It was just skin touching skin between two people.
And Bernice was definitely wearing makeup. What Felyn touched wasn’t even her actual face—it was foundation.
It was just the foundation that made contact with Felyn.
Thinking of it like that, then it was totally fine.
Zervanie touched her lips lightly.
As if! Of course it's not fine!
He touched her, didn’t he?!
Felyn definitely touched her face!
Their relationship was already close enough that he could touch her face!
What’s the next step? Reaching into her mouth?!
Ugh—no, don’t keep thinking about it!
Zervanie gripped the edge of the table with her fingers, blowing bubbles into her drink repeatedly, trying to blow all her frustration away.
“Blub blub blub...”
Right now, Zervanie felt like she was tied to a chair, forced to watch Felyn flirt with another girl, and unable to do anything about it.
Zervanie might be obsessive, but she wasn’t stupid.
After what Felyn told her last time, if she ran up now to interrupt things between him and Bernice, he would 100% kick her out.
But if I didn’t do anything… then my Felyn...
It hurts. It hurts so much.
Zervanie took off her hat and ran her fingers through her hair, trying to suppress her agitation and think of a plan.
But the moment her long, silver-white hair was exposed in public, she was instantly recognized.
“Excuse me, are you Lady Zervanie?”
Zervanie looked up at the approaching figure and saw the fevered excitement of a fan in their eyes.
She’d been found.
The band in the dessert shop was playing soft music, allowing Felyn and Bernice to relax.
Neither of them spoke; a slightly awkward atmosphere lingered between them.
Felyn was silently cursing himself as a professional—he’d suddenly reached out and wiped cream off Bernice’s mouth.
Nice going. Now Bernice’s face matched the same pink color as the piggy keychain on her bag.
Just as Felyn was about to say something to ease the awkwardness, Bernice’s communication seal suddenly vibrated.
Felyn saw her brow briefly furrow, before she returned to her usual calm.
“Bernice, what’s wrong?”
“Sorry, Felyn. I need to leave for something urgent.” Bernice popped the last piece of cake into her mouth and this time carefully wiped her mouth with a napkin.
“No need to apologize,” Felyn checked his watch. “Bernice, let’s save the remaining time and that lunch we talked about for next time.”
He blinked and gave his signature smile.
“Are you just using that as an excuse to ask me out again? Though I really want to say, ‘Would Senior Felyn really want to go on a date with a girl like me?’ That’d make me so happy.”
Bernice hooked a strand of hair off her lips with her pinky finger.
“But anyway, thank you for today.”
Bernice was about to leave but hesitated. She finally said, “Felyn, how much longer will you and Daiyi keep things going?”
“Miss Daiyi? We’ll probably be in love for a very long time.”
Felyn gave a completely formal and diplomatic answer, and Bernice didn’t argue.
“In that case, you’d better be ready to protect Miss Daiyi… and everyone around you.”
She paused. “Seiwa’s about to change. Relying on seals alone won’t be enough. You need to go to the Royal Capital and learn Divine Arts.”
The Siveshus Empire was founded as a permanently neutral human empire led by the three great Divine Churches.
Thanks to the boost from the underground magic crystal veins, the people in the Royal Capital district grew faster—it was the perfect place to cultivate talent.
There had even been cases of war between the Churches over just a few training spots in the capital.
When a region grows five times faster than normal, saving decades of effort and resources, of course everyone wants to be there.
Because of the three churches, the competition for spots had never flared up inside the Siveshus Empire.
But now that Bernice had entered the academy, her status had changed.
The Truth Divine Church believed Seiwa had been infiltrated by the other two major churches. They had set their sights on it.
The balance that had kept the world stable for a hundred years was about to break—and Seiwa would become the focus of the entire world.
Bernice slowly stood and stopped Felyn from walking her out.
“No need. I’ll just teleport using a seal.”
She patted her bag to show she had it ready.
She headed to the door, looking for a corner with no one around to use the teleportation seal.
Felyn looked at the empty plate Bernice had used.
There was still time before his date with Viloti, and nothing else on his schedule before that.
Time to go grab lunch somewhere.
The food around here was ridiculously expensive, and it wasn’t even that good.
No matter what it was, once you dressed it up in fancy packaging, people charged crazy prices for it.
Just as Felyn was about to stand up, something caught his eye—
A suspicious girl wearing a mask and a hat hurried past a nearby corner, glancing behind her repeatedly.
Felyn saw her and thought she looked a lot like Zervanie.
But she wouldn’t come to Homhot alone today, would she?
Wait… could she have come here alone again for one of her “observe humans” missions?
Felyn turned to the side and raised a hand to cover his face, hoping Zervanie wouldn’t see him.
Zervanie was starting to panic inside.
Even though she immediately used a fake voice to deny it to the fan, the fan didn’t give up.
Zervanie had always been kind to her fans, but she also knew that a crazed fan could cause huge trouble—or even danger.
If it were just one fan, she could handle it. But if that fan started yelling and caused a scene, the situation would spiral out of control.
The dessert shop would instantly flood with fans.
Not only would she be unable to leave—and might even get injured—but innocent people could get caught up in it too.
As the fan grew more suspicious, Zervanie stood up abruptly to leave. She couldn’t risk being recognized in a crowd like this.
If she tried to leave, she’d have to pass by Felyn’s table.
She saw that only Felyn was still sitting there.
If she asked him for help…
If she got Felyn to help her drive away that obsessive fan…
Zervanie looked at Felyn’s figure getting closer—but her steps slowed.
But… but… but…
Wouldn’t that just cause Felyn trouble?
He didn’t want anything to do with her right now.
And if she got swarmed by fans here, Felyn would definitely be caught up in it too.
That wasn’t what Zervanie wanted. She didn’t want to bring danger to him.
“You really are Lady Zervanie, aren’t you?!”
Zervanie’s whole body trembled. The fan’s voice from behind made her feel genuinely scared.
She bit her lip, looked at Felyn’s back one last time, hoping to draw strength from it—
And sped up her steps.
At the very least, she didn’t want to be recognized here. She didn’t want Felyn to see her in such a mess.
But luck had not been on her side lately. She really needed to practice walking properly.
Her walking had gone from fast—slow—fast again, and she couldn’t keep her pace steady.
And so, her foot caught on a table.
Felyn stared, dumbfounded, as Zervanie came falling out of nowhere—right into his arms.
(End of Chapter)