What kind of investor in the world is desperate because they can't give away money? I just laughed, but Ari was serious, so I had no choice but to appease her by saying I would.
‘Maybe I won’t have to ask my parents for investment funds? No, should I just accept a little from Ari? Doing money transactions between friends isn't good…’
It was advice I’d heard from senior merchants in the past. Not that I had friends to have money dealings with back then…
Some of them had lent money out of goodwill like that and ended up losing both friends and family.
Because even the best people couldn't overcome the magic of money.
Anyway, I decided to worry about that later and spend the night in the village. Well, not in the village itself, but rather camping nearby.
The villagers, who had looked troubled at the mention of clearly noble people staying, relaxed when they heard we would be camping outdoors.
A few who had been hired thanks to Ray even brought things like dried fish to get on my good side as their employer.
“Thank you.”
I didn’t even know how to eat it, but it was the thought that counted, so I accepted without refusal.
They must have mustered their courage to bring it; rejecting it would surely dishearten them.
When I handed it over to the cook Ray had brought, a stew made with the fish appeared.
“Oho, this is delicious. Should I say it warms me up inside, or cools me down?”
My brother, having gulped down the stew like water, beamed with a refreshed face. According to the cook, nobles didn't eat it much, but commoners living by the sea often ate this way.
It was different from the large fish eaten as steaks, which were oily and chewy, and I liked the different taste. Even Ari, who had initially recoiled with a prim face asking how one could eat such a thing, seemed to find it agreeable as she calmly drank the stew.
After a simple dinner, we played card games until late at night and decided to go to bed.
I went into the carriage with Ari, planning to fall asleep watching the stars, but I woke up suddenly in the middle of the night.
“Hah!”
As soon as I opened my eyes, a blue window floated before me. The window carrying the words of the gods.
<Best> [Please Help the Evil Beggar ㅠ]
Honestly, anyone who believe the Lovie hidden mastermind theory, hit like
‘…Hidden mastermind?’
What’s a hidden mastermind? I feel like I’ve heard that term before? The feeling I got from the word didn’t seem very positive.
Puzzled, I opened the collapsed section, and text scrolled down.
└ [I’m Getting Off At This Stop]
`I don't think she's the mastermind, isn't she just a kid working hard? Every time I see her she's making money`
└ [Nam Namsoo, Academy Director Nam Namsoo]
`But it's weird how she keeps getting mentioned. She pops up out of nowhere in the plot progression. Like they want us not to forget her.`
└ [I’m Getting Off At This Stop]
`That's true but…`
└[Please Help the Evil Beggar ㅠ]
`Honestly this part was super weird why did the male lead suddenly think of her? Is he cheating?`
‘The male lead?’
Reading the text, I was startled. The male lead knows me? My heart pounded at this sudden revelation.
Moreover.
‘Cheating?’
What kind of shameless act…! That’s something Pedro would do. Even if the male lead did, I was innocent.
└ [VS Death's Inevitable Villain]
`Who's better for the male lead: the female lead vs Lovie`
└[Please Help the Evil Beggar ㅠ]
`You betterㅡㅡ Not make me curseㅡㅡ`
└ [Huffy's House Is the Most Perfect House]
`This person's sticking to their concept here too`
They were even arbitrarily thinking of pairing me with the male lead…!
Heat flared up in me, and unable to bear it, I shot up from my seat.
“Ungh…”
Because of that, the carriage must have shaken, as Ari, sleeping beside me, almost woke up, but thankfully, she just shifted and settled back down.
“…Haah.”
The gods' words contained nothing substantial. There was no explanation of how the male lead knew me, nor whether his thoughts about me were good or bad.
There was just one god who seemed to mockingly suggest pairing me with the male lead instead of the female lead, bringing it up like a joke, only to fight with other gods…
Heat instantly rose to my face. Meaning, I was very angry. If he knows me, he should have come to see me already! He hasn't met me even once until now…
I didn't even know who he was, but I only felt resentment. I tried fanning my face with my hand to cool the heat that had rushed there, but it was nowhere near enough.
I carefully stepped out of the carriage.
Swaaaah.
Although the day was hot, it was night, and perhaps because we were by the sea, the wind was cool. Still, it wasn't enough to cool my flushed face, so I decided to wander around nearby for a bit.
‘It’s dark, but… knights are stationed all around, and this isn’t a famous place, so besides us and the villagers, there’s no one else.’
