Chapter 207
Chapter 207
“No,” I said. I knew that Jenny thought I was the prettiest person she had ever seen, but I didn’t want to lead her on. However, before I could explain further, Kaichen stepped in and confidently declared that there was no one prettier than me.
“There isn’t anyone prettier than the count.”
“Of course, right?!” Jenny exclaimed, smiling as if her eyes had not deceived her. She ran off to the store, leaving me standing awkwardly with the bouquet of flowers.
“Am I the prettiest in the world?” I asked Kaichen, hoping to clarify his earlier statement.
“I never said anything about the whole world,” he replied, looking a little cheeky.
“It’s the same thing,” I insisted.
“Dalia, it’s not the same.”
“So what? Do you mean that I’m the prettiest in the empire?”
Kaichen didn’t respond, and instead turned his head away. His tanned skin looked darker than usual, almost as if he was blushing. I couldn’t help but smile to myself. He was so cute! I elbowed him playfully, trying to hide my excitement.
“Oh? Dalia!” a familiar voice called out, and I turned to see a woman I hadn’t seen in a long time looking at me with surprise.
“Azel!” I exclaimed, running towards her and embracing her tightly. Azel, the attractive fruit shop owner in Sharatan, hugged me back and welcomed me warmly. We stood there for a moment, hugging, until Azel finally pulled back and started asking me questions.
“What happened? Why are you here? How did you come to Acrab?” I asked her.
“You gave me a pass to Acrab, remember? Hanmer sang a song saying he wanted to come, so I moved to Acrab a month ago after taking care of things in Sharatan,” Azel replied with excitement in her voice.
“Hanmer? He sang a song saying he wanted to come once,” I laughed. “Did he actually move here?” I asked.
“Oh, it’s hard to say! The growth of Acrab has been amazing lately. Hanmer isn’t just a spectator, but a respected carpenter now. Anyway, he said he wanted to become a disciple and learn from Haram in Acrab. Can you believe it? He’s getting a little old for that, don’t you think?” Azel replied.
“He’s going to be Haram’s disciple? Are you going to follow him too, since Hanmer has big dreams?”
“What can I do? He doesn’t know how to eat properly, so if you don’t watch him from time to time, he’ll die hammering.”
Although Hanmer used to often make excuses and fool around, I knew that if he concentrated, he could pick things up. That hungry ghost would never starve. They could just get married, but they didn’t want to admit that they liked each other. Maybe that was the result of being childhood friends for so long.
“Then, what happened to you? Do you know how worried I was when you didn’t come to see me all of a sudden? Knowing your impractical master…”
Azel couldn’t stop talking. But as soon as she saw Kaichen standing behind me, she flinched and tilted her head.
There was no way someone from the Kalhai Empire wouldn’t recognize a man with golden skin, blonde hair, and gold eyes. It was different from the time in Sharatan when she changed her appearance. Azel’s eyes started to grow larger little by little, and I worried that her eyeballs would pop out.
“The G-g-great Wizard?!” she exclaimed.
“Yeah, you can greet him. This is my master. Did you get a look at him that time?”
I hurriedly took Kaichen’s hand and introduced him to Azel.
“W-w-wait… No, the… the lord of Acrab is…”
In the past, I wouldn’t have been well-known, but now, I am as famous as Kaichen. Azel opened her mouth, probably remembering that the lord of Acrab was a beautiful woman with black hair and black eyes.
This time it looked like her jaw would fall off. I thought of giving her a hint that she looked quite ridiculous, but I thought it was enough for her to be surprised, so I stopped.
“C-count… it was you?!”
Azell awkwardly tried to show me some respect and hurriedly tried to kneel on the ground.
“Azel! Why are you doing this? It’s so embarrassing!” I protested.
“B-but… I said such ridiculous things to the count… So, that’s… Wow, I’m so embarrassed…”
She was so surprised that she couldn’t even utter a word, and I let out a deep sigh. It was very rare to see someone in such a difficult position since the people of Acrab usually treated me so comfortably. It was also the first time that a close friend changed their attitude as soon as they learned of my identity.
‘I can see why the main characters in novels go around hiding their identities.’
Of course, their emotions and what I felt were definitely different, but I could say that they were similar.
“I haven’t changed much from the beginning. Aren’t you taking things too hard? Do you think I’d harass you just because I’m a count? Do I look like I would do that?”
Azel shook her head hard. “Ah, no! No way!” she said.
“This is Acrab. A city where you can freely enjoy your life doing what you want to do. I’m the lord of this place, and I don’t intend to do anything with my status, so please treat me comfortably.”
Azel nodded vigorously. It seemed that my words had no effect at all. Unlike the eccentric artisans, Azel was an ordinary fruit shop owner in Sharatan.