Chapter 43

We drove to the center of the city by horse-drawn carriage. As I got off the carriage, I unfolded the prepared parasol.

“Why are you using a parasol?”

“It’s pretty.”

“Which one? Helena? Or the parasol?”

“Well… both.”

After careful consideration, I answered. Caesar made a sound that was neither affirmation nor refutation.

Most trainees felt that looking at their lover smiling like violet flowers under a parasol was beautiful scenery.

I don’t know how to smile like a violet, but a parasol is something that can be prepared well enough.

“But it’s cloudy today, isn’t it?”

Ah.

At Caesar’s words, I finally confirmed the cloudy sky.

Obsessed with the parasol, I didn’t even think of the weather.

“Well… it doesn’t matter because it’s pretty.”

I made an excuse that didn’t sound like an excuse.

“Yeah well. It’s pretty.”

Oh, is that an affirmation?

I looked at Caesar with joy.

Then Caesar took the parasol from my hand and raised it above his shoulder like an umbrella.

“Uh, what are you doing?”

I was taken aback by the sudden loss of my parasol. Caesar hugged me by the shoulder.

“I like it because it’s pretty, but I don’t like being far away from Helena.”

“What?”

“I will do the pretty thing today. Helena is pretty even without a parasol.”

Caesar looked at me and grinned.

No, what nonsense is this?

“It’s strange if a grown man is using a parasol. Everyone is staring.”

People had started glancing over here right after Caesar took away the parasol.

And we had left the attendants far away because we said it was a hidden trip. What should we do with the attention?

“Then let’s just fold the parasol. I won’t use it either. Is that okay?”

“Mm? What if I said no?”

“What?! Why not?!”

I looked at him in bewilderment, and Caesar looked down at me and grinned.

“It’s  pretty.”

Don’t argue with what I said!

“Now, shall we go?”

“Uh, what?!”

Caesar twirled the parasol and dragged my hand.

I hadn’t even told him which cafe it was, but he walked forward.

‘What? Why are you so excited?!’

Without knowing anything, I was led by his hand to cross the street.

***

Weird.

I heard this cafe is famous.

“What’s wrong, Helena? Are you uncomfortable?”

Caesar, sitting across from me, asked about my behavior as I looked around in suspicion.

I suddenly came to my senses and shook my head with a bitter smile.

“No, it’s nothing.”

“Is the store not as good as you think?”

“No way. I like it here.”

I said with a smile.

It was not empty words; the cafe’s atmosphere was really good.

An antique and heavy interior and a clean atmosphere. The music was also calm so that it did not interfere with the conversation, and there was no flaw in the furniture and furnishings.

Even the seat I was guided to was by the window on the 2nd floor, and the magnificent view of the Cathedral from the window was wonderful.

It was really good.

Too good.

‘Why isn’t there a single person?!’

There are only two customers in the store. I heard it’s a famous shop. Does this make sense?!

“It’s nice that there aren’t many people.”

As if he had read my thoughts, Caesar said while leaning against the chair.

“Do you like it?”

“Well, if there is anyone who recognizes you or me, it will be annoying.”

“… That’s true.”

I nodded in affirmation.

‘Well, it’s been long since the two of us roamed around like this, and I don’t want to be disturbed.’

I’m not sure, but maybe this is better.

By the way, it’s good to come to a cafe with a good atmosphere, but what should I do now?

What kind of conversation do lovers usually have when they spend time alone? I don’t know. I don’t know at all.

Still, I couldn’t keep silent, so I somehow squeezed out a topic.

“Uh, mmm… Turns out that Caesar doesn’t look very much like his father. Do you resemble your mother?”

“Well, I don’t remember much because I was young, but that shouldn’t be.”

Oh, the conversation goes on.

I was relieved and then asked.

“Then who do you resemble?”

“From what I heard, I look like the first emperor Gray.”

“Erez Gray? Oh, that’s what I thought.”

I had thought about it when we first met, but I thought even more so recently.

