TNDOBM 31

Chapter 31

Her breath tightened with delight and joy. A strong impulse surged to run to him at once and close the distance. She wanted to clasp his hand and feel his warmth—she thought so.

Yet if his gaze, his scent, his voice—no, his very existence—had not settled upon her heart and feet more fiercely than a raging wind, she surely would have done so.

“Cecilia-nim.”

The moment he called her name with a smile as radiant as a flower in full bloom, she felt an unfamiliar emotion. It was something ambiguous enough that she couldn’t clearly name it, yet vivid enough that she couldn’t firmly deny it.

But why, then, couldn’t she blurt out his name in return?

In the end, he was the one who approached her first, as she stood there breathless and dazed.

As promised, he gently took her hand, led her into the shade, and took out a handkerchief to carefully wipe away her sweat.

“It’s been a while,” he greeted in a voice as warm as spring sunlight. It was too short to call a long time apart, yet long enough that joy swelled within her.

So surely, the longing and happiness imbued in that brief sentence were not mere imagination.

Cecilia pulled down the large hand that lingered near her forehead and clasped it. Their warmth, similar to her own after running here, mingled tepidly.

“Did you wait long?”

“Not at all. You didn’t have to rush over like this…”

“After receiving a note like that, I had no choice but to hurry. What brings you all the way here so suddenly?”

“Did I not say I would come to see you?”

Ah.

Before she left for the temple, he had indeed made such a promise—that he would come to see *her*, not as part of a ceremony.

But she hadn’t realized he meant he would sneak to see her even before the ceremony. Security must have been tightened even more with the ritual approaching, yet the fact that there was no commotion suggested he had fully utilized the hidden abilities of the Magic Tower Master.

Whatever his method, Cecilia decided to fully enjoy this small miracle. Hadn’t she suffered enough lately, for reasons of purification and training?

But the miracle he brought was anything but small.

“Aren’t you hungry? I brought some food just in case,” Lien said shyly, leading her into the shade of the tree.

A cute picnic blanket, mingled with pale green and yellow, had already been laid out. On it sat the rattan basket she had once given him, filled with neatly cut sandwiches, orange juice, and even Sachertorte from Sweets.

“It’s just a simple spread since I prepared it in a hurry, but I hope it suits your taste.”

‘An angel.’

Lien was surely an angel sent by God for the starving Saintess.

“Thank you.”

Cecilia suppressed her excitement and sat demurely in the prepared spot. Then she took a bite of the sandwich thickly layered with meat.

“Ah…”

“D-Does it not suit your palate?”

“No, it’s just so delicious.”

What worldly flavors, delivering a tingling stimulation to her taste buds. If she were a bolder person, she might have showered his cheeks with kisses.

Perhaps she was too absorbed in the food. Lien, who had been neatly unwrapping another sandwich for her, eventually let out a small laugh.

“I brought plenty, so please take your time.”

He wiped the sauce from the corner of her mouth with his fingertip and gently curved his eyes.

‘…Perhaps the trials of the past week were God’s arrangement to maximize today’s healing.’

Just as she was feeling both physically and psychologically full to the brim, Lien opened his mouth as if he had been waiting.

“The ceremony is only a few days away. Is your preparation going well?”

“More or less. I heard from the Archbishop that the number of visitors will be more than double that of the previous event—I’m nervous I might make a mistake.”

“I heard that too. They say that since the article about the Saintess participating in this ceremony was published, visitors have been flooding in from all over.”

“…Is that so?”

Would an unofficial Saintess really be this popular? Feeling newly pressured, Cecilia put down the last bite of her sandwich.

“That’s even more nerve-wracking. Oh, Lien, will you be coming that day too?”

“If you permit.”

“You don’t need to ask my permission. Of course—”

“The thing is, I might not just attend.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m thinking of kidnapping you, Cecilia-nim, if need be.”

Cecilia blinked slowly in bewilderment.

Kidnap? Surely he couldn’t be serious.

Having uttered such an absurd statement, Lien calmly, as if discussing the weather, placed a plate of dessert in her empty hands.

