Chapter 131

Yulia, who was at the information desk, started jumping up and down when she saw me. Her voice was so loud it boomed, echoing throughout the entire building.

Thanks to her, even the guild members who hadn’t noticed me were now staring.

Before long, the café started getting more and more crowded. The area around my table, in particular, had no empty seats left.

“Haaah…”

Yulia, the cause of all this commotion, ran over with a bright smile.

“Guild Master! Didn’t you hear me? I kept calling you from over there.”

“…I was pretending not to.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Nothing…”

“Oh! About that thing you gave me the other day. The telescope? I’ll pay you back the points. How much was it again?”

“Fifty thousand points. So double that is one hundred thousand.”

“…Could you maybe give me a little discount?”

“You don’t have the points?”

“I just bought a new piece of equipment the other day…”

“What is it?”

“Ah! I’ll show you!”

Yulia lifted her robe and, with a grunt, struggled to draw a massive bastard sword from the scabbard at her hip.

“Ngh, hngh! Ugh, it’s so heavy! Here, look! Isn’t it beauti—huh?”

The bastard sword started to slip from Yulia’s grasp.

I snatched the bastard sword with one hand before it could slice the table in two.

It was clearly no ordinary greatsword, even at a glance.

The moment I gripped the hilt, I felt a faint pulse, as if it was recognizing its master.

‘An ego sword.’

“You traded for this?”

“Yes!”

“A mage?”

“Yes…”

“When you can’t even lift it properly?”

“…”

Hesitantly, Yulia answered in a disheartened voice.

“It’s just… it looked the most like your weapon, Guild Master.”

How reckless. A mage coveting a sword, no matter how much she admires me.

‘I’ve never met anyone this peculiar, not even in my past life…’

It was absurd, but strangely, it made me smile.

“Cute.”

“Gasp! You were talking to me just now, right? Aaaah! I’m so happy!”

Did I say my thoughts out loud again? I cleared my throat to change the subject.

“Ahem, enough nonsense. Sell this to Alex.”

“But I don’t want to…”

“What are you going to do with it if you can’t even lift it? Once the sword recognizes you as its true master, you won’t be able to sell it even if you want to. Get rid of it before then.”

“Still…”

Pouting sullenly, she struggled to sheathe the sword again.

“Alright. I’ll talk to the Young Duke.”

“Get a fair price.”

“Of course. The Young Duke isn’t you, Guild Master, is he?”

‘She’s surprisingly shrewd when it comes to money.’

I liked that, and just as I was patting her on the head, Johan returned with the food he’d ordered.

“Oh, Yulia, you’re here too. Please, join us.”

“Hehe, thank you!”

Yulia’s jaw dropped when she saw what Johan had brought.

“Whoa… Why did you buy so much? Is someone else joining us?”

“No.”

Johan chuckled and gently pushed the tray toward me.

Seeing the tray piled high with desserts, I think my affection for Johan grew a little.

The moment a wide grin spread across my face, my eye suddenly started to sting.

“Ah!”

“What’s wrong?”

“I think… something got in my eye.”

“Let me take a look. Don’t rub it; you might hurt yourself.”

Johan peered intently into my eye.

“Just a moment… Ah, it’s an eyelash. I’ll try to blow it out, so don’t close your eyes.”

Johan brought his face close to mine and blew gently. A cool puff of air passed over my eye, making it water.

I blinked rapidly.

“Hmm, is it out?”

“Let me check… I think it’s gone. I don’t see it anymore.”

“Ah, it feels better now. Thank you, Johan.”

“You’re welcome.”

Just then, Yulia, who had been quiet, called my name in a trembling voice.

“U-Um, G-Guild Master?”

“What is it?”

“Y-You might w-want to look behind you…”

“What’s going on—!”

I glanced back and my eyes shot wide open.

Dante, who I hadn’t heard from in a week, was standing there, grinning at me.

“Darling, are you cheating on me?”

It was a smile that sent a chill down my spine.

