Erwin was staring at Onean with an entranced expression, while Onean was looking back at him with a smile on her face, as if to tell him that he wasn't the only one who had artistic talents.

All of the bystanders found themselves captivated by the sight of such a beautiful woman gracefully playing the lute. Her simple yet elegant dress gave her an appearance that was refined, yet also approachable. Who could've imagined that such a beautiful woman would also be a talented musician? It was truly a surprise to everyone, and a massively pleasant surprise, at that.

Some of the more jovial bystanders began to tap their feet in a rhythmic manner while twisting from side to side, breaking into a slow dance with the music from the lute.

Thus, an impromptu ball was suddenly held at the center of the town under the light of the lazy afternoon sun.

The low and somber music from the lute also took a light and jovial turn, and the melody was like a dancing fairy that was springing up and down, leaping from the tip of a certain woman's foot onto a certain young man's shoulder, then gliding onto the wrist of a certain merchant and settling there for a moment before swooping down from above, flying through countless pairs of bent legs before finally coming to a rest on the piece of charcoal that Erwin had temporarily set aside, appreciating the artwork created by this unknown, yet clearly extremely talented artist.

As for the young artist himself, he had already been dragged away from his chair by the woman playing the lute. One of them was an elegant and graceful danger, while the other one was very stiff and awkward, creating a rather stark contrast. However, both of them were doing their best to cater to one another, and it was a rather comical sight to behold.

The noblewoman was clearly feeling a little angry that Erwin had just abandoned her like this, but she still made her way over to inspect the piece of artwork that was resting on the easel. Erwin's bold yet delicate strokes had perfectly captured the seduction and attraction in the noble woman's eyes, and even through the artwork, her suggestive advances were clear to see.

However, the noblewoman wasn't incensed by the sight of the artwork. Instead, she felt like it corresponded very well with the mental image that she had of herself. The vibrant and completely undisguised desire in her eyes perfectly highlighted her promiscuous nature, and the more she looked at the artwork, the more she found it to her liking. However, as she turned around, she saw Onean and Erwin dancing at the center of the crossroads, and she couldn't help but direct a resentful gaze toward Onean. Her resentment stemmed from her envy toward Onean, who was both younger and more beautiful than herself.

Despite her less than cheerful mood, the noblewoman was still very generous, leaving what appeared to be around 20 Loonies on Erwin's easel before instructing the female servants accompanying her to pack the artwork away. After that, she turned and departed without any hesitation, displaying no intention to join in this impromptu ball for people whom she deemed to be of a social class below hers.

The young freckled missionary was rather taken aback by this sudden turn of events, and he was also bound by his own identity. After all, if news were to spread of a missionary taking part in a ball like this, that would have negative connotations for the church that he belonged to. Thus, he could only stand on the outskirts of the crowd, taking an occasional glance at the alluring silver-haired woman who was the center of everyone's attention. Even though the woman wasn't smiling at him, he already felt very satisfied just to be able to see her smiling face from afar.

The elder missionary quickly noticed the furtive glances that the young missionary was casting toward Onean, and he cleared his throat slightly in disapproval. The young missionary immediately lowered his head in an obedient manner upon hearing this, taking no further glances at Onean.

As for the commander of the mercenary legion from before, he had already taken a liking to another woman, and the two of them were dancing joyfully together with his arms wound around her waist. It seemed that he had completely forgotten about his pursuit of Onean. Then again, perhaps he was never serious about pursuing Onean in the first place. 

In contrast, the wealthy merchant who had made the first bid for Erwin's artwork was rather down on his luck. No one wanted to dance with a portly fellow like him, and even after twirling through the crowd a few times, he was unable to attract any dance partners. Even the elderly countryside women in the town weren't willing to join him for dance.

Meanwhile, the traveling poet was left feeling quite awkward. His lute had been taken away from him, but there was no way that he could get angry at the culprit, considering it was the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen. Most importantly, he had been professing his love to Onean, only to be completely ignored, which only added further insult to injury for him. At this moment, he was being left out to dry with a resigned expression, watching as Onean and Erwin twirled and danced passionately together.

...

That afternoon, Erwin was able to earn several dozen Loonies with his vivid portraits, a career path that he never thought that he would pursue. As for the easel and the art supplies, those were returned to the art supplies shop after the busking session was over, and of course, a rental fee had to be issued.

"Let's go get something to eat," Erwin said as he counted through the Loonies in his bag. "I haven't eaten anything today, and I'm feeling a little lightheaded."

"I'm really hungry as well," Onean said as she looked up at the sky. "It's about to be nighttime soon."

Thus, the two of them arrived at a small pub. The verbal altercation between the clergymen of the Holy World Church and the New Light Church earlier during the day had taken place at the entrance of this pub, and the traveling poet just so happened to have witnessed the altercation after having a drink at the pub.

As soon as the two of them entered the pub, many of the customers inside immediately began to talk about them in hushed voices. In a small town like theirs, a pair of mysterious and talented young people was very much worthy of becoming a hot topic for conversation.

Erwin held onto Onean's hand and led her to a window-side table before taking a seat.

"What can I get you?" The enthusiastic female server had already placed a pair of menus onto the table.

"Don't order too much. We have to save some money to pay for a hotel tonight," Onean reminded as she looked at Erwin, who was in the process of reading through the menu.

Erwin faltered slightly upon hearing this before suddenly bursting into laughter. "You know what you look like right now? You look like a wife who's constantly nagging her husband!"

Onean rolled her eyes at him with an exasperated expression.

Erwin looked back at Onean, and it occurred to him that this was most likely the first time in her life that she had to think about conserving money. With that in mind, he couldn't help but heave an internal sigh. To think that just a few days ago, she had still been the princess of a kingdom. Life was truly a fickle mistress.

