The Reason I Got Engaged to My Ex-Boyfriend - Chapter 46

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 46

 

And so we ended up having a date that wasn’t really a date.

 

Of course, we didn’t focus solely on finding our client, but visited various places to naturally blend in among the people.

 

For instance.

 

“Yes, please write the amount here…”

 

Places like temple donation booths.

 

I ate fried shrimp with sweet sauce while watching my ex-lover standing in the least popular booth.

 

‘He doesn’t look it, but he’s quite devout.’

 

Ransel was signing a donation certificate while holding Pipi.

 

Seeing him like that gave him a strange aura. The priest handling the donation guidance was also looking at Ransel with somehow warm eyes.

 

In reality, the child had no blood relation to him whatsoever, and the money he was donating here probably wasn’t even 10% of what he regularly donated to the temple.

 

“This is a commemorative gift.”

 

After the donation process was complete, the priest handed over something.

 

It was a sparkling rabbit hair pin.

 

It seemed to be a commemorative gift given to everyone regardless of the donation amount. I had no idea what that had to do with the religious order though.

 

Ransel, who had taken the hair pin, walked toward me.

 

The moment our eyes met, I instinctively opened my mouth.

 

“Don’t.”

 

The hand holding the hair pin flinched.

 

How annoying would it be if he ruined my carefully styled hair with such a tacky hair pin.

 

Ransel looked at me with disappointed eyes, then eventually put the pin in Pipi’s hair instead.

 

My child’s brown hair had grown and grown, and was now long enough for a hair pin to stay securely attached.

 

Pipi reached out with her chubby hands to fidget with the hair pin, then giggled.

 

As we emerged from the quiet donation booth, I spotted a particularly noisy area.

 

‘What’s that over there?’

 

People were gathered as if watching something.

 

And…

 

“Colonel! …Oh, his fiancée too!”

 

Three men who had been mixed in among them waved their hands.

 

‘That person is…’

 

I could immediately recognize who they were. There was a familiar face in the middle.

 

‘Sir Derek, was it?’

 

One of the navy men who had been in Semaphelaz, whom I knew to be the third officer of the Westport.

 

Just as I finished recalling that, Derek quickly ran over to greet us.

 

“I’m Derek Legardo, my lady. Third navigator of the Westport.”

 

Fortunately, Derek didn’t seem to recognize me.

 

“I’m Mary Blin.”

 

I pretended not to know him and accepted his greeting.

 

“What are you guys doing here?”

 

Ransel asked what I had been curious about all along.

 

“Huh? Oh, well…”

 

Derek then smoothly launched into an explanation.

 

To summarize, it was about a swimming competition where prizes would be given to the top 3 among volunteers.

 

All you had to do was swim to a buoy in the middle of the lake, then return to the starting point… It seemed like a mini-game to heat up the festival atmosphere.

 

“The first prize is a bottle of 40-year-old Soleste Dra wine.”

 

Derek grinned as he revealed his greed.

 

‘Wait, is it okay for navy men to compete in swimming against civilians?’

 

The Empire’s guardians, the Westport. Was this really alright…

 

Just then, Derek suddenly looked startled and spoke with an anxious expression.

 

“I trust you’re not thinking of participating, Colonel. I absolutely have to win this, you know? My grandmother’s dying wish was for me to drink a bottle of Soleste Dra, you know? If you really want to participate, let’s discuss it beforehand so we don’t compete for the same prize.”

 

“…I wouldn’t do it even if you asked me to. And your grandmother is still alive.”

 

Ransel also replied to Derek with an incredulous expression.

 

Then he suddenly glanced at me and asked.

 

“Is there anything you want?”

 

I looked over the prize display.

 

Actually, I did like the luxury chocolate set that was the third prize, but not enough to want to throw my fiancé into the water for it.

 

However, before I could say it was fine, Ransel arbitrarily guessed my intentions.

 

“That one?”

 

He pointed to the third prize.

 

I immediately shook my head.

 

“No, not to that extent…”

 

“Wait a moment.”

 

…I don’t even want it.

 

Before I could finish speaking, Ransel headed toward the registration booth.

 

I heard Derek wailing at the appearance of an unexpected competitor.

 

“…”

 

And so I found myself mixed in among the crowd, looking down at the wide lake with Pipi.

 

Ransel had removed everything but his shirt on top, keeping his bottom clothes on.

 

It was midsummer so they’d dry quickly, but… swimming? So suddenly like this?

 

As someone who was afraid of water due to a childhood accident and couldn’t even go near the sea, let alone swim, this was fascinating to me.

 

‘And it’s strange that navy men are mixed in among civilians in a swimming competition… actually, no it’s not.’

 

Most of the participants were navy men.

 

Come to think of it, civilians wouldn’t easily participate in a swimming competition held in the capital of a maritime power with a naval base nearby.

 

‘He’ll at least get third place though.’

 

It was absurd, but I wasn’t worried. No matter what, he was a naval officer – surely he could swim.

 

Soon the competition began with the sound of a whistle.

 

I watched the competition with a peaceful mind.

 

Even from a distance, the distance from the starting point to the buoy was quite considerable.

 

“…Crown Prince… said… that…”

 

Just then.

 

Whispering sounds reached my ears from somewhere.

 

‘Crown Prince?’

 

I perked up my ears at what was clearly a suspicious conversation.

 

“…destroying it is too much…”

 

“…still…”

 

There were no more words that followed.

 

The whispering people seemed to notice the attention around them belatedly and disappeared from the crowd.

 

“Hmm.”

 

I turned my head to observe the suspicious men’s retreating figures.

 

Coincidentally, they were all wearing Imperial Palace Guards uniforms.

 

…It was suspicious, but I didn’t particularly want to find out more.

 

Honestly, matters concerning the Crown Prince, whom I’d never even had a conversation with, were none of my business, and I already had more than enough things to worry about.

 

The competition was almost finished by then.

 

‘Not just third place…’

 

Ransel, who had reached the finish line first, was waiting in front of it, perhaps because he was only aiming for the third prize.

 

Only after two people including Derek crossed the finish line did Ransel also splash his way across the finish line.

 

After the competition ended, the prize ceremony proceeded quickly.

 

“…Thank you.”

 

Soon after, I received the luxury chocolate set with a bewildered expression.

 

Thanks to Ransel waiting for him, Derek, who claimed first place, managed to seize a 40-year-old something wine.

 

In any case, it was a happy ending for everyone.

 

***

 

At that moment, in front of Viscount Edward’s mansion.

 

Lionel looked up at the large estate and gulped nervously.

 

Perhaps because the Founding Festival was currently underway, not only the viscount’s mansion but also the nearby streets were quiet.

 

“What business do you have?”

 

Just then, a butler who was passing by the main gate of the mansion spotted Lionel and asked.

 

His face wasn’t particularly welcoming, as it was obvious at a glance that Lionel was a commoner.

 

“Ah, well, I am, you see…”

 

Lionel fumbled around and pulled something out from inside his coat.

 

“I’m… this kind of person, sir.”

 

In Lionel’s hand was an identification card stamped with the Investigation Bureau’s seal.

 

Today was the day when most of the Investigation Bureau personnel were assigned to maintain public order at the Empire’s biggest annual event.

 

On precisely such a day, the reason Lionel had taken leave while enduring disapproving looks from his seniors was…

 

‘There’s something there. Something involving demons.’

 

The memory of letting that man who jumped from the Rüpfel River Bridge slip away was still vivid.

 

The red color that covered the man’s eyes. Lionel hadn’t forgotten that intense color.

 

‘Definitely…’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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