Chapter 43
Is This a Date? (1)
As I was lost in thought, an unexpected figure greeted me.
“Rudolph! What are you doing here?”
Rudolph, standing neatly dressed in front of the Marquis’ carriage, beamed as soon as he saw me.
“You said we should hang out once you came back.”
Only then did I recall the promise I made on the way to the imperial palace.
It was a promise meant to keep Rudolph in check—but in the end, it came back to bite me.
Now I understand why people say not to make promises lightly.
Sighing at my own loose lips, I walked over to Rudolph.
“So, you came this early just for that?”
“Yup!”
Rudolph, unaware that I was being sarcastic, smiled even more brightly as if I’d praised him.
Honestly, it was really cute.
If the person behind me were Weizen instead of Ian, I might have stroked his face and hugged him for being so adorable.
But since it was Ian—the only person who could actually compete with Rudolph—I braced myself.
“Well, the sun’s already setting. Is there even anywhere to go at this hour?”
“Of course! The festival will be going on for a while.”
I tilted my head at Rudolph’s cheerful reply.
Wait, why?
This whole romance-fantasy world is so bizarre.
Some regions are suffering famine due to problems in the grain belt, while others are celebrating festivals?
“Did you forget? The Emperor’s birthday is in a week.”
Ian, who had followed us, smiled as if prompting me to remember.
And then I recalled what we had talked about on our way here.
“The Emperor’s birthday?”
A classic romance-fantasy trope.
That was the first thought that came to mind.
A festival for the Emperor’s birthday, another one for the Crown Prince’s birthday…
And someday, if someone becomes Empress, there’ll probably be a festival for that too.
“So that’s why the festival’s happening?”
“Yup. The main event will be fun too, but I thought you’d like this atmosphere, Odelia.”
Rudolph took my hand as he spoke.
To be honest, “festival” was a foreign word to me.
Even in my previous life, I never had time to enjoy one—always working part-time jobs.
Back in university, I worked at a pub near campus.
During festivals, there were lots of short-term job openings, and the late-night hours came with bonus pay.
Same for Christmas or any other holiday.
I worked for extra income, which became pocket money for my siblings or my own living expenses.
Even after becoming a full-time worker, I never took breaks during holidays or weekends.
A day off meant a cut in pay.
At the time, nothing was more important than money.
I racked up paid leave, not to use it for rest, but to get compensated later.
Maybe that’s why I was wondering how to even enjoy a festival now.
“I don’t really know much about festivals.”
Both Rudolph and Ian looked puzzled.
Why was I feeling embarrassed over something so trivial?
It wasn’t anything shameful—just strange that I’d never experienced something so ordinary in all that time.
“I’ve never really had a chance to enjoy one.”
“Well then, that’s perfect.”
Rudolph eagerly grabbed my hand.
“We’ll just enjoy this one extra hard.”
His smile was as beautiful as the setting sun, and it made my heart flutter unexpectedly.
No friend or family member had ever said something like that to me before.
They’d sympathized with how busy I was and offered words of encouragement—but never more than that.
“Let’s go hang out someday.”
“Let’s go see the flowers together someday.”
I used to hope for those words.
Maybe that’s why Rudolph’s offer made my chest ache with joy.
“If you know nothing about festivals, I shall teach you. No one knows the Empire’s festivals better than I.”
“Bragging about skipping work every day isn’t really something to be proud of,” Ian interjected.
Rudolph simply smiled and held my hand again.
“Besides, today is our day. Right?”
“Huh? What do you mean—?”
Before I could finish, the scenery changed.
Just like flipping a page in a book.
Rudolph’s teleportation had become almost fun to experience.
In novels, teleportation was described as disorienting and nauseating—but his was nothing like that.
It really did feel like a natural page-turn.
“What about Ian?”
“Obviously, I left him behind. That way, I can finally call you by your real name—Jina.”
Rudolph gave me a sweet smile, clearly pleased with my name.
“And I can’t exactly walk around in these clothes—”
With a snap of his fingers, he changed our outfits—just like he did back at the Mage Tower.
