A Daring Proposal and Unexpected Kinship

Yelica clenched her teeth, her eyes rimmed with red, desperately fighting back tears.

She refused to let her colleagues witness her humiliation.

Yodel, in turn, regarded Yelica with a gaze of pity.

Her utterly wretched appearance significantly quelled the dissatisfaction he had felt towards her earlier actions.

The two walked out of the church in silence, parting ways without a word.

Both understood, however, that the relationship between them had been irrevocably altered.

“You reap what you sow,” Yodel sighed.

“Though the path proved somewhat circuitous, my objective of establishing a connection with the Church has, nonetheless, been achieved.”

“In fact, should I even say the goal was exceeded?”

“My initial intention was merely to forge a cooperative relationship, yet I’ve ended up directly transforming an inquisitor into a s*ave.”

Yodel retrieved his small notebook, placing a neat checkmark beside the entry: “Establish contact with the Church.”

“Next on the agenda is to engage with civilian powers. A detective agency seems a promising choice.”

True to his decisive nature, Yodel immediately set about his task.

He made inquiries around town and swiftly pinpointed his target.

It was a detective agency named “Mingkton.”

He had initially intended to depart at once, but the thought of Yali worrying if he stayed out too long dissuaded him.

Yodel decided to return home first and postpone his visit until the following day.

“I’m home.”

Yali, engrossed in a book, looked up.

Seeing Yodel return, her heart swelled with a mixture of relief and a subtle pang of disappointment.

“Welcome back. Are you hungry? I’ll prepare dinner right away.”

Placing her book back on the table, Yali moved towards the stove.

Her retreating figure, silhouetted against the sunlight streaming in from behind, appeared remarkably frail and small.

‘Though she claims not to be hungry, she hasn’t been eating well at all,’ Yodel murmured to himself.

After a moment of contemplation, Yodel called out to Yali, “No need to cook. Let’s eat out tonight.”

“Hm?”

Yodel’s unexpected suggestion left Yali flustered.

‘A gentleman inviting a lady to dinner—isn’t that usually something only family or lovers do?’ she pondered.

‘While I wouldn’t mind, and would even be delighted to become like family with Mr. Finn, this is merely my own ‘one-sided affection.’

‘Mr. Finn surely wouldn’t wish for any special relationship with a commoner like me.’

‘In his eyes, we must still be nothing more than employer and employee.’

Noticing Yali’s hesitation, Yodel elaborated, “It’s just a meal. I’m alone in a foreign land, and having company for dinner would make me feel less lonely. Would you mind simply keeping me company?”

With such a heartfelt plea, Yali found herself unable to refuse.

She set down her cooking utensils and accompanied Yodel out the door.

As they walked along the street, the gas lamps on either side had yet to be lit.

Yodel surveyed the various shops, casually asking, “Have you ever dined at a restaurant before?”

Being new to the city, he hoped to consult Yali about the better dining establishments.

“No,” Yali replied, lowering her head deeply.

“My brother always cooked when I was little, and once I grew up, it was my turn. We’ve always eaten at home.”

“I see…”

It appeared he would have to choose a place himself.

Yodel first dismissed the local cuisine of the Three Islands Kingdom, for reasons that went without saying.

He then ruled out overly upscale restaurants, partly fearing Yali would feel too constrained, and partly due to his own lack of experience with such establishments.

Ultimately, they settled on a seemingly respectable French restaurant.

Watching Yali meekly interact with the waiter, then order the cheapest dish on the menu before shrinking into her seat, Yodel felt a mix of amusement and exasperation.

His heart ached even more for this unfortunate girl.

Once the dishes were fully served, Yali gazed at the laden table, lost in thought.

‘Could a dining table truly be this bountiful?’ she wondered.

‘Chateaubriand steak, French snails, foie gras…’

‘Mr. Finn has such a large appetite. Can he possibly finish all of this?’

“I can’t finish all of this,” Yodel said, “Please help me share some.”

Yodel directly pushed half of the food towards Yali.

“Oh? Isn’t—isn’t this inappropriate?”

“There’s nothing inappropriate about it,” Yodel insisted. “Waste is shameful, so you absolutely must finish it all.”

Yodel secretly gloated.

For a girl like Yali, directly offering her food might still lead to her refusal.

However, by framing it as “wasteful if not finished,” he knew she would regret the cost and feel compelled to eat it all.

‘Plan successful!’

Indeed, after a brief moment of polite hesitation, Yali could no longer resist.

