Chapter 24
Before I realized it, Karl was standing beside me, holding my hand with a smile.
As always, it was that crooked, slightly mean-looking smile of his.
‘I was planning to leave him behind.’
Maybe I spent too much time talking with the shop owner.
‘How long has he been standing there?’
…That thought froze me for a moment.
‘Did he hear the part about divine power?’
That would be bad if he did.
He probably wouldn’t hate me as much as he would a Holy Knight, but still, I doubt he’d like hearing that I’m a Saint…
“…Polygamy?”
It was the confused voice of the shop owner that snapped me out of my thoughts.
He sounded genuinely puzzled, like he didn’t understand what he had just heard.
That brought me back to my senses.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“So, it’s not true? But you’re holding hands with another man.”
“Another man…? Holding hands…?”
“Please live in reality.”
I quickly responded in place of the stunned shop owner. At least I felt a bit relieved.
‘He must not have heard the part about divine power.’
If he had, he wouldn’t be saying such nonsense.
That was a relief, but Karl still had that nasty smirk on his face, even after my sharp response. His eyes were narrowed.
‘Why are your eyes like that?’
Just as I was about to ask, a breeze blew his hair.
“….”
It’s a bit sudden to admit, but honestly, every time I look at him, I can’t help but recognize it.
‘He really is handsome.’
His face was beautiful enough to leave me speechless.
Even the way his bangs fell, and the angle of the faint wrinkle between his brows—whether playful or serious—seemed perfectly calculated.
When his golden eyes, shifting between lemon and dark honey depending on the light, turned toward me, it felt like opening a jewelry box.
‘I’ve seen enough men in my life.’
Even I, who was practically immune to most guys, had to admire him—what must other women think?
‘Well, even if he looks that good, he’s still a background character.’
What kind of main character leaves a hungry woman and just disappears?
I deliberately ignored the fact that Karl brought me food and even tried to feed me.
In the meantime, he was still holding my hand firmly.
It was oddly annoying how small my hand looked in his.
‘No, more than that…’
What bothered me more was the warmth spreading over the back of my hand.
‘Was his hand always this warm?’
It felt like his body temperature had risen compared to before…
“You should be the one facing reality, Elaine.”
“…What?”
“If you have someone, you should act accordingly.”
“Oh my. Your boyfriend is quite jealous.”
The shop owner, who had been staring at us in a daze, suddenly spoke and rubbed the back of his hand where Karl had swatted him.
It didn’t seem like he hit that hard, but the hand was already a bit swollen.
I felt bad and thought to apologize, but I missed the chance because I frowned at the word boyfriend.
“Ah.”
In the meantime, Karl gently pulled me toward him.
It didn’t hurt, but I frowned slightly and looked at him, expressing my protest.
“But.”
The shop owner tilted his head as if thinking and added as he looked at Karl.
“Miss, your boyfriend…”
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
“I didn’t notice before, but now that I look…”
Why don’t you respond when I say he’s not my boyfriend?
The shop owner ignored my protests and tilted his head the other way.
“Why does he look familiar…?”
“Let’s go.”
Before the shop owner could finish, Karl took my hand and walked off without another word. His attitude said the man wasn’t worth listening to.
“But he was talking… At least let him finish and say goodbye—”
“The only person I need to listen to and take care of right now is you, Elaine.”
“…”
“The only one I’m responsible for is also you.”
Once again, his words had an odd nuance. He was assigned to guard and watch me, so technically, he wasn’t wrong.
‘I want to correct him, but it’s hard to argue.’
Even while walking through the market, Karl started spouting nonsense again.
“If you missed muscles so much, you didn’t need to look elsewhere.”
“I have no idea why you’re bringing this up.”
“You seem to have a certain attraction to muscles.”
Karl’s eyes briefly shifted toward the shop owner before returning to me.
Now that I think about it, that shop owner was pretty muscular for a merchant.
“….”
No, I shouldn’t be agreeing with that.
That guy is around my father’s age!
‘Don’t make me sound like some old man harasser.’
If I said that, Karl would definitely respond with, “So you did have intentions of harassing him?”
While I was trying to come up with a reply, Karl casually added:
“You should stick to touching the muscles you’re familiar with.”
“…”
“My muscles’ purity has already been tainted by you. You need to take responsibility.”
He even subtly pushed his chest toward me like he wanted me to touch it.
I sighed and lightly tapped his chest with my free hand.
“I told you, nothing happened. We just talked.”
“Then why were you holding hands?”
“…We’re holding hands now too!”
I wasn’t going to say it, but I ended up blurting it out anyway.
‘Not to mention, the warmth in your hand is bothering me more and more.’
Maybe it was because we’d been holding hands so long, or maybe it was because he had some self-heating magic in his gloves for cold weather.
Karl’s hand that wrapped around mine was growing noticeably warmer.
And because of that, my own hand was heating up, and my fingertips tingled.
“If we’re going to nitpick about hand-holding, let’s start with this one.”
I said, waiting for Karl’s reply.
‘I can already guess what he’s going to say.’
I had already adapted to his patterns.
He’d probably give some ridiculous reason for holding my hand.
Use guarding as an excuse, or say something sarcastic like, “Are you saying I’m not even a man?”
Wait.
…Rather than making excuses for holding my hand, isn’t it more likely he’d just let go?
‘Why did I assume he’d keep holding it?’
Realizing that made me feel oddly embarrassed.
Right. I should stop thinking about it.
I gave up and waited to see what would happen next—ready to respond however necessary.
But what Karl did completely went against my expectations.
“I see.”
“…”
“We’re holding hands.”
“…”
“We are.”
After that oddly meaningful statement, nothing else happened.
Really—nothing.
‘He’s not even letting go of my hand?’
Karl just looked deep in thought.
Every time he furrowed his brows while thinking, I could feel my hand being squeezed slightly.
‘My hand’s going to get sweaty at this rate.’
Even so, I couldn’t bring myself to pull away. I had the strange feeling that I shouldn’t.
Karl’s expression looked too serious for that.
I’ve always been the one to overwhelm others, but this was the first time I felt overwhelmed by someone else’s presence.
“…”
The awkwardness between us only grew.
The atmosphere got heavier.
‘It’s not like this is the first time we’ve held hands.’
I mean, he even carried me once.
Compared to that, this wasn’t even that big of a deal.
Still, the back of my neck felt tense, like I was on guard duty. My mouth was dry.
What is this?
‘It’s driving me crazy.’
I was about ready to beg him to say anything, even if it was something sarcastic.
“…Sis!”
A pickpocket popped his head out from the market alley and called for me.
‘Perfect timing!’
I was never so happy to see someone. He could break this weird tension.
The kid started running toward me but—
“Hiccup.”
“Wait, no!”
He spotted Karl and immediately tried to run away.
Thud! I quickly grabbed the edge of his sleeve before he could.
I barely caught him in time, but I could read the look in his trembling eyes—full of resentment.
You said you wouldn’t bring him! Liar!
‘That’s exactly what he wants to say.’
Honestly, I agreed.
‘I really didn’t plan to.’
How was I supposed to stop Karl from following me on his own?
And now that he’s here, I doubt he’d just leave if I told him to.
He’s the most stubborn person I’ve ever met.
‘There’s no helping it.’
I sighed and explained:
“…This guy’s not scary.”
He doesn’t bite.
I said it with that kind of expression, and the pickpocket’s face twisted weirdly.
