Chapter 65

* * *

A few days later.

As soon as I found out about Blizen's whereabouts, I learned he was in the shopping district.

It wasn't hard to know where Blizen or the twins were, even without gathering information.

'Because they're followed by a chorus of screams.'

It was all due to their faces.

I went to the shopping district first. When I arrived, I could easily tell where Blizen was.

A group of girls had gathered like a cloud, chattering away.

'Here it is.'

It had to be here.

Because the girls' conversation went like this—

"Do you really have nothing to pawn?"

"None! What about you?"

"If I had anything, I would have pretended to pawn it and gone into the pawnshop."

"Why don't we just go in? We need to see that handsome man again!"

"That wasn't blonde hair, it was sunlight! There was a sun on his head!"

"What are you talking about? He is the sun!"

"He had rubies for eyes. Ah…"

—That's why.

Of course, it had to be Blizen.

If there was another handsome man, the news would have spread long ago.

Handsome men are rare.

I looked at the girls on the street with a slightly hazy gaze.

'…Blizen is handsome, but is he really that good?'

Thinking this, I shook my head.

'I must be too used to Dad's face.'

Dad is unbelievably handsome, but Blizen is also very good-looking.

Anyway, Blizen seemed to be at the pawnshop.

'Why did he go to the pawnshop?'

As I was thinking about the reason, a groaning sound came from behind.

"How much longer do we have to live…!"

A sobbing voice caught my attention.

I turned around and saw a pile of herbs.

I said to the pile of herbs, "Get everything you can."

"What?!"

Han Jihyuk's face emerged from the pile of herbs.

"Since I can see your face, you can still carry more."

I smiled, and Han Jihyuk shouted, "Hey!"

"Just kidding. You won't be able to buy more even if you want to. There's no more stock."

I pretended to look around the street.

Blizen doesn't seem to have come out of the pawnshop yet.

I was pretending to have some business and buying herbs from a nearby herb shop.

Han Jihyuk lowered his voice and asked me, "Are you just pretending to shop to meet by chance? Why are you buying so much?"

"We can't waste time or money. I really need them."

To take care of everything in one go while I'm out.

Do you not know the cost-effective route of a homebody?

This guy has really wasted his time in Korea.

Han Jihyuk looked at the herbs in his arms.

There was only one type of herb.

Tricolor grass.

I was collecting all the tricolor grass whenever it was available.

"Are you going to corner the market?"

"I can't, even if I wanted to. There's not enough stock."

At least I can get this much in Astra's shopping district.

"Then why are you buying so much tricolor grass?"

I smiled without answering.

'Why? Because there are many uses for stockpiling.'

"Herbs are running low. Listen carefully. They are precious."

"Without even answering."

Han Jihyuk grumbled but lifted the herb bag.

Then, something caught my eye.

"Ah!"

"What, what?"

Han Jihyuk's face reappeared over the herbs, startled.

"Over there, they're selling tricolor grass! Wow, we can buy more!"

On the opposite side, a shabby herb shop had a bundle of tricolor grass.

I turned to Han Jihyuk and smiled widely.

"Isn't that great?"

"…Yeah. It really is. Really…"

A moment later.

I came out of the herb shop with Han Jihyuk, who had a look of resignation.

Of course, I wasn't sure if he was really resigned.

His face was now completely hidden by the pile of herbs.

As we walked side by side, I heard some whispering.

I perked up my ears, thinking it might be news about Blizen—

'What? I hear my name?'

Am I imagining things?

When I turned around, the boys who had been looking at me were startled and turned away.

They seemed to have been whispering about me.

'…What?'

"Am I weird today?"

When I asked Han Jihyuk, he replied with a full of complaints.

"You're weird every day."

"Do you want to die?"

Even with the pile of herbs blocking him, Han Jihyuk flinched, feeling my icy gaze.

"Why is everyone looking at me?"

"It's probably because of the popularity vote."

