Quietly Hiding that I am a Man chapter 94- Fake Lovers

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The hot summer had passed, and the once vibrant green leaves had slowly begun to change color. It wasn’t only the trees that had changed.

Under Cedrick’s guidance, the renovations for Luna’s guild house were complete, transforming it into a much cozier, warmer place.

He’d funded the entire renovation himself, thanks to the winnings from the archery tournament.

A proud smile crept across his face.

‘The guild house is practically our guild’s face. Feels good to show it off.’

It wasn’t a grand mansion like the Flare Guild’s estate, but it was charming and cozy, with a light fragrance of herbal tea filling the air. I

t resembled a small café, and passing noble ladies would occasionally stop to admire it.

“See? I remodeled the garden so you can have tea outside on nice days.”

“…”

“That angel fountain? It’s by Codrian, the genius sculptor who made the royal family’s statues…”

He tuned out as Cedrick continued to boast about his work.

Sure, the place looked better than the old haunted manor it used to resemble, but as Cedrick rambled on with satisfaction, he couldn’t help but wonder.

‘All I wanted was to borrow his name. Why does he keep coming here?’

He conveniently forgot his earlier complaints about finding guilds bothersome.

Now, he would visit frequently on his off days to have tea, help the rabbit brothers with their homework, or talk endlessly about royal court politics, stirring a little annoyance each time.

‘And when I’m clueless, he just laughs at me. Seriously, is that normal for someone his age? If he’d been born in Korea, he’d be the type waving flags every weekend.’

But knowing that if he complained, Cedrick would likely explode, he merely smiled and nodded along.

The rabbit brothers, meanwhile, were practically in awe, their jaws dropped at the revamped guild house. One of them whispered reverently:

“This… this is really our guild house?”

“It’s so beautiful…”

The two bunny brothers, who had been standing there with dazed expressions, suddenly darted toward the swing tied to a large tree.

Watching them laugh so brightly, I snuck a glance at Cedrick.

His face held the same indifferent look as always.

“Cedrick, did you ever ride on a swing like that when you were young?”

“I wouldn’t be caught dead doing something that silly.”

“……”

“But… I did push Mary on a swing once.”

Hearing that name after so long stirred a wave of nostalgia.

Now that I thought about it, I remembered how my father would sometimes give me a push on the swing when I was little.

In a calm voice, Cedrick added, “On days when things don’t go well, that feeling often comes back to me. The feeling of pushing Mary’s back, I mean.”

As a cluster of fallen leaves tumbled along the ground, I found myself reaching out without thinking.

My thumb brushed over his cheek, and Cedrick flinched, pulling back slightly.

“What… what do you think you’re doing?”

His sharp tone snapped me out of my thoughts.

It seemed my hand had moved instinctively upon seeing Cedrick’s face, which looked on the verge of tears.

Embarrassed, I pulled my hand back and looked away.

“I thought you were crying…”

“Are you crazy? Who’s crying here? And don’t just touch me like that! Seriously, you act like some out-of-touch woman. Now move! I need to get to the academic meeting on time.”

His face flushed bright red, Cedrick sputtered and stormed off.

I’d tried to be considerate, but it seemed all I got in return was an earful.

Clearing the path as he wanted, I watched him hurry away.

From the way his face burned up, it was obvious he was quite uncomfortable with me touching him.

As he stomped down the hill, I called after him.

When he turned back with an irritated expression, I waved.

“Thanks for looking out for me, Cedrick. If it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t have come this far.”

“……”

“I’ll make sure to repay this kindness someday.”

Cedrick looked at me in silence, then turned and walked away.

I sighed as I watched his figure grow smaller in the distance.

Perched on a tree, the baby dragon Ber clicked his tongue.

“Humans are so stubborn when it comes to their true feelings, even though they have such short lives.”

✽ ✽ ✽

After convincing the two bunny brothers to attend their lessons despite their pleas to play a little longer, the guild house—now completely renovated on the inside—was left with just me and Ber.

Sinking into the plush sofa, I found myself lost in thought.

I knew I needed to uncover the truth about that guy, Camille.

But how was the real question.

This wasn’t Korea, where you could hire a private investigator to find someone, and scouring the entire empire was impossible.

All I had was the name Camille and his ghostly pale eyes.

Despite my determination to find him, I found myself spinning my wheels.

Ber, who had climbed onto my lap, blinked his large eyes.

“You seem unusually burdened today, Master. Is something troubling you?”

“There’s someone I’m trying to find, but I don’t even know where to start.”

“Hmmm, no clues at all?”

“I know his name. Camille.”

