I Wish You Well In Your Next Love, My Love - Chapter 12

After leaving the crowded shopping district and turning into the winding alley, a streetlamp flickered faintly as if it might go out at any moment.

The light spread in distorted reflections across rainwater pooled between the cracks of the stone pavement, and old signboards creaked and rattled in the wind with metallic noises. A damp smell drifted from piles of garbage that had been left unattended for a long time.

The shadows crouched at the corners were so vague that it was hard to tell whether they were people or scarecrows.

I had walked this road for over ten years, so I was used to it, but the man behind me was a different story. He cared about cleanliness to an excessive degree, almost like a mysophobe.

He should turn back soon.

“……”

…Or so I thought, but Gerard followed me all the way to my front door.

When I turned sharply, one of his eyebrows twitched upward.

“Look at that glare.”

“Aren’t you busy?”

“Of course I am. There are probably several people out looking for me right now, though they wouldn’t expect me to be somewhere like this.”

Suddenly, Gerard curled the corner of his mouth and gave a quiet laugh.

“Perfect place to hide.”

“Whether you’re playing hide-and-seek or tag is your business, but please don’t come looking for me again. Like I said before, I’ll speak well of you to Arvina.”

Gerard, who had been standing evenly on both feet, shifted his weight onto one leg. He tilted his head and looked at me with a blank expression.

…Did I go too far?

Regret came a moment too late. The problem was that I hadn’t completely gotten rid of the way I used to speak when we were dating.

How dare I glare straight at Gerard Castion and talk back like this. I wouldn’t have anything to say if I were detained right now for insulting a noble.

In an instant, a chill seemed to rise from the ground beneath my feet. Unable to even look away, I held my breath, tense and uneasy.

One step. Gerard closed the distance and frowned slightly.

“You don’t seem to feel any gratitude toward your savior.”

“…Because I’m not grateful at all.”

“I don’t understand.”

There were many things I wanted to say, but I swallowed them down and forced myself to stay calm.

“So I should’ve just let you get hit?”

“Yes. Just leave me alone.”

“……”

“The attention Your Lordship shows like charity is suffocating for a commoner like me. And it doesn’t always lead to good results. That’s also why I refused dinner. I didn’t ask for your help today, and I won’t in the future either. So, please, just leave me alone.”

Gerard simply listened in silence. In the dim street, our gazes remained locked for a moment.

I couldn’t read any emotion from his expressionless face.

I was nervously chewing the inside of my cheek when Gerard straightened his posture and slipped both hands into his pockets. The way he tilted his head slightly and looked down at me carried an intimidating air.

It wouldn’t have been strange for him to turn around and walk away without hesitation, but for some reason, Gerard didn’t move a single step from where he stood.

As my heart pounded with a feeling I couldn’t tell was impatience or fear.

Suddenly, he let out a short laugh.

“What a temper.”

“……”

In the end, I was the one who bowed my head first. Then I quickly ran up the old iron stairs and went inside.

Thud. As the door closed behind me, the breath I had been holding burst out. My shoulders sagged as if gravity were pulling them down harder than usual.

I wouldn’t be sleeping well tonight either.

* * *

“I’m sorry. You’ve worked hard for a year, but I have to survive too.”

“Lord Castion won’t come looking for me again. I’ll talk to Arvina.”

“Will Miss Odriann really listen to your request? She seems too busy to care.”

“…I heard you received a generous compensation.”

“I added extra to this month’s pay so you won’t be short on funds. Come visit sometimes if you get bored.”

Sweating profusely, Turner forced a heavy envelope into my hands. It seemed he had already made up his mind to fire me, and he had even put up a notice outside the shop to hire a new employee.

‘Gerard and Arvina… How did I end up with this disaster because of people like them.’

After letting out a bitter sigh, I gathered all the things I had kept at the shop and left.

Books I didn’t even remember buying, comfortable spare shoes, a blanket, and clothes I had forgotten there. Maybe because I had worked there for a full year, there was more than I expected.

I slung the heavy bag over my shoulder and was just stepping onto the final stairs of the temple.

“Emergency! Move quickly!”

Alarms rang continuously through the messenger orbs. With the temple doors thrown wide open, people began pouring out.

‘What’s going on?’

I was weaving through the rushing crowd when—

“Arvina!”

Arvina, dressed in her white purification uniform, came running up, her hem fluttering. She spotted me as well and widened her eyes.

“Louize!”

“What happened?”

“They say Lord Castion went to the field at dawn, and his rampage rate suddenly spiked!”

“What?”

At those words, my heart dropped.

“All Purifiers of second rank and above have been summoned… You should come too, Louize.”

Arvina grabbed my wrist tightly.

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