Side Story 39. Anemone Smiled Brightly (15)

After greeting Lutein ahjussi, Doomstone swallowed his saliva as he stared intently at the cotton candy hanging on the table.

Oh, right. I came to buy cotton candy.

"Ahjussi, can I have some cotton candy, please?”

When I started to reach for the money in my pocket, Lutein ahjussi waved his hand and refused. "It’s fine. His Highness the Duke donates so much every year, so how could I also receive money from Miss?”

Then, he picked up the cotton candy that was hanging, wrapped more sugar thread around it to make it bigger, and handed it over to me.

"But I still feel bad... It's quite expensive to make this."

"Ahahaha! This was made possible through believers’ donations, so shouldn't we share it with the believers?"

So that was the reason why he was selling it at such a low price.

"Then, I'll thank you for the food."

I thanked him and handed the cotton candy to Doomstone. "Here you go."

"Thank you." Doomstone ripped off a small piece of the cotton candy and put it in his mouth with an anticipatory expression.

"Wow, the cotton is melting? And it's super sweet." Doomstone found the cotton candy amazing, and he kept tearing pieces off and eating them.

"I'm happy to see you eat it with such delight. There's more here. Miss should have some, too."

Lutein ahjussi once again handed me cotton candy, and I smiled and accepted it. "Thank you."

Cotton candy, which I hadn’t eaten in a long time, was very sweet. Personally, for sugary things, I liked it with a slightly bitter taste rather than only sweetness like cotton candy, but after such a long time, it wasn't bad. Maybe it was because my body was tired from not being able to rest while heading to the holy land.

"By the way, Miss, where are you staying?"

When Lutein ahjussi asked this, I pointed to the hotel in the distance where we checked in and said, "I'm staying at that hotel. I checked in under the name of Ryu Cheinlyang, so please refer to me by that."

"Uh-huh-huh-huh, I got it." Lutein ahjussi smiled and nodded as he picked up another wooden stick and wrapped sugar thread around it to make cotton candy.

Since he was an archbishop, he could have asked someone below him to do this, but I thought it was just like ahjussi to do it himself. His actions were befitting one of the moderates’ representatives, as they believed in putting aside their authority and insisting on personally being friendly with believers.

But for someone who was the archbishop of the temple headquarters, he probably had a lot of work, so was it okay for him to be making cotton candy here?

"Ahjussi, when will you be done with your work?"

"Who knows? It's quite popular, and I’m running out of ingredients quickly, so I think I’ll be done around 3 or 4 PM.”

"Then, your work as an archbishop...?”

Lutein ahjussi avoided my gaze and whistled even though he couldn’t even whistle that well.

You handed it all over to the person below you.

"Ahahahaha! It's okay. The friend I have in mind as my successor is competent, so I'm sure he's doing well… Probably."

That ‘probably’ came out particularly quietly. His successor seems to have his own troubles.

"Oh, Miss. If you don't have any business today, would you like to join us for dinner? My wife and daughter are worried about you, so they'll be relieved if they see that you’re doing fine,” Lutein ahjussi suggested.

I put on my wig, pressed down my hat, and nodded. "I'm thankful. After a long time, I'll be able to eat Missus's food again. Ah, but this friend has a healthy appetite. Will it be okay?”

When I pointed to Doomstone, Lutein ahjussi burst into laughter. "Hahaha! Of course! My wife normally makes big portions. So, brother, please come too. I'll treat you to a delicious home-cooked meal from the southern part of the Empire.”

At the invitation of Lutein ahjussi, Doomstone bowed his head and thanked him. "Thank you for the invitation. I’ll starve myself in anticipation."

Lutein ahjussi smiled pleasantly and hit Doomstone on the back. "Make sure you do so! I'll scold you if you leave any food behind because you're full.”

"Ahahaha! Okay."

With those last words, Doomstone and I left the tent and wandered around the streets of the holy land. The area was full of various religious symbols, religious murals, and interesting trade goods.

* * *

"Hmm, it's uncomfortable." Doomstone pulled on his tie as if it made his throat feel cramped.

I smiled and fixed his tie so that it didn’t tighten around his neck. "How is it now? Are you still uncomfortable?"

"No. It's annoying, but it's not uncomfortable."

"It's because you’re not used to it. Good. You look handsome."

"Hahaha! Really?" Doomstone scratched the back of his head and laughed, happy to hear that he was handsome.

Doomstone’s robust physique combined with a luxurious suit went well together. As expected, even though he was muscular, it looked good because the overall balance was right. In fact, I tried to buy a suit at the department store before I met Duke Arthemius, but I didn't know we would meet so early. Luckily, Duke Arthemius and Doomstone's father knew each other; otherwise, it could have been troublesome.

Well, it was fine since we bought a suit now.

"But is it okay to remove our makeup? We're wanted criminals.” Doomstone asked while touching his now bare face. I also took off my wig and put it in a space expansion bag.

"It's okay. We all know each other. And you're going to protect me, right?”

Of course, the empire’s secret intelligence department was on my mind, but even if they knew our location, they could not act recklessly in the holy land. Since the holy land was the temple’s territory, even the Blood Emperor couldn’t act carelessly here, so it was okay to relax somewhat. In fact, the main reason for the disguise was that luxury hotels did not accept criminals.

Doomstone hit his chest and said proudly, "Of course! Just trust me!"

