Chapter 28.1

valérez didn’t burst into tears as i had worried. it was just a deep, deep sigh. it wasn’t that he was lamenting, but he really didn’t seem to be breathing properly.

as if barely resting, heavy breaths escaped his mouth while one of his hands wrapped around his face.

“…i didn’t do it out of boredom. really.”

in front of him, i was restless and fiddled with my fingers. a low breath falls on top of my head, which i couldn’t even lift to look up to him.

“get out of here.”

i couldn’t refuse valérez’s request. staring at me as he shook his head lightly, he added, “i don’t want to see your face anymore, so i don’t want you to come to the house either.”

“yes. i won’t. i’m sorry…”

valérez turned his back without hearing my replies. i had no choice but to stare at his back, which moved away faster than his usual pace.

* * *

kim jian.

‘you damn motherfucker, if i get caught, i’ll blame you for everything.’

leaving the garden of valérez mansion, i looked around for the carriage of the grand duke of caballero, trying to catch my breath. i didn’t think kim jian would’ve come to valérez alone, and she must’ve followed curtis. she would’ve rented a carriage.

found it!

i turned my head to the point where i heard a whacking sound among the rows of carriages. there, i found the carriage bearing the mark of the grand duke of caballero.

“hey!”

when the door opened wide, jian, who was lying lazily against the window as if waiting for someone, got up in surprise.

“e-edith?!”

her lips twitched as she saw me. i jumped up the steps and climbed into the carriage, thinking i could snag something inside.

“did jian let val – no – ares know that i am from the marquis of abina?”

“what? who is ares?”

jian seemed to be surprised by my sharp eyes. she tilted her head as if she didn’t know who ares was.

“i don’t know anyone like that, young lady.”

“green eyes and red blonde hair! a handsome man with tanned skin and a slender body!”

“ah, did you mean the man who looks shady? i heard that the lady was indebted to him.”

jian nodded her head and smiled at my explanation as if she only recalled him then.

“yes, i told him about the young lady’s status. i was afraid he’d do something terrible to the beautifully grown young lady.”

i frowned at jian’s explanation. kim jian didn’t know who ares was?

“you were worried, so you revealed my identity so recklessly?”

“yes,” she confirmed with confidence, “i thought it should at least scare him. the clothes he’s wearing, what he’s doing… i’m not in a situation to get involved, but i want to look out for you too.”

only then did i shut my mouth with a strange sense of foreshadowing that i have heard jian’s lines somewhere. what she was reciting now was a line from the valérez route.

the route through which the female protagonist, who completely misunderstood valérez as a bad person, hit an iron wall and clung to her in a fit of refusal. i’ve never targeted valérez before, but i often looked at other players’ screenshots and stories on the play board.

‘but how can kim jian, who doesn’t even have someone controlling her, say this alone?’

my mouth hung agape, staring at jian’s meek face, which seemed to have no intention of harming me.

“you did it for me, but now i have lost a place to stay thanks to jian.”

jian bit on her lips as she suggested, “then go to the temple with me, young lady.”

i frowned at the thought of the ‘saint’ job that was also in my previous options.

i just completed the karma quest and had filled my bag with holy power. i could head straight to the great hall instead.

however, it was quite weird to follow jian like this. i scratched the seat with the tip of my fingernail, having a hunch that there was something else she hadn’t told me.

“what will happen if i go to the temple together with you?”

“…what?”

“how will i be treated?”

jian bit her lips again with a face of great embarrassment. did she think i wouldn’t ask? that’s right. i laughed at the thought that she had something to hide from me.

“did you really intend to use me as your maid?”

“…”