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“You deliberately timed it to provoke Karlson, didn’t you?”

I tilted my head, feigning confusion as if I didn’t understand what he was talking about. Leonid’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“You might fool the other idiots, but you can’t fool me.”

I didn’t respond, just blinked innocently. Leonid pressed his lips together and started walking forward, still carrying my book under his arm.

“Uh…?”

Startled, I quickly scurried after him. Leonid slowed his pace to match mine. Puzzled by his actions, I glanced at his face. Without looking at me, he spoke in a curt tone, keeping his gaze fixed ahead.

“It wouldn’t do to let a valuable book get damaged from being dropped. I’ll carry it to the entrance for you.”

* * *

“Axel, sir.”

Leonid greeted Axel politely with a smile when we reached the entrance where Axel was waiting.

“Leonid.”

Axel gave a slight nod in return, acknowledging Leonid’s greeting, before glancing at me with a questioning look, as if to ask how I ended up arriving with Leonid.

Leonid answered the unspoken question on my behalf.

“The book looked too heavy for Reshia to carry, so I helped her with it.”

‘What?’ 

Worried that I might drop and damage a valuable book? 

I stared at Leonid in disbelief, but he remained completely composed as he handed the book back to me.

“Will you be coming to class tomorrow as well?”

“Huh? Oh, uh… yes.”

“I see.”

Leonid gave me a cheerful smile as I clumsily accepted the book, then bowed again to Axel.

“Well, I should return to my studies now. Goodbye, Axel.”

Axel nodded as Leonid walked away, watching him go before turning to me.

“You two are getting along?”

“Seems like it?”

“Or not?”

“Well, it certainly looks that way.”

Even if that wasn’t entirely the case.

I blinked down at the book Leonid had handed back to me.

‘He’s probably just repaying me for siding with him earlier.’

The thought of him being a kid who couldn’t be honest with his feelings made me smile.

Just then, my book was lifted out of my hands again. This time, when I turned to see where it had gone, I found Axel holding it up with one hand, lightly swinging it.

“Everything’s ready, let’s go.”

“Ready?”

“For the four-leaf clovers. You said you needed them, right?”

“Huh?”

I tilted my head in confusion, not expecting this.

“I mentioned that yesterday evening.”

“Yes, you did.”

“And it’s already done?”

Not even 24 hours had passed. Axel just shrugged as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“You gave the order last night, so of course it should be ready by now.”

Axel’s eyes seemed to be saying, *Of course it should be ready.* 

After a brief staring contest with him, I let out a long sigh.

‘…Alright.’

I decided to give up trying to understand.

‘This must be how young masters think.’

* * *

Axel came to a stop and gestured broadly with his hand, pointing to the left and right.

“From here to over there.”

“From here… to there…?”

I followed his gesture with my own, moving my hand in the same direction, still in a daze. It was hard to grasp the exact size, but the sheer expanse of the space was overwhelming, filled entirely with a lush green hue.

It was literally a field of green.

“Wait, don’t tell me… all of that is four-leaf clovers?”

“Well… it wasn’t exactly a difficult task.”

Axel crossed his arms and tilted his head slightly. Normally, I would have scoffed at him for boasting about something trivial, but this time, it was no exaggeration.

“This is crazy…”

This was definitely something to brag about.

‘How many are there?’

One, two, three, four, five…

I tried to count them with my eyes, but the sheer quantity made me give up and throw up my hands.

‘Anyway, there’s a ton!’

I dashed into the green field. From a distance, it was hard to make out, but once inside, the four leaves on each clover were clearly visible. I grabbed a large handful of four-leaf clovers and tossed them at Axel.

“Axel! I’m sharing some luck with you!”

And at that moment, a dozen message windows popped up in the air.

[Message from Heaven]

(Notification) Quest (Repeat) Completed!

Congratulations. You have been awarded 100 Heaven Coins. Would you like to claim your reward now?

[Yes/No]

* * *

The quest wasn’t complete until you collected the four-leaf clovers and shared the luck. I filled a basket with four-leaf clovers and wandered around the Elpinard Duchy, handing them out to everyone I met.

“May the Saintess bring you luck!”

“Oh my!”

“Here’s some luck from the Saintess!”

“Thank you, Saintess.”

Even those who usually doubted me as a fake couldn’t resist accepting the luck offered by the Saintess. Everyone took the four-leaf clovers with smiles on their faces.

Each time I handed one out, another message window appeared in the air.

[Message from Heaven]

(Notification) Quest Completed!

Congratulations. You have been awarded 100 Heaven Coins. Would you like to claim your reward now?

[Yes/No]

If I handed out 100 four-leaf clovers, that was 10,000 coins, and 10,000 coins equaled a month of life. I couldn’t calculate exactly how many Heaven Coins I’d amassed through this luck-sharing campaign, but it seemed like I’d secured at least a few years’ worth of life.

I smirked as I walked on, with Lily, Rose, and Daisy following behind me. Each of them carried a basket brimming with four-leaf clovers.

‘Once I’ve secured about ten years’ worth of life, I should try using the Heaven Market.’

Now that I had a bit more breathing room, I found myself considering other possibilities. Half-distracted by my thoughts, I mechanically reached into the basket, pulled out a four-leaf clover, and offered it to the person in front of me.

“May luck be with you!”

I exclaimed energetically, extending my hand. But unlike the other people who had eagerly accepted the clover, there was no response this time.

‘Why aren’t they taking it?’

Puzzled, I lifted my gaze, and…

*Gulp!*

I found myself staring directly into the eyes of Duke Elpinard, who loomed over me like a massive wall.

“What… are you doing?” 

The duke’s eyes flashed as he spoke, his voice icy. For a moment, it felt as if a cold wind had swept through the air.

The sudden chill sent my timid heart, which had been relatively calm just moments ago, into a rapid, panicked thumping.

“N-nothing at all…”

I stammered, my whole body trembling as I quickly withdrew the hand I had extended toward the duke. The four-leaf clover I was holding was hastily shoved back into the basket.

The Duke’s brow furrowed, clearly displeased with my response. Of course, it was an obvious lie. He could see exactly what I was doing, so my attempt to dismiss it must have irritated him.

‘But the words just slipped out…’

It wasn’t my fault; it was his intimidating presence. That terrifying aura made my heart race, and around him, my mind always seemed to regress to that of a frightened child.

As the tense standoff between the duke and me dragged on, Lily, who had been following behind me, hurried over and bowed to the duke.

“M-my lord.”

She addressed him with urgency.

“The young lady created a four-leaf clover garden, and she thought it would be a shame not to share it, so she’s been distributing them to the household staff.”

“Four-leaf clovers?”

“Yes, my lord.”

Even though he was just asking questions, the duke’s intimidating presence made even the professional maid Lily tense up, her shoulders hunched.

The duke’s questioning continued.

“How was this garden created?”

“I believe Master Axel assisted her with it.”

“Axel, huh.”

The duke’s tone took on a slightly sharper edge.

“So, you’re getting close to that boy.”

“Well, they are siblings, after all. It’s good for them to be close.”

Lily responded calmly, but it seemed that the Duke’s mood hadn’t improved much.

“Hmm.”

The Duke’s displeasure was palpable despite Lily’s composed reply, and the atmosphere remained heavy.