"That should be about everything, right?"

Felyn glanced at the large bag of seals in Zervanie’s hands and gave a satisfied nod.

He had bought a few Combat seals, which had cost him several thousand crowns.

Zervanie, on the other hand, had mostly picked out Life seals. As a noble lady, she already had plenty of Combat seals stocked up and had no need to purchase more from a place like this.

"Felyn, wait for me!"

Zervanie stumbled behind him, both hands clutching the bag tightly.

Felyn didn’t offer to carry it for her. Whoever bought it, carried it.

“They’re heavy, huh? All those seals.”

He stopped in front of her, flashing a benevolent smile as if he were brimming with virtue.

“Mhm, super heavy,” Zervanie whined, her voice sugary sweet. Her sky-blue eyes shimmered with a fragile glow. “They’re cutting into my hands…”

That little trip down memory lane had brought back the warmth of being with Felyn. The aftertaste of it still lingered, softening her voice with sweetness.

“Do you need assistance? That’ll be 200 crowns.”

“Huh?”

Zervanie tilted her head, completely failing to understand what he meant.

A moment later—

“Thank you for your business!”

Felyn stuffed the 200 crowns into his pocket and took the seal bag from her hands.

Helping a lady was the right thing to do, right? A noble trait expected of every citizen of Saiwa.

"It’s not like I’m doing it for the money. Money doesn’t mean much to me. This is just a small reward for being such a kind person."

“Shameless…”

Of course, Zervanie had no idea about the inner logic Felyn was telling himself.

But as her memories resurfaced, a thought suddenly welled up inside her.

I don’t want more "what-ifs." I want to make a change—right now.

Following the faint threads of memory, she led Felyn toward a familiar spot.

Even though it had been six months ago, she remembered it clearly. After all, it had been a date with Felyn.

She vaguely recalled that they’d eaten at a restaurant nearby.

And back then… she seemed to have said something pretty outrageous to him.

"Hey, Fe—Felyn, Felyn! I wanna drink more!"

"Please, my lady, you’ve got a performance tomorrow. If you show up drunk, everyone’s going to hate it."

It was a tavern run by an elven woman. The ceiling was crafted from intertwining branches, and embedded between the twigs were mana crystals that shifted color and brightness in tune with the mood of the room.

“What’s the problem?”

Inside a private booth, Zervanie lay sprawled across Felyn’s chest, her cheeks flushed like a ripe apple from the alcohol.

“As long as you don’t hate me, that’s all that matters.”

…

The light from the mana crystals bathed the booth in a warm, romantic pink.

Zervanie tilted her head upward, gazing into Felyn’s eyes with a sparkle in her own.

“Felyn, you’re so handsome.”

She murmured the words, then gently tapped the tip of his nose with her finger.

“I only became handsome because I’m with you, Zervanie. I’d look terrible without you.”

Felyn coaxed her gently, like he always did when she got like this.

“Don’t say silly things,” Zervanie scolded, placing a hand over his lips. “You’re not allowed to leave me. You hear? Never leave me.”

“Alright, alright, I won’t leave you, my lady.”

Felyn ran his fingers through her hair, and the gentle motion made Zervanie close her eyes in bliss.

Her cheeks glowed a rosy pink, and her hands, tinged red from drink, wrapped softly around his neck. The space between them shrank until nothing remained.

“Don’t stop… keep going.”

Zervanie was practically sitting on his lap now, her legs wrapped tightly around his waist.

Their breaths intertwined, hot and close, adding an even deeper blush to her cheeks.

“F-Felyn, you won’t leave me… right?”

Felyn didn’t answer right away.

He stayed quiet for a long moment.

“…No, Zervanie. I won’t leave you.”

“Mm…”

Her cheek pressed against his ear, and she could feel her own heartbeat yearning to beat in sync with his.

Felyn said he wouldn’t leave her. And Felyn had never lied to her.

“F-Felyn, I wanna drink more…”

Her lips had already brushed against his neck.

“You’ve had too much already.”

“Just one more sip. Please? Just one. The elf lady’s Moonlight Honey Wine is too good…”

She shifted restlessly in his lap, rubbing her body softly against his chest.

“One last sip? You’re not lying to me?”

“Mhm! Just one more… but—but—”

Zervanie ran her fingers across his neck, her touch feather-light.

“You have to feed it to me… with your mouth.”

…

As for whether Felyn had actually fed her that way, Zervanie couldn’t remember at all.

She had drunk far too much that night. The rest of her memory felt like it had been sliced apart—completely gone.

But now, Zervanie felt fairly certain that he probably hadn’t done it.

After all, even back then, Felyn had already been planning to leave her when the contract ended.

In that case, he wouldn’t have kissed her—not Felyn. He wasn’t that kind of man.

As they turned a corner, the tavern from her memory appeared, nestled in the alley exactly where she remembered.

“Found it!”

“Felyn, we’ve been walking around forever—you must be hungry, right? Let’s go eat at the tavern. My treat!”

Zervanie jogged a few steps ahead, then spun around and smiled invitingly.

If dragging Felyn to a seal shop at 3 a.m. was one of the worst memories, then this little tavern run by an elf girl held one of the few precious good ones.

After all, back then, she hadn’t done anything too over-the-line to him.

Zervanie was going to take a gamble.

She wanted to revisit a familiar place, hoping it might awaken some positive memory of her in Felyn’s heart.

Even if it was just a sliver—that was enough. She wanted to turn “what if” into “what is.”

"Aren’t you watching your figure anymore? What if you get fat?"

“What’s the problem with that!”

Felyn narrowed his eyes as he looked up at the shopfront.

It felt… so familiar. So very familiar.

Old memories started bubbling up in his mind.

"Have we been here before?"

“Eh?”

“I mean, before our contract started. Didn’t we come here once?”

“R-Really? I don’t remember that at all…”

Zervanie had to play dumb. If Felyn realized she’d intentionally brought him here, her little scheme would be exposed.

“I remember you getting drunk once, in a tavern run by an elf girl. I think this was the place.”

Felyn’s tone was growing more distant by the second.

Zervanie found herself breathing heavily, lips parted. A knot of unease began to form in her chest.

“I should’ve taken a photo of you drunk that time… That way, I’d have something to blackmail you with. I could boss you around all I want—and get unlimited autographs.”

But Zervanie didn’t laugh.

Because Felyn wasn’t smiling when he said that.

“If you really don’t remember, then forget it. Sorry, there are some memories I’d rather not revisit.”

He glanced at his watch and said, “It’s getting late. Don’t we have to head to the dungeon early tomorrow? Let’s call it a night. Eating this late isn’t great for us anyway.”

(End of Chapter)