A few days later.
As soon as I started digging into Blizen’s whereabouts, I found out he was in the shopping district.
It wasn’t hard to know where Blizen or the twins were without gathering much info.
‘Because they always attract a crowd of squealing girls.’
That was all thanks to his face.
I headed to the shopping district first. When I arrived, I immediately knew where Blizen was.
A group of girls was gathered like a cloud, chattering away.
‘This has to be the place.’
There was no other.
Because their conversation went like—
“Do you really have nothing to pawn at the pawnshop?”
“Even if I did, you don’t either, right?”
“If we had something, we’d pretend to pawn it and sneak into the pawnshop.”
“Can’t we just go in? Such a handsome guy deserves to be seen again!”
“He wasn’t blond, he was like sunlight! The sun was on his head!”
“What are you talking about? He is the sun!”
“His eyes had rubies in them. Ahhh...”
—That was why.
Of course, it had to be Blizen.
If there was another handsome guy, the whole town would already be buzzing.
Handsome guys are rare.
I looked at the girls on the street with slightly blurred eyes.
‘...Blizen is handsome, but is it really that much?’
I shook my head.
‘Maybe I’ve just gotten too used to Dad’s face.’
Dad is ridiculously handsome, but Blizen’s face is still extremely good-looking.
Anyway, it seemed Blizen was inside the pawnshop.
‘Why would he be at a pawnshop?’
As I wondered about that, I heard a groaning voice behind me.
“How much more are you going to buy...!”
The sobbing voice scolded me.
I turned to see a mountain of herb bundles piled up.
I said to the herb pile,
“I’m buying everything available.”
“What?!”
Han Ji-hyuk’s face popped up over the herbs.
“Since I can see your face, I guess you can carry more.”
I smiled, and he shouted, “Hey!”
“Just kidding. You probably can’t buy any more even if you try. They’re out of stock.”
I pretended to browse the street.
Blizen still hadn’t come out of the pawnshop.
I was just pretending to buy herbs nearby.
Han Ji-hyuk lowered his voice to ask me.
“You weren’t just pretending to shop so you could bump into him by chance, right? Why buy so much?”
“You can’t waste time and money. I’m not pretending; I really need this.”
If you’re out, do it all at once when you’re out.
Don’t you know about homebodies’ efficient routes?
This kid wasted his whole youth in Korea.
Han Ji-hyuk stared at the bundle full of herbs.
There was only one kind.
Tricolor herb.
I grabbed all tricolor herb that came onto the market.
“Are you trying to hoard it now?”
“I can’t even ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) do that. There’s no stock of tricolor herb.”
Since this was Astra’s shopping district, it was the only place I could find any.
“Then why are you buying so much tricolor herb?”
I just smiled without answering.
‘Why? Because if you stockpile it, it always comes in handy.’
“The herb supply’s running low. Listen carefully. It’s precious.”
“You don’t even answer me.”
Han Ji-hyuk grumbled but lifted the herb bags.
Then I noticed something.
“Ah!”
“What? What?”
Han Ji-hyuk looked surprised and popped his head over the herbs again.
“There’s tricolor herb being sold over there! Wow, we can buy more!”
Across the street, I spotted bundles of tricolor herb at a shabby herbal shop.
I smiled widely at Han Ji-hyuk.
“That’s great, right?”
“...Yeah. Really great. Really...”
A while later.
I left the herbal shop with Han Ji-hyuk looking like he had reached enlightenment.
Though I wasn’t sure if that was really enlightenment.
His face was completely hidden behind the herb bundles.
As we walked side by side, I overheard murmuring voices.
I thought it was news about Blizen, so I perked up—
‘What? I hear my name?’
Was I imagining things?
When I turned, the boys caught my eye and quickly looked away.
They seemed to be whispering about me.
‘...What’s going on?’
“Am I acting weird today?”
I asked Han Ji-hyuk, who responded full of dissatisfaction.
“You act weird every day.”
“Want to die?”
Even with the herb pile blocking him, he felt my icy glare and flinched.