The extravagant dress I wore to meet the Emperor was gone, replaced by a simple peasant outfit.
My hair was tied up, making it easy to move around.
Rudolph leaned on my shoulder with a satisfied smile, seemingly pleased with how I looked.
“And now we’re matching!”
He snapped his fingers again, changing his clothes to match mine—black pants, a black skirt, a white blouse with bare shoulders, and a white poet shirt.
He then showed me a handmade necklace of wood and stone.
“You made this?”
“Yup! With my own hands. No magic.”
He leaned on me as if waiting for praise.
The great archmage wanted me to compliment his handmade jewelry.
Did people know how adorable he could be?
I giggled and patted his head, making his cheeks flush bright red.
“So, since this is your plan, you’ll be showing me around properly, right?”
I looked around at the streets lighting up one by one as the sky darkened.
Even though the main festival hadn’t started, everything sparkled and looked beautiful to me.
I wanted to run around and explore, but today, I was being guided.
“So where are we going first?”
I asked, holding Rudolph’s hand, which had settled around my shoulder.
Sparkles—like bits of light—danced around his face.
“Here! This way!”
As I followed his lead into the glittering street, I thought:
“So breathtaking scenes like this really do exist.”
“Grilled chicken skewers! Get them while they’re hot!”
“The performance starts soon!”
“Beauty pageant prelims today!”
“Registration over here!”
“Inn’s this way! Travelers, hurry!”
I was overwhelmed by the lively chaos.
It had been a long time since I’d felt such noisy excitement.
It had been maybe two or three months since I’d become Odelia.
All the commotion in my life until now had been caused by me—brief, controlled.
But this—the bass-thumping music, the footsteps shaking the ground, the echo in my chest—this was real.
As I tried to walk through the madness, a man holding a paper sign suddenly popped out.
“Pretty lady, how about our place? For someone as lovely as you, I’ll throw in all the extras!”
“Come to our side and get dessert too!”
“Pretty sister! Come to our shop!”
Before I knew it, people were popping out from all sides, trying to promote their businesses.
“Uh—wait, hold on—”
“Don’t be shy, miss, come on—”
“Whoa—”
A hand tugged me too hard and I stumbled.
If Rudolph hadn’t caught me by the waist, I would’ve face-planted.
“Ah! Sorry, pretty lady! Are you okay?”
The shopkeeper seemed genuinely startled and apologized in a panic.
I wasn’t hurt, and sometimes overenthusiastic promotion like that happens, so I smiled to show I was fine.
“I’m okay. Really, it’s no big—”
But then I noticed the atmosphere had changed.
I looked at Rudolph—just as I feared, his face was filled with rage.
“I-I’m so, so sorry! Please forgive me!!”
The shopkeeper fell to his knees, bowing repeatedly in terror.
Rudolph’s killing intent was so intense, the man could barely breathe.
Damn it, kid! You can’t just go threatening random people like this!
“Rudolph!”
I smacked him hard on the back.
Only then did Rudolph pull back his killing aura.
The shopkeeper finally took a deep breath.
“He almost hurt you.”
“But he didn’t, did he?”
“…He could’ve.”
Rudolph answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world, completely ignoring the groveling man.
The festival was about to be ruined before it had even begun.
So I quickly grabbed Rudolph’s cheeks.
“Rudolph, look into my eyes.”
His red eyes, like glass beads, met mine.
Even the way his lips were pressed shut in anger was almost unbearably beautiful.
“You said you’d help me enjoy the festival.”
“…Yeah.”
“If you keep acting up like this, I won’t be able to. We’ll have to go back.”
“…I get it.”
“Then you know what to do, right?”
He let out a sigh and snapped his fingers.
With a bang, fireworks exploded, and flower petals rained down from above.
From afar, people cheered at the dazzling display.
“Is that good enough?”
Rudolph held my hand again.
“Good enough” was an understatement.
After offering the shopkeeper a quick apology, we hurried away.
“I always wanted to try one of these when I was a kid.”
“Chicken skewers?”
“Yeah! I’ve never had one.”
“You too, Jina?”
I nodded.
Neither Odelia nor Jina had ever eaten something
