Interrupted by the shop owner, Weibai’s attention wavered, causing him to miss the rest of the two travelers’ conversation.
By the time he pricked up his ears to listen again, the two were no longer discussing that topic, having moved on to daily trivia.
With a helpless sigh, Weibai gave up in frustration.
He had been listening so well, only to miss the crucial information at the last second.
‘Is it simply fate?’ he wondered.
‘To be only one step away, yet meet such an unexpected turn of events.’
Holding the pancake and about to look for his next target, Weibai suddenly felt a tug on his snack.
He looked down at the pancake, his pupils shrinking.
His first instinct was to turn and run, but when he looked around, he found himself surrounded by a dense crowd.
There was no way to escape.
Seeing his path blocked, Weibai turned back with a look of despair at the white-haired ball of fluff in front of him.
“What are you doing here?”
“I was worried about Master Francis, of course!”
Taurani chewed the piece of pancake in her mouth and swallowed, speaking to Weibai with a happy smile.
Looking at the pancake with a bite missing, then back at Taurani, Weibai expressionlessly handed it over.
“Just finish it.”
He thrust the pancake into Taurani’s arms without waiting for her response, then turned to disappear into the crowd.
“Hey! Wait a minute!”
Taurani grit her teeth when she saw that Weibai had no intention of listening to her.
She rushed forward and grabbed his arm.
The surrounding crowd quickly cleared a space for the two, but then even more people gathered in a circle, hoping to catch a glimpse of the spectacle.
Weibai immediately felt that something was wrong.
He tried to pull his arm from Taurani’s grasp, but no matter how hard he pulled, he couldn’t break free.
Sensing his intention, she only held on tighter.
The onlookers didn’t understand what was happening, but it didn’t stop them from wanting to watch the drama.
They began to jeer and cheer.
After a long, exhausting journey filled with nothing but boredom, these people were desperate for anything to catch their attention and relieve their fatigue.
Unfortunately, the actor on this stage was Weibai.
“Let go! Everyone is watching,” Weibai whispered urgently to Taurani, feeling extremely uncomfortable under the scrutiny of so many eyes.
“No, I won’t!”
Taurani clung to his arm like a spoiled child, refusing to let go.
“Hey, what do you think the relationship between that girl and that guy is?”
A fat merchant asked.
The question quickly spread through the crowd, becoming a shared mystery.
“Yeah, what’s the deal with those two?”
“They look pretty close. That girl is gorgeous; this kid really lucked out.”
“Tsk, tsk. They must be a couple. Young couples these days are so open, being all lovey-dovey in public like this. I can’t imagine what they get up to once they get home.”
Listening to the comments, Weibai’s face flushed between shades of green and red.
He was mortified.
He desperately wanted to shout that it wasn’t what they thought and explain his relationship with Taurani.
But he knew they wouldn’t believe him.
They would only see it as a desperate excuse to cover the truth.
Who would believe two people who just shared a carriage ride could be this close?
To be honest, Weibai wouldn’t even believe it himself.
It was too absurd.
Meanwhile, Taurani secretly observed Weibai’s expression and took another bite of the pancake.
‘How fun. The Little Elf actually has such a shy side!’
Chewing on the pancake while holding onto Weibai, Taurani didn’t feel the slightest bit of discomfort being stared at by so many people.
‘Anyway, I’m not the main character here. They’re all looking at the Little Elf.’
“It’s not like that…” Weibai tried to defend himself, but in the eyes of the audience, his protest was weak and pathetic.
“Oh, young man, stop explaining. If I had a partner that beautiful, I’d be over the moon,” a passerby laughed, calling out to Weibai.
Hearing this, Taurani immediately nodded like a chick pecking for grain.
“That’s right, that’s right! I’m his partner. He’s just throwing a tantrum, so don’t get the wrong idea!”
Hearing her words, the crowd’s expressions turned to envy. Some even directed hostile glares toward Weibai.
“Have you had enough fun? Does it feel good to be stared at like this?”
Weibai said, his head throbbing.
It was one thing for Taurani to be quiet, but as soon as she opened her mouth, the misunderstanding became irreversible.
“Hee-hee~”
Taurani stuck her tongue out at Weibai and gave him a playful wink.
Looking at her, Weibai felt this Blood Demon Princess didn’t have any of the dignity expected of royalty.
She had been so cold and quiet before — why did she suddenly seem like a different person?
‘Does she have a split personality? Or did she get possessed by a ghost that night?!’
“Can’t you show some Princess-like dignity? Why are you being so petty?”
“Aren’t you the same? Look at you, you don’t look like a —”
Taurani began to retort, but before she could say the word “Princess,” Weibai clapped his hand over her mouth.
“There are so many people watching, hey!!!”
Weibai glared at the surroundings warily while muffling her small mouth.
“Are you trying to get me killed?”
“Evun sho, nobodee rukkognizez yoo.”
Although her mouth was sealed, Taurani still tried her best to say: ‘Even so, nobody recognizes you.’
“What are you mumbling about?!”
Weibai couldn’t understand how she could still make such nonsensical sounds with her mouth covered.
While Weibai was trying to keep her silent, a sharp sting shot through his palm.
“Don’t bite people!! That hurts!!”
Weibai yanked his hand away.
Upon closer inspection, he could see tiny puncture wounds on his palm.
“Bleh!”
Taurani made a face at Weibai.
Then, under the gaze of the crowd, she dragged him toward the exit.
The people reflexively parted to create a path for them.
“Wait — wait a minute! Where are you taking me?”
“To find an inn, of course. Why? Does Master Francis not need to sleep?”
“I’m not going to an inn! I need to find a carriage and get out of here!”
“Master Francis traveled all the way here by carriage, yet he wants to leave so soon? How strange~”
Taurani continued walking without looking back, pulling him by the arm.
“You’re so annoying. Why do you have to make everything so difficult?”
Weibai stopped abruptly in frustration.
The sudden resistance caused Taurani to stumble, nearly losing her footing.
If he didn’t have to see Taurani, he would have been more than happy to stay in Labia City for a while.
But unfortunately, if he stayed here, he would inevitably have to deal with her.
Whenever he recalled what happened that night, Weibai’s face felt hot.
‘I was actually bewitched by this Blood Demon. I really believed her act and thought she wanted to be friends. As expected, the naive Little Elf was almost eaten whole by the Blood Demon.’
‘I’ll never believe a single word out of that hateful Blood Demon’s mouth ever again!’