~Chapter 86~
Of course, the next day, as soon as the sun rose, Luce went into an uproar. Not just Luce—the entire temple and the palace were in chaos.
It was natural. Henry, one of the palace’s top knights, had sneaked into Luce the night before and got caught red-handed.
Moreover, according to imperial law, battles weren’t allowed in the temple, and Luce belonged to the temple. That law applied here.
‘So he could be sent straight to prison.’
From what I heard, the palace might have tried to get Henry out quietly to keep their strongest knight, but unfortunately, the incident spread to the public within a day. The royal family had no choice but to abandon Henry to calm the angry citizens.
Meanwhile, Luce was reacting differently.
‘…Why is everyone smiling so much?’
All the department members I met in the building kept smiling unusually.
I asked them why, and they summed it up in one sentence:
“Captain Henry kept bothering us all the time.”
Ah. So they were simply happy that Henry would rot in prison forever. Simple, kind people.
If it were me, I would have prayed for an even harsher punishment.
Still, even though it was lucky we caught Henry, I felt it was too early to relax.
Even as a criminal caught in the act, Henry could have escaped if the palace or Conrad intervened. We needed a strong, undeniable reason to keep him imprisoned.
Luckily, I knew that reason from reading the original story…
‘How am I supposed to tell Yushen?!’
Three days ago, Yushen confessed to me, and I avoided giving a clear answer. That made seeing Yushen very awkward. He probably felt the same.
Normally, I would have joked to ease the tension, but this time I couldn’t be so shameless.
‘…It just means I’m aware of Yushen too.’
Because I realized I liked him, thanks to his confession.
Even three days later, my heart still raced uncontrollably whenever I thought about that moment…
“Ughhh!”
Frustrated, I grabbed my hair and groaned. Then I slammed my forehead on the desk repeatedly, still not enough to relieve the tension.
“Ah.”
After several hits, I felt a soft touch on my forehead, different from the hard desk, and a familiar male voice right above me.
I looked up and saw a large hand. It was likely one of my colleagues, protecting me by sacrificing their hand.
I guessed it was my senior across the desk and slowly raised my head.
“…Huh?”
Unexpectedly, it wasn’t a colleague—it was Yushen, leaning slightly and looking down at me.
I stared in shock for five seconds before leaping to my feet.
I never expected Yushen to come. I thought he would avoid me for at least a week, embarrassed by his confession.
But after three days, he approached first, and his expression was surprisingly normal.
“Why are you here…? I mean, what’s the matter?”
I almost spoke casually, then quickly switched to polite speech, noticing others nearby.
“I came because I had business with Montrose.”
I hoped he didn’t mean me! I bit my lip and glanced at Siron, seated next to me. The other members immediately turned away, avoiding eye contact.
‘So they’re keeping an eye out…’
I peeked at Yushen. He seemed to glare at Siron without noticing me.
‘He planned this so I couldn’t escape.’
He probably knew I would run if I knew he was coming. So he quietly instructed the team to keep me in the department.
Not exactly what the authority was meant for!
I decided to take the initiative before he could.
“I already refused that topic back then.”
“No, you didn’t give a clear answer and ran away.”
“Ran away?” I hadn’t! I only left to handle urgent tasks, not to escape.
I wanted to argue, but any excuse wouldn’t work, so I stayed silent.
As I hesitated, the surrounding colleagues quietly left, and soon it was just Yushen and me.
A huge sense of betrayal hit me.
‘Yushen just try it! I’ll show you!’
“From now on, answer my questions honestly.”
Hah, like I would obey him! I crossed my arms and answered calmly, pretending not to be flustered:
“Depends.”
“No, you must answer honestly.”
Before I could reply, Yushen leaned over the desk. His handsome face suddenly appeared just inches from mine, warm breath brushing me.
“If not, I’ll eat you.”
“…!”
I froze, stiff as a wooden stick. My head couldn’t process the bombardment of attacks.
His glowing purple eyes met mine briefly before he lowered them, and the tension eased slightly.
‘Why is he so quiet?’
Normally, he would tease or do something, but Yushen was unusually silent.
I guessed what he was focusing on.
“A-are you… crazy?”
My lips spoke without permission.
…Was he threatening to eat my lips?
I shoved his chest away and covered my mouth.
“What’s gotten into you? Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”
“I didn’t act because I couldn’t, I didn’t act because I didn’t.”
“What the heck are you saying?!”
Now it was clear—Yushen was the pervert, not me. Nobody could ever argue against that.
He laughed at me, like I had done to him before.
I quickly walked past him. Being alone with Yushen in this state was dangerous.
I didn’t get far before my ankle was grabbed.
“Why did you hide from me that Henry proposed engagement and marriage during the sparring tournament?”
His first question was sharp and direct, clearly prepared over the past three days.
“…What are you talking about?”
“I heard it from the person involved.”
“But I never heard that from the person involved.”
“There’s one more person involved besides you.”
One more person?
‘Could it be… Henry?!’
Then it clicked. Yushen must have heard this from Henry during the tournament, when he almost lost and Henry gained the advantage.
That was why Yushen had grabbed Henry by the neck back then.
