Chapter 104
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The night he confessed to me.
I returned Gerardās jacket. I didnāt get back the bedding he had stolen from me.
I had worried about what I would do if he insisted on sleeping over, but fortunately, he only cleaned up after dinner and left.
Had he gone to the mansion, or perhaps another villa? I suddenly found myself wondering where he was headed.
How had things ended up like this?
I had finally come face-to-face with the situation I had feared. Yet compared to when I had been anxiously dreading it, I was surprisingly calm. Like how the moments before being struck were more frightening than the blow itself.
I had denied it again and again, but the truth was that I had vaguely sensed it.
Ever since the moment Gerard accused me of being a thief at the wall of the Odriann estateā¦
Everything he did to me had been far too similar to how he had acted when we first met as children.
āItās Gerard Castion.ā
āWhy is Castion hereā¦ Gasp, it really is him?ā
āThey say heās looking for Arvina?ā
At the excited voices chattering around me, my younger self opened her eyes wide.
Thirteen. Back then, I had been terrified that someone would discover I had purified Gerard without permission.
He entered accompanied by servants, and he was handsome enough to shine even from a distance. However, his ill-tempered eyes made him look somewhat like a wayward young master.
Arvina rarely looked surprised, but she didnāt know why Gerard Castion was looking for her. Still, as befitted the daughter of a prestigious family who had been thoroughly educated in etiquette, Arvina greeted him with a formal bow.
āIt is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Gerard Castion. I am Arvina Odriannā¦ā
āNo.ā
A crease formed between Gerardās straight brows. With an irritated expression, he turned his head and slowly swept his gaze over the trainees.
Arvina had never once been ignored before, and she couldnāt compose her stiffened face.
I hurriedly lowered my head.
He, he must have come looking for me. I regretted using Arvinaās name because I had been afraid of receiving demerit points.
In my defense, Arvina was never scolded no matter what she did, so I thought that even if the priests found out, the matter would pass without incident.
Most importantly, I never imagined Gerard would come all the way to the temple looking for Arvinaā¦ no, looking for me.
If I accumulated too many demerit points, I would be expelled from the temple. With nowhere to go, I would be cast onto the streets bearing the disgrace of being an unqualified Purifier.
Both hands hidden beneath the desk began trembling violently. My heart pounded rapidly, repeatedly striking against my breastbone.
Gulp. My breathing repeatedly quickened and slowed, as though a hiccup might burst out at any moment.
Just as I desperately prayed that he would simply pass me by, a long shadow fell over my head.
āArvina.ā
At the voice that came down like the blade of a guillotine, I squeezed my eyes shut.
He caught me.
When I refused to lift my head, a pale hand suddenly entered my vision and tapped the desk.
I moved my stiff neck and finally looked up at Gerard.
āWhat? Whyās he calling Louize Arvina?ā
āI donāt know.ā
There was no way I was the only one who heard the whispers around us. One corner of Gerardās mouth twisted.
āLouize?ā
Fortunately, the quick-witted Gerard didnāt reveal in front of the temple people that I had purified him.
When everyone looked at me suspiciously that day, he merely said he had mistaken me for someone else and quickly left.
But from that day onward, Gerard secretly came to find me whenever he had the chance and tormented me.
āA mere fourth-rank dared to purify me. You must have some nerve.ā
āā¦Young Grand Duke, donāt you have anything better to do?ā
āYou even lied, so I suppose you know you did something wrong. Iāll have you confined in my bedroom for insulting a noble, so keep that in mind.ā
āWhy would I be confined in your bedroom, Young Grand Duke, when it isnāt even a prison?ā
I pretended to be unfazed, but inwardly, my blood ran cold. Gerard held a position where he could easily dispose of a single fourth-rank commoner Purifier.
It also continued to bother me that I hadnāt spoken respectfully to the young master of a Grand Ducal family when we first met.
All I could do was desperately hope that his interest in me would quickly disappear.
But even after the moon waxed and waned countless times, Gerard continued to seek me out.
He had followed me relentlessly and picked fights over every little thing. The way he treated someone he was interested in hadnāt changed at all, from childhood to now.
A laugh escaped me without warning, and I hurriedly pulled down the corners of my mouth.
This wasnāt the time to leisurely reminisce about old memories.
It was an emergency.
