In that instant, my whole body froze.
I clearly saw the Imperial Guard disappear with my own two eyes.
My heart froze, then pounded violently.
My gaze was unsteady, and my eyelids twitched uncontrollably.
‘Surely, it can’t be?’
There’s no way the game ends here, so anticlimactically.
I am, after all, the protagonist of this game.
There’s gotta be a protagonist buff somewhere, right?
I was filled with resentment, but I tried to calm myself down.
‘As long as I’m not exposed as a witch.’
I took a deep breath and turned toward the sound.
‘……?’
At the same time, my eyes widened.
A boy was standing before me.
His wine-colored hair was very striking.
Moreover, his fair skin, as if he’d never seen the sun, was reminiscent of a moon rabbit.
Therefore, I could easily identify him.
‘There’s no way I could forget you, the one who lived buried in the Countess’s skirts.’
He was the one and only young master of the Cherry County, Ballin de Cherry.
He was even one of the male lead candidates.
‘But, why are you here?’
I looked up at him with questioning eyes.
“You dropped your handkerchief.”
What? A handkerchief?
No sooner had he spoken than he held out a white handkerchief in front of me.
Good heavens. It was really mine.
I was relieved that he wasn’t part of the Imperial Guard, but another challenge arose.
An unwanted event had occurred.
This was the beginning of a route connected to Cherry Boy.
‘Crap!’
I’m working so hard to win over my sister for the hidden ending.
Why did he suddenly appear and ruin everything!
Moreover, this event was optional.
It wasn’t supposed to unfold so suddenly.
The original progression was like this:
A window would pop up asking if I wanted to deliberately drop my handkerchief to win over Ballin de Cherry, and if I accepted, he would naturally pick up the handkerchief and start flirting with me.
But!
Why, oh why, and how?
Why did the event trigger automatically without even asking for my consent!
I didn’t even know I had dropped my handkerchief until Cherry Boy appeared.
Anyway, it wasn’t part of the plan, so it was best not to get involved in the first place.
“That handkerchief isn’t mine.”
I cut him off mercilessly.
What’s with all the spectacle today?
And why is the road home so treacherous?
‘Honestly, isn’t this some kind of hidden camera prank?’
Otherwise, how could so many things happen in 24 hours?
Anyway, I really wanted to go home now.
As I was about to turn away, he said,
“Ah! Now that I see it, it has the Cleo barony’s insignia embroidered on it.”
At those words, my feet stopped as if they had taken root in the ground.
Why did there have to be undeniable proof?
“Excuse me, Lady. I should deliver this to the Cleo barony.”
I hurriedly grabbed him as he was about to leave after giving a polite greeting.
“Wait a minute!”
Meeting Cherry Boy had to be the first and last time.
It would be best to get rid of any elements that would interfere with the ending early on.
“Yes?”
I smiled awkwardly and quickly changed my attitude.
“There was an insignia. Haha! I must have been mistaken. Could you give me the handkerchief?”
“Then, are you the Cleo heiress?”
Cherry Boy asked with a bright expression.
He seemed satisfied that he had found the owner of the handkerchief.
On the other hand, my mind was busier than ever.
I was struggling to figure out how to get through this situation.
‘Okay, it’s better this way than getting unintentionally involved.’
Having finally made a decision, I calmly continued.
“No. I work for the Cleo barony. It seems that it belongs to our young lady.”
My lips twitched slightly as I tried to lie.
Since I wasn’t used to it, my lips were already parched.
Sigh!
But I thought it couldn’t be helped.
If I blindly accepted every event, I might end up with an unwanted ending.
At the mention of being a member of the Cleo barony, Cherry Boy’s gaze became busy.
He seemed to be carefully examining my appearance.
‘If so, he should just accept it and move on. Why is he looking so closely?’
I lowered my head as much as possible to avoid showing my face.
There would be no chance of running into him after this, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
It was a stroke of luck that I had come out in a simple outfit to go to the library.
If I had dressed up as usual, he wouldn’t have easily believed that I was a maid.
‘Besides, I’m a mess from sweating.’
Maybe the whole world is helping me once again.
I gave a satisfied smile and politely reached out to receive the handkerchief.
“Thank you, Cher… I mean, young master.”
I almost blurted out Cherry Boy’s name.
He didn’t know it, but I had a lot of inner familiarity with him.
‘He was once my…’
Ex-boyfriend.
Thinking about it like that made me feel embarrassed.
It wasn’t like we actually met, but I was trying to call him my ex-boyfriend just because of a relationship in the game.
“I will be sure to deliver the handkerchief to the young lady.”
