Though she was annoyed, Venus wasn't petty enough to get angry over such a minor thing. Instead, as Li Yuan turned and walked away, her gaze drifted back and forth between the two.
Then, another hypothesis suddenly popped into her head. Could it be—
“Setis, are you... close with the owner here?”
Setis, who was currently immersed in the sweet world of milk tea, was quite surprised by the Great Sage's question and set down her glass. After all, from what she knew of her, this didn't seem like the kind of question the Great Sage would ever ask.
However, after tilting her head to glance at Li Yuan, who was busy tidying up the tea sets, she nodded very sincerely.
“Yes, very close.”
“Do you come here often to drink tea?”
“I suppose so?”
After a moment of thought, Setis nodded, though she wasn't entirely sure. If it had been before, she could have answered with absolute certainty, but she hadn't visited much over the past two weeks.
Due to the exchange activities of the imperial delegation and the recent attacks, she barely had any free time lately. The main obstacle, however, came from her father's “loving care.”
At first, she was forbidden from going out at night on the grounds of personal safety... and later, she wasn't even allowed to leave the house except to go to the academy.
Today, she had snuck out while her father was away at the palace on business, and she would have to head back soon.
To Venus, these words took on a completely different meaning—she refused to believe nothing was going on between them. After all, the operating hours of this teahouse were highly unusual.
What noble young lady would specifically run to this remote teahouse in the middle of the night to drink tea? Surely she hadn't come for the same reason as her, right?
Besides, looking at the young man's attitude toward her, it clearly exceeded how he treated ordinary customers. Between the two of them...
At this thought, a hint of ambiguous curiosity flickered in her eyes as she looked at Setis, but this was only bringing her closer to her hypothesis.
“You must spend a lot of time with him usually, right?”
“Ugh, cough, cough, cough—”
The violent coughing fit left Setis in a bit of a mess, and quite a bit of the milk tea she had just sipped was choked back up. Fortunately, a tissue was handed to her just in time.
“Th-Thank you...”
After taking the tissue, she realized that Li Yuan had arrived beside her at some point and was carefully cleaning up the mess on the table with a towel.
“Sorry, I didn't mean to.”
Setis looked like a little girl who had done something wrong, frantically trying to help, but Li Yuan gently waved his hand to stop her. He took away their milk tea glasses and replaced them with fresh ones before letting out a soft sigh toward Venus.
“Dear customer, please do not pry into other people's privacy in my shop. It is not very polite.”
“Oh? But I was just chatting with an acquaintance. Don't tell me chatting isn't allowed either?”
Venus looked at Li Yuan with interest. Feeling that her guess was practically spot on, she simply asked directly,
“Your name is Li Yuan... right?”
“Yes. And?”
“Nothing, just asking.”
This was the first piece of good news in a while. Although the process had been a bit winding, it was great just to have found the person... though to be safe, she would need to bring that compass over to confirm.
But for now, it didn't stop Venus from taking a deep interest in Li Yuan—she really wanted to know what was so special about the person that little guy claimed held the key to the empire's survival.
But in the next second, she recalled his various unusual behaviors from before. It seemed... he really was quite special. At least, in her hundred-plus years of experience, she had never met anyone like him.
The good news was that she could basically confirm she had found him. The problem, however, was... if he was unwilling to go back with her, she didn't seem to have any way to force him?
For the first time, Venus felt a slight lack of confidence in her own strength.
As she fell deep into thought, Li Yuan, feeling a bit uncomfortable under her gaze, grew somewhat impatient. Just as he was about to speak up, Setis beat him to it.
“Lady Sage, is something the matter?”
Setis looked worried—not for herself, but for Li Yuan. After all, the two had been staring at each other for too long, and the questions she had just suppressed were starting to pop up again like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.
And there were even more than before, giving her an unprecedented sense of crisis in an instant.
Her sudden question snapped Venus out of her thoughts.
She glanced at Setis, then at Li Yuan standing by the table, before picking up her milk tea and taking a few sips.
