"The princess and I don't have that kind of relationship. I just happened to save her."

Felyn did not admit his relationship with Dorothy. The client list could not be leaked.

Even if caught red-handed, he had to stubbornly deny it.

"But she was hugging your neck, and you had her lipstick mark on your face. Could it be that you two are in love?"

"Of course not."

Adeline ignored Felyn's excuses. In her heart, she was only willing to believe that Dorothy was Felyn's client.

"So, assuming she is your client, if you want to leave her, you probably can't do it in Siveshus. She can know your location at any time."

"If you could learn some simple divine arts and then leave the Siveshus Empire, that would work, but there's still a risk of her finding you."

"Why don't you just marry me, and then Dorothy won't bother you anymore."

Felyn pursed his lips speechlessly. He had thought Adeline could come up with a good idea.

Escape from Dorothy, only to fall into your trap, right?

"No...?"

"Of course not! Adeline, stop being so persistent with me. Get rid of this idea."

To think he actually had a glimmer of hope for Adeline just now. He really never learned his lesson. None of his clients were normal.

Felyn idly drew circles on the ground with his hand, constantly thinking if there were any other options.

There was one, actually.

No matter where he was in Siveshus, Dorothy would find him, so simply hiding was useless.

If, when Dorothy's contract ended, a little accident happened.

A big fire, a car crash, a meteorite falling from the sky.

In short, in the public eye, he would be burned to ashes.

So-called faking death. And the body couldn't be left behind; Dorothy would find it.

This way, Dorothy would give up the idea and never come looking for him again.

But Felyn could predict Dorothy's reaction if he did that.

She would most likely keep watch at his grave, regardless of wind or rain.

She would probably build a small wooden cabin next to the grave and kneel by it every day, telling him stories.

She would probably regret being too dependent and possessive of him and would repent at his tombstone every day.

He just didn't know how long this behavior would last.

A year? Five years? Ten years? Or a hundred years?

Without a doubt, this was a BAD END.

Felyn hoped that after his young lady clients left him, they would live better and better lives, not be devastated by his influence.

After all, Felyn considered himself an emotional therapist who toed the line.

"Actually... there's another way."

Adeline's voice pulled Felyn back from his fantasy.

Her rose-tea colored hair gently brushed against Felyn's arm, the girl's scent alleviating his headache.

"If you get together with Princess Dorothy, then there will be no problems."

"I won't get together with her. A person like me being with a princess would cause a lot of trouble."

"Then you have to study divine arts hard and become a very powerful person. That way, you can be with her. And if you become very strong, you won't have to worry about what the princess will do to you."

This was Adeline's true inner thought.

On the night her confession to Felyn ended, she had thought about how to make him accept her affection.

She felt that Felyn had two protective films separating him from all his clients and ex-clients.

The first was that Felyn believed his clients loved a false version of him. The second was that his family background was completely different from his clients', and even if they got together, there would be many conflicts.

If these two points were not resolved, all of Adeline's efforts would be in vain. Felyn would not be willing to tear off the protective films and face his own emotions.

The first was relatively easy to solve, but the second required Felyn's own effort.

She knew that she couldn't be the motivation for Felyn's efforts at the moment.

But now it seemed that Princess Dorothy was a breakthrough.

Whether Felyn liked her very much and wanted to be with her, or wanted to avoid her, the best way for Felyn was to become stronger.

Once Felyn became stronger, it would no longer be just about Dorothy.

A stronger Felyn would join the Divine Church, a stronger Felyn would have sufficient social status.

Then the protective film in Felyn's heart would be torn off.

Only then would there be a possibility of him being with her. Only then would he possibly be willing to face his own emotions and finally be willing to marry her.

If Felyn chose Princess Dorothy after becoming stronger, then... that was fine too.

Although it would be very painful, Adeline was willing to wait, to wait for the day Felyn chose her.

"Become stronger...?"

Felyn felt that there really was fatalism in the world.

He just wanted to learn a little divine art, enough to make money. He wanted to buy a manor and then fill it with maids, that's all.

But now, because of his clients, he had to become strong enough.

The key was, could he do it?

Felyn looked at his palm. He could still feel Dorothy's magical power wandering in his body.

His body had undoubtedly changed. The statue of [Herlomir] in his mind had become clear enough, and he already had the conditions to learn divine arts.

Seeing that Felyn was seriously considering this possibility, Adeline knew her strategy had worked.

This could also be considered Adeline's little scheme.

However, this "little" scheme would require a lot of time and resources to help Felyn.

But it didn't matter, Adeline was willing to do it.

The past Felyn had taken care of her for so long. Now, she just needed to spend some money and time to help him.

She had plenty of money, more than she could spend in a lifetime.

Compared to Felyn's heart, all this was nothing.

Adeline was in a very good mood now.

She felt that she at least saw a little bit of hope and possibility, even if this hope might take a long time to realize.

But it was better than nothing.

Her hand quietly landed on the step, quietly moving towards the back of Felyn's hand.

The distance grew closer and closer. Adeline used her hair to hide her face and expression, afraid that Felyn would notice.

Until it lightly touched the back of Felyn's hand.

She pretended to be casual, placing her hand on Felyn's, hoping that the preoccupied Felyn wouldn't notice too soon.

But even if Felyn's mind had no room to think about other things now, his body's instincts were still there.

He dodged Adeline's hand.

"Adeline, you know what I want to say." Felyn, noticing Adeline's small movements, didn't say it directly.

"I know, but it's because I like you that I wanted to... I know I was wrong."

Just as Felyn was about to say something else, the communication sigil in his pocket rang.

It was from the hospital.

"This is Felyn."

Adeline rested her head on her knees, turning to the side to look at Felyn's profile.

The moonlight was cut by the young man's profile, evenly distributed on his handsome face.

It had been a long time since she had seen Felyn's face up close, and a long time since she had had his face all to herself.

"Have Olivia's indicators been unstable recently? How could this be?"

Adeline heard Felyn say another girl's name.

Olivia?

Who's that?

(End of Chapter)