DED 25

Chapter 25

A night market, huh.

No way I’m missing a big event like this.

Lucy looked at Bartholomew.

“Since we’re already out, wouldn’t you like to take a look around the night market too, Young Master Bartholomew?”

Lucy thought it unlikely that Bartholomew had ever visited a night market before.

In fact, even for her—after possessing this body—it was her first time seeing a night market in this world.

“I’ll have a carriage take us back before the temple gates close.”

Bartholomew was secretly surprised by Lucy’s suggestion.

To be honest, he didn’t want to return to the temple so early.

He wanted to explore the city he was seeing for the first time just a little more.

He wanted to see how other people lived.

But he didn’t know how to ask for more time.

He felt embarrassed to say it honestly to Lucy.

Embarrassed that he was so lacking in experience.

That he had come out to the city for the very first time only today.

Yet Lucy was the one who suggested visiting the night market first.

Bartholomew had no reason to refuse.

“Alright.”

With that, the two of them left the bookstore.

Lucy signaled discreetly to the knight guarding her nearby, indicating that they would look around a bit more before returning.

Perhaps they had spent quite some time in the bookstore, because the sky had turned a deep bluish-black.

The scenery before entering the bookstore and after leaving it felt completely different.

Instead of open shops, lanterns were hung up, and various stalls had been set out.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

At Lucy’s question, Bartholomew realized he was starving.

She led him toward a stall selling food.

It was a stall grilling handmade sausages.

The smell was so enticing that even someone who wasn’t hungry would feel their appetite awaken just by passing by.

Lucy ordered two sausages.

“Here you go.”

Lucy took the two sticks with sausages skewered on them and handed one to Bartholomew.

The two took a bite at the same time.

Lucy’s eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with her hand.

It’s delicious.

Juices burst forth, mixed with the savory aroma of spices.

Her mouth filled with saliva instantly.

Bartholomew was no different.

To him, the sausage was astonishing.

Because of his poor health, he had always eaten bland food.

This was the first time in his life he had tasted something so stimulating.

“It’s good, isn’t it?”

“…Yes, it’s delicious.”

Seeing Bartholomew stare at the sausage with wonder, Lucy felt oddly proud.

The two walked along the stalls, eating their sausages together.

Lucy stopped in front of a stall selling accessories.

Thinking it would be nice to buy a small keepsake from the night market, she fixed her gaze on a necklace.

“I’ll take this one.”

That was when it happened.

Bartholomew pointed to the necklace Lucy had been looking at and paid for it.

Lucy looked at him with a disbelieving expression, and Bartholomew handed her the necklace.

When she didn’t take it right away, Bartholomew tilted his head slightly.

“Wasn’t this the one you liked?”

“…No. I mean—yes.”

Lucy accepted the necklace.

Bartholomew is giving me a gift.

She felt deeply moved.

It felt like a proud, aloof stray cat finally approaching her first.

This feels different from when Cecil showed interest in me.

Was it because, instead of targeting him with an agenda, she had genuinely tried to become friends with him?

This small place she had earned in Bartholomew’s heart felt incredibly precious to Lucy.

“Thank you.”

Lucy said brightly, smiling.

Bartholomew felt dazed.

For something given to an imperial princess, it was a rather humble accessory.

Yet Lucy looked genuinely happy, truly pleased.

As if he had given her something extraordinary.

“I heard people saying there’s going to be fireworks soon. Let’s go watch.”

Lucy pulled Bartholomew along, and by now, he followed her without resistance, as though accustomed to it.

They slipped into the crowd of people waiting for the fireworks.

“Oh, right. Is Cecil doing well?”

Thinking of Cecil earlier, Lucy suddenly became curious about how he was doing.

“Did he happen to ask about me?”

Bartholomew felt as though cold water had been poured over him.

It was like something foreign had intruded and ruined a precious moment.

“I wouldn’t know. I haven’t had occasion to meet him.”

After a brief pause, Bartholomew added,

“Why not try writing him a letter as well?”

