Chapter 27
“The Second Arrow and a Promise”
Fwoosh.
It was like someone had set fire to Todd’s face.
“I, I, uh, well, I, I, I, I…”
Todd stammered like he’d forgotten every word except “I.”
He couldn’t even spit out the dumb, defensive stuff he usually said when embarrassed—like “Why would I like someone like you?!”
His mind felt like it was about to explode. Everything went blank.
And then, suddenly, with a burst of random courage—
“Y-Yeah! I like you!”
Swallowing hard, Todd looked straight into Philippe’s eyes for the first time.
“I’ve liked you from the beginning! I admired how bold and brave you were. I thought it was amazing that you could stand up to injustice.”
“…”
“I like how you snore when you fall asleep during research. I like your rough hands and messy hair. Even when you wear old clothes—you’re still beautiful. And I like how you’re not ashamed of being poor…”
“Y-You…!”
Now Philippe turned as red as Todd and stepped back, yelling at him.
“Why are you yelling?! You’re making me embarrassed now!”
But even though she was shouting, she could clearly feel how sincere Todd’s feelings were.
The two of them just stood there, blushing like radishes, not saying anything.
But it wasn’t an awkward silence—it felt sweet, like sugar in the air.
“Looks like this’ll work out,” Lukas whispered into Rosedale’s ear as they watched.
“What do you mean?” she asked, lifting her head from where it rested on his chest.
His hair brushed her forehead—it tickled.
“Those two. I think they’ll make up soon.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. The misunderstanding is cleared up, and the guy will grow into a better person.”
After all, love often starts with a confession.
Now that Philippe knew how Todd felt, she wouldn’t be able to ignore him anymore. He’d be on her mind constantly.
Rosedale’s eyes widened.
Wait a second… wasn’t this the perfect moment to shoot the golden arrow at Philippe?
They’d made up, Todd had changed—it felt like now or never!
She whispered urgently, “Lukas! I need to go somewhere real quick—stay here!”
“What?”
Lukas was startled when she pulled away and grabbed her sleeve.
“Where are you going? Can’t I come?”
“No!”
Rosedale yelled, then froze when she saw Lukas’s hurt expression.
“Uh… what do humans hate again? Oh! Farts! I’m going to fart! That’s why I need to go alone!”
“…Huh?”
“So just wait right here! I’ll be back soon!”
“Ah… okay. Got it…”
Still confused, Lukas let go of her sleeve.
Rosedale beamed and quickly ran off into the darkness.
He didn’t know she felt bad for snapping—she was already racing to climb a nearby tree.
No time to rest. She whipped out her bow and arrow, aimed at Philippe, and sharpened her focus.
“I truly wish you two happiness.”
The glowing golden arrow flew from her bow—and landed right in Philippe’s left chest.
“…!”
Philippe suddenly clutched her chest, her heart pounding wildly.
Rosedale, watching from the tree, jumped down immediately.
She didn’t want to enjoy this moment alone. She wanted to share the success with Lukas—the one person who mattered most.
She rushed back toward him—but stopped cold when she saw a familiar pink puff of fur.
Her own hair.
“Gasp!”
She’d accidentally reverted to fairy form again.
“Why is this happening again?!”
The same thing had happened the day she shot Lukas with the arrow.
Still, humans shouldn’t be able to see her fairy form, right?
Panicking, she hurriedly changed back into her human disguise.
She really should’ve asked Eros’s messenger more about this. Next time she saw him, she’d demand answers.
But for now—she had to get back to Lukas.
She ran quickly and jumped straight into his arms, like returning to her rightful place.
“You’re back?” he said gently.
Would it be too much to ask if she felt “relieved”? He didn’t say anything, just welcomed her with a soft smile.
“Rozi. Look over there.”
He pointed at Philippe and Todd.
“Things are heating up. I think something good’s about to happen.”
“What? What?!”
Pretending she didn’t know what was going on, Rosedale looked excitedly at them.
Her heart beat fast with anticipation.
“You! You!” Philippe suddenly grabbed Todd’s hand and shouted.
Her face was red like she was drunk.
“Don’t think I’ve accepted your feelings and now you can act all smug! I’m gonna watch and see if you really change, okay?!”
