“Were you with a man last night?”
“…”
Well. How should she answer this?
“It’s true that there was…”
“I’m right…?”
“But it wasn’t what you’re thinking.”
“What do you mean?”
Pristin told Christine, who looked like she didn’t understand, what she had gone through last night. Christine’s face after hearing the story was stained with astonishment.
“Oh my goodness. Sister, you could have been in big trouble.”
“I won’t be going to any more parties in the future.”
“I should be careful too. Wow, Sister must have been so shocked.”
“I’m just glad I met a good person and came back safely, that’s all.”
“Yeah, he seems like a really nice guy. But, he said he’s a servant at the palace?”
“That’s right.”
“Is he good-looking?”
“What?”
“I heard you saw his face. Is he good-looking?”
“Why do you ask that?”
“It’s just like fate. You met twice yesterday, and he saved you both times.”
“It’s just a coincidence, a coincidence.”
“They say if coincidence happens three times, it’s fate.”
“We only met twice though.”
“Don’t argue with little things. Did you give him a reward?”
“No… I said I would do it, but he strongly refused.”
“Oh, Sister. That’s not polite, though.”
Christine shook her head and asked.
“Shouldn’t you buy him an expensive cake or something? He’s a servant at the palace, and he might have been embarrassed because of what happened yesterday. Even if he says he’s fine, maybe he said that on purpose to put your mind at ease.”
“I don’t even know his name.”
“He said he’s a servant at a palace. You should remember where you were yesterday.”
“Oh, no. There’s no need to go that far. It’s better for both of us to just forget about it.”
She didn’t have the courage to face him again. It would be too awkward.
“But if you two are destined to meet, you’ll meet again without even trying.”
At that time, she just let that comment slide by.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
The family never once asked Pristin about what happened on the night of the masquerade. Pristin wanted to ask what Christine said, but she kept her mouth shut for fear of ruining things because she couldn’t control her curiosity.
Since then, time had passed fast, and before she knew it, the night of the masquerade felt like a midsummer night’s dream to Pristin.
And by that time, Christine no longer mentioned anything about that night, either.
“I’m going to the bookstore tomorrow. Do you want to come with me?”
“The bookstore?”
“Yeah. I want to buy some books. Are you interested?”
“Oh, no. I’m fine. I can’t really read Perkian anyway.”
Since their mother was from Perk, there was no awkwardness between the two speaking in Perkian. However, while Pristin had perfect reading and writing abilities, Christine struggled a bit.
“After coming all this way, do we really have to read books?”
“There are so many books here that we can’t find in Limburg.”
Eventually, the next day, Pristin took only one maid to town. Due to the difficult nature of learning the Perkian language, it was difficult to find books in Perkian in Limburg.
So it was only when Pristin visited her mother’s homeland that she could read a book in Perkian.
‘I’ll have to spend a few more months here anyway, so I’ll have to buy a lot since I’m here today.’
Pristin put many interesting books in the basket. The basket became very heavy in less than half an hour, and the maid who was holding it eventually complained of distress.
“I’m sorry, my lady, but…”
“Yes?”
“Can’t you come again next time…?”
Only then did Pristin realize that she had put too much in.
“Oh no. I’m sorry. Let’s leave.”
Pristin was embarrassed and went to the cashier with her maid. And as they were about to pay…
“Uh…?”
“What’s wrong?”
“M, money.”
The maid looked at Pristin with a white face and asked.
“The pocket of money is gone. What should I do?”
“What?”
“Wait here for a moment, my lady. I’ll go back to the way we came.”
“No, it’s okay…”
But even before Pristin stopped her, the maid was already leaving the bookstore with a look of complete bewilderment.
Pristin told the bookstore owner to send the books to the Countess of Gremlyn, and then quickly chased the maid. However, she couldn’t see her anywhere, as if she had already gone far.
With so many people around, it was even more difficult to find the maid.
‘She said she’d retrace her steps…’
Pristin began to walk the same way she had come to find the maid. After walking for a while, she heard screams from behind.
“Move, move!”
“Aaaah!”
As Pristin turned around with a surprised face, a horse that no one rode was running along the side of the road at a high speed. Everyone around her was busy getting out of the way.
Pristin also quickly followed the people to one side of the road.
“Oh…!”
Then, someone pushed Pristin with great force, and she fell naturally. Frustrated by the unexpected situation, Pristin touched the floor with her hand to get up quickly.
“Ah!”
However, maybe she twisted her leg while falling, Pristin screamed in pain and sat back down. Meanwhile, the horse continued to run toward where Pristin was. The people around just looked on with pitying expressions but did not dare to recklessly intervene.
In the end, it was a moment when the horse was about to hit Pristin.
“Ah…!”
Someone grabbed her with a strong force and turned their bodies toward the outside of the road. The horse ran past the man who narrowly picked up Pristin.
After the horse passed, people started walking in their original direction as if nothing had happened. However, Pristin remained in the same state, still being held by the man, and stared at him with a dazed expression.
She was constantly reminded of what Christine had said to her the other day.
“They say if coincidence happens three times, it’s fate.”
“Are you okay?”
The voice that brought Pristin back to reality was the man’s. Pristin blinked and then opened her mouth to speak.
“…Thank you.”
“That was a close call.”
The man was the palace servant who had saved her twice before. Pristin’s heart raced, whether it was from the surprise or something else. Trying to hide her trembling, Pristin spoke to the man, struggling to keep her voice steady.
“You can let go now.”
The man carefully dropped Pristin at the words. But as soon as she set foot on the floor, Pristin felt a strong pain in one ankle and stumbled.
“Ah…!”
“Be careful.”
The man once again caught her. Pristin looked up at the man with a bewildered face.
“Are you hurt? You don’t seem like you can walk alone.”
