Kate didn’t answer. She simply turned to Eileen, silently asking for her opinion.
In the past, she would have already grabbed her spear and charged downstairs to turn Wesley into a human kebab. But things were different now that she was with Eileen. Without Eileen’s clear approval, she refused to engage with a man who had pursued her for years. She wouldn’t risk Eileen misunderstanding.
“Breakfast is pretty much finished. Let’s pack up and get going.”
Eileen couldn’t even be bothered to acknowledge the weirdo.
In the game, Wesley had been nothing more than a minor side character. His only purpose had been to give Cassandra an excuse to make trouble for Kate. That was it. Despite being the youngest son of the Blood Duke, he had almost no combat ability, and his scheming skills were laughable compared to his father’s. He was pure plot device.
Seeing how calm Eileen remained, Kate didn’t take Wesley’s sudden appearance to heart either. The only reason she had panicked earlier was because she worried Eileen might misunderstand her relationship with him.
“Miss Eileen, are we really just going to leave Lord Wesley waiting like that?”
Atia followed behind them, her face filled with unease. No matter how you looked at it, Wesley was a duke’s son. People treated him with respect wherever he went. Leaving him standing alone in the hall like this—would that really be all right?
“Why should we care? It’s not like he’d dare lay a hand on me.”
Kate sounded completely unconcerned. Forget whether Wesley even had the courage; even if he lost his temper and tried something, did he actually have the ability to back it up? When it came to fighting, she was confident no one could claim to be better than her.
“Miss Kate, that’s not what I meant…” Atia quickly shook her head. “I’m just worried it might look bad…”
“If he cared about appearances, he wouldn’t keep confessing to me over a hundred—no, probably over two hundred times—without caring about the time or place!”
Just thinking about it made Kate angry all over again. She had rejected him countless times and made it perfectly clear she already had someone she liked, yet the guy still clung to her like a cockroach that refused to die. In just five years, he had confessed more than two hundred times, showing up like clockwork every ten days or half a month.
“T-two hundred times?”
Atia was stunned by the number. She had read plenty of those trashy romance novels about how obsessed Wesley was with Kate, but reality turned out to be even more ridiculous than fiction.
Listening to the story, Eileen actually felt a bit sorry for her. Being hounded by a creep like that had to be exhausting.
“Then Miss Kate, besides turning him down verbally, have you tried anything else?” Atia asked.
“I have.” Kate’s tone was flat. “One time I ran him through with my spear. He spent half a month in the church before they managed to bring him back.”
Eileen: “…”
Atia: “…”
He still refused to give up even after nearly dying? What the hell was wrong with this guy?
“Then… what about pretending to have a lover?” Atia suggested. “Like having someone act as your partner?”
She had once been heavily influenced by those pulp novels that shipped Kate and Wesley together. But after hearing Kate’s side of things, this Lord Wesley didn’t seem like a normal person at all. If she were in Kate’s position, being stalked by a lunatic like this… she would probably want to die.
“I’ve thought about it, but…” Kate glanced at Eileen beside her.
Over the past five years, plenty of friends had made the same suggestion. She had never been able to accept anyone other than Eileen playing the role of her lover—even if it was just pretend. What if Eileen found out?
Wait…
Did she even need to find someone to pretend anymore?
Eileen was standing right next to her.
Kate’s mind clicked into place.
“Eileen, back me up in a bit.”
Eileen immediately understood what Kate was planning. Her heart skipped a beat.
In front of Atia?
This is bad, this is bad, this is bad…
“Kate, wait, I think—”
“Is Miss Kate planning to have Miss Eileen pretend to be her lover?”
Before Eileen could finish speaking, Atia cut in. If they were going to pretend to be lovers, shouldn’t they find a man? Would Wesley even believe that kind of relationship could exist between two girls?
“It’s not exactly pretending… but Wesley definitely won’t be able to find any faults with it.”
Kate answered with complete confidence.
After all, Eileen really was her lover.
Atia fell silent. She could understand Kate’s reasoning. Finding a convincing actor on such short notice would be difficult, and Kate and Eileen already knew each other, so there wouldn’t be much awkwardness between them.
But why did her chest suddenly feel tight, as if something precious was being stolen away from her?
In the inn’s main hall, Wesley stood with a bouquet of flowers in hand, kneeling on one knee facing the staircase. He wanted to make sure the flowers reached Kate the moment she appeared.
The other guests had tactfully moved aside and were now whispering among themselves. Kate arriving in a small city like Crisel was already big news. Getting to witness Lord Wesley’s famous confession scene in person? This stay was worth every coin.
Thud, thud, thud…
Heavy footsteps echoed from the staircase. Wesley immediately straightened up, and the onlookers held their breath.
According to rumors from the capital, Wesley had confessed to Kate more than two hundred times, and almost every single one had ended in rejection. There was even one occasion when Kate, fed up with the harassment, had run him through with her spear. If the priests at the capital’s church hadn’t been so skilled, he would have died on the spot and caused a major diplomatic incident.
Yet even after all that, Wesley still hadn’t given up. Many people were moved by his persistence. Some even claimed Kate’s attitude toward him had started to change. Quite a few in the crowd were staring intently at Wesley, hoping they might witness the two of them finally getting together.
Kate was the first to appear at the top of the stairs. In an instant, every eye in the room—including Wesley’s—locked onto her. No one paid attention to the two girls in plain linen clothes following behind her.
Eileen tugged her hood up a little and glanced at Wesley.
In the game, Wesley had been a minor character, but his model had been that of a handsome blond man. Whether the modeler had done it on purpose or not, there had always been something greasy about him. Seeing him in person now… he looked even greasier than the game version. His face was good-looking, but under the sunlight, it looked like it had been smeared with lard.
The moment he saw Kate, the corners of his mouth curled up, and three or four fine wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes as he winked at her.
“Oh, my dearest Miss Kate, thank the heavens that we have been reunited in this humble city. Please allow me to present you with today’s most beautiful flowers. Only they are worthy of reflecting your breathtaking beauty…”
Ugh…
Eileen almost threw up on the spot.
How could there be such a greasy person in this world?
No matter how handsome his face was, when paired with those oily gestures and lines, it was impossible not to feel a visceral sense of disgust.