“Karan, we finally got a reply!”
It was rare for Elise to raise her voice so early in the morning, especially while rushing to Karan’s office.
Karan, exhausted from meetings that had started at dawn, brightened up at Elise’s appearance.
“Elise, is it good news?”
Karan inwardly sighed as he saw the fluttering letter in Elise’s hand.
“It is, Your Majesty.”
Elise quickly changed her form of address upon seeing Haltbin.
“Don’t mind me. Think of me as if I’m not here. No, that’s not right. Since you can’t say something that exists doesn’t exist, think of me as a cabinet or something.”
Haltbin was in a prickly mood. Seeing Karan’s confused look, he bowed.
“We’re about to lose an entire important project. Because of an aide that Haltbin personally selected and trained.”
Elise laughed awkwardly.
If a subordinate made a mistake, one could simply make them take responsibility, but Karan and Haltbin were a bit unique.
They considered their subordinates’ mistakes as their own. Naturally, they handled most of the damage control themselves.
They must be furious with self-reproach and thoughts of how to recover and proceed with the project.
“Shall we talk outside, Your Majesty? If you have time.”
“I always have time for you.”
Karan, wanting to give Haltbin some time to think alone, took Elise’s hand and went out to the garden.
“We got a reply from Pawnshop K’s owner.”
Elise said as they strolled through the garden. Karan watched her butterfly-like, fluttering steps from a step behind.
“Hmm, I see.”
She, who had been walking excitedly, suddenly stopped and turned around.
“Why are you reacting like that, Karan?”
Karan’s eyes widened.
“My reaction? Was it strange?”
“This is a meeting I’ve been really looking forward to. It’s happening, but you’re not happy?”
The old Karan would have said he’d search the entire continent to bring Pawnshop K’s owner if Elise wanted to meet them.
She didn’t want that, but she expected him to at least share her joy.
“I’m happy. Very happy.”
It was a very businesslike tone.
Elise was disappointed by Karan’s lukewarm reaction.
“I told you not to be jealous. You’re the only one for me.”
Elise closed the distance and put her arms around Karan’s waist.
“Yes, I’m not jealous.”
It’s me anyway, he thought.
He was happy that Elise was pursuing him, but on the other hand, he felt anxious and afraid.
What if she felt betrayed? What if she thought he had deliberately deceived her?
He should have told her everything long ago when Elise first came to Pawnshop K.
Back then, he was so desperate for even a grain of interest and sympathy from Elise that he couldn’t reveal it…
‘I didn’t know Elise would search so persistently. Should I just blow it all up?’
But that seemed too wasteful. Not because of what Karan had achieved so far, but because he wouldn’t be able to help Elise do what she wanted to her heart’s content.
Although Pawnshop K was nurtured under Karan’s wings, now it existed solely for Elise’s wings.
To actively support whatever Elise wanted to do.
He knew he had to reveal that he was Pawnshop K’s owner, but he feared the consequences.
‘We’ve set a date and time, but… what should I do.’
He gave up on the idea of sending a stand-in. No matter who showed up, they couldn’t escape Elise’s sharp eyes.
Moreover, Elise had recently been working on creating a machine to distinguish truth from lies based on the magic circles from “‘Dictionary of Magic Circles That Are Terrifying When You Know It”.
‘I shouldn’t have helped her find that book.’
It truly was a terrifying world of magic circles.
“…By the way, Karan. I’m planning to clear my schedule and go out that day. You don’t have any particular plans, right? Even if you do, I’m not worried since you’ll be here.”
“No, I don’t have any plans.”
In reality, both the Queen and King would be absent from the palace simultaneously, but the capable court officials of Tetris would manage well.
****
On the day of meeting Pawnshop K’s owner.
Elise was moving very busily. So was Karan.
After checking documents from dawn and thoroughly confirming the contact network for any contingencies, they each finished preparing for their outings.
“Have a good trip, Elise.”
Karan saw Elise off. Elise smiled brightly as she boarded the carriage.
As the carriage carrying her departed, Karan hurriedly ordered Haltbin.
“A horse!”
Haltbin, who had contacted the stables, sighed deeply.
“Why did you hide it in the first place? And why do you need to meet outside when you could just tell her?”
It’s easy for him to say when he’s not the one involved. Karan clicked his tongue.
“If anything happens, handle it at your level.”
“You should say you’ll contact me immediately!”
“I didn’t train you to be an incompetent person who can’t handle that much.”
“I’d rather be incompetent than bear such a heavy responsibility.”
