Chapter 189: Stalker (Part-2)

That makes me panic. She will make a scene here!? In this crowded café?!

Fuck no. I need to clear the misunderstanding at once.

Before Saria could get a chance to act on her word, I quickly start explaining myself. I tell her how I decided to have a walk today to gauge the reaction of everyone after the war announcement, how I passed through the main market without noticing her and only did so after reaching the café, how I entered the café thinking that it might be a good place if she frequents it, and finally, and how I accidentally sat near her due to the lack of other available tables.

“Yeah, so it was all just a coincidence. I am not a stalker,” I tell her, feeling a bit out of breath after the long explanation.

…

Saria gives me a deep look before wandering her eyes around the café. I can tell she’s observing the surrounding tables to see if any of them are empty.

Thankfully, they’re still full. The facts are in my favor. She’s got to believe me.

“You know what—” she finally speaks.

“No need to say sorry,” I quickly say forgivingly. I don’t want to drag this any longer than necessary.

“— you almost convinced me of your lies.”

…

“What do you mean!?” I ask, taken aback.

“If you’re truly innocent, then why did I catch you looking behind your back— straight at me— multiple times!? You thought I wouldn’t notice that, did you!?” She softly slams her fist on the table.

“Hey, you cannot blame me for that. I couldn’t help myself! You’re pretty—”

[Don’t finish that!]

—loud.

I hold myself back and say the last word in my mind.

“You couldn’t help but look at me because I’m pretty…?” Saria asks, her eyebrows raised, and her eyes wide in disbelief.

Look what you made me say, Pink!

[Better than telling an angry girl that she’s loud as fuck. She would’ve a made a scene just to get back at you!]

This isn’t better! She will still do that!

But Saria doesn’t. At least not immediately. She just stares at me for a while before rolling away her eyes.

She doesn’t threaten me again either, continuing to sit in a silence that stretches for a while. And I don’t want to be the one to break it.

“How did you do it?” She finally asks, still looking away.

“I told you! I did not—

“How did you beat Illyrana in the duel?” She slowly turns her head to look me in the eyes.

“Oh, that…”

Phew. I guess she wants to change the topic. I better try to lead her as far away from it as possible.

“I used one of the spells Princess Leena taught me when she trained me,” I answer.

This is somewhat rehearsed. I cannot tell anyone about the Chaos magic, and Leena herself declared during the tournament that she has ‘taught me everything I know’ to proclaim herself superior to Illyrana. It’s a conveniently given excuse that will work on anyone but Leena herself. And there’s no way she will probe me on it.

“So, you confirm it then,” Syria says in amazement. “I refused to believe it when I first heard about it— thought Leena is spreading rumors to make herself look good!”

“It is the truth,” I say with a shrug. I cannot believe how natural I am at lying sometimes.

“Apparently it is,” she says while studying me. “So, what will it take for you to tell me about that spell? I need to know about it in detail.”

“What?” I ask with a frown.

“I can give you anything you want. I have money. Lots of it.”

“Why would you want to know about it?” I ask.

“You seriously don’t know?” She raises her brows, leaning forward.

“Oh… never mind. I asked instinctively.”

Of course, she would want to know about the spell that Illyrana couldn’t face.

“I am sorry, but Leena has strictly told me not to tell anyone about it,” I tell her another convenient excuse. “It’s her spell, after all.”

“And are you her dog? No, right? So why be so loyal to her? She doesn’t deserve it. Just think about it, I am giving you a great offer to profit off of just a single spell. You’re going to regret it if you don’t take it,” she says intensely, her eyes boring into mine as if trying to hypnotize me into saying yes.

“See, let’s not make this more awkward than it needs to be,” I say with a finality in my tone. “I cannot tell you about it. That’s it.”

“…”

Syria glares at me. I can feel that she is really close to losing her cool with me.

“… fine.” She looks away with a sigh. “Keep being stubborn. It’s your loss.”

“I’ll take it.”

Syria stands up, giving up on convincing me. She then shoots a warning look at me while stepping away.

“And don’t you dare follow me again. Keep your obsession with me in your mind, never act on it. I won’t be as forgiving the next time.”

“But I wasn’t—

She raises her hand before walking away.

“This bitch!” I murmur angrily.

With my mood ruined, I don’t even want to look at the weird spaghetti anymore, much less eat it. So, I just call the waiter to settle the bill before taking my ass out of here.

My mood does get slightly better as I walk back to the palace through the beautiful eleven city, and I decide to see Layla again and do the deed to relieve some stress.

“Wait a second! Listen here!”

When I finally reach the palace, one of the palace guards stops me before I enter.

“Yes?”

“You are Jacob, right?” He asks, walking up to me.

“I am. Is there something wrong?”

Don’t tell me Syria snitched on me or something.

“The city guards visited the palace earlier to meet you. But you weren’t here, so they asked me to relay their message to you,” he tells me.

SHE DID!

“I am not getting arrested, am I? I swear I didn’t do it,” I ask, panicking again.

“No? Why would that be?” The guard asks with a frown. “Anyway, it’s about a Harpy that has been caught near the border of the city. She’s been trying for days to evade us and breach our defenses to fly inside, but the border guards finally managed to capture her.”

“Eh, good for them? Why does this concern me?” I ask, confused.

“Because the Harpy is claiming that she knows you and that the reason she was trying to sneak inside is to meet you,” he answers. “Her name is Nina and she is deemed a dangerous creature. According to our laws, she is set to be executed tomorrow for public safety.”

HUH!?

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