“Please try some. It was freshly made this morning, so I think it will suit your taste.”

‘I don’t think dessert is the main issue right now.’

Even as she thought that, she absentmindedly took a bite with her fork and pushed the dessert into her mouth. Only then did Lien continue.

“If Cecilia-nim ever wishes to stop the ceremony…”

“…”

“Then even if a mistake occurs, it would be I—the unscrupulous one—who ruins the sacred ritual, not Cecilia-nim. So…”

His gentle voice resonated calmly, yet with unmistakable intensity. Cecilia could not give form to the vibrating emotions in words and kept her mouth quietly shut.

“You don’t need to worry about anything. Not a single thing.”

‘Ah.’

There are moments when, precisely because it feels surreal, every sensation becomes vivid. Just like now.

In the sultry heat, the area around her back was damp, and tiny beads of sweat formed on her pale skin.

The piercingly strong sunlight, the rustling sound of wind passing through the blue broad-leaved trees, and the fresh, green scent of grass washed over her.

In the midst of full summer, Cecilia saw his sandwich, still untouched, and his tea, still undrunk. She saw the man who, oblivious to thirst and hunger, was quietly yet persistently gazing straight at her.

Realization approached as beautifully as a butterfly’s wingbeat, and as clearly as a bee’s flight.

Perhaps Plan D was already complete.

Perhaps what she had always sought from him was something he had already been offering.

And so Cecilia impulsively parted her lips.

“Lien.”

“Yes.”

“I think I like you. No—I do like you.”

The moment her sudden confession ended, the juice bottle in his grip tumbled and rolled away.

The blanket soaked through, and the sweet scent of fruit juice wafted up sharply.

“…Pardon?”

It seemed this was even more shocking to him than she’d expected.

His long eyelashes trembled, and his hardened pupils began to sway violently, as if struck by a tidal wave. His lips moved several times with ragged breaths before he finally grasped his reddened ear.

“I think my ears have gone bad.”

“I don’t think they have?”

It was an abrupt confession, but still—wasn’t this reaction a bit much? Cecilia replied with a wry tone, but he seemed too flustered to pay attention to her response.

“…But you—you would never say such a thing to me, to someone like me—there’s no way—”

Lien, muttering incoherently, suddenly lifted his head. The bewilderment and confusion on his face had faded, replaced by something tinged with earnestness—or perhaps desperation.

“Please—please say it again. Just one more time.”

Ignoring the wet blanket, he braced himself with both hands on the ground and leaned his body close to hers. At his desperately clinging posture, Cecilia willingly parted her lips once more.

“I—”

“Saintess-nim!”

Just then, a voice calling out to her was heard from afar.

‘Right. I was wondering when the interruptions would show up.’

Cecilia coldly stared at the culprits who had broken the flow at such a dramatic timing, just like a scene from any romance novel.

At the foot of the hill, priests in white robes were moving about frantically—it seemed they had realized the Saintess had gone missing and a commotion had broken out.

‘Flow, schmow. Should I just confess again properly right now?’

She considered it, but soon gave up. Judging by his reaction, it was practically a success already, and above all, if the genre of this world she was trapped in truly was romance, then a pivotal scene where the two come together surely needed some beautiful lines and fitting flowers.

Besides, she was ready to go all the way to a lip-lock if necessary, but this spot just didn’t have the right mood.

‘After the ceremony, I’ll confess properly in the daisy field.’

Well, the daisy field belonged to Lien, but by then, his things would be hers, and hers would be his.

‘I’ll have to prepare a return gift for the necklace too!’

Having formed a splendid plan, Cecilia felt lighthearted and cheerfully rose from her seat.

“I’ll head down before the commotion grows. We can continue this conversation when we return to the mansion.”

“B-But—!”

“Thank you for coming to see me. See you at the ceremony!”

Lien urgently called out to stop her, but Cecilia waved cheerfully. Then, leaving him frozen like a tree, she lightly descended the hill.

Like the sultry summer wind.