“Why is everyone staring at me?”
“Probably because of the popularity vote.”
“What vote?”
“A popularity vote. Whether it’s Lady Selene, the pure and gentle icon like a lily, or Lady Erilot, the talented icon like a dazzling rose—”
That’s crazy.
Why the hell are they doing that vote?
‘And why am I a rose? Oh right, I forgot I was famous for being called a rose.’
I always shrugged off those nicknames from Lady Gonalong and others as mere pleasantries.
But hearing that people in the shopping district actually called me that was too embarrassing.
I felt too ashamed to even hold my head up.
‘Peaceful manor life makes for strange things.’
I was embarrassed, but Han Ji-hyuk seemed amused.
He stretched his neck sideways next to the herb piles and smiled like a cat.
“I heard a bit about the vote. Want me to tell you?”
“No.”
“Selene is leading in the boys’ votes, but you’re popular with the girls.”
“I told you not to say anything!”
I shouted and covered my ears.
Seriously, please, I never want to know.
Han Ji-hyuk laughed gleefully at my tantrum.
How come he can hear so well even though I’m covering my ears?
“I also voted. For Lady Selene.”
“I voted for Erilot.”
Suddenly, a voice interrupted.
I was startled and turned around.
Blizen was looking at me with a languid smile.
Finally, here he was.
He was the opponent I was waiting for, but the timing was bad.
“...When did you get here?”
“I voted. For Lady Selene—first.”
I glared at Han Ji-hyuk.
That’s why I told you not to speak informally outside.
“What are you doing in the shopping district?”
I gestured at Han Ji-hyuk—the herb pile.
“I came to buy herbs.”
“Hmm.”
Blizen seemed to accept that without suspicion.
Who’d buy that much herb just to snoop around?
“Why are you here in the shopping district, Blizen?”
“Just passing by.”
I asked deliberately as if not knowing, and he gave a vague answer.
“Passing by?”
“I have business at the mage tower.”
Just then, a man in robes called Blizen from afar.
“This way.”
“Alright. See you later.”
The man greeted me and quickly turned away.
‘Seems like he really does have business.’
I confirmed Blizen had fully left the street and entered the pawnshop.
“Welcome.”
An old man with a monocle smiled and greeted me.
I walked slowly and looked around the pawnshop.
‘It’s just an ordinary pawnshop.’
Why did Blizen come here?
Just looking around didn’t tell me anything.
‘There’s an easy way to find out.’
I strode over to the counter.
“What did that young man who just left pawn?”
The owner looked flustered when a well-dressed kid asked out of nowhere.
But then his face hardened as he answered.
“Sorry, miss. We never give out customer info.”
He was quite firm.
Expected.
I nodded without a hint of surprise.
Han Ji-hyuk suddenly slammed a gold coin on the counter.
I smiled at the owner.
“I’ll ask again. What did he pawn?”
Before the owner could answer, he grabbed the coin and bit it with his teeth.
Seeing the bright yellow coin clearly marked with teeth marks, his face brightened like he was rejuvenated.
His pupils even changed to gold.
“He didn’t pawn. He bought.”
Of course.
This method is always easy.
I nodded in satisfaction and asked the now cooperative owner.
“Bought? What?”
“Let me see...”
He raised his monocle and scanned a list of items.
He showed me a picture in the document.
A pretty music box.
“This.”
“Why?”
“Well, he checked the name on the back before buying.”
“Name?”
“Aisa A. was written.”
Aisa...
‘That was my late aunt.’
My aunt and Blizen’s mother.
‘Who pawned my aunt’s music box?’
They pawned it because they couldn’t repay the loan, so the music box became the pawnshop’s property.
Whoever it was must be crazy.
A crazy servant?
“Who pawned this?”
The previously cooperative owner now looked at me warily.
His gold pupils returned to normal.
Han Ji-hyuk put another gold coin down.
“Please wait a moment. I’ll find out exactly.”
The owner politely folded his hands.
His eyes turned gold again without checking if the coin was real.
