(SATVC) Chapter 26

He was dressed as a commoner, using magic to change the color of his hair and eyes. His handsome features remained the same, so anyone who knows his face can easily recognize him.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”

“You don’t have to apologize.”

He said he didn’t care.

He shrugged his shoulders as if he didn’t mind my sarcastic reply, and looked down at Bam, who I was holding.

“What are you holding?”

Bam, who had been struggling until now, became calm when Helios looked at him.

‘Did you know that Helios was coming? Is that why you struggled to go the other way?’

Bam looked at me with sullen eyes and then burrowed his head into my arms. As if he didn’t want to get involved with Helios. 

No. No matter how smart a dog might be, it couldn’t be that bad. 

I brushed off my strange imagination.

“An animal with black fur. It’s the first time I’ve seen it. Is it a puppy?”

Come to think of it, black was the color of the curse! I was so used to it that I forgot. Did the duke feel reluctant, but didn’t express it because of me? They had never told anyone that Bam was black.

‘Maybe he was considerate of me.’

I tried to make an excuse, but I couldn’t come up with anything.

In fact, since Helios sees Sirius most often and stays close to him, there was a possibility that he knew that Bam was related to Sirius. I hesitated for a while, but I pretended not to know for now because I remembered Sirius, who I saw a few days ago, was being reluctant to talk with Helios.

“Yes. It was abandoned near the duchy, so I am raising it. But Prince… what are you doing here?”

I was going to change the subject, but I didn’t know what to call Helios.

“Now I just sound weird!”

 I wanted to hide in a rat hole. 

“Why is my mouth so quick?”

“I don’t think the meaning of my title will change unless the Tae is silenced. Just call me Leo. That’s what I’m called when I’m dressed like this.”

TL/N: I’m assuming Tae is the formal way of saying prince.

Helios said, pointing his finger at his brown hair.

I can’t believe he even made a different name. It wasn’t a skill that came out of disguising once or twice. Meeting Helios here was unexpected, but I didn’t want to get involved with him. I didn’t have time to chat with him when I was in a tight spot.

“I see. I’m busy, so please excuse me.”

“Aren’t you going to ask what I’m doing and listen to my answer?”

“Since you came in disguise, I thought the reason would be something you don’t want to talk about.”

“It’s not like it’s a secret.”

Helios seemed to have no intention of easily letting me go. 

What part piqued his curiosity? 

I took a deep breath and smiled softly.

“It’s okay if you don’t tell me. I’m busy too.”

“What are you busy with?”

However, Helios did not back down. He raised the corners of his lips to the fullest and chuckled at me in an intrigued voice. 

Damn it.

“I have something to buy.”

“I’m curious about that. Can I come with you?”

“I’m going to buy women’s accessories. Is your curiosity solved? Then I’ll get going.”

It was so terrible that the number one person I didn’t want to get involved with would follow me. I refused without giving him time to answer because I thought Helios would really follow me. This time again, he tried to say something, but I was faster. I skipped the formal greetings and just nodded slightly, turned around, and ran away.

‘It’s a relief that there are a lot of people.’

I deliberately went to the crowded side. If I hide in the crowd, Helios will not find me.

‘What kind of trouble is this?’

Looking at the clock tower, an hour had already passed. I haven’t seen one item yet!

Nothing’s working out. I looked around with the sigh that I had swallowed earlier. Nearby, I could hear the sound of the instruments of the wandering troupe mixed with the shouts of spectators. After walking blindly while following the people, I came to the plaza.

‘Oh, there must be accessories there.’

​​If you cross the plaza, most of them sell food. There were only street vendors in the area I was in.

No? No way! Helios must have come because he has work to do, so he can’t be waiting for me.

‘Why was I honest like a fool? My mouth is the problem.’

When I tried to go back right away, I thought Helios would be there, so I didn’t fall off my feet easily. I didn’t have much time, but I didn’t want to bump into Helios anymore, so I went to the corner of the plaza. Because I kept holding Bam, my arm hurt, and my legs hurt from walking non-stop at the duke’s house. I put Bam on the floor and squatted down.

“Bam, no more, right?”

“Mmm. Woof!”

I didn’t ask for an answer, but Bam barked hard at me. Anxiety struck me. When Helios appeared, he barked like this…

“Hic!”

“I found you.”

Before I could finish thinking, someone grabbed my shoulder. I was so startled I made an incoherent sound, and the voice that followed was Helios.

“Did you want to play hide and seek with me?”

“No way!”

The anger welled up faster than my brain had the opportunity to say ‘endure it’. I reacted honestly and within 3 seconds regretted my actions.

