ILOIML 16

Chapter 16

“That may be true, but I really didn’t expect to see Lucas there. Honestly, if I had known he was there, I wouldn’t have come. Ugh, it’s funny that I’m even trying to explain myself to you. Why am I explaining at all?”

I sighed deeply and crossed my arms.

“…We’re sorry. It’s our fault, my lady,”

Amy, who had been silent, lowered her head and apologized.

“I truly have nothing to do with that man. I hope you understand.”

I didn’t know if Amy really understood me. What I meant was, please don’t let Leon find out.

“My lady, don’t worry,”

Amy said calmly, maybe understanding what I meant. But I still felt uneasy. After all, she had told Leon something before, even when I asked her not to.

“Do I look like I can not worry?”

“What do you mean?”

Amy looked surprised and asked.

“Do you really not get it? Yesterday, you told Leon that I met Lucas, and it made him worry unnecessarily.”

“That’s not true! It’s a misunderstanding. I never said a word to the master, just like I promised.”

“Then who did?”

Just then, the door to the prayer room opened and Lucas came out. He shook his long blond hair and looked at me.

“By the way, I met your husband yesterday. He went back home but got dragged to a noble meeting. When I mentioned I saw you, the Grand Duke spat on me.”

Leon wasn’t some wild llama that spat at people. He might act a little silly, but he knew how to behave.

“That doesn’t sound like Leon at all. Did you say something stupid?”

“I told him I was close with you.”

“……”

I looked at Amy. I suddenly felt sorry for doubting her.

‘This jerk…’

I glared at him and said in a low voice,

“Don’t go talking about me to anyone ever again. As far as I’m concerned, you and I are complete strangers. Got it?”

“I just came to pray, and this is how I get treated?”

He smiled slightly, looking offended. I did feel a little guilty. It wasn’t really his fault. This whole mess started because the old Bella confessed to him. No wonder he was confused.

So, out of guilt, I gave him some advice.

“Look, I’m being nice here. But instead of wasting your time wandering around like a lazy bum, you should train in swordsmanship or something. At least learn how to protect yourself.”

He wasn’t some important character in the novel. He wasn’t even mentioned. Most likely, he was one of the many who’d die early to monsters.

He looked at me in disbelief.

I firmly nodded and told Amy and Mary,

“Let’s go.”

Leaving Lucas behind, we walked out of the temple and got in the carriage.

“Should we head back to the hotel?”

“Yeah, I’m exhausted.”

I felt completely drained. I really hoped I wouldn’t see Lucas again. But of course, that was just wishful thinking.

Just as the carriage was about to leave, Lucas came up and knocked on the window.

I was about to tell them to ignore him, but his eyes looked unusually serious, so I opened the window a bit.

“Bella.”

“Call me the Grand Duchess.”

“Alright, Grand Duchess. That confession you gave me… was it sincere?”

Maybe it had been sincere from the real Bella, but not from me.

“Of course not. Your name is already all over the place in so many rumors. I just hope I’m not part of those.”

Lucas didn’t respond and just looked at me with heavy eyes as I rode away to the hotel.

“Bella, where were you? I came back early so we could go out together.”

Leon had come back earlier than expected and was waiting for me. If I had known that, I wouldn’t have gone to the temple.

“The proud Grand Duke got kicked out today for throwing a tantrum,”

Kalsen added flatly.

“Where did you go?”

Leon ignored Kalsen and asked me directly.

“I went to the temple of the goddess Thea to pray for you, of course.”

“Bella, you’re really an angel! I think I’ll live until I’m 500 years old.”

“What are you saying? You need to live to 1000 at least!”

At my words, Leon clapped and jumped up and down. Even though he was a big man, he acted like a kid, making my head throb. I barely held back from yelling at him and instead forced a kind smile.

“Bella, we were going to tour the capital together. Let’s go!”

I couldn’t even rest for a moment and was dragged around the city by Leon.

“Wow, Bella, look at this! Bella, buy this for me!”

“Leon, don’t you have a lot of money? You even bragged about it!”

But Leon ignored me and ran off to another stall.

“Bella, that looks yummy!”

Leon, taller than most grown men, ran around like a child, saying silly things. It wasn’t long before we became the center of attention in the busy streets. I couldn’t hear everything people were saying, but I caught bits like “Aster” and “Sweden.”

Let them laugh. In the end, Leon would be the one who survives.

My job wasn’t to get mad—it was to keep Leon happy.

“Wait. I want to go check that out.”

A small antique shop off to the side caught my eye. I didn’t hesitate and dragged Leon that way. But when he realized where we were going, he threw a fit, saying it was too dirty and he didn’t want to go.

I really needed a good reason to hit him right then.

‘You dragged me around all day and now you’re complaining…’

In the end, I asked Kalsen to watch Leon and entered the antique shop alone.

The door creaked open like it hadn’t been used in a long time. Inside, it was dark and packed with old items on every shelf. An old woman with glasses on her nose looked at me sharply. Her gaze was so intense that I flinched.

“A stranger, huh?”

What stranger? I ignored her and greeted her in a cheerful voice, hoping a good first impression might get me a discount.

“Hello.”

As I looked around, I was glad I hadn’t brought Leon. The shop was even dirtier and more cramped than it looked. Dust covered everything, and big baskets full of stuff were piled everywhere. Any normal customer would’ve run away by now. But sometimes, hidden treasures are found in places like this.

“Nothing here is for sale, so get out.”

“You’re not selling anything?”

“Not anymore. It’s no fun these days.”

Who runs a shop for fun? I squatted in front of a basket and started looking through it.

“I said it’s not for sale! I’m cleaning up, so get out already!”

But I ignored her and kept going, as if something was pulling me. That’s when I found a small bell deep in the basket. As I stared at it, the bell suddenly glowed and rang loudly.

Startled, I looked at the old woman. But she didn’t seem to hear anything. She just kept waving her hand at me.

“Get out.”

“Please sell me this bell.”

“What bell?”

She looked at the bell I was holding and frowned.

“That’s not your bell. It doesn’t have an owner. I’m not selling it.”

She walked over with surprisingly quick steps, snatched the bell from me, and started pushing me out.

“Can’t you see it’s glowing?”

“What’s glowing? That bell?”

She stopped pushing me.

“You… can really see it?”

I nodded. It gave me the same excited feeling I had when I found the holy sword. I needed that bell.

“If it’s glowing and has no owner, then something’s gone wrong… Calling an outsider…”

The old woman whispered to herself, then let out a few long sighs.

“Take it. It’s yours now. You’re its new owner.”