Chapter 21

“Divine lady. Whether you crawl into my bed or dance in front of me naked, I will not be interested in you for even a damn bit, so could you at least try to behave yourself properly.”

Did, did Calix just say those words? I couldn’t believe it even if I’ve heard it directly from him.

The Calix that I know, though a bit cold-hearted, was not a man who would use such an abusive language to a lady.

‘Do you hate her that much? Sia?’

It’s already surprising that he doesn’t like the heroine, Sia, but I can’t believe that he even hates her this intensely. It was a series of surprises.

“I······.”

It was the moment when Sia, who moistened her lips, was about to say something.

“What kind of rude words was that to the divine lady?”

From somewhere, I heard a stinging voice. Then I sensed something coming our way.

I turned my eyes. Then I saw a man with blue hair, dressed in a white priest’s uniform. At a glance, his physique looked so slender and nice that you would mistake him for a woman.

He stopped right in front of us, and then he rolled his eyes around as if skimming the surroundings. Then his eyes fell on me.

The eyes similar to the color of his hair were suddenly smudged with a different glint. The man seemed to recognize me immediately. A contemptuous smile lightly crept upon his lips.

“Oh. Is she that woman?”

Did he just call me ‘that’? The same moment I flinched at the rude reference, Calix ferociously glared at the priest as if he would kill him and retorted.

“How dare you call her ‘that’ do you have a death wish?”

The priest mockingly laughed. Then he slightly narrowed his eyes and looked sarcastically at me.

“Oh, pardon my terms. You’re the great fiancée, who made this man here, the Grand Duke of the empire, search the whole continent for the last seven years, right?”

······What a very arrogant attitude.

I’ve never imagined being ridiculed in this way. And by the priest who I’ve met for the first time at that. I bit down my lips.

“Brill, don’t be like that.”

Unexpectedly, the person who immediately scolded the priest was Sia. She patted the priest’s shoulder named ‘Brill,’ then looked back at me and said.

“You were embarrassed because Brill was a little rude, right? I’m sorry. It’s because he cares about me so much.”

Sia smiled kindly. It was the smile of the divine lady whose love encompasses everyone.

I blinked wildly in a fluster. After ignoring me all this time, her sudden change of attitude was too absurd.

Is she paying attention to that priest’s eyes? I glanced at the priest, then looked at Sia again and answered.

“It’s all right.”

“You have a beautiful heart.”

Then Sia narrowed her distance with me and grabbed my hand.

I shuddered at the contact. Sia’s hands were icy. It bothered me more than the fact that she suddenly held my hand that it somehow felt stiff and awkward.

Sia looked at me and smiled with her eyes folded like a crescent moon. When I couldn’t respond to a smile that seemed somewhat taunting and impolite, Calix stepped back and widened the distance between Sia and me.

He embraced me tightly, and as if showing off, kissed me on the forehead.

What, what’s wrong with him all of a sudden? I looked up at Calix as my eyelids jitter. Then Calix revealed a fierce expression and smiled.

“······.”

My mind seemed to blank out for a moment. I couldn’t quite understand what was happening all of a sudden.

“Tsk.”

Amidst all the confusion, the sound of the priest clicking his tongue was heard. He glanced past us and said.

“Then let’s go back. The city was also almost sorted out.”

The first person to respond to the remark was Sia. She clapped her hands and said with a big smile on her face.

“Yes! I can’t wait to go and rest! Calix, I heard that the local specialty here was delicious. Have you tried it?”

Once again, Sia changed the subject, subtly ignoring me.

But there was no time to feel bad about her attitude. It was because Calix’s answer, which came shortly after, was very exhilarating.

“Could you stop talking to me?”

Not knowing exactly what to feel, I could only roll my eyes.

Calix seemed to abhor Sia so much that you would think he somehow turned misogynistic.

······What the hell did Sia do?

I was frowning as it feels that I was falling into a labyrinth more and more when suddenly I felt Calix’s gaze on me.

As I looked up, he smiled gently and asked in a soft voice.

“What’s the problem? Laure.”

“No, nothing······.”

I furtively avoided his gaze, and reluctantly replied. I’m not quite sure if I should just like it or worry about his intense reactions to Sia.

Perhaps dissatisfied with my answer, Calix hugged me tightly and made me face him.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Erm······.”

“If you’re thinking of running away·····.”

“It’s not like that!”

I shouted reflexively. The glint in his steely eyes was horrifying. As if he was ready to seize me and lock me up somewhere.

Is it now confinement after handcuffs? As I swallowed hard due to nervousness, Calix smiled softly, loosening his expression.

······His extreme behavioral transitions were terrifying.

“Please stop running away, Laure.”

“······Yes.”

I nodded gently, as it seemed that he would kidnap me while he was holding me in his arms. Calix smiled as if he liked my answer and kissed my lips lightly.

“I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but I’ve been out of my mind for a long time.”

“······.”

“Please don’t try to throw me away for the second time. Laure. If you ever abandon me again, I don’t know what I’m going to do then.”

“Alright······.”

Only then did I realize.

That his insanity is more severe than I had expected.

*         *         *

“Mom~!”

As soon as I arrived in front of the Osborne’s Shop, Letty immediately came rushing in. But when she saw Calix holding me, she hesitatingly paused, and then she stepped back.