I’d even asked the steward who had written the recommendation for Lily, but it turned out to be a count from a family with no connection to Jeanne.

No one in that family went by the name Camille.

Ber tilted his head, his ears twitching as he muttered to himself.

“Camille…? I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere.”

“What? Really?”

“Yes, uh… if I suddenly came into a trove of treasure, I think it might just come back to me…”

Seeing his eyes gleam, I lightly smacked him on the head.

Based on past experience, I knew that if I offered him money, he’d just weasel out with, “Oh, silly me! I must have confused her with someone named Karen!”

Clutching his little head, Ber sniffled as I glared at him.

“Hey, you’re my servant. Shouldn’t you be busy with harvest season instead of slacking off here?”

“Must you be so hard on me? I’m on sabbatical this year, remember?”

“As if dragons get something like a sabbatical!”

I roughly grabbed Ber by the scruff.

Today, I would finally teach this lazy dragon the value of hard work.

As he dangled limply in the air, he slyly changed the topic.

“Master, are you sure it’s okay to leave that guard dog like this?”

I froze, thrown by the sudden mention. I asked him with my eyes what he meant, and Ber answered.

“The guard dog shares both mind and body with Mephisto. As his power grows, so too does Mephisto’s. Sooner or later, the current holy spells won’t be enough to keep him in check.”

“…Then what should I do?”

“If it were up to me, I’d simply tell you to kill him. But… since that doesn’t seem to be what you want, I have another suggestion. It’s simple—just establish a stronger divine spell.”

Berg hopped onto the table, coughing up something suspicious-looking—a magical scroll.

He pointed with one paw at a symbol on it.

“This ancient ritual is one only the Incarnation of Maya can perform. Maya created it to suppress Mephisto’s power, leaving it behind for the day you would be born as her incarnation.”

Around the strange symbol, intricate inscriptions in an archaic language covered the scroll.

I gestured for him to explain more.

Ber hovered up and continued.

“Unlike current divine spells, this one doesn’t mark the flesh but rather engraves the divine spell directly onto the soul of the Incarnation! Then, simply being near you would be enough to restrain the guard dog’s power.”

Crossing my arms, I squinted at him.

It sounded too good to be true, and I wasn’t foolish enough to blindly trust the words of a dragon who got his kicks from watching humans suffer.

I eyed Ber skeptically.

“Engraving the spell on my soul instead of Jerome’s sounds suspicious, to say the least.”

“Hah, you’re as perceptive as ever. You’re right. Unlike the usual divine spells, which only affect the recipient, this one would also have negative effects on the caster. But it’s powerful enough to at least prevent the guard dog’s mind from breaking entirely. Think of it as a last line of defense.”

I tapped my cheek thoughtfully.

Images of Jerome’s divine markings, flaring painfully red, came to mind.

No matter how strong he was, that burning pain couldn’t be easy to bear.

Knowing this, I couldn’t bring myself to agree immediately.

The high effectiveness of the spell meant sharing that agony as well.

I closed the tome with a loud clap and spoke calmly.

“I’ll hold off for now. Jerome hasn’t shown signs of heresy yet. Knowing it could harm me, I’ll need time to consider.”

“Heh, I thought you’d jump at the chance.”

“What? Why would I?”

“Aren’t you head-over-heels for that guard dog?”

Silence hung between us.

Realizing my expression, Ber quickly fled through the window.

I sighed, brushing away the shadow that had crept over my face.

The fact that Jerome’s strength meant an increase in Mephisto’s power—nothing was ever simple.

Leaning back into the sofa, I closed my eyes.

‘Isn’t love supposed to be something nobler? To sacrifice, to be devoted to someone? But… I don’t want to sacrifice myself for Jerome.’

Even after living a long life, I still didn’t know what it felt like to truly love someone.

If I’d felt anything close to it, it was probably toward my father, though even that was more resentment than love.

It was a strange feeling—a love born of an inability to hate or resent.

‘What is love, anyway?’

The warm sunlight quickly made my body feel lethargic.

Lacking the energy to get up and draw back the curtains, I silently succumbed to a nap.

How long had I been asleep?

The light streaming through my squinting eyelids suddenly vanished.

For a moment, I felt puzzled that the sun had dimmed, but soon, I slipped back into a deep slumber.

‘I should probably start waking up soon…’

The distant chime of the clock tower roused me.

As I slowly opened my drowsy eyes, I froze.

I noticed Jerome quietly looking down at me, though I couldn’t tell when he had arrived.

His hand, casting a shadow to shield my face from the sun, caught my eye a moment later.

As I stared blankly at Jerome, I asked in a hushed voice.

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