Onean was naturally able to tell what Erwin was thinking, and she gave his cheek a vicious pinch.

"I'll get two of the top-grade roasted legs of lamb and a bottle of this Tellier red wine," Erwin said to the female server as he raised his head to look at her.

The female server was ogling Erwin while he was looking at the menu, and as soon as their eyes met, a deep blush immediately appeared on her face, following which she fled back to the kitchen.

"It's a pity that they don't have any desserts."

"Do we really have that much money to spend on non-necessities?" Onean asked with a displeased pout, clearly not very happy that Erwin had ordered a bottle of wine instead of heeding her advice to save money.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you don't have to sleep on the streets tonight," Erwin said with a smile.

Right at this moment, the pair of linen-robed missionaries from the Universal Church also made their way into the pub, and they sat down at Erwin and Onean's table without any hesitation.

Erwin and Onean were rather puzzled to see this. While it was true that they had spoken to the young freckled missionary, surely they weren't on a familiar enough basis to be sharing a table. With that in mind, the two of them were watching the pair of missionaries with wary expressions, trying to figure out what they wanted.

The older of the two missionaries returned their wary gaze with a friendly smile, clearly trying to alleviate the awkward atmosphere that had settled onto the table.

"May I ask what business you have with us? Neither of us are religious people," Erwin said as he gave the older missionary a polite smile, then also took a glance at the young missionary, who was sitting in silence with his head lowered.

Only now did Erwin realize that the young missionary had to have had some type of objective for making that bid for his portrait, and it seemed that it was very likely that he had been instructed to do so by the older missionary. Thus, he took a subtle glance at Onean, who had also arrived at the same realization. After exchanging a glance with one another to ensure that they were on the same page, both of them were wondering why the Universal Church was onto them.

"Don't be so quick to turn me away, I haven't even said anything yet," the older missionary said, and his smile didn't waver in the slightest. It seemed that he was completely unfazed by the polite yet forbidding tone of Erwin's voice. "Besides, our god is present in the hearts of everyone. Regardless of whether you believe him or not, he will always reside there."

"Alright, how about I tell you that we believe in your god then? If we do that, will you leave us alone and allow us to have our dinner in peace?" Erwin had heard this spiel far too many times before, and a hint of derision was already beginning to seep through his polite facade.

"I think there's a bit of a misunderstanding between us," the older missionary said as he looked at Erwin with a smile. "I'm not here to try and convince the two of you to join our Universal Church."

"So you're not here to try and spread your faith? In that case, why are you here?" Erwin asked in a curious voice.

"I had a look at the portraits that you made earlier in the day, and I found them to be very interesting indeed. Hence, I wanted to invite you to create a few religious murals for our churches." The older missionary of the Universal Church finally revealed his intentions.

Erwin was at a slight loss for how to respond. Art was only a hobby that he had pursued casually during his younger days, and he was certainly not a professional or seasoned artist. He had only resorted to using this talent as a means to earn some much-needed money, and he didn't think that his artworks would catch the eye of the Universal Church.

"Are you opposed to the idea?"

Erwin returned to his senses upon hearing this, then sighed with a wry smile, "Of course not. I've already fallen to a point where I have to busk for money on the streets, why would I be opposed to creating some murals for your churches? May I ask what the compensation will be like?"

This time, it was the older missionary's turn to be surprised. At first glance, he was already able to tell that Erwin and Onean definitely weren't a pair of ordinary people, and he could tell that Erwin wasn't a regular busker. He had thought that Erwin would be sure to turn down such a job offer. After all, most nobles held themselves in very high regard, and they wouldn't be willing to stoop to doing the same job as lowly painters. However, much to his surprise, not only was Erwin agreeing to his offer without any persuasion required, he was even asking about the compensation.

Truth be told, even Onean didn't anticipate that Erwin would agree so quickly, and she was staring at him with a surprised look on her face.

"So does that mean you agree to my offer?" the older missionary confirmed.

"That's correct. I'm running short on money at the moment, so I'll need all the help I can get," Erwin replied.

Indeed, this was great news for him. He had to address the dire financial situation that he and Onean were in, and painting a few religious murals would certainly be a better way to earn money than robbery.

He was the son of a count, while Onean was a princess, but at the end of the day, they still had to eat like everyone else. Only a fool would be so attached to their own status that they would be willing to starve before they set aside their pride.

"You have to issue me a deposit, right? Otherwise, I won't even have any Loonies to buy art supplies with." Erwin could feel himself becoming more and more shameless by the second. He felt like a traveling merchant trading on thin profit margins, trying to gain every advantage that he could. However, this request of his was quite a reasonable one.

Why do I feel like I'm more free and uninhibited after dancing with the locals? Back in the tailor shop, I was still upholding pointless things like noble etiquette, he thought to himself, and he felt himself to be quite an interesting character. Looks like it really is true when they say that one will only discover their true nature in times of desperation.

"Have you encountered some trouble? It sounds like you're in a very dire financial situation at the moment," the older missionary said with a genuine expression of concern, displaying no derision or superiority whatsoever.

The young missionary also couldn't help but look up at Erwin and Onean with a curious expression upon hearing this.

Erwin considered the question for a moment, but didn't know how to reply. Thus, after a brief silence, he could only heave a forlorn sigh. "It's a long story..."

Onean picked up his hand in a gentle manner, putting on a timely display of a wife who was willing to face the challenges of life with her husband. Her quick reactions and incredible acting skills were extremely impressive to Erwin, and he couldn't but be amused by their "husband and wife" combination.

Before the older missionary had a chance to say anything else, he was cut off by the arrival of the female servant, who had brought the fragrant legs of lamb to their table.