Not knowing Leon's current plan, but recognizing his identity from the tuft of yellow hair the same color as Young Ha's head, Agatha exclaimed in surprise,
"It's only been a day since I last saw you, but your changes are really... quite significant..."
Not only significant but also quite expensive. These clothes alone cost more than my half-month salary at the Purification Bureau. A clothing store in a seaside town selling clothes at the same price as the Capital City? That's just absurd.
After mentally griping about Ankara's bizarre prices, Leon smiled and responded,
"It's nothing much, really, just a change of clothes."
Yeah, sure, just a change of clothes, but you look a lot more pleasing to the eye now.
Remembering "Mr. Joseph's" past outfits and comparing them to his current appearance, Agatha couldn't help but let the corners of her lips curl up slightly. She tried hard to suppress her smile but couldn't hold it back.
"Go ahead and laugh if you want."
Blinking his eyes at the Princess who seemed on the verge of laughter, Leon thought about his "character setup" while indulgently and gently saying,
"If it can make my rose bloom with a smile, then it's worth being laughed at by everyone."
Well, it seems that only the face has changed. Mr. Joseph is still the same Mr. Joseph.
Shaking her head helplessly, Agatha, no longer a waitress and not needing to accommodate customers, said,
"Mr. Joseph, please don't say things like that anymore. I'm just myself, not anyone's rose."
"Okay, my most beautiful rose."
This person was hopeless.
Looking at Leon whose eyes were full of herself, Agatha shook her head and abandoned the idea of changing his mind. She turned her attention back to the job ads in the newspaper, ready to find a job for herself.
Noticing her gaze, the male lead Elijah had a few strands of transparent threads slightly quiver over his head. Following a stroke of inspiration, Elijah asked thoughtfully,
"By the way, Miss Agatha, shouldn't you be working at the dock tavern right now? Why are you at the post office?"
After briefly explaining what had happened, Agatha said with a bit of helplessness,
"I probably won't be staying here long, maybe just a couple of weeks. So I need to find a temporary job, but all these job ads are looking for long-term employees. I don't want to deceive anyone, so it's a bit troublesome now..."
A couple of weeks of temp work?
Hearing Agatha's words, Elijah couldn't help but feel a stirring in his heart. Remembering his desire to find a local guide, he straightforwardly said,
"How about coming to work for me?"
Already anticipating that Agatha would probably lose her job and having loitered at the post office for several hours, Leon quickly intercepted with a pre-formed excuse,
"Although my parents left me a huge fortune, they died early in a shipwreck. It's just me and my grandmother at home now. My grandmother is very ill lately, and she hopes to see me married soon, so... can you help me by posing as my fiancée for a few days?"
Hearing Leon's "job offer," the male lead Elijah immediately shut his mouth. He had to stay quiet—this Mr. Joseph sacrificed both his parents and grandfather, leaving only a dying grandmother whose last wish was to see her grandson get married. How could he compete when he only needed a guide to visit a few attractions?
"Isn't that... inappropriate?"
Upon hearing Mr. Joseph's request, the kind-hearted Agatha bit her lower lip and hesitated,
"Mr. Joseph, I don't mind helping you with this, but I'm planning to leave in a few days. At that time..."
"There may not be an 'at that time.'"
Leon sighed and said,
"Although I've known for a long time that birth, old age, illness, and death are inevitable, I still hope my grandmother can leave without regrets... On another note, I am truly sorry for my previous harassment.
*Initially, I acted this way to prevent you from being bothered by others, wishing to get to know you better. Maybe then you'd agree to become my... sigh...*
*Forgive me, my ro... Miss Agatha, I have been somewhat selfish in the past. Regardless of whether you choose to help me this time, I won't trouble you again in the future."*
*So... was his effort to court me before intended to prevent harassment while ensuring his grandmother's peace of mind?*
With only a vague memory of events before the "plot" unfolded, Agatha's bright eyes softened upon learning the "truth" Leon had concocted overnight.
*Considering this, though Mr. Joseph was... a bit odd, he was undeniably a good person and quite filial. Should I perhaps just...*
"Young master! Mr. Joseph!"
Just as Leon landed a "grandma's gravely ill punch" followed by an "I have my reasons palm," executing a set of "Eighteen Styles of Temporary Girlfriend" that stunned both parties, a finely-dressed butler waddled over from a distance in haste.
Upon seeing "Mr. Joseph," the portly butler was overjoyed and rushed over, grabbing Leon's arm in a pleading manner,
"I've finally found you... Quick! You must come home with me!
Your grandmother got into a row with Old Lady Pomona from the neighboring estate over an imported silk scarf from the East and even swatted her swollen with a broom. You must go home and persuade her!"
*You son of a bitch, you really pulled it off. Last night I came back to Joseph's house, and you wouldn't even open the door, leaving me to sleep on the street. Now you recognize me as the young master just to mess with me, huh?*
Glancing at the transparent threads above the fat butler's head and knowing that the Drama King was pulling the strings, Leon, aware he couldn't resist, decisively "flew into a rage" and said,
"What are you doing here? Didn't I instruct you to take the five hundred elite guards loyal to me and go to the grandest merchant guild my grandfather, a grand noble, left me to buy the most beautiful rose fit for me in this world for Agatha?"
*This bastard, taking advantage of the situation to change the setup!*
Listening to Leon's answer filled entirely with his own subplots that couldn't exactly be called smuggling in private goods, the Drama King, orchestrating everything, ground his teeth in anger but couldn't do anything about Leon, who was capable of derailing plans. Thus, he swallowed his pride and accepted Leon's newly added setting, refraining from having the fat butler contradict it.
Satisfied with his success, Leon refrained from further disrupting the plot. Instead, he acted as a supporting role ought to by offering an awkward smile to the two main characters before wretchedly yet painfully leaving the post office to inventory his newly "earned" wealth at home.
Meanwhile, the male and female leads left behind were so dumbfounded by this outlandish reversal and domestic drama that they stood in place, silent for a long while. Eventually, Elijah broke the silence,
"This Mr. Joseph is... quite interesting, isn't he?"
"Well... I'm planning to tour Ankara for the next two weeks. If you need a temporary job, would you like to be my guide?"
"Twelve Days' Journey" Act One—Meeting at the Tavern, concludes.