Chapter 14:They’re nothing but ordinary, common women.

In the marketplace, Celis wove through the crowd, her mood unusually light.
How long since she’d been in a place so alive with human warmth?
She couldn’t recall.

Ever since becoming Oracle Hall’s saintess, her days were spent before the cold goddess statue. The only proof she still lived was teasing her maid Renia.
Then the Rose Knights kept her even busier.

She wandered, tasting street foods, feeling countless eyes on her.
She paid them no mind.
Charisma like hers made her the center wherever she went. As a saintess, she was immune to stares.

“Hey! My kite!”
A boy’s tearful cry ahead. Celis looked up. A red-cloth kite was stuck in branches, unreachable.

She stepped beneath the tree.
One raised hand—the kite slipped free, drifting down.

“Here.”
She handed it to the boy. He wiped tears, mouth agape.

“Magic! Big sis, you know magic?”
“Surprised?”
“Of course! Dad says only nobles use magic. They don’t come to markets. So—are you noble?”
“No. Just like you—a commoner.”
“Eh? Then… commoners can learn magic too?”

The boy’s face shone with longing. Celis paused.

Nobles didn’t monopolize magic. But talent and piles of gold were required—enough to deter most commoners.
Telling him the harsh truth would crush him. Bystanders edged away, unwilling to witness despair.

Celis didn’t.
She conjured a pure white flower with magic, gave it to him, and patted his head. Smiling gently.

“Magic is like this flower—a wish to pass warmth and courage. If your heart holds good dreams and you work for them, you’ve already touched magic’s doorbell.”

“Really? Thank you, big sis!”
Clutching the flower, the boy beamed.

Celis didn’t crush his dream. She blurred magic’s definition, guiding healthy growth.

But as she spoke, the gazes on her burned hotter. Someone watched from the shadows, entranced.
Too many people—she couldn’t pinpoint the source.

Shaking her head, Celis ignored it and continued strolling.

“Meow! Don’t run!”

As two tall horses passed, a black kitten spooked, darting wildly.
Behind it, a frantic little girl chased—eyes only on her cat, unaware she ran before the horses.

The sudden girl startled the lead horse. It reared high, hooves poised to crush her.

“Danger!”
“Careful!”

Two voices. Celis shoved the girl aside, facing the hooves herself. Next second, the rider flipped down, rolling with Celis to safety.

Thud—!
Hooves slammed empty ground. No one hurt.

The shaken girl rose, thanked Celis hastily, grabbed her cat, and vanished into the crowd.

Only then did Celis look at the woman holding her.

Gray hair, loosened from its bun after rolling. Slightly disheveled, but with her face—strikingly gallant.
She stared at Celis, dazed.

Realizing, Celis touched her cheek. Her face veil was gone.
Spotting it on the ground, she left the woman’s arms and re-veiled herself.

The woman snapped back.

“Sorry—hurt?” Celis asked first.
“No. I should apologize. My horse spooked. You okay? Let me take you to a physician.”

Rising quickly, the woman stepped closer, reaching as if to grab Celis’s wrist.

Celis retreated two steps, hand withdrawn. Shook her head.
“I’m fine.”

Brushing dust from her skirt, she walked into the crowd. The woman instinctively reached—but grasped only lingering scent.

“Wait! I’m Nora. May I know—”

Her words fell on empty air. The girl was gone.

Like a butterfly—flitting to her side, captivating her fully. When Nora tried to hold, she needed only flutter wings to vanish.

But…

Opening her palm, Nora gazed at her hand.

A fragrant teardrop earring lay there.
Dropped when Nora shielded her. With family powers, this could reveal the girl’s identity.

Clenching it, Nora pressed the earring to her heart. Her smile unstoppable.

Her maid finally caught up.

Seeing her lady lovesick, she sighed. “Miss, she’s gone.”

“Jenny… I think I fell for her at first sight.”

Think?

Jenny inwardly scoffed, then said, “Miss, you called first-sight love mere lust.”

“You wouldn’t understand. It’s not just looks—her character… Clearly noble, yet she didn’t scorn commoners…”

She had seen it all—the girl with the boy.

Her attire screamed nobility. Yet she denied it to spare a stranger’s feelings.

Unimaginable for prideful nobles like them.

From that moment, Nora was captivated by her pure, noble soul.

Holding the earring before Jenny, she ordered.

“Jenny, trace this earring’s origin. I need her identity. And tell Father—I’ve found my love. I skip tonight’s soirée.”

“No, miss! Master said if you skip, he’ll marry you off to anyone. Try him, he said.”

Nora’s mouth twitched. Silence.

“…Fine. Just vulgar nobles. I’ll go—give Father face.”