Episode 21
“Ugh—”
The thug trying to grab Calyphe’s neck suddenly had his mouth covered by a hand.
He was immediately struck on the neck and knocked unconscious.
That made three thugs dealt with so far.
Lainen tossed the thug beside a trash bin and searched for Calyphe again.
She was already staggering far ahead.
Despite her drunken swagger, her steps were oddly swift.
Every time she wobbled toward a passerby, they dodged her like clockwork.
‘I thought she was pretending to be drunk.’
But it seemed she wasn’t acting.
Was that why she lingered instead of fleeing?
However, after watching longer, Calyphe appeared to have a clear destination.
‘Is that a bakery?’
Was buying bread while drunk one of her quirks?
“This one, please.”
“Sir, that’s the signboard.”
“Oh, my mistake. Okay, then that one.”
“Th-that’s mine! I bought it first!”
Lainen fought the urge to adjust Calyphe’s aim as she pointed at random cakes.
Instead, he discreetly neutralized anyone approaching her.
Thanks to him, Calyphe managed to buy the cake.
“Phew.”
As Lainen sighed in secret relief—
Calyphe turned and collided with someone entering the shop, stumbling backward.
“……!”
Just as she teetered, Lainen caught her.
His knightly reflexes had taken over.
He tried to release her as if by accident, but Calyphe had already seized his collar.
“Gah! You scared me… huh?”
“……What? What’s this?”
Though he knew she wouldn’t recognize him, Lainen tensed.
Strangely, Calyphe seemed thrilled, as if meeting an old friend.
“You… silver-haired man!”
“Silver-haired man…?”
“Wow, you’re even better in person… but why do you look like that?”
“…….”
At that moment—
“She couldn’t have gone far.”
“Search this area first!”
The voices of Calyphe’s pursuers pierced Lainen’s sharp hearing.
Sensing their approaching gazes, he shoved Calyphe against the wall.
“Eek! Wh-what are you—”
“Shh.”
His warm thumb pressed her parted lips.
His broad chest—too sculpted to hide beneath clothes—closed in.
Trapped between the wall and Lainen, Calyphe was nearly swallowed by his frame.
“……Hah.”
His breath tickled her bangs.
As Calyphe’s lips twitched unconsciously, the man’s fingers trembled faintly against hers.
She stared up at his cool gray eyes—stoic and unreadable—and thought blankly:
‘His face…….’
Up close… he’s strikingly handsome.
Yet when seen again, oddly plain and blurred.
The eerie silence shattered with the pursuers’ rough voices.
“Is she here?”
“No, not in this area.”
“Probably fled elsewhere.”
Just as they seemed to leave, another group arrived.
“We’ve checked everywhere else! She’s here!”
“Find her now!”
Pursuers now swarmed from all alleys, scrutinizing every passerby.
As Lainen withdrew his thumb, Calyphe whispered:
“Hey… we’ll get caught like this.”
“Likely.”
“We need to hide elsewh—ah!”
Lainen yanked her wrist into a nearby alley.
The pursuers spotted them instantly.
“There!”
“After them!”
Thugs barreled through pedestrians.
Calyphe cursed their recklessness while glancing back—
Lainen halted abruptly, and her face smacked into his back.
“Ow! Your back’s like stone!”
“Dead end.”
“…Didn’t you know before dragging us here?”
“No.”
“Why so confident?!”
As Calyphe fumed—
“Pardon me.”
“Ah!”
Her world flipped upside down as Lainen hauled her over his shoulder like a sack.
His arm locked around her waist—
“……!”
With astonishing agility, he stepped on small objects protruding from the wall and leaped onto the roof in one swift motion.
Feeling nauseous, Calyphe covered her mouth and groaned.
“Ugh…”
The man who heard the sound flinched. But it was too early to lower his guard, so he didn’t set Calyphe down.
The presence of pursuers echoed from below.
“Where did they go?”
“Didn’t they come this way?”
“They can’t have gone far. Find them quickly!”