I wasn’t even cheating, so why did I feel so guilty?

I subtly pushed Johan away as I stood up.

“Your Highness, y-you’re here?”

“Why are you standing? Sit.”

Dante sat down with a smile.

Despite there being plenty of empty seats, he squeezed in between Johan and me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. Then, he pressed a kiss to my temple.

“I really missed you, darling.”

Feeling his cool lips, I managed an awkward smile.

‘Showing up after a week and saying *what*?’

My personality urged me to twist the arm draped over my shoulder, but with so many eyes on us, I couldn’t get angry.

“Ha, haha. I… I missed you too.”

“Mhm, good.”

Dante nuzzled his head against my shoulder like a puppy. His soft hair brushed against my chin.

‘He’s being unusually touchy today.’

Unsure how to react, I stiffly lifted my head.

After a moment of this affectionate display, he lifted his head. Then, as if he’d become a different person, his smile vanished, and he stared at Johan.

“So, what were you two doing?”

Johan didn’t avoid Dante’s gaze. Instead, he met it with a look of firm resolve.

“There was nothing that would cause Your Highness any misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding? My darling loves me too much for that. Isn’t that right?”

“Then you should have no reason not to trust her.”

“I trust the Princess. I don’t trust *you*.”

“…”

Dante took my cup of black tea and slowly savored it.

But his dark eyes remained fixed on Johan. It was a gaze that warned him not to cross the line.

*Clink.*

Dante set the teacup down.

“If I’ve made an unnecessary assumption, I apologize.”

Johan’s lips curved into a smile. It was a defiant smile, the likes of which I had never seen from him before.

“There’s no need to apologize. Because what Your Highness is thinking is correct.”

“…What I’m thinking?”

“You shouldn’t trust me.”

“That sounds like you have feelings for the Princess…?”

“That’s right. I’ve already confessed to Lady Astell.”

“*Gasp!*”

Yulia clapped a hand over her mouth. Her eyes were sparkling with excitement.

It wasn’t just Yulia. Every guild member in the café was focused on us.

– Anonymous Constellation: This is insane T_T

– Anonymous Constellation: I-Is this for real? I’m not dreaming, am I?

– Anonymous Constellation: To see two men fighting over our Astell. It was worth living this long…

– Anonymous Constellation: In her last life, she only attracted weirdos. The gods truly are fair.

– Anonymous Constellation: You know, does she really have to pick just one?

– Anonymous Constellation: ┗ This person gets it. I’m all for them sharing.

[System: The Anonymous Constellations have sponsored 1,250,000 points.]

Strangely, my mind grew calm.

Why I had to be a public spectacle. Why these men were acting this way. I wasn’t curious, nor did I want to know.

Dante’s lips twisted into a smile. It was a sharp smile that looked as if it could draw blood.

“Is this a declaration of war?”

“I can’t stop you from taking it that way. Because it’s the truth.”

They say a good person is terrifying once they decide to stop holding back…

Johan didn’t back down an inch. He even pointedly picked up a butter cookie and held it to my lips.

“Please, eat, Lady Astell.”

Dante’s abyssal eyes locked onto his hand. He stroked his elegant brow a couple of times before letting out a short, sharp laugh.

It was a smile that said, *No matter what you do, you can’t get between us.*

“My darling likes this one best, right?”

Dante held out a chocolate cookie piled high with whipped cream.

“…”

The gazes of the guild members, which had been darting between Johan and Dante, now fell on me.

Even the murmuring died down. Everyone was waiting with bated breath to see which one I would choose.

“Both of you, put them away.”

Johan, keenly sensing my displeasure, was the first to withdraw his hand.

But Dante was not. He grinned and popped the cookie into my mouth.

‘Right, if you were obedient, you wouldn’t be Dante.’

That wasn’t the end of it.

He wiped the whipped cream from my lips with his thumb, then, with utter nonchalance, licked it off in a blatant provocation.

“Sweet.”