MPBGS 27

Chapter : 27

Gabriel would also need to meet that kind, old bishop from earlier, so I should graciously step aside here.

Had I done everything I needed to?

I’d rescued Hena and Kanna from the noble who was giving them trouble, the kids had seen the painting—though it burned before I could see it, but I never intended to look anyway. I’d also retrieved the statement and saved a knight, which added a point of favor with Gabriel.

A new character named Daisy appeared out of nowhere, but Gabriel still seemed to like me, so no problem!

“Shall we head back now?”

“Yes!”

Kanna answered excitedly. Well, she’d probably been waiting for me here for hours, so she must be eager to go home.

As I gathered my things and stood up, Gabriel reached out his hand, as if to hold mine. His hand froze awkwardly in midair, hesitant to actually touch me.

“Are you leaving?”

Should I stay here and live with you? I bit back the sarcastic remark that popped into my mind. Right… I’m now a character in a romance fantasy. I can’t get goosebumps every time the male lead delivers a romantic line and react seriously. I need to cleverly win him over and escape the role of the villainess.

“It’s getting late.”

“Then I’ll escort you to the carriage.”

Gabriel rose from his seat. Since he also needed to see the bishop, maybe this was a convenient chance to escort me.

By the time we stepped outside, the sun had already set.

The carriage was close by. The driver, trembling on his seat, gasped when he saw me. Oh right, I’d surprised him with a sudden teleport earlier—completely forgot about that.

As I was about to explain to reassure him, the carriage door opened. Jelly peeked her face out without stepping down.

“You’re here?”

“Good work, Jelly.”

She seemed to want attention since she’d been tired. I patted her head and praised her, when Gabriel called me.

“Miss Rohanson.”

I turned, and Gabriel was reaching out his hand. Huh? Ah, maybe he wanted to escort me onto the carriage.

I placed my hand on top of his. But then his hand moved upward, and he brought his lips to the back of my hand. I almost hit him out of surprise. Oh… it wasn’t escorting; it was a greeting.

I knew it was the formal greeting in a romance fantasy, but experiencing it firsthand felt… strange? He should have worn gloves! Fortunately, Gabriel was only pretending.

Still, the sensation was ticklish. Instead of skin touching skin, I felt his warm breath on my hand. The moist, soft breath made me shy and want to run away immediately.

“I look forward to seeing you again.”

I didn’t respond, just got on the carriage. Kanna, the last to board, slammed the door loudly on purpose.

Listening to Kanna grumble about Gabriel, I briefly wondered if I should tell her he was actually my destined partner.

Ignoring my complicated thoughts, the carriage rolled on smoothly.

Even long after the Rohanson carriage disappeared from view, Raphaela, who had been zoning out, finally regained her senses.

“W-what… did you do?”

She stammered from shock.

“A farewell.”

“What were you thinking…?”

Gabriel’s answer was remarkably reasonable. But given that the other party was Evangeline, isn’t it abnormal to kiss her hand for a farewell? Somehow, whether it was the commander or the Urial below him, how could they all be so calm? Let’s just ignore Michel; he’s crazy.

“Same as before, Commander. Why didn’t you tell her everything? Before coming here, Lady Evangeline and the nun had been talking, and your name came up. I think the nun confessed everything to her…”

When Evangeline Rohanson questioned Gabriel about what he had heard, Raphaela wished the commander had told everything honestly. Her heart had dropped when she met Evangeline’s red eyes. That gaze had been sharp as a blade.

So I tried desperately to tell Gabriel with gestures and eye signals to just speak the truth… but he lied.

At that moment, Raphaela thought it was all over and braced herself for the worst. But Gabriel went a step further and handed Evangeline the statement.

It detailed everything Daisy had confessed. What’s the point of lying verbally if your hands tell the truth? Yet Evangeline let it slide.

“Why did you do that? I thought, as commander, you’d have a reason…”

It was instinctive for Gabriel.

From past experience, he knew what Evangeline Rohanson valued most was her immersion in her role. Judging by her actions and formal speech, she seemed to want others to perceive her as Evangeline Rohanson externally.

Evangeline only dropped that facade when Gabriel misunderstood and tried to help her. She must have been furious because someone dared to strip away that role.

