“In any case, let me think of a way to make people remember Claire’s existence.
In exchange, Claire can’t deliberately use curses as a means to achieve her goals.
How about that?” While Claire was pondering, Fia had already finished saying what she wanted and was looking up to confirm with Claire.
Claire originally wanted to resolve the curse, but the conditions didn’t allow it.
Now that Fia was pushing for it, Claire had no choice but to agree.
Fia was very confident in her judgment.
Unfortunately, the timing was not right.
“Someone go check over there!”
“Captain, how could anyone be in here? I swear, no one has been in this alley for half a year.
Look at this spider web, and those wooden planks piled up inside are almost rotten.”
“The elven princess is now a fugitive.
Who knows if she’s hiding in there? You guys go in.
I’ll take the others to the slums. Let’s go!”
“Yes!”
“Damn, he doesn’t want to get dirty himself, so he just orders us around.”
With the sound of impatient clicking tongues and the noise of wooden planks being pushed over, the light shining into the alley became noticeably brighter.
Fia didn’t need to ask to know that the people were from the church and were quite close, close enough that even if she turned and ran, they would definitely see her.
What a hassle.
She was almost out of the alley.
Even though Claire was right beside her, if she hid behind Claire and let Claire use a curse to scare them, those paladins definitely wouldn’t dare to pursue.
But she had just promised Claire not to deliberately use curses, so how could she turn around and act like nothing happened?
Having Claire use a curse would be a form of harm to Claire herself.
So, there was only one choice left.
With a heavy heart, Fia gathered her resolve in her chest.
If possible, Fia didn’t want to hurt others, but if someone insisted on causing her trouble, she wouldn’t mind giving them a headache.
A barely noticeable wave of magic floated in the air, and with it, the surrounding temperature slightly rose.
However, just as the paladins were about to come into Fia’s view, and she was ready to use a fireball, someone suddenly pressed her shoulder from the side, forcibly turning her around.
Instinctively, Fia wanted to break free and retaliate, but the voice in her ear made her realize that the person holding her shoulder was none other than Claire.
“Shh, don’t dirty your hands.
Once you start, there’s no turning back.
Use a gentler method.”
With Claire pressing her shoulder from the front, Fia had to lean against the wall.
Since the elven princess was a full head shorter than Claire, Fia’s view was filled with Claire’s well-developed chest, and she couldn’t see Claire’s face.
The two were almost pressed together.
The faint herbal scent instantly filled Fia’s nostrils, along with a wave of warmth.
Normally, Fia wouldn’t dare move, but now she had no time to pay attention to these details.
At this point, what gentle method was there! Before Fia could voice her question, Claire answered with action.
First, there was the sensation of silk under the dress—Claire lifted her knee, pressing it between Fia’s thighs.
Then, her right hand moved over Fia’s chest through her clothes, and finally, just as the paladins pushed aside the blocking planks, Claire’s cherry-colored lips silenced the scream brewing in Fia’s throat.
“Mmm!!”
The planks were pushed aside by the approaching paladins, and they saw Claire holding Fia’s wrists high with one hand, the other hand on Fia’s chest, forcefully kissing Fia.
“Tsk.”
Politely, the paladins averted their eyes with a look of annoyance.
Claire, slightly panting, released Fia’s lips but still held her wrists, pulling a pouch from her pocket and tossing it to the paladins.
“Sorry, we’re in the middle of something.
Could you please move along quickly?”
“Tch, the elven princess didn’t pass through here, did she?”
“No.”
“Next time, pick a place with no people.
Let’s go.”
Without curiosity to check on Fia, who was turned away under Claire, the paladins simply passed by Claire and quickly disappeared at the end of the alley.
After confirming the paladins had left, Claire finally released Fia, apologetically asking.
“Sorry, are you okay?”
“Ah… I… wow…”
Making incoherent sounds, unable to focus her eyes, for the first time, Fia felt like her brain had crashed.
◇
After that, Fia and Claire didn’t encounter any more guards, and by the time they returned to the clinic, it was already dusk.
Fia couldn’t remember what happened along the way, not even having dinner.
Her memory seemed to have a chunk missing, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t recall.
When she came to, she was lying in bed, the sky outside filled with stars, the street quiet except for the summer crickets and frogs.
“Ah…”
Her mind involuntarily recalled Claire’s kiss from earlier.
Although it wasn’t a deep kiss between lovers, just for show, for Fia, it was definitely a first.
Even after a whole afternoon, she could still feel the lingering warmth of Claire on her lips.
Staring blankly at the ceiling, she couldn’t help but touch her lips—soft, warm, with a faint herbal scent, the sensory stimulation clung to her like a ghost, refusing to leave.
It was unsettling.
That was the “curse” left by the fairy named Claire.
Calling it a curse wasn’t quite right; it was more like a blessing.
Fia raised her right hand, palm facing the ceiling, her eyes seemingly looking at the back of her hand, but in reality, her gaze wasn’t focused on any point.
She didn’t know if the elven princess had kissed anyone before, but for herself, even her past self, this was definitely a first kiss.
It was forcibly taken.
Normally, she should feel disgusted, angry, or even resentful, but she found it hard to dislike it.
On the contrary, it left her with anticipation and a heart pounding with excitement, making it impossible to sleep.
This was completely different from the familial feeling Anastasia gave her.
In the afternoon, her brain was a mess, and Fia didn’t have time to think about what this difference was, but now, she finally touched the boundary of this “difference.”
Perhaps from the first moment she saw Claire in the courtyard that night, she had already regarded Claire as something special.
That’s why she didn’t push Claire away in the afternoon.
She probably subconsciously expected this kind of relationship; otherwise, she wouldn’t have chosen to come to Claire first after the mansion was destroyed.
Plus, seeing Claire use a curse made her angry, not wanting Claire to make choices that would harm herself.
The answer was actually quite clear.
—Claire was not an ordinary person to her; she had been subconsciously getting closer to Claire.