The sound of scattered footsteps rushed in all directions.
It seemed they hadn’t considered the possibility of someone suddenly appearing on the roof.
After their presence faded, Calyphe, still perched on the man’s shoulder, spoke up.
“Hey, Silver-Hair. I don’t know how you suddenly appeared… but thanks for the help.”
Calyphe wobbled as she slid off Rainen’s shoulder.
Miraculously, she still clutched a perfectly intact cake box in her arms.
“Let’s go to my place as thanks. I’ll treat you to some delicious cake.”
“Finally sobered up, have you?”
“Yeah. My mind’s clear now.”
She then strode confidently toward the roof’s edge.
Rainen hastily grabbed Calyphe’s shoulder as she boldly tried to step into empty air.
“Still not fully sober, I see.”
Calyphe twisted her shoulder to shake off his grip.
“Let go. I need to hurry.”
“Not yet. The merchant’s gang is still looking for you.”
“Oh? That a big deal?”
“Yes.”
“Oh? Then let’s go to my place.”
“So for now… Ugh.”
Rainen pinched the bridge of his nose.
Through his fingers, he glared at Calyphe, who looked perfectly composed yet reeked of alcohol.
“I’d love to just leave you here.”
But knowing she’d inevitably tumble off the roof, he reluctantly grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.
“Come here.”
“Don’t wanna.”
Despite her protest, Calyphe obediently followed.
She doesn’t listen yet listens well? Rainen thought, contradicting himself as he seated her on a flat section of the roof.
“I need to go,” she insisted.
“I won’t stop you. Just stay here a little longer.”
“It’s cold.”
“Deal with it.”
“Then give me your cloak.”
“……”
I’m suffering by my own choice—all because of Calyphe Offensa!
Rainen clenched his jaw before sighing in resignation. He quietly removed his outer coat and handed it over.
“You’re really giving it? You’re kinda nice.”
“You’re the one who asked.”
“You’re the first person who doesn’t get annoyed by me.”
“I am annoyed.”
“Oh, how honest.”
Calyphe casually draped Rainen’s cloak over her own coat.
Her usually fierce face, which seemed hostile to anything in sight, now softened into a smile.
Is this her face when relaxed?
As Rainen absently pondered, Calyphe unexpectedly sniffed the cloak’s fabric.
“Wh-what are you doing? Stop that.”
“Smells nice. Do you wear perfume?”
“Enough…!”
Unable to snatch back the cloak, Rainen tightly secured its front to restrict her movement.
Amused, Calyphe giggled before smiling warmly.
“Thanks.”
“……”
Frowning in silence, Rainen changed the subject.
“…Put the cake box down too. You’ll crush it.”
“Ah, right.”
Calyphe set down the cake she’d been clutching.
After the earlier chaos, both the box and one corner of the cake were smashed.
“Oops… Sorry about this.”
Sorry?
What’s there to apologize to a cake for?
While Rainen stared in bewilderment, Calyphe stuck a long candle into the cake’s center.
“Need to light it. Got a lighter?”
“A lighter…? You mean a magic tool? No.”
“Oh well. Let’s pretend it’s lit.”
Calyphe straightened her posture and clasped her hands as if praying.
Her closed eyes and solemn expression suggested genuine devotion.
“……”
Her prayer lasted unusually long.
Only after Calyphe opened her eyes did Rainen ask:
“Is today your birthday?”
“Yes.”
“Satisfied with just a cake? No banquet?”
If this were the Calyphe Offensa he knew—
“As the sole heir to the Offensa family, your birthday should be the grandest!”—she’d certainly say something like that.
Yet he realized he’d never heard news of her hosting birthday celebrations.
Had I simply never paid attention?
Does she keep birthdays modest?
As Rainen wondered, Calyphe answered:
“A banquet? Absolutely not.”
“Why?”
“Well…”
Calyphe awkwardly mumbled.
“My birthday is the anniversary of Fosche Offensa’s death. My mother… you see.”
