Unlike Procyon, when Agena didnât feel the need to escort he would share some of the facts he knew, saying that he couldnât be playing anyway.
I was enjoying it with Procyon.
And the one knight remaining, Thuban, who is from a minority tribe in the north, hasnât said a word since he introduced himself.
Thuban was a quiet knight with a long scar from his left eyebrow to his cheek.
I understand the intention of being faithful to the original purpose, but I was secretly worried because he stood upright and still even in a moving carriage.
ââ¦.Anyway, itâs beautiful enough to be worth preserving for a long time, so Your Grace will like it.â
I thought back to the contents of the complaint that gave me a plausible excuse for the beast hunt.
The mysterious blood spots began to appear about 20 days ago after the short white night phenomenon was over.
It was as if it was spilled because of an injury, or spilled deliberately.
Even if herbalists sprayed water and erased it cleanly, it was said to reappear the next day.
However, nothing like a body of a beast was found.
It would have been possible to find out what was happening by watching the forest all night long.
But the small incident in the forest was being managed by the Rosa estate.
And it was the Baron of Rosa Manor who begged that he wouldnât have to meet Aedis because he would give half of his fortune in return.
Yeah, I donât expect it to have been investigated properly.
Having given up my expectations completely, I listened to Procyonâs conversations with Agena.
âHave you ever met the Baron of Rosa Estate? What is that, Baron Paisley. What kind of person is he? Even if heâs a good person, I donât like him because he didnât come to say hello to Her Grace.â
âBaron Paisley is a person whose thoughts are visible. He is greedy and pretentious, but heâs not smart. If he doesnât speak up and provoke Viscountess Ella, there will be no big problem. The two are worse than the enemies. â
âIf itâs Viscountess Ellaâ¦oh, of the Lydia Estate?â
Procyon shouted while eagerly searching for memories.
Agena bent his eyes as if he had done well.
âYes, they were married. They formally divorced through a trial 10 years ago with a few sword fights, a few scuffles, and a few assassination attempts. When she failed, Viscountess Ella summoned an unknown sorcerer and cursed Baron Paisley. The curse still remains in effect.â
Procyonâs eyes sparkled with interest at the scent of the drama blowing in the air.
I think Thuban flinched a bit.
âBy the way, Sir Agena, can you tell us a secret that only a few know?â
Procyon asked politely.
Agena tilted his head with a gentle face.
âOur master isnât Baron Paisley, is it? If he doesnât show proper courtesy to the Lord and Her Grace again, Iâm thinking of putting up a poster with very detailed information about what kind of curse the Baron is under.â
âHoho, that would be fun. Please make sure to let me join you as well.â
Instead of answering Procyon, Agena smiled a gentle and sour-looking smile.
It was just briefly, but for the first time, he looked like Tolyman Elliott.
Agena said Iâd made a very good decision when I told him that I entrusted Gilbert to his brother.
Although Tolyman might not be able to beat Gilbert with his swordsmanship, he could irritate him so much heâd drive him crazy.
For some reason, he seemed to know exactly how to push other peopleâs buttons and make them annoyed.
After that, the small talk continued.
I was leaning on Aedisâs shoulder, the carriage stopped exactly an hour later.
âYouâve worked hard. Sirs can go take a rest now.â
âI donât mind stayingâ¦or not! Iâll go back and rest right now!â
Procyon, who had tried to stall, jumped as soon as he looked at Aedisâs eyes.
Agena bent his back with a nice smile.
âIt was a glorious experience. Call me anytime you need me.â
âThank you, Sir Agena, Sir Thuban.â
Thuban bid me goodbye with a face that seemed to not look intimidated at all and followed them out.
The carriage started again.
I tapped Aedis.
âOnly the two of us are left now.â
Aedis, who couldnât sense my playfulness, spoke with a straight face and restated the obvious.
âBecause we sent out the knights.â
âWhat do you think will happen now?â
ââ¦..â
ââ¦..Aedis, did you know that Sir Procyon had the same expression you just did when he asked me if I was asking him a question?â
I am completely hurt.
âWithout realizing it.â
Wow, he did it without realizing it.
Aedis, who sprinkled my salt in my wound, soon asked with a strange expression.
âDid I look the same as Procyon?â
âAlthough the destructive power was greater coming from you.â
Look at me again.
To express my pain with my whole body, I began to distance myself from Aedis.
Aedis grabbed me with a smile on his face.
âDonât go, Eve.â
âWhy?â
âBecause I get so sad when you leave.â
It was both sweet and bitter.
Uhâ¦If you say something so seriously but with such a funny face, I donât know what to believe.
ââ¦..Are you serious?â
âAlways.â
That word always reminded me of what Aedis said a while ago.
-Iâm glad that you donât have any brothers or sisters.
The conversation we had that night felt really sincere.
But I couldnât ask Aedis anything.
-I used to think like you at one point. I believed that we would be able to get along well forever.
â¦I canât do that.
-At that time, I shouldnât have wasted my time and just killed him sooner.
The feelings I got a peek of from him that day was like a hatred that had been carved into his bones and inscribed in the deepest part of himself.
Since then, Aedis hasnât spoken about the subject again.
Maybe he didnât even intend to talk about it that day.
So, maybe heâs regretting it.
Hey.
I got up from my seat. And unlike before, when I was timidly widening the distance, I strode toward Aedis.
The blue eyes that seemed to contain the sky at dawn became slightly larger.
âNow now. Iâm here, ugh.â
Suddenly, the carriage rattled. As if it was running without slowing down, whether it was uphill or downhill, I felt a slight shake even though the carriage was enchanted.
If Aedis hadnât held me, I would have almost fallenâ¦
Thuban, who had stood motionlessly for an hour, seemed remarkably amazing now.
I remember that the downhill road to the outside of the castle was quite inclined.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âThank you. Can I sit on your lap to make peace?â
Iâve sat there a few times before, so I asked as if it was just a trivial thing.
Aedis silently opened his arms.
I climbed on his knees.
ââ¦Donât touch it with your hands.â
In response to the sudden request, I gently removed my hand from Aedisâs thigh.
It wasnât until I had completely removed my hand that I noticed something was wrong.
Uhhh?
âIâ¦I was touching your thigh, right?â
No, Maevia! Donât think too much!
Good thoughts! Pure thoughts!
Think of flowers blooming and bees flying in a pretty garden under the blue sky!
When he saw me acting more flustered than ever, Aedis said.
âSit down.â
I wasnât sure if I should sit on Aedisâs lap again, so I sat on the seat instead.
I kept my head bent down humbly.
What to do with this atmosphereâ¦..
Letâs think innocently first.
You should have beautiful thoughts full of dreams and hopes, Maevia.
No, but how do Iâ¦crazy! Stop it!
For a while, only the sound of the carriage wheels rolling was heard.
I was sitting next to Aedis, and after a certain critical point, I asked.
âAedis.â
âYes.â
âI donât think youâd be very sad even if I leave now, right?â
ââ¦..Pfft.â
What?
I couldnât control my curiosity and glanced at Aedis.
He covered his mouth with his hand and laughed.
âHey, Iâm asking you seriously.â
I couldnât help but feel a terrible sense of betrayal.
It was the longest few minutes for me.
âSoâ¦..youâre not going to sit on my lap anymore?â
He was trying hard to hold back his laughter.
âWhen I have the courage, Iâll try again.â
There should be a lot more left.
Aedis encouraged me with lips full of smiles.
âTo answer your question, thereâs no way it wouldnât be sad.â
âThank you. My heart feels lighter now.â