Chapter 26
At those final words, Joshua and I looked at each other and burst into bright laughter.
It felt so satisfying, like all the pent-up frustration had drained out of us. We waited for the Saintess’s reaction.
She bit her lip until it bled. When her last resort didn’t work, she tried a new tactic — pretending to understand him.
“Zer… I must’ve hurt you. I’m sorry…”
She reached out her hand, but he coldly pushed it away.
“Get lost.”
“It won’t happen again—”
“It had better not. Because if it does, the next place we’ll meet will be the temple.”
The Saintess’s eyes widened in shock, and my boss finally said the words he’d probably been holding back all this time: “Get lost.”
“So just disappear. From my sight.”
The Saintess wiped her tears with both hands and glared coldly at him.
See that? Fake tears!
She really dared to use that trick, knowing he’s weak to crying friends.
Maybe her pride got the better of her, because she spat out something nasty in return.
“…Are you sure you won’t regret this? Think you can handle me hating you?”
“Still clinging to an old crush, huh?”
“…What?”
“Did I ever confess to you?”
Huh? He didn’t?
Everyone — the newspapers, Joshua, even Mr. Veilt — said my boss turned into a wreck after being rejected by the Saintess.
But the way she fell silent and glared, bloodshot eyes trembling, said it all.
“Regret?”
“……”
“I think you’ll be the one regretting it.”
“……”
“Don’t call or come looking for me again. You’re disgusting.”
Unable to win, the Saintess spun around with an audible swish and stormed off.
Until we heard the sound of her carriage wheels fading into the distance, Joshua, the boss, and I all stayed quiet.
Finally, when the sound was gone—
“Boss, you were amazing!”
“You did so well! That was so satisfying!”
We both lunged at him and hugged him tight.
Only then did he seem to relax, practically collapsing against me. His body trembled — proof of how much courage that had taken.
He’d spoken so confidently, but his heart must’ve been shaking the whole time. It must’ve been hard to talk that way to someone who used to be a friend.
“…You really did great, Boss.”
I hugged him tightly as he shivered.
When his trembling finally subsided, Joshua clung to his arm and asked,
“Zer, wait — so you weren’t dumped? You never confessed to her?”
He mumbled into my shoulder, nodding.
“…I never said I did.”
“But all the papers were going wild, and Veilt too, so—”
The boss sighed deeply and straightened up from leaning on me, though I didn’t let go of his waist. His eyes were a bit red — he must’ve been holding back tears.
Still, he looked so relieved.
“Veilt just assumed I got rejected by Yubellin because I suddenly shut myself in my room.”
“So that’s why he told me there’s no way your love life could’ve failed because of one girl…! You never even confessed — there’s nothing to fail!”
Joshua’s face twisted in pure fury.
“So she acted like she’d been confessed to when she wasn’t? I hate her even more now!”
“The boss never corrected her, so she took advantage of it. Well, now you’ve cleanly cut her off.”
The boss looked at me, then cupped my cheek. Joshua’s eyes widened — and then the boss pinched my cheek hard.
“Ow!”
“Now let go. It’s hot.”
“What! You’re the one who hugged me first!”
“I already let go.”
I squealed and clung even tighter.
“How can I let go on such a happy day? I have to stay close so the curse fades faster!”
I hugged his waist tightly. He flinched and hastily pushed me away, grabbed both me and Joshua by the collars, and tossed us out the door.
“No one’s allowed in here today!”
“Nooo! Don’t separate us!”
Waaah!
Through my sobs, he muttered,
“…You can come back in the evening.”
“Yes!!”
Joshua and I cheered, grabbed hands, and danced in front of the door.
The Saintess never retracted her article, but our side published a rebuttal.
It said that the boss had locked himself in his lab for important work — and that he was about to unveil something revolutionary.
If we’d just denied the rumors, no one would’ve believed it. But add “revolutionary research” and people swallowed it whole.
Since all of Eclipse Guild’s previous inventions had become national treasures, everyone was now wildly curious what the next one would be.
Public opinion turned in our favor again. The misunderstanding was cleared, and everyone eagerly awaited Eclipse Guild’s next groundbreaking creation.
I folded the newspaper and looked at him — he was crouched down, reading amidst a pile of papers filled with weird formulas.
