Chapter 121

Chapter 121 City Date

…Should I say that it was inevitable, or indescribable?

After Dean arrived, all work progressed at a breakneck speed .

It felt just like there were two of me .

Work that I’d been keeping piled up was handled, bit by bit .

There were two reasons that I had to work so hard .

One was because I was also dealing with the merchants’ guild’s work at the same time .

The second was because I was busy handling various tasks related to our territory’s politics .

My usual work, plus all this additional work, plus all the other events that had happened, had resulted in such a big buildup of work . Normally it wouldn’t get to this degree .

We’ve been building up the structure and principles of territorial politics . The same went for the guild .

That’s why I had to keep the number of paperwork mounds on my table down to two or three .

That aside, thanks to Dean I was able to handle all that work .

All I could say about his skill was that I admired him .

Most officials would see him and think that the devil himself had come…that was what they would mutter to themselves anyway, as if in a trance . Or “If only I could take a vacation…” they would say this, walking past .

Only the financial department’s members always made up their minds that “this time we have to beat Mr . Dean” .

…Dean, what have you done .

I couldn’t help but ask him . “All these people are talented . I can’t help but be passionate about it . ” He would answer me like this, and flash a bright smile .

The speed at which we worked had increased by quite a bit . As for the officials-although they looked quite exhausted, they did their best to keep up with Dean’s pace . I didn’t have to ask twice for anything .

That was also why all our urgent work had been taken care of . Today was the day we were going for a stroll on the street .

Because Tanya started doing my makeup beginning early in the morning, my face gave off a look that could only be described as “Who is this?”

This was more than just makeup . It was basically facial reconstruction!

Other than that I also put on glasses, and changed my hair color with the products of the Azura merchants’ guild .

Finally, I put on a cotton dress .

Even people who knew me probably wouldn’t realize unless I went out of my way to say hello to them . It was that kind of disguise .

“Well then, Dean . Let’s go . ”

“Yes, milady . ”

“Please be careful along the way . ”

Surprisingly, Tanya was not tagging along this time .

It seemed like she had something to look into .

Ryle and Dida were the same . Both of them had left the capital by now .

Dida had gone to the East, while Ryle went to the North .

I was originally going to take several guards with me, but strangely enough Tanya was the one who jumped out to oppose me .

If I had brought guards, no matter what kind of disguise I had put on, there was the possibility that they would realize I was the duke’s daughter .

Minae had said what she had to say, but considering what might happen, it was better that I stay low-key .

Dean smiled .

“Well…that’s why Dida’s ability to sense danger was so acute . I can understand that . He must have started training from a young age . What do you think, milady?”

“I don’t think much of it either . No matter what happened in the past, he never let me see that side of him . Compared to a past that I never got to witness or spend with him, the past that we have shared is more important . Most importantly, he’s an essential part of my family . ”

“Your emotions are anything but simple . ”

“Is that what you think?…We’ve been spending our time on strange things . It’s about time to go . ”

“Yes . ”

Just like that, we started to walk again .

We initially walked to the man who ran the diner .

Although I was very nervous, he didn’t notice me at all .

I shuddered in awe at Tanya’s scary makeup skills . After I told him my name, the man was stunned at first…and then he was happy that I had come to visit .

He was so happy that he raised his voice and announced that all the drinks of the people in the diner were on him . His wife glared at him .

But even she welcomed me with tears .

In the end, she gave us a discount on food .

We spent some lively, happy time there .

It was the same at the flower shop and the fish store .

I waved at all the people who knew Alice .

No one was about to hurt insults at me . Everyone cried as they confessed their apologies .

I couldn’t help but let my tears flow as well .

“Quite loved . ”

Dean commented on the way back .

…I was happy .

I felt that, from the bottom of my heart .

In my past life I had also given up most of my time to work .

But what did I get from that?

As time passed, my relationship with others only weakened .

I had no time to use it, so I saved all my money up .

Somehow, my heart could only beat when I was immersed in the fiction of games .

Lonely yet free .

A world of my own was happy, but also hollow .

Right now I gave up all my time to work as well .

Even so, I…was so happy .

My heart would tremble because of someone’s laughter, someone’s words .

Was it because my point of view had changed? I felt that it wasn’t so .

It was because I had changed .

Well, it’s natural that I would change . I had combined into another self .

But more importantly, I experienced so many different things .

I immersed myself within them without reservation .

If this was the path I had ahead of me…I thank god for a rebirth opportunity like this .

Suddenly, I looked up at Dean .

Dean sensed my gaze and smiled at me .

Without thinking, I smiled back .

Even so, without guards I was honestly a bit unsettled…in the end, the one who was chosen was Dean .

As skilled as Ryle and Dida, and had the benefit of no one on the streets knowing him .

There was no one better to be my guard on this trip .

Tanya didn’t oppose it either .

Not only that, I’ve been hearing words from her that seem to suggest that she’s beginning to approve of him .

Really, what had happened to change Tanya’s mind?

Recently I’d had the feeling that something had changed about her aura . Was this a consequence of that change?

All in all, Dean and I visited the streets together .

As always, they were bustling, vibrant .

The products on the market were laid out side by side, and the many people who sought them walked along the road .

“Ah…”

I hadn’t walked in a crowd for a while so of course I made the elegant move of bumping into someone and almost falling over .

I’m half hikikomori by now…

“Are you okay?”

Dean was the one who grabbed me as I fell .

“Sorry…thanks . ”

Raising my head in embarrassment, I saw that he was even closer to me than I had thought .

It felt like something was itching inside of me, but also like I was embarrassed or shy .

This light, airy feeling brought heat to my face so that I couldn’t help but lower my head .

“There are so many people . ”

“Yes…it’s quite pleasant . ”

He seems to have understood the real meaning behind the quiet words I spoke . Looking up, I saw a gentle smile on his face .

If there were so many people walking about, it meant that this street was quite well-off .

More importantly, the fact that people could be out and about shopping without concern meant that it was a safe district .

In my past life I lived on the peaceful streets of Japan, so this was nothing new to me . But of course I knew all too well that this wasn’t something to be taken for granted .

That was exactly why I felt like a scene like this was a product of my work, and I could begin to be happy .

“…Standing here will block other people out . Let’s go . ”

I had poured too much of myself into admiring this scene .

Thinking a bit harder, Dean was right . We were in the middle of the street .

“Yes, true . ”

As I was about to start walking, Dean extended a hand .

In that moment I stared at him, completely taken aback .

“There are too many people . I don’t want us to lose each other . ”

Dean smiled as he said this .

That was true . I extended my hand in return, but felt a strange nervousness and ended up having to dress up my true expressions .

After we were holding hands, Dean began to walk immediately .

The hand in mine was bigger, a bit coarse…but also very warm .

The temperature seemed to warm even my heart…and I became very, very happy .

If only this moment could last forever .

That was the thought that was born in a corner of my mind .

We walked like that for a while, inspecting the market, the flowers for longer than I expected .

Suddenly an alley came up before us . I stopped in my steps .

“Is there something wrong?”

Hearing the concern in Dean’s voice, I smiled back to show that everything was fine .