The closer he got to the age of Erez I knew, the more Caesar began to resemble him to the point I could mistake the two.

But Caesar frowned as if displeased with my words.

“I don’t like him very much.”

“What? Why not?”

“For example, if I had to choose between this empire and you, I would choose you without hesitation.”

“Is that so?”

“He was a man who thought the empire was more important than his people.”

“Did he have a bad relationship with the empress?”

“It was an arranged marriage. It wasn’t particularly bad, but I think he died being exclusively bound with political affairs.”

Caesar clenched his chin and sighed briefly. Suddenly, his eyes glistened sharply. He seemed to hate Erez from the bottom of his heart.

I nodded lightly at his words.

‘Well, Erez was a bit of a stickler.’

Blind loyalty towards me must have come from his love for the country. I knew he was that kind of person. It was also why I handed over the throne to him.

“Excuse me. Here are your desserts.”

When there was a strangely gloomy atmosphere, the waiter approached. I shrugged my eyebrows at the large chocolate cake on the table.

“I didn’t order it.”

“This is a service for reservations.”

“What? Do you serve whole cakes here?”

“Wow, that’s great.”

Unlike me, who was perplexed, Caesar was calm even with this questionable service.

“What? Don’t you think it’s weird? Is there any store that just gives you a cake out of nowhere?”

“Helena doesn’t seem to know much about it because she never leaves the house, but it’s normal these days.”

“… A whole cake?”

“A whole cake.”

I felt uncomfortable because I felt like I was being fooled, but since Caesar said so, I decided to move on.

“Then should we ask for something else? Caesar hates sweets.”

“Why bother? Helena likes sweets, so that’s good.”

“It’s because I feel sorry that I’m the only one eating.”

“That’s alright, go ahead and eat.”

At Caesar’s urging, I eventually cut a small piece of cake and pushed it into my mouth.

Then, oh my god… it was incredibly delicious!

The bread was moist, sweet, and bitter, and the flavor of the butter was also luxurious.

I mean, these cakes are made in an ordinary cafe? Not a famous bakery?

“How does it taste?”

“Awesome…!”

I said with sincere joy. It was a taste that made my heart race.

“Really? That’s a relief.”

At my sincere appreciation, Caesar smiled happier than me, who ate the cake.

In the end, I finished a whole plate of cake by myself. In front of Caesar, who just smiled while watching me.

***

“Whoah, I’m full…!”

When we left the cafe, my stomach was already full.

I couldn’t stop eating the cake. It was, indeed, a heavenly taste.

Caesar, walking next to me, burst out laughing when he saw me like that.

“Helena really likes sweets.”

“Life is bitter, so it needs something sweet.”

I remembered what my fellow mercenary said in my previous life and copied it.

Come to think of it. I thought that sentence was cool then, and I became obsessed with sweet food.

The funny thing was that colleague was someone who smoked bitter cigarettes.

‘By the way…’

I glanced at Caesar, who was walking by my side.

‘Caesar, are you having fun?’

Come to think of it, even in the cafe, it was often me who asked the questions and Caesar the one who answered.

Moreover, the one that came out as a service was a sweet treat that only I alone liked, so he didn’t even take a single bite.

‘This can’t be called dating.’

Well.

I think we should do something more romantic at the opera house…

“Kyaaaakh! Help me!”

It was then.

A woman’s scream was heard from somewhere.

The sound was so sharp that everyone on the street stopped walking. Caesar and I stopped walking as well.

“What’s going on?”

Caesar said, pulling me to his side as if protecting me.

In fact, I was not the type of person to be protected by others, and there was no way he would be unaware of that fact.

‘But we feel like ordinary lovers now, and I feel pretty good.’

I hugged Caesar and looked toward the source of the scream.

A commotion was taking place across the street.

“Why are you whining if you like it?”

“Let go of me! Let go of me!”

“Let’s just go and have a drink. Do I look like a gangster?”

