Don’t Concern Yourself With That Book

“Ah. This is the stairway to the Spire of Peace.”

When I raised my head, I spotted the large spire not too far away. The spire was in sight. I finally found the way. The path Rusbella would soon walk.

I roughly memorised the nearby stores and signboards. Now, all I had to do was wait for Meta to return. There was still no news from him. He must be really busy.

“Let’s eat here.”

The place he brought me to was a small restaurant.

“Welcome. Ah! It’s been a long time, right?”

The clerk, who was perhaps Hernan’s acquaintance, guided us to seats on the terrace on the second floor. After we started ordering our food, I looked around the place. Though there were families here, most of the customers were couples.

Hold on, was this a place people go on dates to?

“Oh, honey. Look there! So pretty!”

At the sounds of a woman’s exclamation of awe, I immediately realised why this restaurant in the corner of the street was packed full.

“Wow…”

My mouth was left agape at the sight of the golden building in front of my eyes.

“Isn’t it cool?”

When I turned my head back slowly, Hernan was staring at me with an expression that was neither cold nor warm.

“It’s the First Emperor’s memorial hall.”

He slowly stretched his mouth.

“You must come here often.”

“I did. A long time ago.”

The fluffy couch and the cute tablecloth. It felt like I was on a date with him so I felt strange.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been here too.”

His white hair fluttered in the wind under the midday sun. And likewise, his white eyebrows. As he slowly opened his eyes, a clear gaze could be seen. The man I knew from the palace and the man I was seeing now felt like completely different people.

“You’re really handsome.”

I wanted to be honest with him at least once. I did not feel the need to tell him that until now but I was unsure of how I should feel, now that I could not recognise the man in front of me.

“Is that why you chased me?”

“Yes.”

“Is that the only reason?”

I propped my chin up and smiled.

“Do I need another reason to do so?”

He frowned slightly.

I did not know how we finished ordering our food but at least it felt like he was believing me for now. Even though he must think of me as some moron. But did that really matter? He would not be seeing me again after today.

“Yes. Of course.”

As if out of habit, he was raising the corners of his lips before he suddenly realised. Why did he smile so prettily? I was not the princess. I was not the quiet lady. I was wearing a new shell that meant nothing to him. He did not need to look so sophisticated in front of me. I was given a new look at the beautiful scenery in front of me.

Sunlight. The noisy cacophony. The savoury aroma of food. The huge square visible through the window.

The outside.

A surprising thrill shuddered down my body.

I was not anyone right now. I did not need to be careful around people. I could do whatever I wanted. I was free. I was in irresistible bliss.

“You’re a handsome man.”

“…..”

“If anyone were to see you, I don’t think they would want to miss seeing a man with looks they would only come across once in their lifetime.”

I could not smile bright enough to express the joyous mood I was in but I was still happy.

Even under the sunny weather I hated so much, I was feeling better.

“Thank you for helping.”

“For what?”

“For guiding me.”

Instead of replying. Hernan stared at me.

“Whenever I look at you, I keep feeling strange.”

“Because you’re suspicious of me?”

“Well, it’s something else. It feels… strange. It does not feel very good.”

Was he trying to say that he feels insulted when he sees me? What‘s wrong with my face? Was he discriminating against me because of my appearance?

After a while, our food arrived. The dish that was dripping with juice tasted very good. On top of that, the drink was pretty sweet and tasted good. No, I think it must be because I was in a good mood. It felt like I could even chew stones now.

“Right, I’ll treat you.”

“I refuse.”

Hernan replied me firmly.

“I’m not so poor to be fed by a poorer lady.”

“That was pretty rude but I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that because you’re handsome.”

“…..”

I murmured as I ate the cooked clams.

“Are you not going to have more?”

“Well, just watching you eat is making me full.”

Was I eating too hurriedly? Hernan straightened his arms and straightened his back.

“Take it.”

I stared at the cloth he was handing me with wonder before receiving his courtesy. He dabbed my cheek and when he removed the cloth, there were brown sauce stains on it. Damn, Rebecca would have me flogged if she ever found out.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“I could not tell you when you were smiling so brightly.”

Well, how many times had he said this line as a nobleman? While I understood this dilemma, I felt good about his hesitation.

When was the last time I truly acted like myself?

I was free.

I had always wanted to be free. Even in my previous life, I had dreamed of travelling the world and screaming ‘I quit!’ and after reincarnating here, I wanted to leave the palace and walk around freely.

On my journey to find the female lead, it felt like freedom had been gifted to me. How could I not be happy?

“Ahn.”

Hernan called out to me.

“Why are you suddenly in a good mood?

“Oh. I was just thinking about looking around the capital. I feel much better.”

Even this plain dish tasted better than the dishes the chef Fleon bragged so much about made for me.

At this moment, everything felt fine. So, I was glad that he felt like a different person.

“I wish someone I know could smile like you do.”

