Ruan?

Why is Ruan suddenly in this store?

And as an employee? When did I hire an employee…

“Rosalyn, an employee? Did I hire an employee without knowing? And such a handsome man at that. I quite like this employee?”

Zelda widened her eyes looking at Ruan and whispered to Mercian.

“Zelda. That’s.”

Seeing Mercian hesitate to answer and Ruan glaring daggers at the young male customers in the store, Zelda whispered in her ear.

“Don’t tell me, is that person him?”

Mercian nodded at Zelda’s whisper.

So that man is the owner Clea mentioned?

No wonder she asked to gather some male customers.

He looks like he could kill all the customers in this store with just his gaze and have some to spare.

Zelda watched with interested eyes as Ruan strode into the store.

His tall stature of about 190cm was already enough to overwhelm the men in the store.

Add to that jet-black hair, skin as white as if it hadn’t seen sunlight in a while, and facial features that looked sculpted one by one.

On top of that, muscles that couldn’t be hidden even in commoner’s clothes, and the stylishness of the clothes.

His appearance was so striking that one would wonder if such ordinary clothes could even have style.

The men in this village wouldn’t stand a chance against him, would they?

“My goodness, if it were me, I would have forgiven him right away at that level. I thought that Sir Cassel from before was handsome, but compared to him, it’s hard to even call him handsome. No wonder she had no interest in the village youth. After living with someone like that, how could others catch her eye?”

Mercian made a bitter expression at Zelda’s words.

He may have such a physique now, but until just recently, he was someone for whom it was amazing that he was even breathing.

Moreover, when I first married him, he was so thin that I was bigger than him.

Now somehow he’s become bigger than me.

Mercian murmured, looking at Ruan who had gained quite a bit of weight and was now much larger than her without even needing to wear a cloak, unlike before.

“That’s not it. He wasn’t originally like this.”

“Ah, right, you said he was sick then. Anyway, so did you decide to give him a chance like I said?”

At Zelda’s words, Mercian made a troubled expression as she watched the men hurriedly buy sandwiches and rush out of the store under Ruan’s murderous gaze, and said:

“Zelda, let’s talk about that later. For now, selling sandwiches is more important. And excuse me for a moment.”

At Mercian’s words, Ruan’s expression changed from fierce to the kindest smile as he nodded and followed Mercian out. Peter, who had been standing frozen under Ruan’s gaze, approached Zelda with a worried expression and said:

“Zelda, is that man really an employee here? Why hire such a scary person? And is it okay to leave them alone like that? What if that man does something to Rosalyn… Should I go stand by Rosalyn’s side?”

“It’s a bit of a shame that those kind eyes aren’t directed at me. Peter, this might sound strange, but even if all the young men in this village attacked him together, they probably couldn’t win. And Rosalyn is safest by his side, so don’t worry. By the way Peter, you really need to give up this time. In my opinion, you absolutely can’t beat that employee.”

“Just who is that man for you to say such things, Zelda? I heard Rosalyn’s first husband had died…”

“Peter? Don’t try to dig too deep into Rosalyn’s private life. It’s better if you just give up on Rosalyn and look for someone else.”

“But it’s a face I’ve never seen before. Is he from the neighboring village?”

Peter muttered in disbelief despite Zelda’s words.

“No? He probably moved in yesterday.”

“To our village? Where? Don’t tell me…”

“Yes, to that house you’re thinking of, right in front of Rosalyn’s.”

“N-No way. By the way, how does Rosalyn know such a scary person?”

“Peter, stop worrying about it and take this to Henry on your way out. Rosalyn just made it.”

“Okay.”

Peter took the sandwich at Zelda’s urging and left the store, unable to hide his worried expression.

“Hmm. He seems like a better person than I thought…”

Zelda started cleaning the store while tidying up the trash.

“Ruan, what brings you here suddenly? And as an employee? This small store doesn’t need an employee, and as you saw earlier, Zelda is helping out so I don’t particularly need an employee.”

At Mercian’s words, Ruan looked around at the items in the storage room and said:

“That can’t be. Looking at this, all the ingredients seem heavy. The thought that you’ve been carrying and moving these alone until now breaks my heart.”

“What? Ruan, I told you last time too, I’m quite strong compared to others. You might not remember, but on that day, I was the one who carried you from the bookstore, rode the carriage to the duke’s mansion, and moved you to the bed.”

Ah. What am I saying now? It’s not like I’m bragging about being strong.

Mercian’s face turned red, embarrassed by her own words.

“That’s because I was deliberately losing weight at that time.”

“That’s not what’s important right now, is it? Suddenly coming to the store like this and saying you’re an employee. What on earth are you talking about?”

At Mercian’s words, Ruan bowed politely and said:

“My lady, please. Give me just one month of opportunity.”

“Ruan, isn’t that already a finished story?”