"What vote?"

"A popularity vote. Whether it's the pure lily-like icon, Selene, or the flamboyant rose-like icon, Erylot—"

He must be crazy.

Why are they having such a vote?

'And why am I a rose? Oh, I've been known as a rose for a long time. I forgot.'

I just took it as a formality when Mrs. Gonalong and others said it.

But it was embarrassing to hear the nickname being used in the shopping district.

I couldn't even hold my head up in shame.

'What a peaceful place, yet such things happen.'

I was embarrassed, but Han Jihyuk seemed to find it amusing.

He stretched his head out from the side of the herb pile and smiled like a cat.

"Can you tell me about the vote you heard?"

"No."

"Selene is leading in the boys' votes, and you're popular with the girls."

"Stop talking!"

I shouted and covered my ears.

Really, please, I don't want to know at all.

Han Jihyuk chuckled at my reaction.

Why can I still hear so clearly even with my ears covered?

"I also voted. For Selene."

"I voted for Erylot."

I was startled by the sudden voice and turned around.

Blizen was looking at me with a lazy smile.

Finally, he's here.

He's the one I've been waiting for, but the timing isn't good.

"…When did you get here?"

"Since I voted for Selene—"

I glared at Han Jihyuk.

That's why you shouldn't use informal language outside.

"What are you doing in the shopping district?"

I nodded at Han Jihyuk—the pile of herbs.

"I came to buy herbs."

"Okay."

Blizen seemed to accept it without suspicion.

After all, who would buy so many herbs just to pretend to be doing something else?

"Blizen, what are you doing in the shopping district?"

"Just passing by."

He gave a vague answer when I asked as if I didn't know.

"Just passing by?"

"I have to go to the mage tower."

A man in a robe called out to Blizen from a distance, "I'm here."

"Alright. See you later."

He greeted me and turned away before I could react.

'He seems to have something to do, so it's a bit awkward to stop him.'

I confirmed that Blizen had left the street and entered the pawnshop.

"Welcome."

An old man with a monocle smiled and greeted me.

I slowly walked around the pawnshop.

'Just a regular pawnshop.'

Why did Blizen come here?

I couldn't figure it out just by looking around.

'There's an easy way to find out in such situations.'

I walked up to the counter.

"About the teenager who just left. What did he pawn?"

The owner seemed surprised by the well-dressed child asking such a direct question.

But he soon stiffened and replied.

"I'm sorry, miss. I cannot disclose customer information."

He was quite firm.

As expected. I didn't panic and nodded.

Han Jihyuk, who had already put the herbs on the ground, placed a gold coin on the counter.

I smiled at the owner.

"Let me ask again. What did he sell?"

The owner picked up the gold coin and bit it with his teeth before his eyes lit up.

His eyes turned completely gold.

"He didn't pawn anything, he bought it."

Of course.

This method is always easy.

I nodded in satisfaction and asked the now cooperative owner.

"He bought it? What?"

"Let me see…"

The owner, adjusting his monocle, scanned a list.

He showed me a picture he found in the documents.

It was a beautiful music box.

"This one."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure. He checked the name written on the back before buying it."

"Name?"

"It said Aisa A."

Aisa…

'My deceased aunt.'

My aunt and Blizen's mother.

'Who pawned my aunt's music box?'

And it was pawned without paying back the loan, making it the property of the pawnshop.

Whoever it was must be crazy.

A mad servant?

"Who pawned it?"

The cooperative owner suddenly looked at me with suspicion.

His gold eyes turned back to human eyes.

Han Jihyuk placed another gold coin on the counter.

"Please wait a moment. I'll find the exact information for you."

The owner, bowing politely, answered.

His eyes turned gold again without even checking if the gold coin was real.

The owner, flipping through the list again, showed me a document.

"It was Lord Noarizen."

"…!"

Noarizen!

I felt as if I had been hit on the head by an unexpected name.

