As Damon was walking towards where Yuri was, he also discovered her at the same time. But the moment their eyes met, Damon’s shoulders flinched, and he stopped walking.
“Y-Yuri from the coffeehouse?”
The face that was covered in annoyance just a minute ago was now filled with puzzlement. Damon was more agitated than necessary, and his eyes shook.
“W-W-Why are you here?”
The sight of him stuttering so badly in a manner so unlike him made Yuri tilt her head.
“Hello. I guess we meet again.”
Upon hearing Yuri’s greeting, Damon was once again strongly shaken. The people behind Damon were surprised at his unusual behavior and their eyes went wide. There were also some who looked like they were onto something and alternated glances between Damon and Yuri.
Only then did Damon realize the gazes directed at him and managed his expression while firming his gaze. Then he swiftly turned to the people following him and barked sharply.
“What are you looking at? We’re done here, you can disappear now!”
As the frightening end of his sentence, the four or five people behind Damon began to swiftly withdraw.
“Ehem. It’s been a while.”
After that, Damon approached Yuri. But for some reason, he couldn’t look straight at Yuri’s face and spoke with his gaze elsewhere.
“A few days ago…I didn’t mean to, but I owe you one.”
A few days ago?
Oh, was he talking about the day he got attacked by a bird?
Yuri thought Damon might be avoiding her eyes today because he was embarrassed by that incident.
pαndα noνɐ1,сoМ “No, it’s fine. You don’t have to owe me anything.”
Damon didn’t know but the reason Siren’s bird attacked him in the first place was because of Yuri. So the incident happened because of Yuri. Of course, she had no intention of telling him that and stirring up a hornet’s nest.
“Are you shopping today?”
“I just have a few things I want to get.”
At that, Damon cleared his throat for no reason and slightly turned his gaze to Yuri.
“Actually, this building belongs to my Salvatore family.”
Yuri was inwardly a little surprised because she hadn’t known that.
But why was he telling her this? Was he trying to brag?
She thought he was done trying to lure her after they resolved his misunderstanding last time.
However, when she looked at Damon whose cheeks were slightly red and he still seemed embarrassed to look at her face, she felt like he didn’t have impure intentions in mind when he said that.
It might just be her, but strangely enough, she felt like Damon even seemed a little shy facing her today.
This appearance was such a huge contrast to what Yuri had seen at the coffeehouse so far or even at the auction house, so it made her suspicious.
“So if you look around today and see anything you like, you can just tell them my name and take it.”
And when she heard the following words from Damon’s mouth, her suspicion deepened.
“Why?”
“I-I mean, you saved me from the crazy bird last time…and besides that, I was also rude to you before. So…”
But Damon could even finish what he was saying, an enormous noise struck her ears.
Booom!
“Kyaaa…!”
Screams arose inside and outside of the building from people surprised at the sudden disturbance.
“What’s going on?”
Damon was also surprised by the sudden situation and his eyes grew wide. Yuri and Damon went to the nearby terrace to check outside. And they saw a cloud of dust rising from the building next door.
When they looked down, they saw pieces of a broken wall, broken glass shards and the street was a scene of chaos with people who had collapsed on the floor.
“W-What the hell is this!”
Damon shouted in shock at this sight.
BOOM! Boom…!
In that moment, another loud noise erupted as if it would rip out their eardrums. This time, the shock was transmitted from somewhere closer. The explosion came from the building Yuri and Damon were in.
As she skid to the side, a sharp light flashed through Yuri’s eyes. She quickly pulled the wide-eyes Damon to the edge of the terrace.
Crash!
In no time, a stormy wind swept through and the ceiling collapsed.
* * *
“Isn’t this pretty too?”
Kalian looked at the jewelry held out in front of him and indifferently blinked his eyes.
“This kind of red gem really suit Selena too!”
He was currently at a high-end store located on the main street. He didn’t know what wind suddenly blew in, but his grandfather, Bastian abruptly declared that he would go out. And that was how Kalian who happened to be at the mansion ended up following his grandfather as a sort of escort.
“Which one of these two looks better to you guys?”
Bastian held out two jewels that looked the same in Kalian’s eyes and asked for an option. After a brief glance down at them, Kalian said:
“They both look good.”*
“Right? Then should I just get them both?”