Ignoring Haltbin’s grumbling, Karan mounted the horse in one swift motion. And without time for goodbyes, he spurred the horse on.
He pushed harder to make up for the delayed departure.
For the first meeting as Pawnshop K’s owner, he should arrive first and wait, shouldn’t he?
The horse’s speed gradually increased.
****
Karan entered the office of Pawnshop K’s owner, breathing heavily.
“Oh, Boss! Welcome!”
Dimitris and Schule, who were extremely nervous, rushed out to greet Karan.
Seeing the rags and feather dusters in their hands, Karan sighed.
“I told you to clean in advance.”
“We’re just doing it one more time.”
Dimitris gestured towards the room as if to show off their efforts.
The once messily sprawled documents were now neatly organized and filed on the wall, and the dust that had been rolling around on the floor like balls had vanished.
The old sofa had been replaced with a top-quality one that enveloped you when you sat down, and even the window frames and drawer gaps were polished so smooth that a fly would slip if it tried to land.
While not quite a complete transformation, the office was now unrecognizably clean compared to its previous state.
“Good job.”
Dimitris and Schule looked at each other and breathed sighs of relief.
“When will Her Majesty the Queen arrive?”
“She’ll be here soon.”
Though his words were calm, Karan was very tense. It was evident from the way he paced anxiously around the small office instead of sitting down.
“Her Majesty’s heart is as vast as the ocean, so you shouldn’t worry too much…”
“I know.”
Karan cut off Dimitris’s consolation abruptly.
He disliked Dimitris pretending to know Elise.
What did he really know about her?
And if Elise got angry or disappointed in him, did that mean her heart was narrow?
Absolutely not.
Her heart was as vast as the open sea. If she couldn’t forgive him and got angry, it would mean that what he had done was a grave mistake.
Karan clenched and unclenched his sweaty hands.
Just then, the bell announcing a visitor’s arrival rang.
Karan, Dimitris, and Schule all turned to look at the door.
“Go out quickly.”
Karan waved his hand. He couldn’t keep Elise waiting.
Dimitris tapped Schule’s shoulder.
“What are you doing? Go greet her.”
Schule moved to welcome Elise with a dejected expression.
****
On her way to Pawnshop K, Elise had run through the scenario of meeting the owner several times in her mind.
She would greet him, tell him she had quite a hard time finding him.
Then they would get into the business talk proper.
She was going over and over her persuasive arguments in case he showed a negative attitude towards the business when the carriage stopped.
“We’ve arrived, Your Majesty.”
Regina got out first and set up the step. Elise stepped down and looked at the shabby sign of Pawnshop K.
“We should get them a new sign.”
“You mean you, Your Majesty?”
Regina asked while ringing the doorbell.
“As a gift. We’re going to be business partners, aren’t we?”
Elise was still excited at that point.
“You should talk to him first. Do you like the owner of Pawnshop K so much that you’re determined to make a contract no matter what?”
“Yes. I have a feeling he’s a good person.”
Elise wasn’t the type to make definitive statements about things she wasn’t sure about. So Regina usually believed Elise’s words without question, but this time it was hard to trust.
There was no basis for it. She hadn’t even seen his face yet.
So Regina thought to herself, ‘I just hope he’s not a bad person.’
However, the moment she saw Pawnshop K, Regina realized.
Perhaps Elise had magical eyes that could see even the invisible.
‘Or maybe there’s a magic circle that grants insight?’
It seems like there might be.
Regina shuddered as she recalled “‘Dictionary of Magic Circles That Are Terrifying When You Know It.”
****
Contrary to Regina’s far-fetched imagination, Elise didn’t have the ability to see through Karan’s deliberate deception, and consequently, when Elise found out that Karan was the owner of Pawnshop K, she froze.
“…You… you say?”
Her voice, renowned for its beauty, was hoarse from the shock.
“Yes, that’s right.”
The first thing a guilty person should do is to cleanly admit their guilt.
Karan nodded silently.
“Since when?”
Elise couldn’t bring herself to think that Karan had deceived her from the beginning. So she thought Karan must have acquired Pawnshop K.
“Um… what do you mean, Elise?”
Karan asked, his hands awkwardly outstretched as if afraid Elise might collapse.
“When did you buy Pawnshop K, Karan?”
Karan immediately understood Elise’s misunderstanding. He inwardly swallowed a troubled groan.
“Karan.”
Elise called his name lowly, urging an answer. He smiled as if wincing and said,
“I founded it.”
Elise’s red lips parted like a ripe pomegranate bursting open. Then, finally, her straight posture began to tilt.
“Elise!”