'Why…?'

He's not short of money.

Currently, the deceased aunt's territory is managed by Noarizen.

He's known as a pure-hearted man, and it's said that he mourned for three years without properly eating after my aunt passed away.

'Grandfather entrusted the territory to him after seeing his grief…'

Thanks to that, Noarizen now governs a territory richer and larger than most noble estates.

Not only that.

The money he receives from the research institute is more than enough to live comfortably.

"Do you know why he pawned it?"

"That…"

The gold in the owner's eyes disappeared again, and suspicion arose.

Han Jihyuk placed another gold coin on the counter.

The owner quickly answered.

"I don't know the reason. People rarely talk about such things. But he comes quite often."

He comes often?

"What else did he pawn besides this?"

The gold in the owner's eyes disappeared again—

'Just ask for everything at once, really…'

I snatched the bag of gold coins from Han Jihyuk and slammed it on the counter.

The old man swallowed hard at the sight of the bag full of gold coins.

I kept my hand on the bag and asked.

"What else did he pawn?"

"Jewelry, books, dresses… There are many."

All items that a woman could use.

'…Did he pawn all of my aunt's belongings? And didn't pay back the loans properly?'

He pretended to be a pure-hearted man, but behind the scenes, he was taking all of my aunt's things and making money!

Because I still had my hand on the bag of gold coins, the owner started to give information he wasn't asked for.

"Every time, Lord Blizen buys everything. It's good for us, of course."

"Does Lord Noarizen know?"

"Would he come if he knew? Lord Blizen strictly warned us not to tell anyone."

"…I see."

Something seems off.

Noarizen, who is in urgent need of money.

Blizen, who knows that Noarizen is selling his deceased mother's belongings.

'Yet, there's no intervention.'

"Hmm…"

I narrowed my eyes in thought.

But I couldn't figure out what was going on between them.

While I was thinking, Han Jihyuk placed his hands on the counter.

"You might have noticed, but this lady is—very important."

The owner awkwardly laughed.

"Yes! I recognize her from a portrait I saw before. She is Lady Erylot of the Diamond territory! Ha ha, she's one of the candidates in the recent vote, right?"

I looked at him with a hazy gaze, and Han Jihyuk raised an eyebrow.

"So, you know what will happen if you sell information for a few gold coins."

"O-of course—!"

"It won't end with just burning down the pawnshop."

Han Jihyuk, with a fierce look, emphasized each word as a warning.

"There's a crazy man who has broken the walls of the Diamond territory's fortress 52 times—"

Balzac?

"There's a terrifying snake that dries people's blood for fun—"

Joshua?

"And there's a war enthusiast who is making a fruit map."

…Dad?

I looked at Han Jihyuk with an expression of "What are you talking about?"

But the owner really seemed frightened and turned pale.

"I will not say a word about the lady."

"It's good that you understand the situation."

"Yes, yes, even if a knife is put to my mouth—"

"Vote, too."

"Huh?"

"For Lady Erylot. Understand?"

What is he talking about!

I covered Han Jihyuk's mouth and left the pawnshop.

Then, I glared at him fiercely.

'He just can't resist teasing me…'

Han Jihyuk chuckled and shrugged.

He's just being like this because I'm embarrassed.

But I know how to change Han Jihyuk's expression in such situations.

"I'm going to assign Mosko as your bodyguard from tomorrow."

"What? Then I—"

"You're my attendant, so of course you'll come with me."

Mosko really likes Han Jihyuk, but Han Jihyuk is terrified of Mosko.

After their last bath together (forced by Mosko), Han Jihyuk shivered, saying his skin was almost peeled off.

"Are you kidding?"

"…"

"Hey."

"…"

"Erylot!"

"…"

"Miss? Master?"

"…"

"God? Fairy? Angel!"

"Go get the herbs."

I ignored the wailing Han Jihyuk and walked ahead.