I turned and peeked out, but Rune and Celestia were nowhere to be seen. The bustling festival around us made it even harder to track them. The colorful stalls, the chattering crowd, and the scent of sweet pastries in the air did nothing to ease my rising anxiety.
"Where did they go?" I gasped, scanning the throng of people moving about in the bright afternoon sun.
"We’ll find them. Co," Davian assured , his voice steady as he took my hand and led out of the alleyway.
I attempted to sense Rune’s mana presence, but the festive energy in the air muddled my focus. Davian, however, seed unfazed. He navigated through the crowd with ease, moving precisely and deliberately, as though he knew exactly where to go. I followed his lead, and soon enough, we found ourselves a safe distance from Rune and Celestia once more. A sigh of relief escaped when I spotted them at a nearby snack.
"Good work, Young Master Davian." I patted his arm in appreciation.
"Why are you so invested in their relationship, Master?" Davian asked, his golden eyes flickering with curiosity.
"Hm..." I humd in response before swiftly turning toward a nearby stall, pulling Davian along with as Rune montarily glanced in our direction.
"It’s a politically arranged engagent, so I wanted to see how they were doing," I said, feigning interest in a row of intricately designed trinkets.
Davian humd, seemingly accepting my response, but his eyes stayed on , assessing. Rune and Celestia began walking again, and I gently patted Davian’s hand to signal him to move.
It was already irritating enough that he could sense so accurately even in a crowd of hundreds. The fact that he could also discern when I wasn’t telling the complete truth made feel oddly exposed.
He guided carefully through the throng, ensuring I didn’t bump into anyone. His grip was firm yet light, his touch instinctively protective, and for a mont, I wondered if he had always been this observant or if I had simply never noticed before.
Well, I supposed there was no harm in telling him the truth.
"I’m the one who arranged their engagent without their consent, so I needed to check if things were going well or not," I admitted, exhaling slowly as I observed Rune and Celestia from a distance. Rune had just tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, his touch lingering for a second too long, and Celestia’s cheeks flushed a soft pink.
Way to go, brother!
Davian frowned. "What?"
I nodded, glancing at Rune, who was currently fastening a bracelet onto Celestia’s wrist. "Yes. I gave Augustine the idea about the engagent between Young Duke Rune and Lady Celestia Konstantinos. I thought he wouldn’t agree to it, but he ended up announcing it. So here I am, making sure things don’t go sideways."
The frown remained on Davian’s face. "But why does Young Duke Rune seem so invested in it?"
"Because he’s co to like her," I sighed, watching as Celestia’s cheeks tinged pink at Rune’s careful touch.
Davian humd in thought. "Quite interesting."
"Yes, it might be interesting for you, but Celestia doesn’t want this engagent," I said, finally turning my full attention to him.
His eyes narrowed slightly. "What?"
"Yes."
"And how do you know this?"
I hesitated. I almost blurted out that she prayed to . Instead, I exhaled sharply. "I’d rather not explain all of it, but what I’ve told you is the core of the problem. Since Rune has already developed feelings for Celestia, I need to keep an eye on them to ensure that she can, at the very least, co to like him too."
Davian cocked an eyebrow. "You could just leave it alone. Lady Celestia is already engaged to Young Duke Rune. After marriage, they’d co to like each other eventually."
I sighed. "That’s not how it works, Prince-"
"Davian," he interjected.
I blinked at him. "I know your na."
"Call just Davian. If anyone hears you addressing as ’Prince,’ we might attract unwanted attention," he explained, his tone casual.
"Ah, right. Then, in that sense, just refer to by my na as well," I said.
He stared at for a mont before speaking again. "Ocean."
I nodded, a small smirk playing at my lips. "Yes, Davian."
It was the first ti soone had addressed as Ocean without any title or honorifics, and it felt oddly strange.
We moved through the crowd, shadowing Rune and Celestia. Just as they stopped, we halted as well. To maintain appearances, I busied myself examining the artifacts at a nearby stall, scanning them with the discerning eye of a connoisseur.
Davian picked up a small wooden carving of a girl, his fingers running over the intricate details. I found the carving oddly familiar, but I couldn’t quite place why.
"Ah, that’s the carving of our Saintess Mirielle!" The vendor, a young woman, bead at him.
"Isn’t her na Saintess Miella?" Davian asked, his brow slightly furrowed.
