Be Fascinated

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Chapter 36

Philia sorted the fabrics by color. Red, pink, blue, purple, yellow, green and brightly colored fabrics will now be beautiful clothes.

Looking at the vividly dyed fabric, Philia smiled brightly.

鈥淧hilia, let鈥檚 stop here today.鈥?/p>

鈥淵es.鈥?/p>

At her co-worker鈥檚 words, Philia answered in a lively manner. This was a boutique in a quiet city. It was so small that it could not be compared with the capital city, but Philia liked this place.

Blue sky, warm sunshine. Philia looked up at the sky, shaded by her hands. The contrast between the clear sky and the clouds was beautiful.

Philia smiled brightly.

It has now been a year since she left the Grand Duke鈥檚 residence. At first, she wasn鈥檛 accustomed to life outside. There was no suffocating discipline like the temple, and there was no pressure from the Grand Duke who secretly restrained and controlled her actions.

Everything was entirely hers, except that the Empress鈥檚 knights helped her establish herself.

Was it because she had returned to where she was supposed to be? After months of anxiety, she finally regained her composure.

The sun felt good. Philia nodded to her co-worker and strolled down the street.

After the next full moon, there would only be the holidays left, and she could see people excited. In a few days, the place where she worked would be full of people who would come to have their clothes tailored.

She was going to be busy soon, so they meant to take her time. Philia didn鈥檛 want to go home right away for nothing, so she walked down the street and went to some other places.

Then, a familiar man passed by her. He was tall, with dark hair and reddish brown eyes. Her heart started pounding.

She backed away from him with a pale face. Then she bumped into someone passing behind her.

鈥淎h鈥?I鈥檓 sorry.鈥?/p>

She apologized hastily and looked at the man. Then she sighed in relief. Although the color of his hair or the color of his eyes, or even his appearance was similar, he was a completely different person. It seemed as if the stiffness from the top of her head down to her toes was slowly loosened.

Philia looked around anxiously, before she hurried back home and locked the door.

Her heart was pounding. The aftermath of her anxiety, which she had felt for the first time in a long while, did not go away easily.

鈥溾€︹€?鈥?/p>

Philia sighed and drank some water. She sat down in the chair, dazed and in deep thought.

A year after they separated, Claude didn鈥檛 come after her. She didn鈥檛 know why. No matter how great the Empress was, Claude was the one who would come after her if he wanted to.

Yet he didn鈥檛 follow her.

Had she been abandoned?

Wait, 鈥榓bandoned鈥? Was she crazy?

She shook her head at the sudden thought that ran across her mind. She had been in Claude鈥檚 grasp too long. So her tamed thoughts sometimes popped in.

Claude鈥檚 expression she had seen last did not leave Philia鈥檚 head.

Claude, who had an unknown expression on his face, followed Philia, and suddenly put on a wounded expression.

A wounded expression. Come to think of it, he always had that kind of expression when she said 鈥楴o鈥? Meanwhile, the face at that time was the saddest face she had ever seen.

Why was it still so memorable? Philia calmed her heart that pounded in vain.

鈥淥kay, let鈥檚 forget it.鈥?/p>

However, in one corner of her chest, his face still made her shudder. She even remembered it every time she went to sleep.

She was already out of his grasp and she had a lot of other things to think about during the past year. Why was Claude like that? Why was he obsessed?

Because he considered her to be a rare animal? Did he think that she was a target he could attack slowly and play with? An mere interest?

She, too, became cold as these were the conclusions she had drawn. He had liked her. Quite a lot, too.

Unlike the people she met here, Claude grew up in the Imperial Palace and did not learn to express his emotions properly.

Now that she thought about it, Claude was a bit clumsy, and he鈥檚 nervous that he couldn鈥檛 win her heart.

Maybe that feeling could be called love.

In fact, Philia was quite happy in the cage he had arranged, vaguely realizing his 鈥榣ove鈥? She said she loved him too.

Philia grabbed her chest and clenched her teeth tightly. Her eyes sank cold.

However, she was not obligated to understand his feelings.

Clumsy love? So what? What happened to her because of that clumsy love? She completely collapsed.

Because he was immature, should she have understood?

It was different from just misrepresenting it. He shook her whole life and made fun of her.

Philia liked Claude. But she had no intention of forgiving him. That was the conclusion she came to.