I’m screwed. 

The problem wasn’t that I screamed at Helios.

“Pfft, did you hate it that much? I wanted to catch you because you ran away. I apologize if I made you uncomfortable.”

It was Helios apologizing with a face that was not sorry at all. His face that held back laughter was still full of curiosity. Like an elementary school student doing an insect observation for summer vacation homework.

Yes. This was the reason I avoided Helios so much.

He likes funny things. He can’t get past the interesting things. And he likes people who hate him. He’s a pervert.

‘I took the wrong route. I should’ve flattered him.’

He is the son of the Empress, and he grew up receiving overflowing love from the moment he was born due to his status as the Crown Prince. However, as he grew up, he realized that the love he receives from those around him stems from his status and appearance, so he falls into a distrust of humanity.

‘A guy who hates people that show favor to him or flatter him to gain profit, but is curious about people who hate him.’

I knew his personality. But the reason why I didn’t flatter him was because I didn’t expect him to show interest in me. In other words, the curiosity that started with the twins seems to have passed on to me.

‘Of course, I thought I wouldn’t get involved in anything by just saying hello as an extra.’

​​I thought that it would be enough to just be polite and he would pass it by. It was a very ignorant decision.

“Are you ignoring me this time?”

“No way. I didn’t understand why Sir Leo was here, so I was lost in thought for a moment.”

Looking at Helios’ face makes me want to be sarcastic.

I know that the more sarcastic I am, the more he likes it, but there was something about Helios’s smiling face that somehow got on people’s nerves.

“If you add ‘sir’, it’s obvious that I’m not a commoner. Sernia really has no application.”

TL/N: application meaning she isn’t mindful

‘I don’t want to be criticized by you! But, hold it in Sernia.’

The more I react, the more interested Helios will be. I just smiled and held Bam because I was no longer interested in the specifics.

“Do you want to play hide and seek with me again?”

“No. Like I said, I’m a little busy.  Follow me or don’t as you please.”

I decided to go strong. If evading was too much, then running away was a waste of time. I avoided him because I didn’t want to get involved, but the more I did, the more curious he was. 

‘All right. Let’s not care. You’re too old to be playing hide and seek.’

Once he meets Daisy at the academy, his strange curiosity will end. I walked to the street vendors, and Helios followed me.

“Who are you going to give the gift to?”

“Friend.”

The more sarcastic, the more Helios enjoyed it. 

He answered softly.

“Do you have any friends?”

“Yes.”

He’s getting on my nerves again. My eyebrows twitched, but I replied with a forced smile.

“Oh, I apologize if I offended you. The twins who are always by your side are overprotective. So I was just surprised that there was someone who approached you.”

Helios added a long excuse for thinking that his words were conveyed differently from his intentions. I was about to say, your friend, Grandwin, is worse than the twins.

There’s no point in saying it. Only my mouth will hurt.

“It’s okay.”

“Well.”

For the first time, Helios was puzzled by my short answer. Of course, I was going ahead of Helios, so I couldn’t see his expression. 

Well, whatever Helios thinks, it’s none of my business. 

I speeded up without caring about him.

I walked quickly because I was impatient, but I couldn’t go fast because of the people in front and the people coming from the opposite direction.

“Ah!”

A robust man approaching from the opposite direction hit my shoulder. I tried to avoid it, but my body staggered because I was holding Bam. I twisted my leaning body and held Bam tightly so that he wouldn’t get hurt.

I closed my eyes tightly to prepare for the coming shock, but instead of the cold dirt floor, I felt a hand holding my waist firmly.

“Excuse me.”

It was Helios who followed me from behind.

​​He pulled me tightly into his arms so I wouldn’t bump into anyone else as I stood up straight and balanced. He was still a growing boy, but maybe because he was taller than me, my body fell into Helios’ arms.

“Thank you.”

“You don’t seem very grateful.”

There was still a playful look in his brown eyes that looked up at me slightly. His silky hair in the sunlight looked special even though it was an ordinary color. It was a thrilling action that he did as the male protagonist. If it were someone other than me, they would have fallen for Helios.

“If you hadn’t caught me, Bam and I would have been hurt. Thank you so much.”

I politely said thank you. It’s true that I got help. I didn’t really want Helios’ answer, so I took another step to adjust myself. Helios, however, moved around and placed his arms around my shoulders as if he had no intention of releasing them just yet.

As I approached the street vendor, I heard the sound of wind blowing above my head. 

Are you laughing? Wow.

As expected of a male lead in a romance novel. Giggly and laughing. It was cheesy, but Helios’ face offset the cringe.

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