“…Is it okay to lie like that?” I asked.
He tilted his head slightly, eyes still fixed on the page.
“Lie about what?”
“That whole ‘groundbreaking invention’ thing. You’re holed up in your room, not a lab.”
Rrrip.
The book in his hand tore slightly. He sighed and closed it.
“Not anymore. I’m starting my research now. Tomorrow, all sorts of stuff will be brought in here, so don’t touch or break anything.”
“Research? But Boss, you’re not really the research type…”
“Did you know the water across the continent — not just in the Empire — used to be contaminated by livestock waste, garbage, and other pollutants?”
“Yes. But the Eclipse Guild made those purification devices, didn’t they?”
Divine power could purify water too, but it had limits. Priests couldn’t be everywhere at once.
The purification devices from Eclipse only needed to be replaced every six months and worked flawlessly.
They’d solved the continent’s water contamination problem completely. Disease rates plummeted, immunity improved, and quality of life skyrocketed.
Since they were distributed across the entire continent, the boss was raking in absurd amounts of money even while doing nothing.
“I’m the one who made those.”
“…Aren’t you a swordsman?”
“I like research. I can use magic too — I just choose not to.”
“A magic swordsman…!”
“That’s exactly why I don’t use it. I hate that fancy label.”
He warned me never to say that again, and I obediently nodded.
“So you’re making something even more revolutionary than the purifier. What is it?”
“It’s a secret.”
“I’ll be around while you research anyway.”
“You think you’d understand if you saw it? You can even read these formulas?”
He waved a sheet full of strange symbols and numbers at me. I turned away, muttering,
“Honestly, Boss seems more like a ‘man of action’ than a brainy type…”
Using his head just didn’t suit him.
“…You know, that’s actually kind of hurtful.”
“I was joking! Hey!”
He was already crouching dramatically in the corner. I grabbed his pant leg and flopped onto the floor.
“Grab my arm, not my pants!”
“This looks more desperate!”
He sighed, lifted me easily by my armpits, and set me upright.
“You don’t really look like the brainy type either.”
“Boss, I’m a proud woman of action.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I can tell.”
“Don’t move away.”
“Get off.”
“No. The closer I stay, the wider the range of effect. Don’t make me say it again.”
Just accept my healing touch already!
“You’re working so hard just to get paid.”
He grumbled, and I blinked. For some reason, that stung.
When I pouted and let go of his arm, he flicked my lips with his finger.
“Ow.”
“Why’re you sulking?”
“Because it looks like I’m only doing this for money.”
“…Aren’t you?”
“Well… mostly, yeah. But not just for that.”
If money were the only reason, I wouldn’t be going out of my way to touch him so much.
“Then why?”
“Because I like you, Boss.”
He immediately shot me down.
“That’s one confession I can’t accept.”
“Not that kind of like. But if it ever turns into that kind, you should accept it. I mean, you’re rich, handsome, responsible, resilient, stubbornly kind — who wouldn’t like you?”
“…Enough. Stop.”
“Are you embarrassed?”
“….”
He pursed his lips and turned his head away.
Cute.
“Anyway, I mean it — I’ve really come to care about you, Boss. I truly want to break your curse with all my heart.”
The world had been too cruel to him.
Unlike me, who escaped through running away, he couldn’t go anywhere. That made me want to help him even more.
“…Yeah. Thanks.”
As he said that, the tips of his ears turned bright red.
Inside the room, the boss and I were doing yoga.
Specifically, the “child’s pose,” kneeling down with arms stretched forward.
It really helped with… gas.
“…Does this even have a purpose?” he muttered, sounding oddly defeated.
“Of course! If you’re always hunched over, your back and shoulders must hurt—”
“Not at all.”
“Well, it’s good for relaxing your back and shoulders, and apparently, it’s great for stress.”
“Apparently?”
“Well… I kind of heard it secondhand…”
“Are you sure we’re even doing this right?”
“Yes! I learned it from X-Tube— I mean, from a friend!”
A friend on the other side of the screen — one only I knew.
“My dignity feels like it’s dying. I hate this pose.”
“Don’t whine.”
But he suddenly stood up, irritated.
“My thighs make it hard to bend my knees.”
Thighs?
Without meaning to, my eyes drifted straight to his thighs.
