Chapter 45.1

Since then, Seira continued to ramble for a long time. She didn’t know this day would ever come before she died, and that nobody would believe it until they saw it in person. After all of that, she finally hugged him.

“Thank you, Louis. Thank you very much,” she said, her entire body trembling, “You don’t know what this wheat field means to me.”

Louis held and comforted her a little while.

He was like an angel sent from heaven to Seira. Louis Franto gave her hope which she wasn’t able to find for a very long time since she began her arduous mission of reviving Askan.

‘The goddess didn’t do anything for me… Louis did,’ she thought at the back of her mind.

But after some time thinking, she suddenly found herself believing that the goddess might have sent Louis in her stead. Perhaps it was because the goddess was sorry for all the hardships Seira had gone through.

“That’s a relief.”

As she heard his low voice, Seira raised her head and looked up at the man that provided her with her dreams. Beautiful blue-green eyes resembling lush greenery stared at her with a friendly twinkle to them.

“I like it very much.”

His hands suddenly touched her back and waist, and Seira hurriedly escaped from Louis’ arms.

“I apologise, Louis. I have to admit, I didn’t expect much from you until this morning.”

“Of course, I knew this was going to happen. There wasn’t enough time for us to build trust between each other.”

His accommodating answer made Seira feel a little bit at ease.

“I appreciate it if you think so,” she replied.

Louis, who had been staring at her radiant smile, closed his eyes for a long time before opening them and asking, “Are you planning to harvest these, Seira?”

“Well…”

Seira stroked one straight stem with her hand, her delicate fingers touching the tip with a touch of sadness.

“I don’t know. Are these even edible though…?”

It was great progress as far as the land was concerned. However, it was an utmost necessity to check whether the first grain harvested from a land that had long been barren wasn’t toxic for human consumption.

“I see. We do need to check first,” Louis nodded and then looked at her as he asked, “Can I help you?”

“…Wha-what?”

“We’ll have to make sure the grains aren’t toxic. Why don’t we go test it together?”

Seira blinked hard. Silence fille the air for a long time.

‘I can’t believe he is helping me.’

Doesn’t it sound as if he was implying that he was giving her kindness without asking for anything in return? Then, it was too much kindness, at least by her standards.

‘No, this might be part of the deal, too.’

Seira gazed at the wheat field that smelled of abundance for a while, and then after some thinking, she turned to Louis again.

‘What else could Louis want from me besides a contractual relationship?’ she wondered.

Seira wasn’t a naïve little girl to believe that his proposal didn’t come with strings attached to it. Maybe he was after something else that only she could give. But for that to be fair, the scales must be balanced as she was sure he’d want something of equal value in return.

‘It’s never too late to hear and judge after hearing him out.’

She didn’t need to be impatient. Wasn’t it him who reached out to her first?

“Louis.”

“Yes, Seira.”

“We have a lot to talk about anyway, don’t we?”

“That’s right.”

A soft smile formed on his gorgeous lips.

Seira stared at the man looking like a painting in the golden field. Autumn wind disheveled his golden hair, tickling his forehead.

‘He’s so handsome like this.’

Its not just the face. His well-trained, slender body proportions, kind voice, and elegant words and actions checked in on her ideal type. Even the well-dressed white suit and dark green coat were to her taste.

Seira noticed she’d been staring for a while, and she quickly looked away awkwardly. If Louis Franto wasn’t the goddess’ messenger, then he was probably the devil determined to entice and drag her down to the pits of hell.

“I’ll visit Franto tomorrow.”

“Really?”

Seira nodded and then glanced back at the carriage as she said, “Can I borrow a horse instead? I want to go back to the castle. Your handkerchief is there too.”

“Well… I see. You can talk to me anytime you want to, okay?”

Louis seemed to ponder about something for a moment, and then he reached out to her and said, “I wanted to take you there in person… Can I?”

“Uh… It’s…”

“I’ll send a carriage to the duke’s castle, so please do ride it.”

“No,” Seira shook her head, “why are you troubling yourself so much for me?”

“I want you to know that this is how I treat my lover.”

Seira was caught out of words at his boldness – did he really just call her his lover?

“Ok… Send the carriage then,” she conceded after some thinking.

“Thank you,” Happy wrinkles wrapped around Louis’ eyes as a smile appeared on his face. “I’ll collect samples in advance today.”

“Ah…”

“You don’t have to worry,” he comforted her, “I’m trying to help regardless of our previous contract.”

She looked up at him with rounded eyes. She hesitated to answer but then said, “I’ll pay for the fees…”

He smiled as he sighed in defeat, “If that makes you comfortable, then do it.”

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