The two of them soon approached the gates of the palace.
“...You can put me down now,” Loviki whispered.
Chen Mian didn't reply and kept walking toward the palace gates.
Loviki waited for two seconds, then repeated, “Hey, I really can walk by myself.”
“Then get down,” Chen Mian said, but he showed absolutely no intention of stopping.
Seeing this, Loviki lowered her eyes and fell silent for a moment. Then, as if giving up, she buried her face in his shoulder and said in a tiny voice, “We're at the gates... It won't look good if someone sees us.”
“What's wrong with it?”
“I-I mean... being carried like this is too conspicuous.” There was a hint of awkwardness in her voice. “A lot of people in the Royal Capital know me.”
Chen Mian didn't stop his pace. “So you want to get down?”
“Yes,” she said straightforwardly.
“For real?”
“...Just put me down. Once we get somewhere with fewer people, then we can...”
“You weren't this timid when you came to the palace alone.”
“H-how is that the same?! That was a fight!”
“We are fighting right now, too.”
“...With whom?” Loviki was a little puzzled.
“With your own pride.”
Loviki was temporarily at a loss for words, only squeezing out a sentence after several seconds: “...You're so annoying.”
The two of them soon neared the palace gates.
Herman was standing not far outside the gates, his hands clasped in front of him, calmly gazing inside.
Seeing Chen Mian walking out with Loviki on his back, a flash of surprise crossed his face, and he immediately stepped forward with a slight bow. “My Lady.”
Loviki's body stiffened for a moment on Chen Mian's back. She lifted her head, her voice carrying a tension as she tried her best to maintain her composure. “I'm fine.”
“You seem to be in good spirits, My Lady.” Herman's tone was flat, but his gaze lingered for a moment on her reddened ear tips.
Loviki's ears turned even redder at a speed visible to the naked eye.
“Uncle Herman, go back first and tell my father...”
Herman's gaze rested on Chen Mian's face for a brief moment before he retracted his eyes and focused back on Loviki. His voice remained steady. “My Lady, I will report the situation to the Duke truthfully.”
“...Truthfully?” Loviki's voice carried a hint of wariness.
“Truthfully reporting that My Lady is safe and has an escort.” After Herman finished speaking, he nodded slightly in Chen Mian's direction, then boarded the carriage.
Soon, the carriage slowly drove away, disappearing around the corner of the street.
Loviki's voice came from Chen Mian's shoulder, carrying a subtly complex emotion. “Guess what he'll say to my father.”
“That a guy carried you out of the palace on his back?”
“...Stop talking.”
“I'm just telling the truth.”
“If you say another word, I'll walk by myself!”
“Then get down?”
“...Never mind.” She buried her face back into his shoulder. “Just keep carrying me. We've already been seen anyway, so there's no point in getting down now.”
Chen Mian let out a soft chuckle and started walking again.
The two walked along the grand avenue outside the palace for a while, and the street gradually grew more crowded.
Whenever someone passed by, Loviki's eyes would unconsciously scan the surroundings, and she would tilt her face closer to Chen Mian's shoulder, as if trying her best to shrink her presence.
“Stop squirming. No one will notice us.”
“How is that possible?” Loviki raised her head slightly and observed their surroundings. Although people would step aside to avoid them, their gazes indeed never lingered on them at all. “...How are you doing this?”
“Magic.”
After a moment of silence, Loviki spoke up again, “Then, can you take me somewhere?”
“Where?”
“The Royal Magic Academy,” Loviki said, pretending to be casual. “Since we're already out, it's not far to go take a look.”
“Is it on the way?”
“...Of course it's on the way,” Loviki murmured, turning her head slightly, though she sounded a bit guilty.
“There's a shop in an alley over there that sells fruit wine. I didn't have time to take you guys there last time, so I want to go back and buy some.” Loviki's voice grew softer, but she spoke faster. “Also, that dessert shop on the street behind the academy is pretty good too. Velyan will definitely like it... So, it's on the way.”
