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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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As they finished cleaning up after the meal, Marguerite suddenly turned to Evangeline.
“You know- you really are beautiful.”
“…What’s with that all of a sudden?”
“Just thinking… the curse usually hides it, but I can see why our apprentice is so smitten he doesn’t even glance at other women.”
With her curse temporarily lifted after her passionate night with Johan, Evangeline’s true appearance was unveiled.
Under the curse that made everyone hate her, her beauty had been evident enough to shine through. Now, without it, she was truly breathtaking – the kind of beauty that could topple kingdoms.
“Hmm- flattering me now won’t get you anywhere.”
“That wasn’t my intent… But really, our apprentice is so lucky~ Having such a beautiful master all to himself?”
“That’s right, that’s right! Johan, you’re incredibly fortunate, you know? Being able to see your master’s true face from the start!”
“Ah, yes.”
Johan gave a noncommittal response as he finished the dishes and turned around. True to the saying that even whales dance when praised, he saw Evangeline failing to hide her smile at the compliments while Marguerite’s eyes curved like crescents with some hidden motive.
Watching Evangeline’s uncontrollable grin, Marguerite smoothly suggested:
“So Evangeline, how about going on a date with Johan?”
“A d-date?”
“Yes, a date. I’ve gone on a few with Johan – they’re quite nice. Everyone’s eyes follow us, and many people even look at Johan enviously.”
“…Having people stare at Johan, how is that good?”
“Because it shows everyone how amazing he is.”
Hearing this, Evangeline glanced repeatedly at Johan, lost in thought. Walking the streets with him would indeed be wonderful.
Even envious stares would be worth it, just for being free of hatred.
Sensing his master’s internal debate, Johan finished the dishes with a gentle smile.
“Let’s go, Master.”
“Hmm?”
“I’d like to go on a date with you.”
Unable to refuse her beloved disciple’s request, Evangeline nodded while looking at Marguerite.
As if waiting for just this response, Marguerite vanished with Evangeline, leaving only instructions to get ready as they’d return soon.
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After changing into suitable date attire and calming a whining Beatrice who wanted to know where they were going, Johan waited in the living room until Marguerite appeared alone.
“Marguerite? Where’s Master?”
“Secret, for the fun later.”
“What do you mean…”
While Johan tilted his head in confusion, Marguerite grabbed his hand and teleported, saying he’d understand when they got there.
A familiar city came into view. He’d been here two or three times before. Though unremarkable, he remembered it as a place where the church’s influence was relatively weak.
The moment they arrived, Marguerite said she’d return around six to pick them up before vanishing.
“Wait-!”
But Marguerite disappeared too quickly to stop. Pushing aside his bewilderment, Johan started walking.
She’d dropped him in a back alley with one wall blocked off. The reason was simple enough – he was meant to walk toward the light ahead.
Following her intent, he walked forward to find a vast plaza with carriages passing by and crowds of people.
This was truly a city – a massive concentration of civilization where tens or hundreds of thousands lived.
‘Where’s Master…’
But right now Evangeline was what mattered. He was here for their date, and Marguerite had vanished without revealing her location.
He scanned the area for his master. Though thousands of people walked about, she was someone who would shine even among hundreds of thousands. She’d be impossible to miss.
‘Not here…’
Her absence meant she wasn’t in this area, so Johan closed his eyes and focused on the chatter around him.
…Three silver coins.
…Looks delicious-.
…Want to fuck her. That woman.
Among hundreds of overlapping voices, Johan walked toward the source of the crude comments.
In these times when beautiful women were either taken as nobles’ concubines or killed in witch hunts, someone of his master’s beauty would naturally draw attention.
This wasn’t the 21st century where anyone could easily see beautiful women naked. This was a medieval fantasy world without even photographs.
To them, his master’s beauty would be unforgettable.
‘Found her.’
After walking for a while, he discovered a spot where people kept stopping in their tracks. They would pause to stare as if admiring art, and even those passing by would turn back for another look.
Since no artwork in this plaza could draw so many eyes, he knew without looking what – or rather who – was there.
Pushing through the crowd, he saw Evangeline beautifully dressed.
‘…Ah, Marguerite.’
Thank you.
He mentally bowed three times in gratitude to the absent Marguerite before carefully approaching Evangeline.
He could hear people whispering nearby, suggesting some had already tried approaching her only to be rejected.
His spine tingled with anticipation – knowing this woman was here to date him, knowing how the crowd would stare in shock.
“Master.”
“…Johan.”
As he drew close, Evangeline tucked a wind-blown strand of hair behind her ear. He’d heard that gesture was meant to seduce men, but only now did he truly understand why.
Not just the hair tucking, but her every movement – breathing, walking, shifting her eyes – seemed designed to entice him.
There was only one reason it felt this way.
“I’ve fallen for you at first sight.”
“Didn’t you already say that before?”
“I’ve fallen again today, so it doesn’t matter.”
He extended his hand as he spoke. Though she laughed softly, she took it.
Gasps of shock came from the crowd, but they ignored them all.
It felt like they were the only two people in the world.
“Shall we go, Master?”
“Mm…”
Whether embarrassed by his words or unused to holding hands in public, she followed with flushed cheeks.
And so their first date began.
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Despite being their first date, it didn’t need to be anything extraordinary.
There was no need to rack his brains planning something special, because for his master who had faced hatred for hundreds of years, simply walking through the city normally was special enough.
“Uuu… Johan…”
“Yes, Master?”
“Why is everyone staring like this?”
“Because you’re beautiful, of course.”
But she was still unused to people’s gazes. Having received only looks of disgust her whole life, she couldn’t distinguish between stares of admiration and desire versus those of hatred.
“That must be it… right? The curse hasn’t come back…?”
“If the curse was back, people would be grimacing and hurrying past instead of staring like this, right?”
“Y-you’re right?”
Taking his trembling master around, Johan explored various places. They visited clothing stores to buy outfits that suited her, tried on pretty rings at accessory shops, and dined at fancy restaurants.
Unlike with Marguerite, when nobles and mercenaries had tried to accost her, people seemed unable to even approach someone so far above them – they could only stare at his master from afar.
“Ah, dark clouds…”
In the middle of enjoying their date, storm clouds gathered overhead. As rain began falling, Johan led his master between buildings to shelter.
Standing together under the building’s eaves, facing each other, his master suddenly trembled.
“…Johan, wait here a moment.”
“Master? Where are you…”
“I-I’m going to pick flowers!”
Apparently unable to simply tell her disciple she needed the bathroom, Evangeline used this euphemism before hurrying into a nearby shop.
While waiting in the alley for her return, Johan looked up at the sky. The light rainfall was steadily getting heavier.
‘Can’t even call Marguerite separately…’
As he wondered where they should spend their time, he sensed something falling from above and quickly looked up.
Golden twin-tails fluttered as his chest was forcefully pinned down.
“Ugh-!?”
Hecaterina knocked him down and stood on him arrogantly, her eyes gleaming as she looked down.
“Hey, long time no see?”
“Heca-terina…!”
“Oh, you remember me. Well, I suppose you would remember a witch who nearly killed you.”
She pushed down her hat as she spoke.
Rain began pouring from the dark clouds.
With madness glinting in her purple eyes, Hecaterina asked:
“Where’s that fucking bitch?”
“Fucking… what are you…”
“That damned witch who blasted me away-”
“-Johan?”
At that moment, his master returned from the bathroom.
She frowned seeing Hecaterina standing on top of him.
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There’s a pretty nice Hecaterina illustration in this chapter. Join our discord server to view it!