Chapter 125
“Then Should I Take It Back?”
“What, what are you doing? I told you to turn around and leave!”
“How could I do that?”
“What’s stopping you?”
Roitz only hugged me tighter.
If this went on, my heart might pound so hard it would kill me.
“You said you don’t like anything.”
“…Did I say that?”
Yes, I had said that before.
“Knights don’t take back their words.”
“Then… should I take it back?”
“No. Absolutely not.”
Still locked in his arms, my head went blank and I just blurted anything in reply.
But then, as I answered without thinking, a strange thought came to me.
Roitz’s reaction… wasn’t what I expected.
Could it be…
…he still likes me?
‘But that can’t be… right?’
That was years ago. And now he had Lusike.
“No, if you’re just pitying me, then don’t. Just go to Bishop Lusike and tell her this happened. Get it off your chest.”
“Bishop Lusike?”
“Wait, maybe it’s better not to say anything. But if you do tell her, you’d feel more at ease, Commander.”
I rambled nonsense, then quickly pushed his arms away.
“Go! Hurry and tell the Bishop.”
“What are you saying, Serdin? Why would I go to her?”
“Because you like her. I already know. Just go.”
Silence filled the air.
“…Who said I like her?”
“You did. Commander.”
“Me?”
“…?”
“…?”
Roitz looked genuinely confused, like he was hearing this for the first time.
“You don’t like Bishop Lusike?”
“It’s always been you. For years, it’s only ever been you.”
“…No, that can’t be. You and Bishop Lusike clearly liked each other.”
“What are you even talking about?”
“I mean you, Commander.”
“No, of course not. The Bishop doesn’t like me at all. In fact, she was desperate to help me get closer to you.”
“What? Bishop Lusike did that?”
“Yes. Honestly, it’s embarrassing, but… I even asked her for advice. About how to, um, attract you…”
“Lies.”
“It’s true.”
Scenes of Roitz and Lusike together flashed through my mind—every time I had wondered what they were talking about, making guesses by myself.
And now I learn it was… love advice?
Stunned, I shouted:
“Lies!!”
“It’s really true. Why would you ever think I liked the Bishop?”
“Because… because it was obvious!”
“Obvious how?”
“Because… she’s the one meant to save you.”
“What nonsense is that?”
Roitz turned me to face him.
I couldn’t lift my head, afraid of what expression I was making.
He looked down at me.
“The one who saves me… is you, Serdin.”
I forced my eyes upward, and his face was filled with desperate longing.
And my own face—
…exploded like a firecracker.
Absolutely. Clearly.
* * *
“Checkmate!”
Mina moved her chess piece and shouted.
I clicked my tongue and groaned, while Mina threw off her blanket with a cheer.
“Yes! Victory! But hey, shouldn’t you sleep, Serdin?”
It was evening. After a few days’ leave, I had been buried in work for 30 straight hours.
Now I was resting at Mina’s house after dinner.
‘It’s been a while since I came here.’
Back in the Yudeln days, I often came to Mina’s place to relax.
As lively and affectionate as always, Mina’s house was full of cute little decorations.
“Here, wear this, Serdin.”
Mina handed me a pretty light-green pajama set.
We both jumped onto her big bed.
“So soft.”
“Right?”
“Yeah, it’s comfy. Did you change the bed?”
“You noticed! It’s been 15 years since I replaced it.”
“Wow.”
“I even bought it from the Herelne family’s supplier, but they didn’t give me any discount, those stingy people.”
She chatted on about buying the bed, and listening to her stories slowly put me at ease.
Peace of mind… it had been a while since I felt that.
So much had happened lately.
I lost my aura, gained a new one.
There were masked men incidents.
The mastermind still wasn’t caught.
But strangely, my heart wasn’t restless.
‘It must be because one heavy burden has been lifted.’
I unconsciously recalled yesterday.
“It’s always been you. For years, it’s only ever been you.”
Where in the world had Roitz learned to say things like that?
I had a lot to learn.
Since I’d never dated anyone before, everything was unfamiliar.
I wasn’t sure if I could handle this new relationship well.
But one thing was certain:
It felt absurdly, overwhelmingly good. Good enough to cover every worry and hardship.
“Hehe.”
“Why did Serdin just laugh?”
“…I laughed?”
I turned in surprise. Mina had already rolled toward me, grinning suspiciously.
“Why would Serdin laugh?”
She narrowed her eyes and sniffed exaggeratedly.
“What’s this smell? Something sweet. Coming from Serdin.”
Did I spill strawberry jam earlier? I lifted my arm to check.
But Mina’s grin only widened.
“No, no. Who’s the one that made my innocent Serudin all sweet like this?”
“Uh…”
“Who is it? I wonder if it’s who I think it is?”
Ah… so that’s what she meant.
My face turned as red as jam.
“Kyah!!”
Mina leapt up from her brand-new bed, tossed the blanket, and screamed.
She rolled forward dramatically, then grabbed my shoulders.
“Spill it! Everything! Now!”
She badgered me nonstop.
“Spill what—”
“Hurry!”
It was like an interrogation. I ended up confessing everything.
“…And that’s what happened.”
When I finished, I shoved my burning face under the blanket.
Just retelling it made me dizzy from heat.
“That’s the best story I’ve heard in three years!” Mina squealed, rolling across the bed in delight.
Then, with misty eyes, she said like she was recalling something precious:
“Finally… it’s happened.”
“What do you mean, finally?”
She looked at me knowingly.
“You knew?”
“Of course. I’ve been waiting five years for this.”
“Since five years ago?”
“Yeah. That senior liked you from back then.”
“You knew that?”
“Anyone with the slightest sense could tell. Only someone totally clueless wouldn’t.”
I, apparently, was that clueless someone.
Still, Mina patted me kindly.
“It’s okay, Serdin. You’re amazing in everything else. Being a little slow on this one thing is fine.”
It took me a while to recover from the shock.
But still, it was… a warm night.
* * *
The first holiday since that day.
“How about this outfit?”
At the Foundel family mansion, I gathered with my Yudeln friends.
“No, that one’s worse than the other.”
“Raicher, do you mean that?”
“…No.”
They argued over flashy dresses in catalogues.
The reason was simple: today was my first da—well, anyway. That.
“Serdin, what about this one?”
“…Ugh.”
My vision spun.
I was on dress design number 362. Over ten catalogues piled high.
They all looked the same now.
“Herel, that’s just the earlier one with butterfly patterns. Worse.”
“Mina, the one you picked is even worse.”
“You both have no taste. Look at this.”
“Ugh, that’s the worst one yet, Raicher.”
While they argued, I slipped to the corner and opened another catalogue.
“Serdin?”
They only noticed after a while.
I pointed at one page.
“This one.”
A neat cream-colored jacket and pants.
We were only going to eat and walk in the park. Comfortable clothes seemed best.
If I suddenly wore a flashy dress, Roitz might not even recognize me.
“If that’s what Serdin wants, let’s choose it.”
Herel smiled and shut the dress catalogues. Mina and Raicher also nodded.
Herel called for the servants to prepare the outfit.
Then she turned to me.
“Anyway, finally it happened, Serdin. Congratulations. I was wondering when your hearts would connect.”
“You knew too, Herel?”
“Of course. I was probably the last to realize.”
“When did you realize?”
“About five years ago?”
“You too…?”
Once again, shock hit me.