“I see.”
“Mhm! Exactly.”
Chen Mian glanced sideways at her, the corners of his lips curling up slightly. “Then let's go check out the magic academy, and we can bring some delicious treats back before dinner.”
“Really?”
“Didn't you say it was on the way?”
“It is, it really is on the way,” Loviki repeated, her voice sounding lighter and more cheerful than before. “...Turn left at the intersection ahead, and it's less than a kilometer away.”
“Sure.”
The walls of the Royal Magic Academy were lower than expected, with vines climbing all over the off-white stone. The gates were wide open, and many students in magic academy uniforms stood together, looking at the sky and discussing things. Most of them were talking about the magic circle that had just appeared and vanished.
The Hella Palace officials had acted quickly, having already announced to the public that they were testing the operation of the city-defense magic circle, so it hadn't caused any panic.
She turned her head, her gaze drifting over his shoulder to watch the students walking in and out of the academy gates. After a brief silence, she turned back. “There are so many people... Maybe we should just go back?”
“They can't see you anyway.”
“...Are you sure?”
Chen Mian carried Loviki on his back and stepped through the crowd. She instinctively gripped the fabric at his shoulders a bit tighter.
Like two invisible people, they passed through the archway, walked right past the group of students, and entered the academy grounds.
Throughout the entire process, not a single person noticed them.
“...No one really sees us.”
“Mhm.”
“This trick of yours is way too useful.”
“Of course.”
“You're not allowed to use it for bad things.” Her tone grew slightly more serious. “Otherwise, I'll... I'll...”
“You'll what?”
“...I'll raise your rent.”
Chen Mian laughed and said, “Your temporary status as landlord is about to expire. Watch out, or I'll raise your rent when we get back to the apartment.”
A flash of surprise crossed Loviki's ruby-like eyes, which were filled with amusement, but she pretended to be defiant. “Go ahead and raise it then! It's not like I plan on paying anyway.”
“If you don't pay, then do the dishes properly.”
“No~”
“Learning to be a rascal now?”
“I learned from the best!”
“I think you should be able to walk by now,” Chen Mian said.
“No... I'm so weak right now... I can't walk.”
“Turn left ahead, there's a small path. Fewer people go that way.” Loviki then looked up with a smile and pointed forward.
Following her guidance, Chen Mian turned left into a narrow path lined with holly on both sides.
The branches overhead intertwined to form a natural canopy, obscuring the evening glow in the sky.
After walking for a while, Loviki spoke up again, her voice much softer than before, carrying a sense of relaxation: “...Chen Mian.”
“Hmm?”
“Tell me, am I really free now?”
Chen Mian turned his head slightly. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her looking down at her own fingers resting against his chest, unconsciously pinching his clothes.
Chen Mian slowed his pace and said calmly, “Haven't you always been free? It's just that now, no one can gossip about you anymore.”
Loviki was silent for a moment, and then she let out a long breath, as if exhaling everything that had been weighing on her chest all at once.
“...True.” A faint smile touched her voice. “Anyway, like I said, once the engagement is called off, I'm staying at the apartment for good.”
“I'll live off you and eat your food!” After making this bold declaration, she chuckled to herself, and then her voice gradually grew a bit more serious. “Actually, when I was standing in the North Hall looking at those three black-robed figures, I wasn't scared at all. Even though I knew I couldn't beat that Red Jade Rank guy.”
Chen Mian's steps paused slightly, but he immediately resumed walking without interrupting her.
Loviki paused. Her voice grew softer and softer, the last few words barely audible. “If I had encountered something like this in the past, I definitely would have been a little scared. But this time, I knew you would come.”
She finished speaking and fell silent, simply resting quietly on his back with her chin on his shoulder, her breathing light.
Pedestrians on both sides of the street continued to come and go, with no one paying them any mind.
“If we keep going forward, we'll reach the classroom where I used to have lessons.”
Rate on N.U.
