The girl in his arms was trembling.
The weirdo behind them was approaching step by step.
Now would be the perfect time to shout “Ex–Curry Stick” and smash the guy dead.
But the girl in his arms was Zervanie.
There was a chance she and the weirdo were in on it together.
He might actually be the fat sheep they were targeting.
Zervanie stopped burrowing into Felyn’s chest. Her instinct to seek safety in him was driven away by reason.
If the fan behind them saw her getting this close to Felyn, who knew what extreme things that fanatic might do?
Felyn would definitely get hurt.
“Lady Zervanie, it’s you, isn’t it? I can recognize you even with a mask on.”
The weirdo was already right next to her. Felyn could feel her trembling in his arms—she was extremely tense.
If she were identified here without any guards, Zervanie could get stuck here for half a day.
That would be dangerous. She’d probably get crushed into a two-dimensional card by the stampeding fan crowd.
...Though that had nothing to do with him.
“You bastard! How dare you hug Lady Zervanie?!”
The fan roared.
Felyn saw the hatred in her eyes and felt the gazes of everyone else in the store the moment they heard Zervanie’s name.
It was over. If this lunatic kept shouting, he’d be flattened into a pancake by the fan mob.
Zervanie’s hand, which had been gripping his collar tightly, now fell weakly.
That’s enough.
The contract was over. Felyn didn’t need to protect me anymore.
She had just indulged in the feeling of being in his arms for a moment—now that was enough.
She should just quietly admit to the fan that she was Zervanie, and explain she only ended up in his arms because she tripped.
It might cause chaos, but at least Felyn wouldn’t be hurt.
“That’s right, I… I am—”
Zervanie hesitated.
A mental image of a hospital flashed through her mind.
Just thinking about the chaos that could follow made her lose her nerve.
But this was for Felyn.
She took a deep breath and glanced at him.
“I am Zerva—”
Just as she was about to speak, she felt someone tug her hand.
A familiar voice rang out, and it made her heart stop.
“I said—why are you following my friend around?”
Felyn suddenly grabbed her hand and glared at the rabid stalker behind them.
Zervanie, what are you thinking? Revealing your identity here—do you want to tear this store down?
You’re standing in front of me, and if fans rush in, I won’t be able to escape!
If you’re going to make an announcement, wait until I’m not around!
Also, that dumb pig over there saw us being affectionate just now, didn’t she?
What if she screams out loud—‘This man touched Lady Zervanie’s body!’
Lady Zervanie’s body! I’d be ripped to pieces on the spot!
“Fei…”
“I’m saying this now—I’m not worried about you. I’m worried about myself. And this is an emergency gig—thirty thousand crowns, thanks.”
Felyn said all this right next to her.
“Mhm…”
Zervanie lowered her head. Her once joyful eyes dulled again after hearing that.
What was I even hoping for…
“Your friend? How do you prove that?”
“Why should I? If someone walks up and calls you a pig, are you really gonna explain to them you’re not a pig?”
The fan was left speechless with rage. She raised her hand, angrily pointing at Felyn’s face.
“No way—I can’t be wrong! She is Lady Zervanie! I just asked her, and she panicked and ran away! Plus, she’s wearing a hat and mask!”
Hearing her shout, the people in the shop got even more excited. Some had already started gathering around.
Feeling everyone’s stares, Zervanie closed her eyes.
It was over. It was really over this time.
At the very least, she could stand in front of Felyn so he wouldn’t get hurt too badly in the crush.
“Because she panicked and ran, that means she is Zervanie?”
Felyn sneered coldly.
He wasn’t afraid of the burning gazes around him.
“My friend got hit by a car as a kid. Her brain’s not all there. Just knowing when she’s hungry is impressive. Of course she’d panic when interrogated.”
“Hey, Felyn!”
Zervanie struggled in his arms, but Felyn ignored her.
“She’s not even that good-looking—kind of ugly, actually. But just because her hair looks like Lady Zervanie’s, she’s been getting harassed for months—people yelling that someone that ugly doesn’t deserve that hair color. She might be mute, but even a dummy has some pride.”
“She’s wearing a mask because of people like you!”
Sure, I'm only saying this to avoid chaos, but it felt really satisfying.
Felyn took the opportunity to vent all his frustrations toward Zervanie.
Being a jerk feels kind of amazing. I should’ve skipped the post-contract compensation money from now on—and just cuss out every client before I leave.
The fan in front of them choked back the words she was going to say.
Her hand twitched for a moment… then dropped.
She had nothing to say—
“S-sorry…”
Zervanie lowered her head under the crowd’s sympathetic stares,
Biting her lips, too scared to move.
Felyn seized the moral high ground instantly.
I’ve just about maxed out my sympathy buff. If Zervanie had darker skin and identified as a gunship helicopter, I’d have carried her out of here on my back!
Who’d dare stop me?
“Be more careful next time. Let’s leave it at that.”
Seeing no one pressing the issue further, Felyn grabbed Zervanie by the wrist—
And quickly pulled her out of the cake shop.
But just as they were about to leave, a middle-aged man blocked their way.
Zervanie peeked from behind Felyn’s back, eyes focused on the stern-looking man.
She gulped.
“Hey, kid…”
The shop fell silent. Even the band stopped playing.
Everyone looked at the man.
“Your friend’s had it rough. Here, take these 200 crowns. Treat her to something nice tonight.”
Felyn may have just discovered a new way to get rich.
With the chime of the doorbell—
Felyn left the dessert shop with one hand holding 200 crowns,
And the other hand holding Zervanie’s wrist.
Avoiding the crowds on the main street, they entered a quiet alley.
“Zervanie, what you did was really dangerous.”
Facing Felyn’s serious expression,
Zervanie instead felt warm inside.
Hehe… Felyn’s worried about me…
If he knew, he’d definitely respond like this:
(Heh. No saving this love-struck idiot.)
“You hear me? Even though our contract is over, You better not get yourself hurt.”
Zervanie’s head shot up at those words.
That definitely meant he cared about me, right?
“If you get hurt and they start going through your stuff, they’ll find our contract, That’d be a pain for me.”
“Huh?”
Zervanie froze.
She pursed her lips.
“So mean… saying something like that to a girl.”
She took off her hat, revealing slightly messy long hair.
The running had left her cheeks flushed—a final touch to her pitiful expression.
“Alright, alright, enough of that. Let’s talk about something more grown-up.”
Felyn didn’t want to say more after seeing her like that.
He brought up what mattered most to him.
“A-a grown-up topic?”
Zervanie instinctively covered her chest, But then, realizing what he meant, she looked into his eyes with her sapphire blue ones, lowered her hand, revealing her chest again.
“W-what did you want to talk about?”
“When are you going to send me the 30,000 crowns we agreed on earlier?”
(End of Chapter)