Seeing Mercian reject his proposal, Ruan made a desperate expression and said:

“First, there’s something I really want to tell you. If your heart doesn’t change even after hearing what I have to say, then I’ll truly quietly withdraw at that time.”

“I think I’ve heard enough already. I have nothing more to hear.”

“My lady, this is really the last time.”

Seeing Ruan’s face pleading so desperately, Mercian let out a small sigh and said:

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Alright. Wait here for a moment.”

Mercian left Ruan in the storage room and went back into the store.

“How did the talk go?”

At Zelda’s question as she was cleaning, Mercian replied with an apologetic expression:

“Zelda, I’m sorry. To make you even do the cleaning. What about the sandwiches?”

“All the prepared ones have been sold. And I wrote on the door that we’re closing early today since we probably can’t do any more business.”

“Thank you.”

“No, I’ve pretty much finished cleaning, so I’ll go do my main job now. If anything happens, let me know, okay? I’m now family to Rosalyn.”

“Yes, thank you as always, Zelda.”

After Zelda finished cleaning and left the store, Mercian locked the door and brought Ruan from the storage room into the store.

“Oh? What about the customers?”

“We closed early since we sold all the sandwiches anyway. Wait a moment.”

Mercian brewed chamomile tea and placed it in front of Ruan, saying:

“What did you want to say?”

“This.”

Isn’t this the tea that Mercian often made for me at the duke’s mansion, worried about my insomnia…

Seeing the chamomile tea placed before him, Ruan felt hopeful that Mercian might listen to his proposal.

Until he entered the store, he had only thought of helping Mercian with the store, but seeing the store full of male customers, Ruan became urgent.

Unlike himself who couldn’t even receive forgiveness from Mercian, these men could express their feelings to Mercian anytime, and if even one of them happened to catch Mercian’s eye…?

No. Such a thing absolutely must not happen, even if it means using the most petty method as a last resort…

Ruan, his throat dry from tension, took a sip of tea and then looked at Mercian as he began to speak.

“I’d like to tell you my story now. It’s a story I’ve never told anyone, so please listen to the end even if it’s a bit long.”

Suddenly? Why would he want to tell his story now?

Seeing Mercian’s puzzled expression, Ruan took another sip of tea and emphasized:

“You must listen to my story until the very end.”

Mercian nodded at Ruan’s request.

Ruan took another sip of tea, then began to tell the story of his life up until now.

Starting with the story of his parents passing away in a carriage accident long ago, he calmly explained about the insomnia that developed while living with Olivia, the curse placed on him using Sinclair as bait during the Allomond War, and how he deliberately made it appear as if he was poisoned to remove the daemon after receiving a 6-month terminal diagnosis.

Then he went on to tell without omission about how Olivia, knowing about his terminal illness, looked for a 6-month bride and deliberately chose him who had no power for the future, and how he realized he could sleep deeply next to Mercian even though he couldn’t sleep well even with insomnia medication, so he used consummation as an excuse to continue sleeping in the same bed with her.

“So, the reason you slept with me wasn’t because your aunt was monitoring the duke’s household, but simply because you could sleep comfortably next to me?”

“Yes, my lady.”

“Don’t tell me, you never took sleeping pills while sleeping with me?”

“Not even once.”

Hahaha, what is this? So in the end, the reason this man tried so hard to sleep next to me was for him to sleep?

Mercian couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous it was.

“I see. So to you, I was just a sleeping pill.”

“My lady, that’s not it. Please listen to my story until the end.”

Mercian wanted to leave the store right away out of anger, but remembering her promise to listen to Ruan’s story to the end, she looked at him.

“Fine. Continue your story.”

At Mercian’s words, Ruan continued his story.

He told her about how he staged things to look like he was plotting treason to stimulate the daemon, how he gradually developed feelings for Mercian who initially only intended to spend 6 months with him, and how the curse that could only be broken by love where one was willing to die in place of the other was broken thanks to Mercian.

“The curse was broken because of me?”

“I am actually a person who doesn’t feel emotions well. So I tended to be cold about everything. But for just one person, you, my emotions kept getting ahead of me. Especially that day at the bookstore, when you were held by the crown prince’s hand, if I hadn’t collapsed, I would have cut down the crown prince with my sword.”

At Ruan’s words, Mercian recalled his desperate expression as he told her he loved her.

“Ruan, just tell me one thing. That day at the bookstore, did you know you wouldn’t die?”

“No. That day, I thought I was going to die. So…”

I expressed my feelings to you thinking it would be the first and last time.

Ruan swallowed the next words without being able to convey them to Mercian.

Mercian unconsciously felt relieved at Ruan’s words.

At least at that time, his feelings for me were sincere.

No, why am I happy about that now?

After listening to all of Ruan’s story, Mercian said with a cold expression:

“What’s the reason for telling me all this story?”