children love cake.”
The guard standing behind them took the box.
After checking the time, Ivelina said,
“We should head back to the mansion soon.”
“Already?”
“There’s still time left. Let’s come out together again another day.”
“Well… we’ll still be seeing each other for a while.”
Selene laughed heartily.
As they walked back toward the carriage, she said,
“I really had fun today, Ivelina.”
“We didn’t really do anything special… I almost feel sorry.”
“No, this was more than enough for me. Just walking around without worries and eating a meal like this—I loved it.”
Selene had always lived under constant pressure.
She had never spent time so freely before.
It was one of the most satisfying days she had ever had.
It was an ordinary day without anything extraordinary—
but for Selene, it would remain a special memory for the rest of her life.