I thought it would end well after receiving the handkerchief, but…
“I would like to hear the words of thanks directly from the young lady of that house. Could you please convey that to her?”
Cherry Boy was more formidable than I thought.
What’s with all the gratitude!
‘Does it really have to be that way!!’
I barely managed to control my expression and asked cautiously.
“Directly to our young lady?”
“Yes, my mother said that the beginning of a relationship starts with something small. Although it is just a small handkerchief, wouldn’t this also be the beginning of a relationship?”
Oh, Mother.
Why did you have to teach him this?
You have a different image of the daughter-in-law you want anyway.
What was special about Cherry Boy was that he often followed his mother’s words.
No, it wasn’t just that he listened well, but he acted as if his mother’s words were law.
But how could I, who was acting as a mere maid, argue with him?
‘Anyway, Mother, Mother, I just want to get rid of that mama’s boy!’
I suppressed the emotions that were rising to my throat and gritted my teeth as I replied.
“Yes, well! I guess so. Then, I will be sure to convey that message to the young lady.”
Cherry Boy pulled up the corners of his mouth as if he was finally satisfied.
‘Tch, what’s so great about a moon rabbit smiling?’
As if I would bat an eye!
My standards have long since broken through the atmosphere and gone out into space after meeting my sister.
Cherry Boy, who had no way of knowing this, was still smiling.
“You’re quite communicative.”
Seriously.
Then what, we’re talking in the same language, how could we not communicate?
That must be another one of the Cherry Countess’s teachings.
Even as my mind was going astray, I tried to smile.
This was all to avoid tarnishing the face of the young lady as a minor maid of the Cleo barony.
“Is that so? Then, who should I say it was from to our young lady?”
I asked out of courtesy, even though I already knew who he was.
It would be difficult to convey the words of thanks without receiving his name directly.
“Ballin de Cherry. Please tell her that.”
“Oh my, you’re the young master of the Cherry family. I will be sure to convey the message.”
Saying “Cherry, Cherry” made me really want to eat cherries.
‘I should go home and ask Anne for some cherries.’
It was when I was having such trivial thoughts.
“I have learned that greetings are best done as soon as possible.”
It sounded like a polite expression at first glance, but there was a barb in those words.
‘So, he’s telling me to hurry up and give my thanks, right?’
And all for picking up a handkerchief, no less.
‘Seriously!’
Anyone would think he picked up gold.
The Countess must be happy to have such a son.
In the past, when I was trying to win over Cherry Boy, I found that kind of behavior quite cute.
But not at all now.
Tch! Do you think I’ll forget that you’re a mama’s boy!
‘Ah!’
Suddenly, a very good idea came to mind.
I know his strengths and weaknesses better than anyone else.
So, I will be the one to win.
“Young master, that must also be one of the Countess’s wonderful teachings, right?”
“Of course.”
“Then, the Countess must have also taught you that waiting for the other person’s response is also a form of etiquette, right?”
“Perhaps she did.”
Cherry Boy’s eyes wavered strangely.
It seems that my fierce attack, disguised as praise, worked!
Why is this so satisfying?
His flustered expression was telling of my victory.
Therefore, I decided to give him my final greeting with a sincere smile this time.
“Please give my regards to the Countess, who has given me such profound teachings. Well, I have to go deliver this quickly, so…”
I held up the picnic basket as evidence in front of him.
“Ah… I see.”
“Then, please return safely, young master.”
I deliberately emphasized the words “young master.”
I wanted to call him a mama’s boy, but I couldn’t.
That’s how the situation ended.
Although the road back home wasn’t easy, my steps were much lighter.
I couldn’t help but hum.
‘I should send the thank-you note quickly!’
I thought I wouldn’t run into him again.
I really believed that without a doubt.
That evening.
I was able to hear the news from the village from Anne.
“Young lady, there was a commotion in the village today.”
“Oh, because of the earthquake?”
“Of course, that was also there, but there was more to it than that.”
“Huh? What happened?”
“Well, the Imperial Guard came to our village.”
“Ah! Why did they come?”
Come to think of it, I saw them with my own eyes, but I didn’t know the exact reason for their visit.
I swallowed hard and listened to what Anne had to say.
“What was it, a witch hunt, or something like that, I heard.”
“Really? Is that true?”
It seemed that the peddlers’ stories weren’t all nonsense.
“Yes, but nothing happened. It seems it was a false report.”
Sigh!
The Imperial Guard moved all the way here because of a false report?
I couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling.
Moreover, the news that Anne delivered didn’t end there.
“Oh, and Lady Lagenne came by earlier.”
“What? My sister?”
“Yes, she said to give you this.”
Anne handed me a small box.