It was then.

Something cold touched her neck, and this made Philia flinch. Philia trembled and looked back.

She tried to move her hand, but she was already caught and stopped.

Behind her was Irik.

Irik smiled brightly. Warning signals echoed all over her body. She tried to run away, but her legs lost strength.

鈥淲h, what鈥?鈥?/p>

It was as if the ground was coming up. The water she just drank was strange鈥?

And just like that, Philia lost consciousness.

How could people鈥檚 impressions change like this? Opening her eyes, Philia thought this. As she sat in the chair, her hands were tied, and Irik鈥檚 eyes were locked on her.

It was as if a living corpse was moving. He looked at Philia and wet his lips with his tongue.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been a while, Philia.鈥?/p>

Somehow, the face of the paladin, Logan, who had tried to scare her, overlapped with his face.

鈥淏ro鈥?ther.鈥?/p>

鈥淗ow are you? I鈥檓 glad you seem to be doing well.鈥?/p>

鈥溾€︹€?鈥?/p>

鈥淚 haven鈥檛 been doing very well.鈥?/p>

Irik reached out his hand and stroked her hair with his twig-dry fingers. Philia moved her head away from the hand.

鈥淲hy are you avoiding my hand?鈥?/p>

Irik asked, widening his eyes. Philia was stunned. How could she not avoid him after creating this situation now?

鈥淏rother, what is this?鈥?/p>

Philia asked, trying to calm her trembling voice. A tied-up situation, a man who seemed to have gone insane. Her body trembled.

鈥淚 am glad that you are living well. You always seem to get prettier every time I see you.鈥?/p>

鈥溾€︹€?鈥?/p>

鈥淎nd you seem to be happier, unlike me.鈥?/p>

Irik stared at Philia鈥檚 face and whispered. He continued to caress the pale blonde hair as if obsessed with her hair color.

鈥淎re you going to kill me?鈥?/p>

鈥淚 want to kill you.鈥?/p>

Irik, who muttered blankly as he stared at her face, certainly looked insane.

鈥淧hilia.鈥?/p>

鈥溾€︹€?鈥?/p>

鈥淚t鈥檚 good to see you though.鈥?/p>

What is this鈥?Irik gently stroked her hair and brushed it over and over again. He sniffed and inhaled the scent of Philia鈥檚 hair.

鈥淣ow it smells like grass. In the past, it always smelled like flowers.鈥?/p>

鈥溾€︹€?鈥?/p>

鈥淚鈥檓 telling you, I was the one who instructed them to give you precious flower petals for your bathing water.鈥?/p>

鈥溾€︹€?鈥?/p>

鈥淓ven though it looked simple, what was always offered to you was the best. I was happy whenever the scent of the flowers that I picked was in your hair. It was like I did something for you.鈥?/p>

鈥溾€︹€?鈥?/p>

鈥淧hilia, I liked you very much.鈥?/p>

Irik said sadly. However, that confession did not resonate with Philia. No mournful confession will reach her in this situation.

鈥淚f you hadn鈥檛 fallen like that鈥?Then how good would it be?鈥?/p>

鈥溾€︹€?鈥?/p>

Irik tightened his grasp. A small groan escaped from her lips and soon came the pain of her hair being pulled.

鈥淪orry, did I pull too hard? I can鈥檛 control my anger.鈥?/p>

鈥溾€︹€?鈥?/p>

鈥淵ou said you fell because you liked the Grand Duke, did you end up breaking up with the Grand Duke and coming here?鈥?/p>

鈥溾€︹€?鈥?/p>

鈥淭here is no reason for you to fall. I just wish you had looked behind you.鈥?/p>

鈥淣o. It would have been different.鈥?/p>

鈥溾€hat?鈥?/p>

鈥淚 must have lived my whole life thinking that Brother was a good person. Without knowing that Brother is a person who becomes infinitely cruel to those who deviate from his beliefs.鈥?/p>

鈥溾€︹€?鈥?/p>

鈥淎nd, I must have lived there without knowing that I was deceived by Brother. Like the flower water I washed my hair with, without knowing that everything was under Brother鈥檚 control.鈥?/p>

鈥淧hilia.鈥?/p>

鈥淚t was my choice to break up with him.鈥?/p>

鈥溾€︹€?鈥?/p>

鈥淟et go of me.鈥?/p>

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