Lucy shook her head, smiling.

What would happen if she sent Cecil a picture diary like the one she’d sent Bartholomew?

The affection level she’d painstakingly raised might drop instead.

Bartholomew, however, interpreted her smile differently.

To him, she looked shy.

He thought of Cecil.

Lucy’s personal healer.

The way he had held Lucy and rushed to heal her when she collapsed.

The way he had interrogated him about whether Lucy had been given a lethal drug.

And at the imperial banquet—

Bartholomew had seen Lucy and Cecil exchange glances.

Lucy had smiled brightly at Cecil.

Is that man named Cecil also Her Highness’s friend?

Or perhaps…

“What kind of relationship do you have with Healer Cecil?”

The moment the question left his mouth, Bartholomew regretted it.

No matter how kindly Lucy treated him, he knew he shouldn’t pry.

But Lucy answered casually.

“Well… I guess he’s someone I’m trying to get closer to.”

She couldn’t exactly say a target, so she phrased it vaguely.

Someone she’s trying to get closer to…

Just like she’s doing with me now, she must be kind to him as well.

Bartholomew’s eyes darkened—

“Ah! It looks like the fireworks are about to start!”

Lucy pointed at the sky.

Bartholomew lifted his gaze.

Fireworks burst across the night sky, blooming into dazzling flowers.

Bartholomew stared in awe.

There were so many beautiful things in the world that he didn’t know.

The fireworks he saw today were proof enough.

How many other beautiful things existed in this world, like these fireworks?

He was especially curious about the sea he had only ever read about in books.

But he would never see the ocean with his own eyes before he died.

Bartholomew looked at Lucy.

He took in her face, lit and dimmed repeatedly by the glow of the fireworks.

He thought her face was beautiful—and at the same time, he felt sad.

He wished this moment could last forever, but he knew it couldn’t.

Nothing in the world was eternal.

Even the fireworks before his eyes.

They bloomed brilliantly, then vanished without a trace.

A bitter smile touched Bartholomew’s lips.

At that moment, a man in the crowd quietly watched Lucy and Bartholomew.

…Interesting.

Pulling his hood lower, the man disappeared leisurely into the crowd.

* * *

Finally.

Lucy realized it the moment she hauled up a fish bigger than her own arm.

Her fishing level must have reached max.

She wasn’t wrong.

Ding!

[Congratulations!]

[Your fishing skill has reached its maximum.]

[Lv. 10 — Title Acquired: “Legendary Angler”!]

Wow.

Lucy stared blankly, impressed in a hollow way.

What was she supposed to do with the title Legendary Angler in a dating simulation game?

Was there even a male lead who liked fish?

No matter how she thought about it, there wasn’t.

She figured she had once again acquired a useless skill.

Ding!

[As a reward for reaching the legendary level, you are granted a special ability.]

[When fishing, you have a certain probability of obtaining rare items.]

What—items?!

Lucy’s eyes lit up.

You should’ve told me that sooner!

And rare items, at that.

Those might help with conquering the male leads.

To test it out, Lucy kept fishing.

The anglers around her exclaimed in admiration.

As if on cue, they all applauded.

She had looked like a delicate young lady, but now she was catching massive fish even they struggled to land.

And despite reaching mastery, she didn’t stop fishing.

That calm posture—waiting patiently without obsessing over what she caught—was the very embodiment of an expert.

Lucy didn’t know it, but she had become a role model to many anglers.

While Lucy stood flustered by the inexplicable applause—

Something snagged on her fishing line.

Huh?

It felt completely different from catching a fish.

She lightly flicked the rod upward and caught it with her hand.

It was a pair of rings.

Ding!

[Congratulations!]

[You have obtained a rare item.]

[Heart-to-Heart Rings]

[Effect: The wearers of these rings can share pain with each other.]

“That’s it?”

Lucy blurted out in disbelief.

Another system message appeared.

[Additional effects have not yet been discovered.]

Lucy looked down at the rings.

This isn’t a rare item…

It’s just junk loot, isn’t it?