I Wish You Well In Your Next Love, My Love

“Do you think she got her heart broken?”

“By whom?”

“Who else? Lord Castion.”

There wasn’t anyone in the temple who hadn’t heard about Arvina’s new marriage proposal.

“I heard she received a marriage proposal. Since Lord Castion won’t even look at her anymore, don’t you think worthless men saw their chance and started sending proposals to Arvina?”

“True. It is strange that proposals suddenly started arriving after being quiet for so long.”

“Arvina’s probably beating the ground in regret by now.”

Everyone could feel that Gerard’s interest was no longer what it had once been.

Although they had appeared affectionate at the banquet, that had only been possible because Arvina had acted so proactively.

Arvina, who would normally remain aloof and wait for someone else to speak to her first.

“Then I wonder if Arvina will skip this volunteer work too.”

Before the full cold arrived, most temples held relief events that distributed new blankets, clothing, and food to the poor so they could survive the winter.

Hartheon was no exception.

It seemed they had received funding from various places under the pretext of volunteer work, though I wasn’t sure whether all of it would truly be used for the vulnerable.

“If she skips the volunteer work too, she won’t receive any points.”

When I murmured that, Chelsea scoffed as though I had said something ridiculous.

“Louize, when has Arvina ever done something like that for points? She enjoys handing out a few loaves of bread and pretending to bestow grace upon people. She wants to hear them call her Saintess and angel.”

Chelsea lowered her voice and whispered without even pausing for breath.

After pouring out everything she wanted to say, she looked around to see whether anyone might have overheard her. She resembled a herbivore keeping watch for a predator.

Since the incident last time, Chelsea always whispered so quietly whenever she spoke about Arvina that even I could barely hear her.

Part of me thought she should simply stop paying attention to Arvina, but hearing news about her this way was helpful.

“I hope she doesn’t come to this volunteer work. She always brings two reporters along like attendants and takes photographs as though she were a queen dispensing favors.”

Unlike Arvina, who looked flattering in photographs regardless of what she wore, the other trainees weren’t so fortunate.

The trainees had unwanted photographs taken of them and were compared to her every time, so it was understandable that they were sick of it.

Some trainees had even given up their volunteer points entirely because of the reporters.

But no one voiced their complaints.

Everyone felt uncomfortable, but no one intended to make an issue of it.

It was like how no one protested even when the roads were blocked for the Emperor’s procession.

That was what Arvina represented at Hartheon.

“Everyone, take your seats.”

Priestess Lysandra entered with the hem of her white robe fluttering behind her. Everyone was curious about Arvina’s absence, but none of the priests mentioned her.

“Frequent appearances of Great Beasts have delayed the trainees’ field exercises. Scores are important, but the trainees’ safety is more important than anything else, so the temple is currently reviewing whether there is another examination that could replace them…”

At the suggestion that the field exercises might be canceled, Chelsea quietly cheered.

By then, she had already forgotten all about Arvina.

* * *

“Do you have the next volume?”

My face felt as though it might burn as I cautiously asked.

A moment later, I realized belatedly that I hadn’t said the title. Just as I hurriedly opened my mouth, the owner’s small eyes widened slightly.

He recognized me.

I rubbed around my mouth in embarrassment.

Regardless of its excellent literary quality, there was no denying that <Keeping an Appropriate Distance from the Superior Who Likes Me> was an e****c novel strictly for adults. Its contents were also a continuous stream of things ordinary people couldn’t even imagine.

It was the first time I had learned that a man tied up with ropes could e*******e while spinning around and around.