episode_0040

Harnier, whose lips were pouting, abruptly turned to the man and said,

“I’ll have one more! It doesn’t matter, right?”

“Miss, that’s not proper behavior, is it?”

“It’s unfair! You just did what you wanted without asking for my opinion…!”

Upon hearing this, the man shed tears that seemed nonexistent.

“Well, I guess there’s no choice. I made a good suggestion to the young master for once… If this continues, it will be the end for both of you.”

“…”

“Did the young master use it three times and give it to you again? Is that something you rejected?”

“…Ugh.”

Hmm. This nobleman sure knows how to do business well.

Not giving a chance to either of them, Harnier urged him persistently.

“Okay, I’ll eat it!”

“A very wise choice.”

The tears that were about to fall from the man’s eyes disappeared, and he neatly composed himself with a satisfied smile.

On the other hand, Harnier, while grumbling, held onto the remaining fish cake for a while.

Eventually, she cleaned her plate thoroughly.

Her blushing face was probably due to the delayed spiciness kicking in, right?

Seems like this lady has no escape from spicy food after all.

“Give me the bead.”

“Yes, here you go.”

The man handed over the bead with a chuckle. It was quite intriguing how he was laughing despite possibly losing his own prize.

Observing Harnier, I asked again.

“Number 4, right? The one you’ve been eyeing since earlier.”

“…”

“Harnier Yeong-ae? Ah, you did have the spicy food. Shall I buy something for you?”

Without saying a word, Harnier glanced at me with a slightly flushed face, then attempted to step on my foot.

But she stopped midway and lightly tapped the ground instead.

It’s hard to understand her intentions.

“We can’t start like this.”

“Don’t say anything.”

“No, wasn’t that what you wanted?”

“I said don’t say anything!”

After that, Harnier stomped on the ground several times.

Must be because of the spiciness.

She’ll probably feel better if left alone for a bit.

A little while later, when Harnier finally moved aside.

“Here.”

I easily obtained what she desired.

“…”

“Aren’t you taking it? It seems like something you wanted.”

-Zap.

It felt like a laser was about to shoot out of Harnier’s eyes.

But then…

“Sigh… Fine. I get it. I’ll take it.”

Somewhat reluctantly, she acquiesced.

Why is she acting like this?

***

Harnier, who had received a prize box from the store, let out a sigh immediately.

“Don’t you like it?”

“No.”

“Then why the sigh?”

Once again, she sighed deeply.

“You’re really… so blunt in situations like this.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s nothing.”

If you’re going to say something, at least provide some explanation. Just cutting it off like this?

I somewhat understood that abruptly ending a conversation without finishing what you started can be frustrating.

In the meantime, Harnier opened the box and took out an item.

And then.

“Here.”

She extended one towards me.

“Hmm? What’s this?”

“It’s for you to wear. You should wear one too.”

The prize obtained from the store was a pair of rings. They were rings from the Wedelos Kingdom, each engraved with matching designs in contrasting gemstones.

“If it’s this type, shouldn’t we wear them on both hands?”

Honestly, the ring didn’t interest me much.

I didn’t think it suited me well, nor did I think it would fetch a good price.

No, rather, if shown to the maids, they might accuse me of indulgence.

“Let’s wear both. I’m fine with it.”

At that, Harnier narrowed her eyes.

“Have you already forgotten? You are my fiancé. Earlier, the socialites came looking for us for that reason.”

“Oh?”

Could it be…

Suddenly, the answer popped into my head.

“…Even in a lover’s relationship, isn’t this going a bit too far?”

“It’s not necessary! It will only raise more suspicions!”

Among nobles, it is said that jewelry gifts are very common.

Necklaces, pendants, amulets, badges, cravats… Over fifty types of gifts are exchanged.

“If people see us not exchanging a gift in such a place, they will naturally suspect our relationship, won’t they?”

“Uh… Then I should just say that I gave it as a gift…”

With one hand, Harnier touched her forehead.

With a bitter smile, she said,

“It’s made up between us. We even have a secret lover’s relationship.”

Oh. My pronunciation is getting worse.

Especially when saying the words “lover’s relationship,” my pronunciation noticeably falters.

If I don’t accept this, I feel like there will be another spike mark on my back.

“Oh, I understand.”

I accepted the ring with cold sweat dripping down.

And after thinking for a moment, I held Harnier’s hand.

“Could you give me your hand for a moment?”

“What are you going to do?”

I recalled something I had seen in an etiquette book.

It’s said that if you’re in a lover’s relationship, putting a ring on your lover’s finger like this is proper etiquette.

So I put the ring on Harnier’s left ring finger.

“Is this somewhat in line with etiquette?”

I asked her with satisfaction.

In response, Harnier looked at the ring on her hand and then quickly pulled her hand away.

“Is the etiquette wrong?”

“Oh, no… It’s not that…”

“Then?”

“You, did you really do that without knowing?”

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

“Earlier too… If you intentionally did that…”

“Why would I intentionally do something like that? I was just trying to act according to etiquette.”

“…”

Harnier let out a deep sigh and then gave a look of resignation.

“Sigh. Please don’t do anything conspicuous.”

And she asked me to forget what she had just said.

Seeming to think she had misunderstood, she wanted me to pretend I hadn’t heard anything.

I’m not sure why she’s acting like this, but that’s what she said.

Furthermore, she strongly advised me not to use that etiquette again.

“It’s not wrong, but… Well, it’s an etiquette that shouldn’t be done recklessly. Please never do that again.”

“Really? I thought about learning and using it since it’s in the book, but maybe it’s unnecessary.”

