Chapter 96

Today was a special day for Ivella.

After all, she was out for a cozy date with Ulan. Just the two of them, without any interruptions.

From the moment she left the Academy and climbed into the carriage, a bright smile never left her face.

‘I’m so happy.’

Ivella chuckled happily.

Time felt like it was flying by way too fast as she spent time with Ulan, almost like a dream.

‘If only I could…’

Grab onto the flowing time.

Knowing it was impossible, she chose to enjoy this moment instead.

After watching a play and stopping by a cafe, her mood lifted even more.

The dessert in front of her was delicious and perfectly suited to her taste, but more than that, Ulan had happily accepted her suggestion.

‘I didn’t think he would agree so easily.’

At the end of June, after finals, there was a two-week summer vacation planned at the Arsen Academy. So, she proposed they visit Count Deorg’s domain together if they had nothing else to do.

Although this could have been a burdensome suggestion depending on the situation, Ulan accepted it without hesitation. This made Ivella very happy.

‘I was a bit anxious, to be honest.’

Istan El Deorg.

Leaving the Academy, he had stayed at the Count’s domain and completely eradicated the built-up malice from the past.

While this was evident from her mother Idelin Elea’ad’s letter, the anxiety still lingered in a corner of her heart.

‘Well, I can’t help but feel this way.’

To Ivella, the Count’s domain had become a collection of bad memories.

It was where she was dragged in her oblivious childhood and faced all sorts of discrimination, humiliation, and persecution.

So, despite knowing everything had changed, she still felt uneasy—like a trauma rooted in her instincts.

‘But if I’m with Ulan…’

She felt like she wouldn’t be worried at all.

For her, Ulan was a reliable support, the object of her admiration, a trustworthy friend, and the only man she had given her heart to.

That’s why when he gladly accepted her proposal, she felt like she could fly with joy.

But that bliss was momentary.

“…Fertisha?”

Suddenly, Ulan muttered something.

But she had been lost in her thoughts, so she didn’t catch the exact words. Ivella cocked her head and asked back, “Huh? What did you just say?”

But there was no reply.

Because Ulan was gazing somewhere else—not at her but at a group of other newcomers who had just entered the backyard.

Among them, his gaze was fixated on a girl with snowy white hair. Her bright red eyes somehow reminded her of a rabbit.

Up to this point, all was well.

But the problem was that the girl’s face was excessively pretty, even to Ivella. At that moment, the girl looked back at Ulan.

“…”

The two were staring intently at each other.

This wasn’t just a casual glance; they were openly gazing into each other’s eyes.

Seeing this, Ivella raised her eyebrows.

‘My heart feels heavy.’

For some reason, her chest was throbbing.

As emotions bubbled up inside her, she recalled feeling a similar way before.

It was when she’d see Ulan and Delia together. She had felt something similar back then too.

Though she wasn’t sure what this feeling meant—

‘…I don’t want to see this.’

What was clear was that she didn’t like the situation in front of her.

So, maybe it was because she usually thought things through before moving, but this time her body reacted first.

“I don’t like it when you’re distracted.”

Ivella reached out and cupped Ulan’s face with both hands. Then, she turned his head to make him look at her.

“Look at me properly.”

With that heartfelt plea, Ivella gazed deeply into Ulan’s scarlet eyes. It was as if she was recreating the moment when he had just made eye contact with the girl.

After a brief moment passed,

‘Gah!’

Suddenly, Ivella’s eyes widened.

Her logic suddenly came flooding back.

As she realized she was now staring into Ulan’s eyes, the emotions that had been rising within her quickly dissipated. Ivella yanked her hands away from Ulan’s face, her expression startled.

‘Wh-What did I just do…?’

She had suddenly realized the rudeness of her actions.

But she didn’t regret behaving that way.

Her true desire to make Ulan turn back to her was genuine.

Meanwhile, Ulan simply stared quietly at Ivella.

‘Now that I think about it…’

He had heard similar words from Ivella in a past life. Turning away during a meal was a slight against the other person.

Recalling that, Ulan nodded earnestly.

“I apologize. I understand.”

“Uh, huh?”

“From now on, I won’t take my eyes off you.”

Once he finished his soft response, Ulan kept looking intently at Ivella.

Likewise, Ivella faced him too, but it didn’t take long for her to have to look away.

His turquoise eyes were blazing like flames.

The intensity of his steady gaze filled her with discomfort.