It was, after all, dinner time, and her stomach had already begun to rumble.

Hunger, the finest seasoning, made these dishes—delicacies she had never before tasted—irresistible.

Awkwardly, she cut a piece of the Chateaubriand steak.

The first bite revealed a perfect balance of crispy exterior and tender interior; a gentle chew unleashed subtle notes of char and the richness of fat, all melding exquisitely with the aromatic vanilla butter and robust red wine sauce.

Were it not for the embarrassment of making a scene in public, she would have burst into tears right then and there.

‘My entire life until now has been nothing but subsistence rations!’ she thought.

One bite led to another, and soon, without any further prompting from Yodel, Yali rapidly devoured the food before her.

During this time, Yodel discreetly nudged a few more dishes her way, which the utterly engrossed Yali accepted without a second thought.

‘Look how hungry the child was.’

Watching the young woman feast heartily, her pale, thin face blossoming with a smile of contentment, Yodel’s own lips curved upward unconsciously.

As a modern man who had grown up in the city, accustomed to meat and rich foods daily, Yodel found it genuinely difficult to fully grasp Yali’s current emotions.

Yet, this did not prevent him from feeling a profound joy deep within his heart.

‘Was it merely compassion at play? Or the vanity that came from bestowing generosity upon another? Or perhaps, did he truly regard Yali as a younger sister?’

‘It mattered not.

What truly mattered was witnessing a sorrowful soul emerge from the shadows and rediscover happiness—wasn’t that, in itself, a deeply healing experience?’

Only after their meal concluded did Yali realize, with a start, that she had consumed the majority of the food.

Her cheeks flushed crimson as she gazed at the stack of empty plates before her.

“I—I’m so sorry,” she stammered, “I ate too much.”

“It’s fine. Are you full?”

“Mm-hmm, full… *hiccup*—”

Yali’s face turned an even deeper shade of red, and she wished nothing more than to shrink beneath the table.

Yodel couldn’t suppress a soft chuckle, finding her tiny burp quite endearing.

As evening deepened, the gas lamps dispelled the encroaching darkness.

Having finished their meal, the two walked side by side on their way home.

“Um… Mr. Finn, thank you.”

“Hm, why the sudden thanks?”

“Even though you don’t say it, I know you brought me out to eat for my sake. I have nothing to offer in return, and after much thought, I realized I can only offer my thanks…”

Her voice grew progressively softer, until it was barely a whisper.

Yodel did not reply.

Her words brought a crucial realization to him: given Yali’s nature, she could not continuously accept such charity from him.

In other words, while their current dynamic might be unproblematic in the short term, over time, his unconditional generosity would only impose an increasingly heavy psychological burden upon Yali.

Although Yodel believed Yali provided him with considerable emotional value, being one of the few people he felt close to in this unfamiliar world,

Yali did not perceive it that way.

She only felt an ever-growing debt to Yodel.

After much deliberation, Yodel conceived a daring plan, a do-or-die approach.

Should it succeed, all their problems would be resolved with ease.

Should it fail, however, everything would be lost, and his relationship with Yali might become irrevocably damaged.

Taking a deep breath to quell the tension in his heart, Yodel steeled himself:

“Yali.”

He called her by her given name, omitting any honorifics.

“Yali, would you be willing to be my sister?”

The words had barely left his lips when Yodel felt a nervousness far greater than any confession of love.

He believed this method had almost no chance of success.

‘It made sense, didn’t it? Her brother had just passed away, and here he was, leaping in to take his place.

Could that possibly work?’

‘How could I have so rashly implemented an idea that sprang from a moment of impulsive thought?

Yodel, this isn’t like your usual methodical approach.’

Silence.

Still, silence.

Finally, Yodel despaired, compelled to speak once more:

“Are you willing?”

“Are you willing?”

Yodel snapped his head up. “What did you just say?”

Yali, counting on her fingers, kept her head bowed, preventing Yodel from seeing her expression.

“I said: ‘Are you willing?’ Yodel, are you willing to be my brother?”

“Ah? Th-that… Of course! Of course, I’m willing!”

‘Holy hell, it actually worked!’

What’s more, it was a resounding success.

Yali wasn’t merely reluctantly or forcibly agreeing; instead, she had turned the question back on him, instantly transforming Yodel’s unilateral request into a mutual desire.

This unexpected direct hit left Yodel, who usually navigated situations with Yali with such ease, utterly flustered for the very first time.