Chapter 3
I learned three important things that morning.
First: rumors travel faster than dragons.
Second: adventurers have far too much free time.
Third: being secretly engaged to your own receptionist is not something you can ignore and hope goes away.
I discovered this when I walked into the guild hall and was immediately congratulated by a dwarf I had never spoken to before.
"Didn't know you had it in you, Guild Master!" he said, slapping my back. "About time you settled down."
I stared at him.
"...I'm sorry?"
He grinned, teeth flashing through his beard. "The engagement! Very romantic. Quiet type, huh?"
I looked around.
Everywhere I turned, people were whispering. Smiling. Nudging one another. Someone had hung flowers on the quest board.
Flowers.
I felt my soul leave my body.
"Dorian," I said calmly.
He froze mid-laugh across the room.
"Yes, my dear friend?" he replied far too innocently.
"What," I said, "did you do?"
He scratched his chin. "Well... someone asked if you and Lady Fairbloom were courting, and I may have said—"
"—Dorian."
"—that it wasn't my place to deny such things."
I closed my eyes.
"I will kill you," I said softly.
"After the wedding," he said cheerfully.
I lunged for him.
By the time I regained control of the situation—by which I mean dragged Dorian into my office and threatened him with bodily harm—the damage was already done.
"It'll die down," he assured me, straightening his armor. "Rumors always do."
"You started it," I said.
"Yes, but think of the upside," he continued. "Everyone's happy for you."
"I am not engaged."
"Details."
I opened my mouth to argue again, then stopped.
"...Where is she?" I asked slowly.
Dorian's grin faded.
"Uh."
My stomach dropped.
"Dorian," I said, very carefully, "where is Lila?"
He coughed. "She... took the morning off."
The floor tilted.
"She took the morning off?" I repeated.
"Yes," he said. "She seemed... flustered."
Flustered.
Because of me.
I turned and walked straight out of the office.
I found her an hour later in the archives.
The Silver Ember Guild archives were a quiet place—rows of shelves stacked with dusty records, old contracts, and incident reports we pretended never happened. Hardly anyone came here unless forced.
Which made it the perfect place to hide.
Lila sat at one of the long tables, papers spread around her, quill moving furiously. She didn't look up when I approached.
"Lila," I said gently.
She froze.
Slowly, she raised her head.
"Oh," she said. "Guild Master."
Her tone was polite.
Too polite.
"I heard you took the morning off," I said.
"Yes," she replied. "I had... work to catch up on."
"...In the archives?"
"Yes."
We stared at each other.
I cleared my throat. "About the rumors—"
"They're not true," she said quickly.
"I know," I said just as fast.
We both stopped.
Silence.
"I mean," she added, cheeks flushed, "I assumed they weren't. But people kept congratulating me and asking about dresses and—"
"I would never," I said. "Not without asking. Properly. I mean—"
I stopped.
This was going poorly.
She blinked. "Asking...?"
I rubbed my face. "I mean not asking. I mean—this is why I punch monsters."
She laughed.
Actually laughed.
Relief washed over me so strongly I had to grip the table.
"I figured Sir Dorian was involved," she said. "He has that look."
"He does," I agreed.
She hesitated, then said softly, "Still... I didn't want to assume."
"I don't blame you," I said. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For making things awkward," I said honestly.
She smiled. "I think that's mutual."
Something shifted between us.
Not comfortable.
But warmer.
Later that afternoon, I made a terrible mistake.
I invited her to help me review guild finances.
In my defense, this was a normal activity. A professional activity. One that involved ledgers, numbers, and absolutely no romance whatsoever.
Unfortunately, the guild hall disagreed.
"Is this the date?" someone whispered as we passed.
"Don't stare," someone else hissed. "They're shy."
Lila stiffened.
"This isn't a date," I said firmly.
She nodded. "Of course not."
We both walked faster.
My office door closed behind us.
Silence followed.
I gestured to the chair. "Please."
She sat.
I sat.
We stared at the table.
"So," she said. "Finances."
"Yes," I said. "Finances."
Neither of us moved.
This was, objectively, the worst date I had ever not been on.
As it turned out, Lila was far better at numbers than I was.
"This discrepancy here," she said, pointing. "Your guild has been undercharging escort missions."
I frowned. "We have?"
"Yes," she said. "By quite a lot."
"That explains why we're poor."
She smiled. "You're not poor. Just... generous."
"I prefer 'bad at money,'" I said.
She laughed again.
I found myself watching her instead of the ledger.
"Why this job?" I asked suddenly.
She looked up, surprised. "What?"
"The guild," I said. "Why here?"
She hesitated.
"I wanted something stable," she said. "Somewhere I could belong."
My chest tightened.
"And you?" she asked. "Why do you keep running this place when you could retire?"
I didn't answer right away.
"Someone has to," I said finally.
She studied me. "That's not the real reason."
"No," I admitted.
She waited.
"I like helping people," I said quietly. "Even when I complain about it."
Her expression softened.
"That suits you," she said.
I swallowed.
This was dangerous territory.
The moment was shattered by an explosion.
Not a big one. Just enough to shake the building and knock dust from the ceiling.
I sighed.
"Please tell me that was not another dragon," Lila said.
"No," I said, standing. "If it were, the roof would be gone."
We rushed outside to find a group of adventurers clustered around a smoking crater.
A summoned creature had gone wrong. Again.
I dealt with it quickly—one gesture, a burst of mana, problem solved.
When I turned back, Lila was watching me with wide eyes.
"...You really are as strong as they say," she murmured.
I shrugged. "It's inconvenient, mostly."
She smiled.
"Thank you for earlier," she said. "For clearing things up."
"Any time," I said. "Perhaps... we could talk again. Without ledgers."
Her cheeks flushed.
"...I'd like that," she said.
My heart nearly stopped.