“No, It’s Much Sweeter Than That. Overwhelmingly So.”
The soft whisper tickled Cryer’s ear as Olivia leaned in close, her breath warm despite the chill of her voice.
“Why are you coming out from there?”
Of course, her tone was anything but gentle.
“The work is finished, isn’t it?”
Cryer’s gaze flicked briefly toward Angbre, and Olivia gave a small nod.
“Well yes, the matter with Lady Taren is concluded. But why are you coming out of there?”
She asked the exact same question again, and Cryer couldn’t possibly miss the nuance in her tone, expression, and body language: “Didn’t I tell you to avoid being seen by Lady Taren?”
But instead of answering directly, Cryer said something else entirely.
“The job’s done, so now we can do it.”
“Do what?”
Olivia frowned, grabbing hold of her patience like she was yanking a child by the hair.
“You know—what usually happens in novels, plays, or fairy tales.”
Though his shaggy bangs hid his eyes, his lips were curled unmistakably into a smile.
“What are you talking abou— Wait, huh?”
Before Olivia could even finish her protest, Cryer took her wrist gently and began walking briskly. Caught off guard, Olivia found herself matching his pace, awkwardly waving backward.
“Go ahead inside! Thank you again for your help today!”
Angbre, who’d been debating whether or not to chase after them, brightened visibly at Olivia’s cheerful farewell. She had been concerned about the strange man who appeared out of nowhere, but Olivia reassured her it was someone she knew. And now, the princess herself had said Angbre had been very helpful today.
“Yes! Enjoy your time!”
Angbre beamed as she waved both hands enthusiastically to see Olivia off.
Olivia, being pulled along by Cryer, suddenly leaned backward, digging her heels in.
“Wait—Hold on.”
Even if she had used her full weight to resist, Cryer could’ve easily dragged her along. But he stopped without any fuss.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Olivia glared, her voice heavy with disbelief. Cryer merely shrugged.
“You told me not to draw attention, so I didn’t pick you up.”
“Oh wow, look at you acting like you deserve a medal for doing the bare minimum!”
She yanked back the patience she’d just let go of and shook her head.
“Seriously, what are you trying to pull?”
“Like I said, I’m doing one of those classic romance tropes from stories.”
Olivia blinked, head tilting in confusion.
“So what you mean is…”
“We can’t laugh and frolic, but at least we can skip out on work.”
The simplicity of his answer left her momentarily speechless. What Cryer was implying was:
A secret outing between two lovers in disguise.
He called it an “outing,” but that was just a fancy way to say “date.”
And didn’t Angbre just say, “Have a nice time,” too?
She reluctantly released her grip on her better judgment.
What do you mean, “a nice time”?
Of course, Angbre didn’t know the situation, so it was just a polite phrase.
But paired with Cryer’s words now…
Reflexively, Olivia glanced up at Cryer. When he turned toward her, she quickly looked away. And embarrassed by her own reaction, she muttered—out loud, of course.
“A nice time? That’s ridiculous.”
Her logic was disjointed, but hearing her speak made Cryer slow down.
“I mean, you and me. Sure, we’re working together now, but…”
She didn’t even have to finish her sentence. Cryer didn’t ask for the rest. He just came to a stop.
So did Olivia, without meaning to.
“Don’t overthink it.”
The man with the most complicated past whispered.
“Let’s just have a nice time.”
His quiet voice, tinged with laughter, softened the frown on Olivia’s face.
And so, with no destination in mind, the two wandered aimlessly.
“You’re buying that? You’ve got no taste, honestly.”
At Olivia’s jab, Cryer set the item down.
“That’s rich, coming from you.”
His own cold critique made Olivia return the item she’d picked up too.
Wandering through crowds, insulting each other’s taste, they eventually found themselves holding hands—not nervously, not tingling with electricity, and not fidgeting shyly. It was natural.
Cryer had simply grabbed Olivia’s hand to pull her out of the crowd when she almost got pushed. And he kept holding it just in case. The warmth wasn’t hot or cold—it was lukewarm. But that alone was enough.