… You’re a gangster.

Three men surrounded a woman.

A man grabbed the woman’s wrist hard with enough strength to break it, and the woman eventually screamed and burst into tears.

“Walking around in this kind of outfit means that the young lady will eventually find a man to play with, right?”

The woman was wearing heavy makeup and revealing clothes. The man placed a hand on the woman’s exposed white shoulders and pulled her into his arms.

“Kyaah! Don’t touch me! I hate it!”

“Oho, did you hear that? She hates it. But why does it sound like she’s asking me to touch her?”

“No, no, no, no doubt about it? Otherwise, why is she so aggressive when she’s saying no? Hihihi.”

Then men mocked the woman and giggled amongst themselves.

The people whose attention was caught just glanced at them and left as if they did not want to be entangled.

“… They are troublesome guys.”

Caesar, standing next to me, clicked his tongue, and looked the other way.

‘He’s thinking of leaving the attendants to sort things out.’

His entourage was sneaking along in the distance. And he was about to give them orders.

But in the middle of it.

Slap! The sound of a cheek being slapped ripped the air sharply.

The sound was so loud that both Caesar and I were startled.

At first, I thought that the man had slapped the woman. But what’s this?

“Y-You—!?”

It was the woman who had slapped the man on the cheek.

“I told you not to touch me!”

The woman said with a dark expression, even with her tearful eyes.

“I hate it! I really hate it! I hate it terribly!”

… Wow.

I didn’t think there was a way to make it clear that she hated it more than that.

But these were not the kind of men who would back down. If before, they only said Why didn’t you say no more clearly? now it had turned into angry How dare you?

“I thought I’d let this bitch go because she’s pretty!”

Come on, isn’t that line boring?

The man raised his hand. The woman just closed her eyes tightly. She was determined to be beaten.

That’s right, it wasn’t like she didn’t actively say no because she didn’t know.

But she understood that even if she said no actively, it wasn’t like they’d listen.

So, the moment the man’s hand was about to slap the woman’s cheek, I—

“How annoying, seriously.”

“You— Who are you!?”

Have already cut in between them.

I stood face to face with the men, with the crying woman behind me. The man’s arm, which was about to hit the woman, was blocked with a parasol.

The men were very angry and flustered, but they did not rush to me easily.

Probably, because even if I pretended not to be, I still looked like a young girl from a noble family.

“Hey, I don’t know which house you’re from, but stop meddling and go on your way. This has nothing to do with you.”

They tried to talk me out with the most polite language—by their standards, of course. But that only made me laugh.

“I don’t want to.”

“What?!”

“Did you not hear her? She hates you guys. So why do you keep flirting with her and making me interfere? How annoying.”

Hwiii. I turned the parasol and draped it over my shoulder, arrogantly looking at them one by one.

At my words, the men’s faces turned red.

“Hey, if you don’t want to get hurt, go away.”

At their bluffs, a smirk leaked out without me knowing. The men’s eyebrows twitched at my expression.

I fixed my eyes on the men and spoke to the other person.

“I’m sorry I got sidetracked, Caesar. Can you wait for a second?”

Five steps from where I was standing.

Caesar, who was looking at this side with his arms crossed, sighed briefly as if he couldn’t help it.

“Well… I have to wait when Master tells me to wait.”

“Oh, you’re so nice.”

“Of course. There is no other disciple who listens as well as me.”

“Are you ignoring us?! What the hell!? What are you bastards doing!?”

A man shouted at my and Caesar’s light banter.

“Oh, sorry. You’ve been waiting a long time, haven’t you?”

I gripped the parasol like a sword, pointed it at the men, and smiled broadly.

“I’m warning you. Don’t flee in the middle because it will annoy us both. I’ll still chase after you in the end.”

Confusion spread across the men’s faces at my kind advice. But I couldn’t afford to wait until they understood the situation.

I waved the tip of the parasol and said as if urging them.

“Now then, who wants to go first?”