The girl nodded. "Yes, but this Saintess was sent to us by our protector, the Water Dragon. She saved us all from the plague before returning with the Dragon. It was truly a miracle. My brother carved this and all the other figurines here. He even sculpted a statue in the Temple of Saintess Miella."
I stiffened. "Wait, there’s a statue of Saintess Mirielle in the Temple?" The words left my lips before I could stop them.
The vendor smiled brightly. "Yes and even our Saint is in it, though the Pope requested it be placed only in the inner sanctum, so it’s not open to most devotees."
My jaw nearly dropped. I had no inkling of this. My ti here had been brief, solely to purge the Temple and save Kai. I hadn’t realized my presence had left such a lasting impact.
"Here, this is a smaller version of the one in the Temple." She handed Davian a wooden statuette of a praying Mirielle and Kai, a Water Dragon coiled protectively around her. The craftsmanship was breathtaking, the Dragon so finely carved it seed the waves might ripple at any mont.
I instinctively pulled my hood closer as the vendor gave a lingering look, turning slightly away. If she had seen in the past then she would unmistakably recognize as Mirielle and that would be a huge ss.
Besides, I could feel Davian’s eyes on , I didn’t know how much he knew about what happened here in Denril four years ago but the stories were already making it across the globe just like from the ti of Mordino.
"I’ll take this one," Davian said, gesturing toward the figurine.
"Ah! Thank you very much!" The vendor wrapped it carefully before presenting it to him. But when he handed her a gold coin, her eyes widened. "My Lord, this is too much! The statue is only four bronze."
"The craftsmanship is comndable. I’m paying the right price for what I’m buying," Davian responded smoothly.
The girl’s eyes shone with gratitude. "Wait a mont!" She rummaged through a small box and retrieved a silver pendant engraved with the crest of Saintess Mirielle and the Water Dragon. "Take this. It will serve as a protection from the Holy Dragon and our Saintess!"
Davian accepted the pendant with a nod, tucking it into his pocket before we resud our pursuit of Rune and Celestia. Yet, my mind was elsewhere.
"I’ll have to visit the Temple again," I muttered to myself.
Davian, who had been quietly observing , finally spoke. "So this is what you’ve been up to here."
I glanced at him. "Huh?"
"I had my suspicions when word spread that the Temple in Denril underwent a sudden purge, with corrupt officials removed in a single strike. Then I heard a Dragon was sighted." He glanced at knowingly. "I should have realized it was you."
I sighed. "I wasn’t here to gain devotees."
"You don’t need to." His tone was matter-of-fact. "With your presence, people will turn into your worshippers on their own."
I didn’t respond. The weight of silent prayers was already a burden I carried. Adding more voices to it was another matter entirely.
Instead, I turned my attention back to Rune and Celestia. "They’re not even holding hands."
Davian chuckled. "They don’t even know each other’s middle nas yet, Ocean."
I sighed. "That’s true."
"But even we don’t know each other’s middle nas, yet look." I said bringing up our joined hands and he tilted his head.
"Isn’t this for the mission of keeping an eye on Young Duke and his date?" Davian asked and I chuckled.
"You’ve grown smarter, Davian." I complinted and he smiled.
As we watched, Celestia suddenly stopped, her gaze locking onto sothing. Rune followed her line of sight, a smile forming as he spoke to her. She waved her hands in protest, shaking her head, but he only grinned and stepped forward toward the source of her attention.
"What is he up to now?" I mused as we moved closer.
A lively crowd had gathered around an open arena where a sword-fighting competition was taking place.
"Co forth, brave n! Prove your strength and win your beloved this exquisite hairpin, crafted from the finest ivory in the land!" the announcer bellowed.
Rune had stepped into the lineup of competitors, and I sighed. "He’s going to get caught in—" I turned my head but froze. "Wait. Where did—?"
I spotted Davian making his way toward the line of participants.
"Hey! Where are you going?" I called after him.
He turned, smirking. "I’m participating."
I gawked. "You can’t! Rune will recognize you!"
Davian shrugged. "He’s already seen us. Doesn’t matter."
I turned my head and looked at Rune who clearly didn’t seem like he had seen us.
"You—" My frustration peaked as he casually pointed at the prize. "I’ll win that one."
"No, you won’t!" I shot back instantly.
His smirk widened. "You bet."
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