The manor was lively that night.
Renowned chefs from several of the Royal Capital's most prestigious restaurants had been invited to the estate.
Felyn sat in the dining room chair, having napped through the entire afternoon. With his energy mostly restored, he finally felt a growing hunger.
“Felyn, what do you feel like eating?”
As he flipped through the menu, Felyn couldn’t help but sigh—being rich really is great.
All he had to do was speak, and he could enjoy dishes that normally took months of advance reservation to even try.
Spending so much time with Adeline, it was easy to forget she was actually the heiress of a powerful noble house.
The food he ordered arrived quickly. Adeline sat beside him, her hands resting on her cheeks as she watched Felyn eat bite after bite.
“Adeline, aren’t you going to eat anything?”
“I’m on a diet. You go ahead.”
She wanted to show Felyn her best self, and that meant keeping her figure and appearance in perfect condition.
Even though her doctor had advised against fasting for the next few days, Adeline ignored it completely.
“Skipping meals isn’t good, Lady Adeline.”
Felyn picked up her spoon, scooped a bite, and held it up to her lips.
“Come on, open wide. Aaah…”
Hearing his voice, Adeline instinctively opened her mouth.
Forget it… if Felyn says so, I’ll start dieting again tomorrow.
All the doctor’s half-hour lectures couldn’t compete with a single sentence from Felyn.
Bit by bit, the food on the table was devoured, and Felyn felt his hunger finally disappear.
Adeline told him it was too late to return and inconvenient besides. Plus, her father would be commending Felyn the next morning, so he should just stay another night.
“But, Adeline…”
“There’s nothing wrong with it. I want to thank you properly. Come on, let’s go to the lounge. I prepared a little something for you.”
The two of them walked down the hallway lined with thick wool carpets. The crystal chandeliers above cast a soft, warm glow.
Under the gaze of oil portraits of past Claude family members, Adeline held Felyn’s hand tightly and led him slowly toward the lounge.
Every maid they passed paused to bow politely.
Word had already spread among the staff—this young man might be the future master of the house.
As they passed a tall window, Felyn’s eyes were caught by the view outside.
The neatly manicured lawn glowed silver under the moonlight. In the distance, an artificial lake shimmered with starlight, its surface rippling gently.
“Felyn, what are you looking at?”
Adeline leaned close, following his gaze out the window.
“Nothing, really,” Felyn said. Then he added, “When I was a kid, I used to dream about a place like this. After finishing my homework, I’d lie on the grass in the evening breeze, counting stars and watching fireflies dance in the sky. But I guess it’s not the season for fireflies anymore.”
While Felyn remained distracted by the view, Adeline took out her Communication Seal and quickly typed out a few lines of text.
Shortly after leaving the window, they arrived at the lounge.
Store clerks from the Royal Capital’s finest luxury boutiques stood up immediately upon seeing Adeline.
They had been waiting for a long time.
Adeline waved the tailor over to take Felyn’s measurements, then instructed the others to show him all the clothing samples they had brought.
“Pick anything you like. If you don’t choose at least ten, I’ll be mad,” she said with a smile.
Every time Felyn chose a style, Adeline would pick out a matching outfit for herself.
Matching couple outfits in secret? That shouldn’t be too weird… right?
By the end of it, Felyn had basically changed from head to toe. Even his underwear was stamped with luxury branding.
Tonight’s spending probably broke six digits.
He was completely overwhelmed by Adeline’s enthusiasm. He didn’t know what had gotten into her.
She often bought him clothes, but never this much.
Why does it feel like I’m the one getting married tomorrow…? Felyn thought. Adeline was acting like a doting old father.
“Felyn, there’s one more place I want to take you. Are you too tired?”
“Not at all! Totally fine!”
Felyn was absolutely exhausted. Trying on clothes was way too much work.
But he didn’t want to kill Adeline’s mood, so he forced himself to keep going.
Even though it wasn’t an official service day, she’d already spent more tonight than his monthly salary.
Adeline led him to the lawn—the same one he had admired earlier.
But now, the scene had changed completely.
Hundreds—no, thousands—of fireflies flitted across the grass like fallen stars.
They painted glowing trails across the night sky, turning the darkness into their personal stage.
Soft green lights illuminated Felyn and Adeline’s faces, casting a dreamy glow around them.
“Adeline? This is…”
“It’s strange, isn’t it? I didn’t think there would be fireflies in this season,” she said, pretending to be lost in the moment.
But the truth was, her eyes never left Felyn’s expression.
When she saw the joy on his face, her heart melted like sugar in warm tea.
There are no fireflies this time of year.