The store owner beside them quickly chimed in happily.
“Oh my, you do have a good eye. That one comes with a set of earrings and bracelet, would you like me to show those as well?”
“Ohh, yes. Let me take a look.”
However, the other person accompanying them squashed the excitement of Bastian and the store owner.[1]
“For me…I think they’re both pretty, but I don’t think they’re Ms. Yuri’s taste.”
“T-They’re not? Both of them?”
“Yes.”
The one who replied firmly to Bastian despite the awkward look on her face was none other than Anne-Marie. She had been acting as the caretaker for Kalian’s grandfather, Bastian for a while now.
When Kalian saw that Bastian who had been initially disagreeable with Anne-Marie suddenly changed his mind and began to treat her quite nicely, he thought Genos’ foresight was remarkable as expected. The reason Anne-Marie was even accompanying Bastian’s outing today was because Bastian stubbornly insisted on her coming with him.
And so when he heard the name that came from Anne-Marie’s mouth, Kalian paused.
“Are you talking about Ms. Yuri from the coffeehouse?”
“Hm? You know that child too?”
“Yes, I went out for an inspection and happened to get to know her. But that aside, why is grandfather getting a present for her?”
“I went to the clinic to see Anne-Marie and happened to meet her too!”
Bastian looked at Kalian with obvious dissatisfaction in his eyes. His gaze was complaining because Kalian didn’t tell him about Yuri-who-looked-like-Selena before.
Kalian was perplexed at getting such a gaze from Bastian. Still, with Anne-Marie right next to them, Bastian didn’t directly criticize Kalian right there and then.
“Ehem. I went to the coffeehouse last time and left something behind. Thankfully, that child brought it all the way to the mansion for me. So I’m going to return the favor.”
That’s why he even brought Yuri’s friend, Anne-Marie all the way here. He wanted to get her advice when he was picking a gift just like now.
“Then how about this one!”
Bastian dropped the item Anne-Marie shook her head at and began looking for something else.
Kalian quietly watched the rare liveliness on Bastian’s face.
As expected, Yuri’s existence and her resemblance to Selena seemed to bring considerable comfort to Bastian. At first, Kalian also considered getting Yuri’s help to treat Bastian heartsickness. However, he was worried that on the other hand, seeing Yuri might deepen his grandfather’s longing for his late daughter and worsen his mind.
So he had been hesitating but seeing Bastian look so excited for the first time in a long while, he wondered if his worries were unfounded.
“How about we go check out another store?”
Then eventually, Anne-Marie lowered her voice so that the store owner couldn’t hear her and carefully suggested this to Bastian.
“Why? Are the things here bad?”
“No. They all look great. But, um…”
At Bastian’s question, Anne-Marie hesitated and slurred the end of her sentence. Her face had a smile that was a mixture of awkwardness and difficulty.
“It feels a bit too old-fashioned here…”
“What? To sum it up, this is for old people’s tastes, is that it?”
Bastian grumbled but eventually followed Anne-Marie’s suggestion and got up.
“Are, are you leaving already?”
“I’ll come again.”
The store owner anxiously tried to hold Bastian back, but his mind had already left. Perhaps because Bastian had walked more than usual today, his steps shook a little uneasily as he moved forward with his cane. Kalian and Anne-Marie supported him by his side.
“Agh, I can walk by myself!”
But Bastian shook off the both of them.
In the end, he walked out of the store on his own, using the cane for support. Despite the fact that there was a wheelchair custom-made for him, Bastian persisted in using his cane. Bastian insisted that there was no need for him to use a wheelchair when his two legs were still intact.
As he walked out of the store, his attendants who were waiting outside quietly followed behind him. Anne-Marie looked a little uncomfortable; she couldn’t adapt to this kind of thing at all.
“The weather is nice today.”
“Yea, it is.”
Kalian replied to the weather talk Anne-Marie brought up in an attempt to cancel out the awkwardness. Only
And that very moment.
Booom!
A thunderous noise shook the entire shopping district, piercing his eardrums and a huge explosion burst out in front of him.
Translator’s Corner:
[1]Here it says she added vinegar to their excitement, which basically means she put a damper on things.
*Omg, when Kalian said ‘they both look good’, I had flashbacks to when my brother said this for like the 5th time when I was trying to pick out an outfit. LOL.
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