Then she slowly shook her head.
“It's nothing.”
She set down her glass, her tone returning to its usual lazy demeanor.
“Just thinking about some things.”
Setis nodded slightly, but she wasn't truly at ease—she felt that something must have happened between the two of them, but she couldn't bring herself to ask directly.
It wasn't as if she could just ask what the relationship was between Li Yuan and this Imperial Great Sage.
That would be far too strange.
Besides, she wasn't particularly close to Venus, so she could only use this somewhat clumsy method to interrupt their staring contest, trying to break the bizarre atmosphere.
Yet, even after their eye contact ended, the trace of unease in Setis's heart did not vanish.
She had seen the scene just now very clearly. The way the Sage looked at Li Yuan was highly unusual—as if she had suddenly discovered an interesting plaything and was considering whether to claim it for herself.
This made Setis feel strangely anxious.
Li Yuan, of course, had no idea what was going through the minds of his two female customers. After tidying up the table, he returned to his seat behind the bar counter, picked up the book he hadn't finished reading, and continued flipping through the pages.
The teahouse fell quiet once more.
Setis held her milk tea with both hands, taking small sips.
By right, she should be heading back around this time.
Her father had been called to the palace today, and though he wouldn't return too early, he wouldn't be too late either... If he found her missing upon returning, she would definitely receive a harsh scolding.
The royal capital had been unstable lately, and her father was already highly uneasy about her going out at night.
But the problem was—if she left now, only Li Yuan and Venus would be left here.
That made her even more uneasy.
Thus, she looked at her glass one moment, stared out the window the next, and occasionally stole glances at Li Yuan behind the bar counter. Her hesitant demeanor of wanting to leave but not daring to was rather comical.
Venus saw right through the young girl's thoughts.
Resting her chin in one hand, the corners of her mouth curved up slightly.
Interesting.
The youngest daughter of the Sebas family was quite famous in the academy and was rumored to have a bit of a temper, yet here she was, behaving like a docile kitten.
Venus suddenly felt that this trip tonight had been highly rewarding.
She glanced at the sky outside the window, then picked up her glass and finished the remaining milk tea in one gulp.
“It's about time.”
Setis blanked for a moment, looking up at her.
Venus stood up, her tone casual.
“I should head back to the embassy. Want to come along?”
“Ah?”
Setis didn't react for a moment, so Venus pointed outside.
“Most of the route from here back to the embassy is the same as the way to the Duke's estate. The royal capital isn't safe right now, so it's not appropriate for you to head back alone.”
This proposal was like a saving grace, instantly dispelling most of the anxiety in her heart.
She didn't have to worry about the two of them being left alone, and she could go home on the way. There was really no reason to refuse.
So, she nodded hurriedly.
“Then I will trouble you, Lady Sage.”
“It's no trouble.”
Venus smiled, turning her head toward the bar counter.
“Owner Li.”
Li Yuan looked up, and Venus pointed at the remaining milk tea on the table.
“Pack up the remaining four cups. I'll take them to go.”
Tonight, this customer was actually very well-behaved. Though her behavior was somewhat odd, it was already much better than last time.
Although takeout was not within the shop's usual services, he still stood up to begin preparations.
“Please wait a moment.”
Before long, the four cups of milk tea were packed up, with straws thoughtfully included.
“Here you go.”
After taking the paper bag, she conveniently set down a small bag of gold coins.
“A tip.”
Li Yuan glanced at the coin pouch, and the smile on his face instantly grew a bit more genuine.
“Thank you for your generosity. Please come again.”
Venus let out a soft huff. His eyes lighting up at the sight of money was truly pragmatic.
Setis gathered her books and followed Venus toward the door. But before stepping out, she glanced back at Li Yuan once more.
Li Yuan stood behind the bar counter, smiling as he nodded to her.
“Get home safe.”
“Okay.”
The bronze bell chimed once more as the two walked out of the teahouse one after the other.
Rate on N.U.