How nice that he’s reliable.

"Ah, are you related to the archbishop? He has the same sky blue hair as you. Maybe distant relatives?” Doomstone asked carefully, trying not to be rude on accident.

I smiled faintly and shook my head. "No. My family tree is clear. At least, our blood has never been mixed since the founding of the Empire. My mother was also from the Republic. Well, it's quite a unique hair color, so I think that we may share a distant ancestor."

Also, Lutein ahjussi belonged to a priest family with a noble heritage. I heard that some of his ancestors had even served as pope.

I smiled and rang the doorbell on Lutein ahjussi's mansion door. Lutein ahjussi was frugal, but his home was extremely luxurious because it was a gift to the archbishop from the pope. Shortly after the clear doorbell rang, a man who seemed to be a servant opened the door and came out.

"I am visiting at the invitation of Archbishop Lutein."

At my words, the servant opened the door wide and said, "He has been waiting for you. His Grace, the Archbishop, told me to guide you in right away when you arrived. Please come in."

Doomstone and I entered the mansion under the servant’s direction. Usually, such a large mansion hung expensive artwork on the walls, but this mansion was full of religious paintings. Given that the color combinations and arrangements were common and the lines were not distinctive, they seemed to be average religious paintings that one would find on the market.

To put it nicely, it was a sign of integrity. Yet, to be blunt, they looked poor. Well, it was a good thing since integrity was a virtue that a religious house should emulate.

"Oh my! It's been a while, Lady Anemone."

I was heading toward the living room after the servant when a person came out of the kitchen and greeted me.

"It has been a while. Have you been doing well, Mrs. Rowena?"

Mrs. Rowena was quite a prestigious battle priest and the wife of Lutein ahjussi.

"Of course. I'm always doing well. Is the person behind you the escort that my husband mentioned?” Mrs. Rowena asked.

Doomstone bowed lightly and introduced himself. "My name is Doomstone."

I added to Doomstone's self-introduction and said, "Rather than an escort, he's a close friend who is traveling with me."

"Oh my, I see. Excuse me, Doomstone."

"No, it is true that I'm protecting Anemone."

Looking at Doomstone receiving the apology, Mrs. Rowena smiled at Doomstone and me, looking between the two of us as if she had seen something interesting.

"Ohohoho! He’s a reliable and handsome friend."

"Yes, he is.” I nodded.

He had particularly nice oblique muscles.

Mrs. Rowena linked arms with me and said, "Anyway, what happened? Do you know how surprised I was when the wanted paper with your name and description was suddenly posted on the wall?"

"Ohohoho. There was a small situation."

When I spoke vaguely, Mrs. Rowena did not try to forcefully dig into the matter but smiled kindly. "I see. Do you have a place to stay? Ah, did you say that you found a room at a nearby hotel?"

"Yes. It’s quite comfortable."

"By the way, I think Lady Anemone is becoming more and more like the duchess."

"Really? People around me say I resemble my father."

Actually, my mother passed away when I was very young, so I didn't know who she was. Of course, I had a good memory, so I remembered most of the things I played with my mother, but it was very fragmentary. I just knew that my mother's curse continued onto me.

"Ohohoho! That's true, too. Your face resembles the duchess, and your personality resembles His Highness the Duke. People normally look at behavior before appearance."

That was true. If you saw someone often, you'd get used to their appearance and become numb to it. And people were always bound to see what they wanted to see. Mrs. Rowena said she had taken care of my mother since she was young, so it was not strange for her to see my mother in me.

Mrs. Rowena guided us to the living room sofa while chatting about this and that. "Please sit here and take a rest. My husband was playing hooky during the day but was then caught by his assistant priest and taken to the temple. Ohohoho! He'll probably come home soon."

As expected, the archbishop's workload was no joke; I thought he was too relaxed.

At that time, a familiar face walked down the stairs to the upper floor, holding a child. "Oh my! Lady Anemone! You really came!"

"Lucian unni! Long time no see!"

Mrs. Rowena's daughter, Lucien, was holding her daughter.

"Is this Unni’s daughter?" I asked.

Lucien unni smiled quietly and nodded, feeling embarrassed. "That’s right. Vibrio, say hi."

I waved at the girl who, unlike Lucien unni’s sky blue hair, had light brown hair instead.

"Hello, I'm Aunty Anemone."

Vibrio blinked her round eyes, looked at Lucien unni and me alternately, and leaned forward and bowed in a cute way. Then, embarrassed, she ran into her mother's arms.

"Hohohoho, she’s still shy when she sees strangers.”

"That’s normal for three-year-olds. She’s cute."

Not long ago, I didn't think that children were all that cute, but now that someone close to me gave birth, they looked nothing but adorable.

I asked mischievously, touching Vibrio's cheek, "I don't know if you have any plans for a little sibling?"

When I asked, Lucian unni blushed and waved her hands. "Oh my my, Miss! The child’s father is still busy, so I don't know what's going to happen. The person he serves recently became the cardinal, so he says there’s a lot of things to worry about with regards to protocol." [1]

By cardinal, was she talking about Fernando?

"We might even end up going to the Great Temple in the capital.”

1. In Korea, when someone has a child, they often start referring to their spouses by the relation to the child. So instead of saying ‘my husband,’ they might say ‘Vibrio’s dad.’ ☜