Reciting the words they had said to Lea,
“Who is he?”
He moved as lightly as a knight. The man who suddenly appeared and subdued the human traffickers approached her.
“You’re not afraid, coming alone into such a slum.”
“Ah, I heard this child’s mother is sick.”
“One of the traffickers’ methods. Using a young child to lure people.”
Then the man knelt to meet the child’s gaze.
“Do you see that man back there?”
The child, who had been hiding behind the wall, found the man he was pointing to and nodded.
“Go talk to that man, he’ll help you somehow.”
The child headed toward where the man was pointing but then turned back to Lea. He bowed lightly and scurried away.
“What will happen to the child?”
“Most are orphans, so they’ll probably be given some suitable employment.”
“I see.”
“Anyway, it’s your first time here. You shouldn’t easily give your affection to strangers.”
He warned her with a warm smile like sunlight, but his polite words were not rude.
Staring blankly at the man who was treating her as if she were a noble lady, Lea came to her senses.
“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you for helping me today. You saved me from a big problem.”
Lea bowed to the man. He looked at her, hurrying, and answered with an amused smile.
“You’re welcome. Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Not at all! Thanks to you, I’m completely fine!”
“That’s good.”
“Yes.”
‘What is it?’
Lea felt a strange sense of déjà vu from the man she was facing.
‘Have I seen him before…?’
Though it was their first meeting, he felt oddly familiar. Lea was trying to recall his identity when—
“Where are you going? I can take you there.”
He asked her politely.
“I need to go to the Delta Pharmacy… I can go by myself. Could you just tell me the way?”
Having chased after the child, she didn’t even know where she was standing. Rikel and her coworkers might come looking for her, but—
It would be better to head back to the pharmacy rather than wait for an uncertain Rikel.
“I can take you there, I was headed that way.”
“If you’d do that, I’d really appreciate it.”
She felt a deep sense of relief watching the man lead the way.
…
…
…
“That way leads to the Delta Pharmacy.”
“I really appreciate everything today. Should I give you something in return…?”
“Could you tell me your name?”
“…Your name?”
He wanted her name as a token? His reply made her tilt her head in confusion.
But, what’s in a name.
“My name is Lea.”
“Then, Miss Lea.”
The man who suddenly grabbed Lea’s hand pressed his lips to the back of her hand.
“Let’s meet again someday.”
While she hesitated, confused, a familiar voice called out to her from behind.
“Rikel?”
“What the hell happened?! I heard you went into the slums. Are you okay?”
Rikel, who had appeared out of nowhere, shouted with a flustered face.
Sweat dripped from his flushed face.
“I’m sorry. I was helping a child and ran into traffickers… but this man helped me.”
At that, Rikel furrowed his brows as if to say, ‘What are you talking about?’
“Who helped you?”
“Eh? The man standing here… Huh?”
He had definitely been behind her.
When did he leave? No one was standing behind her anymore.
“Anyway, it’s fortunate nothing happened. Let’s go. The Count is waiting.”
“Okay.”
Seemingly distracted, Lea followed Rikel, remembering what she had to do.
Eyes were watching the two who were slowly moving away from the alley.
“Red hair…”
The man murmured, watching Lea’s red hair flutter away. It glowed as if containing a fierce flame.
“Haken.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Look into that woman.”
The man’s servant looked at Lea’s retreating figure.
“Do you mean the woman with red hair?”
“Yes. It feels like there’s something.”
His gaze turned cold while watching Lea, who had uncommon red hair and an inexplicably familiar face.
(This is a time separator.)
It’s been two days since arriving at the capital.
The vague memory of a strange dream made Lea less wary of Akkia. It was still a bit uncomfortable to be around him.
‘I can’t keep avoiding the Count.’
Given his sullen face, he seemed offended by her avoidance.
That’s why she was reading a book with him in the library when the ruckus outside startled her.
“What was that noise just now? Count, you heard it too, right?”
“Haa…”
Closing his book with a ‘thud,’ Akkia touched his forehead as if bothered. He seemed to know the cause of the noise.
“Count?”
As she asked for an explanation, he spoke while washing his hands.
“I have a mare I’ve been raising called Grace. I couldn’t keep her in Heidern territory, so I left her in Magnolia. I brought her back when I came to the capital.”
A few days ago, two horses were brought to the mansion, she recalled.
‘So, it was the Count’s horse. Its pedigree did seem special.’
He couldn’t risk his frail condition to own such a horse, so it was kept in Magnolia.
Lea nodded and asked, “Yes, but why?”
“The black mare is Grace, my longtime companion, and the brown stallion is just for emergencies. But they seem to want to mate, which is a problem.”
‘I see.’
She thought it was a major concern but it was trivial.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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