So Gabriel accommodated her again. He handed her the paper to avoid angering her with a false confession, and his contradictory words signaled that he would pretend not to see the contents. Fortunately, this approach pleased Evangeline.

And as he gave a deliberate farewell, Gabriel realized something else.

He reached out his hand.

Though Evangeline wasn’t short, her hand was notably smaller than Gabriel’s.

Her body temperature was extremely low. He overlapped their hands and focused on her fingertips to measure her pulse.

Even while pretending to kiss, Gabriel could sense that Evangeline wouldn’t pull her hand away. He slowed his movement deliberately, kissing her hand slowly, measuring her heartbeat. Small, but there it was—her heart was beating. She was breathing, alive.

Daisy had claimed Evangeline was like a moving corpse, but that was wrong. Still, it felt like there was no humanity inside. Evangeline treated humans as insignificant creatures, and made it seem natural to regard them as such.

The first time Gabriel saw her, it was vivid in his mind.

Among all living beings, she alone seemed dead.

Among all warmth, she stood out as cold.

Evangeline Rohanson was exceptional.

Gabriel unconsciously bit his lip. Even though he hadn’t actually kissed her, her low temperature lingered like a mark.

Urial laid Michel on the bed in the infirmary. Should he just leave now? Since holy water had already been poured over him, no further treatment was needed… Just as Urial was about to leave, Seraph entered the infirmary.

He had heard swords clashing earlier, so they must have been sparring. There was a shallow cut near Michel’s neck. Seeing Michel soaking wet, Seraph panicked.

“Sir Michel! Wh-what happened? Why are you so wet? Are you hurt? Not cold sweats, right? Don’t die, Sir Michel…!”

“Seraph, calm down. It’s just holy water.”

“What? Were you really that injured? Or… did you jump into a fountain?”

Seraph was overly cautious and worried. Urial explained what had happened to prevent further misunderstanding.

Every time he spoke, Seraph’s guesses altered the story, slowing the explanation.

Their conversation continued until Gabriel and the knights finished escorting Evangeline and arrived at the infirmary.

“So that’s what happened.”

“I see… I completely understand now.”

Watching them talk, Raphaela almost closed the door. Seraph’s fussiness combined with Urial’s simplicity was a dreadful pairing.

Fortunately, Jeremy the knight was also in the infirmary. He had come to check on Seraph, who hadn’t returned for a while after briefly treating someone during sparring. When he made eye contact with Raphaela, he gestured frantically for help.

“Lady Raphaela! Commander!”

“Commander, what about Lady Rohanson?”

“She’s gone back.”

“Ah…”

Raphaela, seeing how distressed Urial was, momentarily wondered if “gone back” meant to heaven.

“And Michel?”

“He’s still sleeping… oh, he’s awake?”

Seraph awkwardly exchanged glances with Michel. Raphaela touched her forehead.

“Ah… sorry. You two were having such an engaging conversation, it was hard for me to join in.”

Michel scratched his cheek and sat up. Luckily, he seemed unharmed.

“Michel, are you okay?”

“Yes. Sorry for causing worry.”

“Do you remember what happened?”

“Yes. I remember some things, and from Urial’s explanation, I understand the situation roughly.”

Seeing Michel unhurt and seemingly fine brought great relief to Gabriel and Raphaela. It was thanks to Evangeline’s poured holy water. Mentally too, he seemed back to normal. Still, better to ask just in case.

“Michel, are you alright now? Not physically, but mentally?”

“Yes?”

“Do you still think the figure in the painting was an angel?”

“Ah… sorry. I don’t know why I thought that at the time. Looking back, it was a very ominous and strange painting.”

“So you’ve come back to your senses.”

Relieved, Raphaela sat on the bed opposite Michel. That guy… really knows how to worry people.

“Michel, you really should be grateful to us. We locked you in the room to get you to come to your senses, and what do you do? You escape and hold onto something burning without fear? If it weren’t for Lady Rohanson, you could have been seriously hurt.”

Raphaela scolded Michel as if releasing pent-up frustration. Michel sheepishly listened, but his eyes brightened when Evangeline’s story came up.