He flipped through the list again and showed me a document.
“It’s Lord Noarizen.”
“...!”
Noarizen?
That name hit me like a blow to the head.
‘Why...?’
He shouldn’t be short on money.
Currently, Noarizen manages my late aunt’s domain.
He was the hopeless romantic type—after my aunt died, he mourned for three years and barely ate.
‘I heard Grandfather entrusted my aunt’s domain to him after seeing that.’
Thanks to that, Noarizen now governs a domain wealthier and larger than most nobles.
Not only that.
The money he receives from the research institute alone is more than enough.
“Do you know why it was pawned?”
“That...”
The owner’s eyes lost their gold color and became wary again.
Han Ji-hyuk put down another gold coin.
The owner quickly answered.
“I don’t know the reason. Not many say why. But he comes quite often.”
Comes often?
“What other items were pawned?”
The owner’s eyes lost the gold color again—
‘Just say you want it all at once, seriously...’
I snatched the pouch of coins from Han Ji-hyuk and slammed it on the counter.
The old man swallowed hard seeing the pouch full of gold.
Without taking his hand off, I said,
“What else was pawned?”
“Jewelry, books, dresses... too many to count.”
They were all items women would use.
‘...He pawned all my aunt’s things? Didn’t even repay the loan properly?’
He acted like a hopeless romantic but secretly sold off my aunt’s belongings for money!
Since I still kept my hand on the pouch, the owner started talking even without being asked.
“Whenever that happens, Lord Blizen buys everything. We like that.”
“Does Lord Noarizen know?”
“If he knew, he’d come. Lord Blizen strictly forbade telling anyone.”
“...I see.”
Something was fishy.
Noarizen in a hurry for money.
Blizen knowing that Noarizen was selling my late aunt’s belongings.
‘But no one’s stopping it.’
“Hmm...”
I narrowed my eyes, pondering.
But I couldn’t figure out the story between those two rich men.
While I was thinking, Han Ji-hyuk slapped the counter with both hands.
“You probably noticed, but this is a very important person.”
The owner awkwardly smiled.
“Yes...! I saw a portrait before, so I know. Lady Erilot of Daymond’s domain! Haha, recently you’ve been a big part of the voting, right?”
I gave a faint look and Han Ji-hyuk raised an eyebrow.
“So if you sell information for a coin or two, you know what will happen.”
“Of course!”
“If this pawnshop burns down, it won’t end there.”
Han Ji-hyuk warned, emphasizing each word with fierce eyes.
“There’s a mad horse here that broke down Daymond’s domain walls 52 times—”
Balzac?
“A scary snake who enjoys tormenting people—”
Joshua?
“And a war fanatic who’s making fruit maps.”
...Dad?
I stared at Han Ji-hyuk like, ‘What are you talking about?’
But the owner looked truly scared by Han Ji-hyuk’s words.
“I’ll never say a word about Lady Erilot.”
“Good, glad you understand.”
“Yes, yes, I wouldn’t say a word even if my mouth was cut off—”
“Cast your vote too.”
“Huh?”
“For Lady Erilot. Understand?”
What is he saying?
I clamped my hand over Han Ji-hyuk’s mouth and left the pawnshop.
Then I glared at him fiercely.
‘He always finds ways to tease me...’
Han Ji-hyuk grinned and shrugged.
He knew how to quickly change his expression in moments like this.
“I’m assigning Mosco as your bodyguard starting tomorrow.”
“What? Then what about me?”
“You’re my attendant, so obviously you’re coming too.”
Mosco liked Han Ji-hyuk a lot, but Han Ji-hyuk freaked out just at the sight of Mosco’s shadow.
The last time (forced by Mosco) they went to bathe together, Han Ji-hyuk nearly had his skin peeled off, trembling.
“You’re joking, right?”
“......”
“Erilot!”
“......”
“Miss? Master?”
“......”
“God? Fairy? Angel!”
“Just bring the herbs.”
I ignored Han Ji-hyuk’s screams and walked on ahead.