“I think I twisted my ankle… Ah!”
Startled, Pristin reflexively grabbed onto the man’s shoulder. Upon hearing Pristin’s response, the man immediately held her once again.
“Seems like standing will be difficult for you.”
“No, it’s not that bad…”
“Let’s just go toward the less crowded area for now.”
Eventually, Pristin found herself being embraced by the man as they made their way to a nearby park. Feeling the occasional glances from the people around them, Pristin felt embarrassed and wanted to hide in a hole. But since she couldn’t ask to be let down, Pristin simply closed her eyes.
“We’re here, so you can open your eyes now.”
“…”
Only after she heard the words did Pristin open her eyes. The man who put her down on the bench asked her.
“Are you hurt anywhere besides your ankle?”
“No.”
“Wait here for a moment.”
With just that statement, the man quickly disappeared. Pristin stared in surprise at the man’s back as he walked away, leaving her alone. Since she was told to wait here, Pristin gave up on trying to stand up and obediently sat down.
The park in the middle of the day was surprisingly empty, creating a peaceful atmosphere that Pristin quite appreciated. With a vacant expression, she looked up at the sky.
“…We met again.”
Christine’s words about fate repeating three times continued to circle inside Pristin’s mind. Moreover, all three encounters were in the form of the man saving Pristin. It was a curious coincidence.
‘Even today, he’s a lifesaver.’
If it wasn’t for the man, she would have been seriously injured. Pristin, who realized how dangerous the previous incident was, breathed a huge sigh of relief.
“I really must express my gratitude this time.”
“What will you do to show your gratitude?”
“Eek!”
Startled by the sudden interruption, Pristin’s body leaned backward. The man quickly supported her, saying.
“Be careful. You’re pretty clumsy.”
“Ah… I’m sorry.”
Pristin slowly corrected herself, trying to calm her fluttering heart.
“But where did you go…”
“Ah.”
The man showed her what he had brought. It was bandages and ointment.
“Since you hurt your ankle. I bought some medicine.”
“Oh, you didn’t have to… but thank you.”
“I’m not sure if I got the right ointment. I just bought what was recommended.”
“It should be right. It contains arnica and Dracaena cantleyi.”
The man stared at Pristin and asked.
“Are you familiar with herbal remedies?”
“No.”
“You seem to know quite a bit.”
“Just… interested, I guess.”
“Well, luckily I got the right one.”
The man knelt on one knee right in front of Pristin. Pristin looked down at the man with curious eyes.
“Can you lift your dress a bit?”
“Why suddenly…”
“We need to treat it.”
“Oh.”
It was quite awkward for a noblewoman to expose her ankle to a man she had just met—or rather, the third time she had met him. But if she refused, it might seem very rude. So, Pristin reluctantly lifted the hem of her dress.
The man carefully removed Pristin’s foot from her shoe.
“Your shoes are high heels. I should have bought a pair of flats. It’s going to be difficult to walk with your sprained ankle.”
“…It’s fine.”
“Is your house far from here?”
“I can take the carriage.”
“Where do you live?”
“At the Gremlyn Manor…”
“Oh, you must be working as a maid there?”
In fact, she was not a maid, but a niece of the Count of Gremlyn, but Pristin somehow was reluctant to tell the truth.
‘Won’t knowing that I’m of noble birth create unnecessary distance?’
Pristin ended up lying.
“I’ll call the carriage for you, so you can ride.”
“Thank you.”
Pristin said politely.
“It was nothing. I just happened to see you in need.”
The man replied nonchalantly.
“I didn’t expect to meet again like this.”
“…”
“It’s a coincidence that we’ve met like this, so let’s exchange names. What’s your name?”
“Oh, it’s Pristin.”
“Pristin.”
“And you are…”
“…”
The man paused for a moment, deep in thought before he replied.
“I’m Jerald.”
“Jerald. It’s a nice name.”
“It’s a common name in Perk.”
Then Jerald slowly got up from his seat.
“It’s done. Don’t force yourself to walk.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll call the carriage, just wait here for a moment.”
Jerald disappeared again, leaving only those words behind. Pristin sat still on the bench, waiting for Jerald to come again. And in a little while.
“Let’s go catch the carriage.”
Jerald appeared. He arrived faster than Pristin had anticipated, causing her to be slightly surprised.
“You came quickly.”
“Luckily, I caught one.”
After saying that, Jerald took a stance as if to hold Pristin again. Startled, Pristin quickly resisted.
“I can walk by myself…”
“I hope my medicine didn’t go to waste, Pristin.”
“…”
Indirectly stating that it would be unwise to push herself, Pristin obediently closed her mouth and allowed Jerald to assist her. As they made their way to the carriage, Pristin had to endure the same looks as before, but she didn’t feel as uncomfortable as earlier.
Jerald helped Pristin into the carriage and finally, it was time for the two of them to part ways.
“Take care on your way back.”
“Wait.”
Pristin instinctively reached out and grabbed Jerald’s arm. He stared at Pristin in response.
“I want to show my gratitude.”
“It’s all right.”
“No, I want to. It feels like the right thing to do.”
“…”
“So… Let’s meet again, us.”
Summoning her courage, Pristin looked at Jerald with a trembling expression. He had a thoughtful expression on his face. Pristin anxiously waited for his answer, afraid of being rejected.
“Yes, let’s meet again, us.”
“Ah…”
“But, only let me know when your foot heals.”
Saying that, Jerald gave a charming smile, and Pristin involuntarily became mesmerized by his appearance.
“Take care.”
With those words, Jerald closed the carriage door, without giving any opportunity for it to open again. The carriage started moving away. Stunned, Pristin muttered to herself in a dazed expression.
“What am I doing now…”