“It sounds like she doesn’t smile often.”

He smiled slowly.

“That person always had only one expression.”

“Then, what does that person look like when they smile?”

He looked at me before shaking his head.

“Well, I wonder.”

How can someone look like he jumped out of a painting when he was merely shaking his head? I was in pure admiration.

“It just pops into mind whenever I look at you.”

“You mean that person?”

“Yes.”

He stared at me with a calm gaze. Wondering if there was something else on my face, I covered my cheek. Ah, my bandage. My face had changed but the bandage was still stuck to my cheek. He was not suspicious of me because of this, right?

Would my scar still be there? I wanted to check but I did not dare.

After leaving the restaurant, we walked along the streets together. To the east of the square, there was a large fountain with children playing around it. A couple, who looked like they had a good relationship, were whispering sweet words to each other in front of the mountain with their eyes glazed.

“It’s the largest fountain in the Empire.”

The fountain was spewing water powerfully. Modelled after a god’s appearance, the crystal fountain was reflecting all kinds of light under the sun.

“… Excuse me, Hernan. Can I say something cheesy?”

“Cheesy?”

Hernan murmured as if he did not know what it meant. Then, he nodded gently.

“As much as you want.”

I smiled really broadly at the little boy who ran past us.

“It looks so beautiful I feel like crying.”

I stared at the immensely noble, beautiful and reticent fountain. I was wondering why I did not know anything like this existed.

That was something I rarely said because I did not want to be embarrassed. Since living in my previous life, I had always been a calm woman till the point I would hear people telling me that even at my workplace. Even though they were being insensitive.

My friend had told me that the reason why I had never been in a relationship was because of my cold personality. It pained my heart that even she thought I was like that. I cared a lot about the people around me but should my heart be misunderstood just because I was not friendly?

I was never honest which was why I would hide my emotions and hold it in.

Ever since my father died, I had rarely been honest. He was not the first person to talk about me like that. And now. Being honest was something I could not do in the Imperial Palace.

My cheeks were burning. It was funny how I could be sentimental for such a long time. Seeing how hot I was feeling, I wondered if my cheeks were red.

I winced before saying, “Don’t look at me like that and pretend you didn’t hear me.’

Perhaps it was possible because the gaze staring at me was without warmth. Because he was looking at me without any ulterior motives planned.

But at that moment, his eyes were ablaze.

“Ahn.”

Hernan was smiling gently. After smiling like that, he spoke calmly.

“You smile so brightly in front of a man you don’t know.”

His gaze was persistent. As the petals fluttered atop us, he grabbed some from the center of the square.

“You shouldn’t smile so defenselessly in front of a man you don’t know.”

The light pink flowers resembling cherry blossoms fell from his hand to the ground. He stared at me with a gaze that was neither hot nor cold.

“Because beasts may unsheathe their claws.”

Pang!

I heard something loud. The cheers of people. I raised my head at the chilling sensation to find the fountains spewing water vigorously and a rainbow painted in the sky. It looked like a shower head, no, a sprinkler.

“Ah.”

The rainbow I was seeing was so pretty probably because I had not seen one in a while.

I preferred this simple sight to the sight of colourful flowers in full bloom. At the scene where song was also playing in my ears, I raised my head.

“The rainbow’s pretty.”

How did it feel to have a rainbow on one’s chest? My eyes were filled with rainbows. I almost got soaked but I thought it would be fun if I got fully soaked at least once.

“… Let’s go.”

It was fun. More people were coming so there were more sights to see and more stalls to visit. Both real and paper flowers were falling from the sky in full.

There were people selling flowers that were falling from the sky and stalls selling some cute crafts. And one of the stall owners was a wandering Templar of Vulcanus who was using fire to make ornaments to sell on the spot. When he noticed that I was watching, the stall owner asked for my understanding.

“Hahaha. Miss, your lover is so handsome.”

The uncle’s gaze. When I followed his gaze, I realised he was staring at Hernan. He was interested in the man looking at some purple jewels very closely.

“Me and that man!”

I asked him with my eyes widened, which received a loud laugh in response.

“Is he your lover? Or your husband?”

I quickly shook my head.

“Neither.”

Then, the stall owner placed a big smile on his hairy face when I adamantly refused. He shook his head.

“I have been watching you and that man this whole time.”

The man lowered his voice.

“A little while ago, he was staring at you with a very thick gaze. So, not yet? Huh?”

“Not… yet?”

“Aye, I mean this. This!”

The stall owner raised his fourth finger and shook it.

“Didn’t you come here to buy one of these?”

Then, he recommended some ring designs to me.

What the-

I shook my head in a hurry and pulled Hernan along.

We stopped walking in a secluded place. Hernan who had been gently following along with a puzzled face before placing a piece of cloth over my hand. It was the thing he was looking at in the stall.

“Why are you giving me this?”

“Isn’t this what you wanted?”

He asked me nonchalantly.