Chapter 44
After a brief back and forth, Bjorn safely escorted her to the front of the bookstore. Of course Leila stubbornly worried about his safety to the very end, yet he couldn’t make her walk alone on the dark road at night.
“I somehow have a bad feeling. Are you really alright going back alone?”
“I can take care of myself well enough. Then, I will be on my way. Have a comfortable night.”
The fact that in Leila’s mind he was firmly recognized as a rather unreliable man was somewhat demoralizing, but the concern she showed him felt warm.
If he followed her inside like this, he would certainly not come out for quite some time, so Bjorn finished his farewell at the door.
On the road back to the temple, the world suddenly looked beautiful. The sky where the sun had already set glittered with stars, and lanterns hung at each shop illuminated the dark street.
It was completely different from when he had gone to the tea salon for his second meeting with Leila. Now, Bjorn felt he understood what ordinary happiness was. Confidence overflowed as if he were no longer a defective misfit but an ordinary human being.
He was returning to the residence after enjoying a romantic date with a woman who cherished him deeply, leaving behind a small sense of regret. To think he would experience a life where instead of lamenting his circumstances and chewing on loneliness while walking, he returned home memorizing the feeling of his lover’s soft lips.
Until recently he thought such happiness was not a portion granted to him. But now…
Bjorn let out a small laugh at the sight of several men he passed on the road. They all had expressions similar to his own.
Like this, he was slowly becoming accustomed to a daily life with Leila. When he was with her, he felt like a perfectly ordinary man. Like someone who had never been abandoned by his parents, someone who didn’t suffer skull splitting pain every morning.
Could he really give all of this up and leave for ascetic training as if nothing had happened?
It was a question whose answer was already decided.
* * *
The moment he passed through the temple’s main gate, a familiar figure caught Bjorn’s eye. It was Allen.
“Sir Allen.”
When Bjorn greeted him, Allen approached with a light greeting as well. The older subordinate smiled with a slightly tired face.
“Did you return well? I’m on my way off duty now, but it seemed about time you would arrive so I was waiting. Did you finally succeed today? Your expression looks bright.”
Only then did Bjorn recall the tactic Allen had instructed for today. In fact, he had completely forgotten it until this moment.
The role Bjorn was supposed to perform today was a libertine who ogled every woman on the street while drooling. However, earlier he had neither the mind nor the leisure for such a thing. There was barely enough time to steal glances at Leila, who looked unusually beautiful today.
Seeing Allen’s expectant face, the conscience he had forgotten pricked at him. Sacred moonlight happened to pour over them. It was a good time to confess the truth.
“Sir Allen, I have something to say.”
Allen nodded in slight confusion at Bjorn’s unusually grave tone, even for him.
“Why such a serious expression? Some other trouble…”
“No, it concerns Miss Bailey… But I don’t see Sir Todd today.”
He wanted to confess to both of them if possible, yet Todd, who always followed Allen like a fish’s tail, was absent.
“Ah, Todd had business today and left early. A family gathering, he said? He even changed his duty shift and left in a hurry.”
“I see. Then I will confide in you first, Sir Allen.”
Thus the two moved to the quiet temple backyard and began a conversation long enough to be called long.
Starting was difficult, but once he opened the floodgate the many thoughts inside flowed out without obstruction. Allen listened patiently to his disordered story.
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