“Huh. Someone so sharp suddenly… Oh, no. That makes sense. Sigh…”

She questioned herself and then seemed to agree with herself.

What kind of situation is this?

Harnier, who let out a deep sigh, changed her expression.

“What kind of book is that anyway? Let me at least hear the title.”

“Well…”

Most of Karsein’s books were torn apart by maids. Using the family’s bookstore or library was a risky area.

So I read some of the books in the room… But the covers were torn off, so I couldn’t tell what kind of book it was.

“Just by looking at it, it seems like a mistake, so don’t read it. No, throw away that book.”

“Why are you telling me to throw away a useless book?”

“I’ll recommend you a proper etiquette book! So definitely throw that away. Got it?”

“…”

I want to say something, but it feels like a spike will come flying at me.

I don’t know the reason. I feel like I did something wrong.

Thud!

At the sudden sound, we shifted our gaze.

It was none other than the sky.

As the sky gradually turned into evening, fireworks in the shape of snowflakes exploded, drawing a colorful picture.

“Wow.”

Harney exclaimed in admiration.

Like a child seeing a festival for the first time.

“It’s beautiful. How do they create something like that?”

No. Correction.

She was indeed seeing a festival for the first time.

If she were watching fireworks with colorful explosions filling her purple eyes…

Without a doubt, she wouldn’t have enjoyed this festival.

I felt the same way.

“Didn’t Master Karsein mention attending a snowflake festival before?”

“Yes.”

“Then, back then, were fireworks like these going off too?”

She asked me, still fixing her gaze on the night sky.

Normally, I wouldn’t have been able to answer, but thanks to the help of my memory, I can now.

“Back then, the fireworks didn’t have these snowflake shapes.”

“Is that so?”

“They were much less impressive. They couldn’t even form shapes. To put it bluntly, it was just colorful blobs clumped together and unfolding.”

“I see. The magic wasn’t perfect back then.”

Harney guessed the reason and chuckled.

“Would you like to get closer to see?”

“What?”

“You can’t see well from here. If we head towards the center of the festival, we can see it better.”

Upon my suggestion, Harney shook her head.

“There’s no need because of me. Seeing it from here is enough.”

Surely not.

It’s a lie.

On the contrary, she would want to enjoy everything, try everything.

Swish.

“Karsein? Why is my hand…”

“Let’s go.”

“What? Where to?”

“To see that.”

I grabbed her hand and said, “I’m seeing something like this for the first time too. It’s fascinating and beautiful. I’d like to hear more about it.”

“You don’t have to explain it yourself. You can see things like this at other gatherings…”

“No. It has to be now. This is a top-tier snowflake festival. Opportunities like this won’t come again.”

Her violet eyes filled with regret say she wants to enjoy it more.

She wants to stay a little longer.

She wants to walk more of this street.

She wants to spend more time enjoying this festival.

So, I wanted to make sure Harney didn’t miss this opportunity.

“Since we’re lovers, there’s no need to rush. Let’s stay a bit longer, shall we?”

“But Karsein, your time… Huh?”

“Yes. I don’t mind. I’d regret not having more fun. We should hurry!”

Using words of reassurance to express honest desire.

I took her hand first and led her where my heart desired.

Bang!

A large purple snowflake burst in the sky.

Although it wasn’t clearly visible…

“I got it! I got it, so let’s go slowly!”

As she hurriedly walked, holding her dress hem, her lips seemed to curve up a bit.

See. It was a lie after all.

***

Dozens of patterns are engraved in the sky.

As night falls and the street grows darker, citizens create brighter lights.

Backlights. Illumination. And fireworks.

Using all means possible, they created fleeting moments of the festival.

Soon, a faint smile appeared on Harney’s face.

“I would’ve regretted not coming.”

Watching the end of the festival, Karsein spoke.

Harney also thought the same deep down. She just couldn’t articulate it due to what was said earlier.

He continued, “Harney, did you enjoy yourself?”

“Yes. I had a good time.”

“I’m glad. It seemed like you were accommodating me.”

As if that could be true.

Knowing he was considerate.

Harney immediately nodded.

“It was quite… different and nice. Festivals are interesting.”

“Is that so.”

The reason I came here was simply to cause unexpected events.

However, this unique experience.

This unfamiliar leisurely time.

It was enjoyable. Really.

“As expected. It wasn’t a profitable deal. Even though I wasted your time like this, there’s no word of complaint.”

Harnier laughed softly, covering her mouth with her hand at his words.

“I don’t really think that way.”

“Caught you?”

“Yes. A while ago.”

No matter how much he thought about it, it was just a plausible lie.

“Now that the festival is over, shall we go back?”

The end of the day was approaching.

Two noble men and women walked towards the carriage in the distance.

Their strides were not too long, nor too short, just right.

It meant they had spent a day without leaving any regrets.

“Thank you for today.”

Before boarding the carriage, Harnier thanked Carcine.

“Hmm. Now that we’re getting on the carriage, I should practice etiquette a bit.”

“Practice what? You’ve already mastered it.”

“Well, I don’t particularly want to give those nobles any openings.”

“Okay, I get it. But… Carcine. Sorry for suddenly asking, but can I ask you something?”

“What is it that bothers you?”

He had been holding back his words, but questions had arisen so far.

Given the timing after the festival, it was perfect.

“Why were you heading towards the outskirts of the festival street before you met me?”

He was clearly heading outside the festival street before meeting him.

It meant he hadn’t come to enjoy the festival.

But it was Carcine who wanted to see the snowflake festival and took his hand.

There was a significant contradiction between the two actions’ intentions.

Upon hearing this, Carcine chuckled softly.

“Our deal, does your offer still stand if I have something to propose?”