Thanks to their disguises, no one paid them any attention. But to a passerby, they looked like an ordinary couple on a date.
Not that either of them would ever admit it. No, they’d deny it completely without hesitation.
And during that “totally-not-a-date,” Olivia licked her dry lips.
“I’m not hungry, but I’m getting a craving.”
Her eyes sparkled as she looked around.
“There!”
Without pause, she ran to a cotton candy stall and came back holding two giant clouds of sugar—each as big as her head.
“Here, this one’s yours. If you don’t want to eat it, just hold it.”
Before Cryer could respond, Olivia had already taken a massive bite. Watching her, he too took a big bite.
“So this is what it tastes like.”
“Wait—Is this your first time?”
“Maybe.”
A vague reply, but neither he nor Olivia seemed to care. After all, Cryer had no memories of his past life. He might have had cotton candy before, or not.
Watching him devour the entire thing in seconds, Olivia blinked.
“Isn’t it sweet?”
Cryer gave her a puzzled look, twirling the empty stick.
“It is.”
“Then how did you finish it all?”
He tilted his head.
“What kind of reaction is that?”
“I didn’t expect you to like sweets…”
“And why not?”
“Well, obviously—”
“Obviously?”
She couldn’t answer. Names like bloodthirsty beast, inhuman monster, and plague of the continent had all been associated with Cryer during the war.
A man like that, who seemed born of war and death, didn’t seem the type to enjoy sugar.
For the first time, Olivia really looked at him.
In all her four lifetimes, though she had tried to stop wars or win them, she’d never once heard a personal fact about Cryer.
Back then, she chalked it up to top-tier secrecy.
But now she realized—even he didn’t know much about himself.
“I was wrong about you.”
Her sudden admission sounded like it skipped a few chapters, but Cryer didn’t push.
“More importantly—hold on.”
He tapped his right cheek.
“Huh?”
Olivia blinked and mimicked him, patting her cheek.
“It didn’t come off. Stay still.”
He let out a soft sigh and reached toward her.
His rough fingers brushed against her soft cheek, wiping off a piece of cotton candy. He looked at the fluff on his fingertip—then licked it.
Then frowned.
“Sweet.”
Olivia stared at him, incredulous.
“Of course it’s sweet. You just ate it!”
“No. This is much sweeter. Overwhelmingly so.”
His reply made Olivia go pale.
“Wait—you can taste the difference? Is it poison?”
It wasn’t unheard of for people to suffer “accidents” during secret outings. So her concern was valid.
“If it’s not an instant poison, maybe it’s a slow-acting one. But more likely, it’s something related to the Old Gods.”
“Oh, yeah, that makes sense. Hmm… My throat’s fine, my mouth’s fine, I can talk…”
She wiggled her fingers and toes, nodding.
“No paralysis either. So maybe not poison. Probably some Old God stuff…”
Neither of them even considered the most obvious answer.
That maybe the reason it tasted so sweet…
Was simply because Cryer had eaten it from her cheek.
The two wandered unnoticed, in disguise, paying no attention to others or being noticed.
And as Cryer realized that, he stared at Olivia—who was still overthinking everything with a pouty face.
Then she seemed to remember something and looked up. Their eyes met.
“Cryer…?”
Their gazes held only each other.
And at that moment, far away, on the blood-red earth…
A tiny, almost invisible blue flower began to bloom.
While Olivia and Cryer were off exchanging harsh critiques and obliviously holding hands, Angbre—in an excellent mood—headed home.
But she paused.
She had meant to visit a small merchant tucked away in a corner shop today but had forgotten.
Quickly turning around, she reached the far end of the merchant district and stepped inside.
Click.
Sunlight streamed into the shop, but it was unusually quiet. Angbre glanced around.
“Huh? Is everyone out?”
But behind her, her shadow slowly merged with another.
Angbre didn’t notice.
Behind her was the man responsible for the recent chain of abductions and murders—devoted to the Old Gods.
Silently, he extended his hand toward her from behind.
His claw-like fingers reached for the back of her neck.
And just then—
“Young Miss?”