If Felyn’s eyesight had been a bit sharper—or if he had reached out to catch one—he would have discovered they weren’t fireflies at all.
They were sprites.
Adeline had rented out every sprite in the Royal Capital and instructed them to carry glowing lights and mimic the movements of fireflies in the air.
If Felyn wants something, then I’ll give it to him.
Whatever he desires—money, a house, fireflies—anything at all.
Felyn lay on the soft grass, his hands behind his head.
Adeline sat beside him, both of them gazing up at the sky.
The night was like a deep-blue velvet curtain. A crescent moon cast down silvery light, and the occasional breeze carried the scent of roses and jasmine from the garden.
“Felyn, do you like it here?” Adeline asked, her eyes on the stars above.
Felyn thought for a moment, then gave her an honest answer.
“I do. I used to dream of having a place like this.”
Hearing his reply, Adeline let out a quiet breath of relief.
“That’s wonderful… I was worried you wouldn’t like it. If you didn’t, I’d have to buy another estate.”
“But we won’t be staying in the Royal Capital forever. We’ve got a bigger one in Donk District—same style, just larger. You’ll like that one too.”
“I’m sure it’s beautiful.”
Felyn sighed inwardly.
Even if I like it, what good does it do? Miss Adeline, I’d need to save for years to afford a place like this…
What he didn’t know was that Adeline’s true reason for asking was to see if he’d be willing to move in with her someday.
Felyn took a deep breath, trying to commit this peace and beauty to memory.
Since arriving in this world, he hadn’t once laid on the grass and counted stars like this.
He’d either been too busy… or too poor.
There were no lawns like this in the Mist District.
Too much had happened recently.
His Divine Affinity was still unknown—
He’d stayed up all night with Adeline, been attacked today…
And for the first time, Felyn had experienced firsthand just how powerless Seals were in the face of true divine arts.
If he really wanted to live well in this world—and protect his little sister Olivia—he would have to learn divine arts himself.
Otherwise, once his contract with Adeline and the others ended, where would he find this kind of income again?
But… could he really do it?
Daiyi had said that he might be the chosen by Herlomir, a god long forgotten by the world.
But would the Royal Academy even recognize such a god?
Felyn didn’t know, and he didn’t want to think about it anymore.
He lay on the grass and embraced the night sky that belonged to him.
…
On the third morning, the Claude family’s reward arrived.
The previous day’s incident had been ordered sealed by the royals, so no public ceremony was held.
“Faced with a malicious attack from Divine Church followers, Mr. Felyn fearlessly defended himself and cleverly thwarted the enemy’s plot. In recognition of his exceptional bravery and loyalty, we hereby award one million crowns and four Seventh-Rank Seals.”
Felyn laughed out loud as he saw his Seal card reflect the added one million crowns.
It wasn’t about the money, of course. He was just happy that Adeline was safe.
…Okay, fine—it was about the money. A million crowns?! Who wouldn’t be thrilled?!
Adeline also received word from the Royal Capital Commerce Association.
They were willing to negotiate the final sponsorship budget.
Everything was moving in a good direction.
But this matter was far from over.
No matter what, an attack by a Divine Church on a noble within the Royal Capital was a serious violation of the Siveshus Empire Ordinance.
The royal family could no longer afford to sit on their hands.
Still, none of that concerned Felyn for now. Let the people up top worry about it.
Adeline had to visit the commerce association today, and Felyn left the manor after saying goodbye to her.
The sky was blue—the kind of day perfect for an outing.
The breeze was mild, the air not too hot.
Felyn sat on a bench, flipping through the map Adeline had given him.
He had clearly overestimated his sense of direction. Even in broad daylight, he was already lost on the way back to the inn.
“This doesn’t make sense… The map says it’s this way…”
Even as a newly minted millionaire, Felyn still refused to splurge on a carriage.
He’d been poor too long. It had scarred him.
A few hundred crowns in travel expenses still felt like a fortune.
Map in hand, Felyn couldn’t shake the feeling that this scene was a little too familiar.
Just the other day in the inn’s lobby, he had been checking a map for the same reason.
Back then, it was Zervanie who had come to help. But this time… it was just him.
Or was it?
He felt a light tap on his shoulder.
“Hey, Felyn.”
Zervanie’s melodious voice came from behind.
She wore a pair of high-waisted, wide-leg trousers in deep navy blue, paired with a V-neck cropped linen shirt that revealed her slender waist.
A shimmering butterfly chain glimmered at her hips, swaying gently with each breath.
Felyn stared at her in a daze.
In that moment, Zervanie reminded him of that one beautiful girl from another class during P.E. class in school—
Elegant, distant, and utterly untouchable.
(End of Chapter)