“…Huh?”
Todd looked dazed, turning bright red all the way up to his scalp.
“You… accepted my feelings…?”
“Y-Yeah.”
Philippe turned away sharply and muttered.
“But that doesn’t mean I fully opened my heart. You’d better work hard to make me like you more. Got it?”
“….”
Todd stood there with his mouth open like a dummy.
When he didn’t respond, Philippe got mad again.
“I said, got it?!”
But she couldn’t finish her sentence.
Because Todd suddenly pulled her into a hug.
“Y-Y-You! Who said you could hug me?!”
“I like you.”
“….”
That one emotional sentence shut her up.
“I like you. I really, really like you, Philippe.”
His confession poured out like a broken dam.
His back trembled as he hugged her. His voice was heavy and damp, like a soaked cotton ball.
“…Idiot.”
Philippe didn’t get mad.
She gently wrapped her arms around his back.
Her face softened. She looked calm—and full of love.
“…They did it,” Rosedale sniffled, wiping her nose.
A mix of relief and affection for those two humans welled up in her heart.
Is this what it means to grow attached to someone?
Two people who had once meant nothing to her—Philippe and Todd—had now found happiness. And it made her happy too.
She never expected human love to feel so touching.
She never would’ve known if she hadn’t come to this world…
No—if she hadn’t met Lukas, if she hadn’t followed him all the way here.
“Lukas.”
Rosedale looked up at him.
His emerald eyes never got old. She felt like she was tattooed in his gaze.
And he, like a gemstone, sparkled in her red eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Because I failed in my mission… you can’t be happy yet. And even so… I’ve become happy.”
She thought to herself:
I’m glad I met you.
I’m happy we spent time together.
Even if all this happened because I failed…
Lukas was still lonely, still suffering in silence, still carrying everything alone.
“And that’s why—I swear I’ll make you happy too.”
“….”
Even though it came out of nowhere, Lukas didn’t stop her.
He just listened. Fully. Patiently. Like always.
“I promise I’ll take care of you. I’ll make sure you’re happy.”
“….”
“Until then, I’ll stay by your side. You won’t be alone for a single moment.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on tiptoe to hug him—pouring all her affection, guilt, and gratitude into it.
He was tall and strong, but in her arms, he felt small and fragile. Like a baby.
He was so precious. She hugged him tightly.
Lukas, bent awkwardly in her arms, couldn’t do anything but lean down.
Her small arms and tiptoes made him completely powerless.
But unlike the helplessness of war, this was the kind he welcomed.
He didn’t want the strength to push her away.
This was the only woman who worried about his happiness—when he’d spent his life putting everyone else first.
If it was for her, Lukas thought…
I’d gladly kneel.
I’d gladly bend.
I’d gladly give everything.
The Next Day…
“What’s going on?! Why are you two holding hands?!”
Philippe and Todd arrived at work holding hands.
The entire team was stunned.
“Ugh!”
“This is worse than horror!”
“…”
Some gagged. Some panicked. Some just froze.
Only Liamson, the oldest one, recovered enough to say something nice.
“Congrats, you two. You look good together.”
“R-Really?”
Philippe and Todd scratched their heads but couldn’t hide their happiness.
As everyone else stared in shock, Rosedale stood proudly, puffing her chest.
She held back the urge to say “This was all thanks to me!”
Instead, she just smiled and blessed Philippe by patting her head.
“You’ve been through a lot, Philippe. Now it’s time to be happy.”
“Thank you, Lady Rosedale.”
The tomboyish Philippe answered sweetly like a lamb.
“I heard you helped a lot.”
“We helped too!” the others whined.
“Ah—right, thank you too,” Philippe replied.
Then she looked back at Rosedale with shining eyes.
“I know Todd and I were a distraction before. We’ll work extra hard now.”
“You will. I can feel it,” Rosedale smiled and held her hand.
She silently prayed for Philippe to be happy.
Back to Work
The mission Eros gave her was done.
Now it was time to focus on her emperor’s request.
Rosedale stretched and looked over the research table.
Ancient documents from 100 years ago were tattered.
Her team’s eyes were ringed with exhaustion from developing new magical formulas.
But now—it was time to shock the world.