“Y-You don’t have to stare so intensely.”

“I’m not particularly staring on purpose.”

“What? Then why….”

“I’m looking because you’re beautiful.”

“……”

Her face flushed red.

Knowing Ulan’s words weren’t embellished made Ivella’s cheeks flush even more.

‘Ugh, I’ve reached my limit.’

This wouldn’t do. If things continued like this, her face would get hotter, and she wouldn’t be able to say anything.

So she quickly switched topics.

“S-So about that.”

“……?”

“Do you know that person over there?”

She pointed to the white-haired girl that Ulan had just looked at.

That was Fertisha. Ulan shook his head and replied.

“Not yet.”

“Hmm?”

Not yet? What does that mean?

Ivella tilted her head.

She seemed confused, not quite understanding his reply.

Seeing her puzzled expression, Ulan chuckled and said, “You’ll know in time.”

Once their trials are over, the heroes are bound to converge in one place.

However, since Fertisha would be the last of the heroes to join, it was normal not to know her yet. That’s why he gave that answer.

Of course, Ivella, who knew none of this, just kept tilting her head.

As she pondered what Ulan meant,

“Ivella.”

Suddenly, Ulan called her name.

She was about to respond right away but couldn’t. Ulan, who had stood up, suddenly leaned his face closer to hers.

“……?!”

His turquoise eyes had grown enormous.

Ivella was taken aback.

Not just because of his sudden action, but also because they were so close together.

Instinctively, she wanted to pull away, but that wasn’t possible. At that moment, Ulan grabbed her shoulder.

‘H-His palm…!’

The moment their skin touched,

And realizing it, the color in her face, which had just returned to normal, flushed red again.

“Just stay still.”

Ulan’s voice came from very close by.

He looked at Ivella with a serious gaze and slowly tilted his face toward her.

What? What’s going on?

Her mind felt numb, and she could hear her heart thumping loudly.

It felt like it might jump out of her chest.

In the overwhelming tension and strange anticipation, Ivella found herself clutching at her skirt tightly.

Just when her entire body was about to tense up,

“Okay, it’s done.”

Ulan’s voice rang out.

His voice was filled with relief.

As her eyes slowly opened, she saw Ulan backing away. When she looked at him with a clueless expression,

His answer came again.

“You had a bee in your hair.”

“……A bee?”

“Don’t worry. It’s gone now.”

He must have gotten close to swat a bee that was caught in her hair. Feeling tension release, Ivella let all the strength leave her body.

‘Whew, that was a surprise.’

At the same time, a strange sense of disappointment lingered.

But that didn’t last long.

Ivella shook her head from side to side.

She was trying to shake off the lingering heat and the still-thumping heart.

After a short while passed,

Just as she managed to calm down, she noticed that the dessert on the table had completely disappeared.

Ulan had eaten it all.

“So, how was it? Did it taste good?”

“It was absolutely satisfying.”

Ulan grinned, showing his pearly white teeth.

His honest smile made Ivella burst into laughter.

Right, as long as Ulan was satisfied, that’s what mattered.

“Should we get going now that we’re done eating?”

“Sure.”

They had other plans ahead, after all.

As the two stood up to leave the cafe, just before exiting the backyard, Ulan glanced back at Fertisha one more time.

He didn’t know why she had shown up here, but it wasn’t particularly important. It wasn’t time for him to meet her yet.

‘If it follows the same flow as the past life…’

He figured their proper reunion would occur after the fall of the Rubens Empire. So, Ulan decided to turn his attention away from Fertisha.

Meanwhile, at that moment,

After Ulan and Ivella had disappeared,

Fertisha glanced at the back of Ulan as he faded into the distance. A moment later, once he had completely vanished, she let out a short exclamation.

“Wow, that was shocking.”

“Huh?”

Merimer, taken aback by her sudden comment, asked back. Fertisha replied, her eyes wide in wonder as if she had seen a rare creature.

“He was way bigger than I expected.”

“What are you talking about…?”

“Hehe, it’s just one of those things.”

Fertisha said with a mysterious smile.

Merimer was curious about what she meant but didn’t prod any further.

Just then, their food order arrived.

Various dishes and desserts spread out on the table. Fertisha joyfully began her meal, her face brimming with excitement, as if she had completely forgotten about Ulan’s departing figure.

8.

Time flew by quickly.

The once bright blue sky was now painted red by the sunset, and the radiant sun was slowly setting beyond the mountains.