It should be okay to walk around a little. I slipped on my slippers and walked towards the sea, thinking I’d sit on the sandy beach until my face cooled down.
“…Huh?”
But there was already someone on the beach. It was Raymund. I saw him sitting alone under the moonlight, gazing at the dark sea.
Perhaps sensing my presence, Ray, who was sitting, turned around. I instinctively raised my hand and gave a small wave, and Ray waved back.
“You were out here?”
“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep. You, Seiana?”
“Me too.”
I walked over and sat down beside him. Then I noticed shells scattered near Ray, several of them open.
Do shells just come out like this? It was the first time I'd seen it in person, so I was curious. Ray picked one up and popped it open with his hands. *Click.*
‘Does it open that easily?’
It opened as easily as a coin purse; fascinated, I picked one up myself to try, but the tightly shut shell showed no sign of opening.
Was it just this one? I picked up another, but that one wouldn't open either. Am I just picking the duds? As I frowned in confusion, Ray smiled, took the shell from my hand, and again, click, opened it for me.
“Here.”
“Uh…”
I took it, but I didn't know what to do with it. As I blankly stared at the now-dead, open-mouthed shell, Ray pressed the flesh inside with his finger.
Pop. A small pearl emerged from within.
“Wow!”
“This too.”
Saying that, Ray showered pearls onto my hand. Perhaps because the shells weren't large, the pearls were small, about half the size of a pea, but they were evenly round and had a nice shape.
The number roughly matched the open shells on the sand. Only then did I realize the shells hadn't come out onto the beach by themselves.
“Did you… get all these from inside the sea?”
“Only the ones within reach.”
As if it were nothing, Ray opened another shell and took out the pearl.
This one was slightly larger than the others but dented. Uniquely, it was heart-shaped.
“…Cute.”
I picked it up between my thumb and forefinger and rolled it around. I stared blankly for a moment, then held it out to Ray along with the other pearls.
“Here.”
“Why? You don’t like them?”
Seeing Ray’s eyes widen as if asking if I was returning them because I didn't like them, I felt bewildered in return. Didn't he get them from the sea because he wanted them? The reason he showed them to me was just to show me, right? But that wasn't it.
“I brought them intending to give them to you from the start.”
Simply because I like pearls. At those words, stating he brought them for that reason, my heart fluttered again.
There was no one else on the beach. So he couldn't have ordered someone; he must have gotten them himself.
The fact that he went through such effort for me made my chest feel tight.
“Can I really accept these?”
Something surged up inside me, and my voice was choked as I barely managed to speak. Ray smiled brightly under the moonlight.
“Please.”
His words, asking me to accept them almost like a plea, made me fidget with my hands. I felt this moment was somehow… ticklish.
I had felt it during the day too, but the question arose again: could there be anyone else who trusted me and cherished me like this?
Even though I liked pearls, the thought of actually trying to find some myself while at the sea hadn't even crossed my mind.
The fact that he remembered something I said in passing and went through the trouble hoping to make me happy felt strangely ticklish.
‘I… want to do something for him too.’
It wasn't about wanting to pay him back for receiving this, but simply, I wanted to do something for him too. But nothing came to mind.
Whenever I asked what he liked, he always said anything was fine, and I felt inadequate because he had even helped me earlier today.
‘Ah…’
There was just one thing I knew he wanted. Ray wanted to call me by my nickname.
‘But is that enough?’
Compared to what I received from him, it felt truly insignificant, which was embarrassing. But it was the only thing I could give him right now.
“Ray…”
“Yes.”
“…How do you want to call me?”
It was too embarrassing to ask directly, "Will you call me Lovie?", so I shifted the burden of the answer to Ray.
Why was it such a big deal? The moment he understood my words, Ray’s eyes began to sparkle brighter than the starlight above. And I sparkled within them too.
“I…”
Ray opened his mouth, then suddenly closed it. He seemed to think for a moment, then opened his mouth again.
“If it’s okay with Seiana… I want to call you something different.”
“What, how?”
“I want to have a name that only I use to call you.”
Uh…? I was slightly taken aback by his words. My nickname, Lovie, was derived from my middle name. And that middle name expressed my family’s love for me.
Therefore, naturally, that was my only nickname. Until now.
Seeing Ray’s earnest face as he made the request, my face flushed red. It was just calling me by a different short name instead of the usual nickname, but the phrase ‘a name only he use'.
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