Daiyi gently placed her hand on Felyn’s shoulder. The distance between them faded until the tips of their noses were nearly touching. Felyn could hear the rapid thumping of his own heartbeat.
Given Lady Daiyi’s history of outrageous behavior, Felyn wasn’t sure whether she was teasing him again—or if she actually intended to go through with it.
If he flinched away out of embarrassment, she might just laugh at him.
He tried to find an answer in her gem-like emerald eyes.
This kind of dilemma often occurred when Daiyi was involved.
She liked to use herself as bait, waiting to see what choice Felyn would make.
In that sense, Daiyi was easily the most troublesome client he had ever had.
“Felyn…”
She whispered his name softly, making his whole body tense up.
This is too much… Why call my name now of all times?!
Just as Felyn was frozen in uncertainty, a savior arrived.
The sharp chime of a communication seal broke the delicate tension in the air.
Daiyi’s shoulders dropped, her body relaxing like a balloon losing air as she pulled back slightly.
As she reached into her pocket for the communication device, Felyn caught a glimpse of her ear—flush red beneath her hair, tinged with an alluring blush down her neck.
Looks like even this lady wasn’t as calm as she pretended. Her face turned red…
“Oh Daiyi, Daiyi,” Felyn thought to himself. You walk by the river long enough, you’re bound to get your shoes wet.
“Sorry,” she said softly, her eyes briefly meeting his. “My father’s looking for me. I’ll be stepping out.”
There was a strange emotion in Daiyi’s smile as she spoke, a slight furrow in her brow as she turned and walked out the door.
Felyn watched her silhouette disappear behind the closing door, his gaze lingering long after she was gone.
He let out a long breath in his mind.
Facing these kinds of trials every day… I’m seriously not built for this.
“Felyn, you disappointed you didn’t get that kiss?”
Bernice’s voice came from beside him as she quietly sat down next to him on the couch, catching him completely off guard.
“Bernice! Don’t sneak up on me like that!”
“Then why were you still gazing longingly at Lady Daiyi’s back? Still savoring that steamy atmosphere?” she teased, patting him on the shoulder.
“Of course not! It’s just… she seemed a little down when she left. I was worried about her. I mean, it’s not like she’s really my girlfriend or anything!”
“‘Not really,’ huh…” Bernice echoed with a faint smile.
She leaned back into the couch, letting her body sink into the cushions. The smooth curve of her legs shimmered temptingly under the room’s soft lighting.
“Her father probably contacted her about what happened yesterday with you and the Claude family’s young lady. That incident stirred up the entire Capital District—and even some of the major churches are getting anxious.”
Felyn shifted to a more comfortable position, letting his muscles relax.
“It wasn’t that big of a deal, was it? I doubt I’m important enough to throw the churches into disarray. Maybe just a bit of extra paperwork for the royals.”
Bernice gave a small, knowing shake of her head.
“You have to understand—the Empire has survived this long because of the Treaty of the Siveshus Empire, signed and upheld by the Three Great Churches.”
“No matter how minor a church might seem, their power could easily overwhelm the royal family—unless the Siveshus Demon King himself awakens and chooses to back the royals.”
Bernice rested her legs on the coffee table and gently swung her feet back and forth.
“You saw the battle yesterday. Against divine arts, seal magic is almost nothing. Citizens of the Siveshus Empire can only learn divine arts in the Capital, so there are very few practitioners. That makes national strength incredibly weak.”
“A few years ago, this wouldn’t have mattered. But now… things are different.”
The Church of Truth had recently lost its Divine Child. Until a new one appeared, the church had essentially gone silent.
But the other churches—including the Office of the Cardinal—had already started testing the waters, slowly infiltrating the Capital District.
“When one church sees another making moves here, what do you think they’ll do? Stop them? Or send their own agents to compete for control?”
“They’ll send people, of course,” Felyn replied.
The more church members entered the Capital, the greater the friction. The greater the friction, the higher the chance of war.
It was the classic pattern of conflict—no matter the world, Felyn never managed to escape it.
“Lady Daiyi… her body…”
Bernice continued, curling her legs up on the couch and facing Felyn.
“Because of this situation, she might be called back home. And if that happens, she may never return to Saiwa.”
Daiyi was a candidate for the Divine Child of the Church of Truth.
Bernice didn’t know why Daiyi had been stripped of her status back then.
She only knew that none of the other candidates had received divine approval recently.
The God of Truth had only ever acknowledged Daiyi.
With the growing tension over control of the Capital, the Church of Truth—one of the Three Great Churches—would soon need a Divine Child to appear, to serve as the god’s voice and vessel.
And that meant Daiyi might be summoned back and reappointed as the Divine Child.
Once that happened, she would no longer be herself.
Her consciousness would merge with that of the divine.
In Bernice’s eyes, that was no different from death.
“Anyway… enough of that. Let’s talk business.”
Bernice hugged her knees, resting her head atop them.
“Your job is to serve noble ladies, right? Then I’d like to sign a contract with you too.”
“Huh? You want me to serve you?” Felyn looked at her, surprised.
“The contract isn’t for me,” Bernice said casually, pulling out a piece of parchment from who knows where. It was covered in neatly written terms.
Before the end of Felyn’s contract with Daiyi, he must care for her as a true lover would—not just as a fake boyfriend for appearances.
Bernice genuinely felt for Daiyi. They were both once candidates for the Divine Child and knew the truth—that being chosen wasn’t the glorious fate people imagined.
Bernice had successfully resisted becoming the Divine Child of the Mir Church.
But Daiyi couldn’t.
As a candidate of the world’s top three churches, she carried the hope and fate of over a hundred million followers.
That’s why Bernice wanted Felyn to stay by Daiyi’s side—to give her a taste of what it meant to live like a real person.
After all, their date back in Homhot had left Bernice with a surprisingly good impression of Felyn.
“…There’s no payment written here?”
Felyn read through it and realized—there was no mention of compensation.
She clearly wanted him to work for free.
“There is payment,” Bernice said with a sly smile. “I’ll pretend yesterday’s incident never happened.”
“That’s not payment, that’s blackmail!”
Bernice nudged his waist lightly with her elbow.
“If that’s not enough, Felyn… you could add me into the contract too. Make me yours. Tempting offer, isn’t it?”
“You’d go that far for Daiyi? Sell your body on her behalf?”
Felyn clearly didn’t buy her nonsense—but he had his own thoughts.
Looking after Daiyi wasn’t that big a deal. After all, she already lived in his house. She paid rent on time every month and didn’t even spend money on food anymore.
“But that’s still not quite enough. I want to add one more clause.”
This time, the fake relationship wasn’t just for fooling Daiyi’s father.
Bernice seemed to catch onto his little scheme. She lowered her legs and stretched them out.
“Go on.”
“Can you teach me divine arts? Or seals at least?”
“Me?” Bernice blinked and pointed to herself.
She had nearly one-shotted a high-level demon. That church follower yesterday? She had wiped him out effortlessly.
She was clearly in a league of her own. If someone like her could teach him… what a jackpot.
“Yeah. You’re amazing. I want to be like you—able to protect myself, and protect what I care about.”
Bernice was caught off guard by the sincerity in his gaze. She turned her head slightly and, without thinking, began twirling a strand of her black-red hair around her finger.
“If I have time… I’ll teach you.”
(End of Chapter)