And at that moment,

Ulan found himself suddenly alone.

“……”

In the southern plaza of the capital.

Sitting on a bench in front of the fountain, Ulan reflected on why he was alone.

“Actually, I have a personal errand in the capital. So I’m really sorry, let’s meet here again in about an hour.”

Just ten minutes ago.

After finishing dinner, Ivella had unexpectedly mentioned she had something to take care of and left. Naturally, he didn’t feel any disappointment. He was used to being alone.

“I’m kind of bored.”

Just a bit dreary, nothing more.

While Ulan stared blankly at the sky, he rummaged through his pockets. Then, he suddenly found a small object in his pocket.

“What is this….”

A glimmering silver coin.

It was given to him by Noa, who had unexpectedly visited late last night. Catching sight of it brought back memories of what Noa had said yesterday.

“If you find yourself alone tomorrow, use this to buy something for Ivella. It’d be rude to just keep getting treated, after all.”

At the moment, he didn’t think much of it, but now it sounded like a prophecy.

Since it was true that he had ended up alone.

“A gift, huh?”

Not a bad idea.

After all, he wouldn’t have enjoyed this time if it wasn’t for Ivella. Determined, Ulan stood up, ready to make a decision. Since there was still time before she returned, he thought to buy something beforehand. So, he headed to the market he had glanced at earlier.

“Come one, come all! The last fabric from the East!”

“Freshly baked bread for just two silver coins!”

“A basket of apples harvested today, sold cheap for just one big silver coin!”

As he listened to the merchants’ shouts,

Ulan roamed the market, still undecided on what to gift.

After all, he had never given gifts even in his past life, so he had no idea what to get.

While wandering for a while,

A small item caught his eye near a narrow alley.

“A bracelet?”

A bracelet made from thread woven with orbs.

The moment he saw it, fragments of memories from his past life resurfaced. He remembered how Ivella and Delia would often gift each other bracelets and necklaces.

Of course, he didn’t understand why they wore such things, but he distinctly remembered how happy they looked back then.

“Hehe, take a look around all you want.”

The girl selling bracelets came over quickly, noticing his gaze. Ulan, who had been casually looking around, immediately asked for the price.

“How much for one?”

“One for a big silver coin, but if you buy three, I’ll let you have them for two big silver coins!”

One big silver coin meant ten regular silver coins.

For poorly made bracelets, it was a bit pricey, but Ulan didn’t care. He hardly had any money sense in his past life as well.

He instead smiled eagerly.

‘I can gift one to each.’

One for Ivella, and one each for Noa and Delia.

The memory of being helped by both Noa and Delia made him recall that he wanted to gift them all.

Once Ulan finished making up his mind, he selected bracelets to match the hair colors of the three girls.

“Thank you for your purchase!”

After the girl’s polite farewell,

Ulan turned to leave, now carrying the bracelets.

Now he had eight big silver coins left.

Since there wasn’t anything else he wanted to buy, he was about to head back to the plaza. But just then, something suddenly caught his eye.

“What’s that…?”

A leather wrist guard.

Seeing it brought back memories of Ivella from his past life, where she often complained about wrist pain.

It was because most of her swordsmanship over-exerted her wrists.

‘I should gift her that too.’

Since he wouldn’t have any use for any leftover coins.

So he approached and asked, “I’d like to buy this.”

“I’m sorry, but this isn’t for sale.”

“What?”

“These are prizes from that game over there.”

The man pointed in one direction.

There, he could see light magic lamps emitting bright flames attached to a makeshift wall, and merchants actively soliciting.

“So if you want it, you have to win the game. Of course, I can let it go for two silver coins if you really want it.”

Two silver coins, huh?

That was impossible with the amount of money he had.

In order to get that wrist guard, he’d have to participate in something called a game. While he was looking at the magic lamps,

“This is totally a scam!”

A clear voice joined the commotion.

Someone seemed to be throwing a fit because they couldn’t accept the result of the game. The merchant running the game shouted back.

“Uh, if you failed, just go back quietly. Why are you causing a fuss?”

“Because there’s a potion behind the magic lamp that obstructs magical reactions!”

The girl, her face flushed with frustration, stirred up the crowd.

As Ulan’s eyes widened slowly.

“That girl is….”

Fertisha, one of the seven heroes he thought he wouldn’t see for a while, the very same girl he had crossed paths with at the cafe.

Chapter 24. What Happened in the Capital

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