Then Letty raised her round eyes and stared at Calix.

“Please give me my mom.”

“······Oh, alright.”

Calix seemed to be a little disconcerted, which was very unlike him. As he put me down with an embarrassed expression, Letty jumped into me.

“Mom, I was so worried about you!”

“Oh my, did you?”

I stroked Letty’s head and patted her on the back. Then the child peeped her head out of my arms and suddenly sniffed.

“Mom, you smell like the sea!”

“Oh, that······.”

I can’t say that I almost died from drowning in the seawater, so I roughly looked around.

“I tripped while running and fell into the sea.”

“Mom, you’re an idiot! How could a grown-up fall into the sea!”

“Exactly·····.”

I nodded, quietly agreeing to Letty’s scolding.

Letty blows a bunch of air into her cheek and then folded her arms as if showing her discontentment. Then suddenly asked.

“Mom, what time is it now?”

“Uh·····.”

As I stretched the end of my word, I glanced at the wall clock hanging inside the store.

“Oh, my goodness, it’s 11:50! It will be our Letty’s birthday soon!”

Deliberately speaking in an admiring voice, Letty smiled and shook her head.

“Letty will be six years old in a little while.”

“Wow! Our Letty is finally six years old?”

“Ehehe.”

Letty seemed to be very proud to be six years old.

“But what shall we do······?”

I made a sad expression on my face.

“Your mom lost her gift for Letty·····.”

I bought the carousel music box that Letty wanted to have, but that night I accidentally met Calix and then dropped it on the street and ran away.

I’m sure Calix have picked it up, but there’s no way he’d keep a child’s present on him until now······.

“Would you like to celebrate your birthday in the morning and go buy a present with your mom?”

I suggested an alternative. Then Letty smiled broadly and nodded as if she didn’t care a bit for the lost gift.

“I would like to go to buy presents with mom!”

“Really?”

“Yes!”

As I felt like I was about to cry, I bit the flesh inside my mouth.

How could our Letty be this nice? She is a very extraordinary child. Whatever I say to her, she will say she knew, and she always tries to understand. She would always think about the bright and positive side of everything. She was much better than an adult like me.

Hugging Letty tightly, I said.

“Our Letty is an angel.”

“Huh? No, Letty’s not an angel.”

“But you’re such a nice kid.”

“Yes, Letty’s not an angel but······.”

Whether she wanted to explain something, Letty frowned. But as if she couldn’t think of the right words to say, she just shook her head.

“Oh my, who is this child? Is it Laure’s daughter?”

Smiling brightly, Sia approaches our way. We’ve never spoken to each other, yet she’s already calling me by my name, pretending to be close? I was so taken aback that I could only blink my eyes.

However, what was even more surprising was Letty’s reaction upon seeing her.

Letty got startled and immediately hid behind me. Then little by little, she only peeps at Sia.

Sia’s expression after seeing Letty’s reaction to her seemed a little stiff. I took my eyes off her and looked at Letty again.

“······Letty? What’s wrong?”

Letty’s expression was bizarre. It is the same as when Letty saw a caterpillar for the first time in our house’s yard, like meeting her most hated enemy, Letty shouted, ‘Mom! There’s a weird creature in here!’

Letty was on guard against Sia as if the woman was awfully strange.

“Huhu, you don’t have to be so scared.”

“······.”

Sia said, slightly lowering her upper body. But Letty just stared at her with her mouth shut.

As Letty continued to remain unresponsive, Sia smiled shamelessly and backed away. Then her black eyes briefly passed at me.

She seemingly flashed a particularly mysterious smile, and the next moment, Sia drew close to Calix.

“Calix! Aren’t you hungry? Oh, first of all, you need to take a bath.”

Sia spoke in a friendly voice and put her hands around Calix’s arms. Calix’s face frowned as if a nasty object grazed him.

He annoyedly shook off Sia’s arm and was about to say something when.

Tap-tap-tap!

Toinks!

“?”

All of a sudden, Letty ran into Calix, bumping her head on him simultaneously.

“Le, Letty?”

My mouth opened wide in surprise. Then I quickly ran over towards them.

It turned out that Letty was hugging Calix’s leg with both of her arms, and Calix······ seemed to stiffen as a statue.

“Le, Le, Letty!”

Out of embarrassment, I immediately tried to get Letty off of Calix, but Letty only mumbled a long, ‘No~!’ and stayed stuck to Calix like a cicada. Calix’s face turned pitifully pale.

I was so embarrassed by the situation that I couldn’t figure out what to do. Why is Letty acting this way all of a sudden?

‘Don’t tell me?’

No, it’s impossible······ there’s no chance that Letty would know the fact that Calix is her father. Is it something like intuition?

‘Or perhaps she’d unconsciously accepted Calix as her dad······.’

As I was pondering that idea, Letty stretched out her arms and said to Calix,

“Hold me!”

“What?”

Baffled by the unexpected demand, Calix stumbled like a weed swaying in the wind. It’s the first time in my life that I’ve ever seen him make such a silly look.

“Hold~! Me~! Give Letty a hug!”

“No, why would I······.”

As Calix blinked helplessly, not knowing what to do, Letty jumped, stomped her feet, and made a fuss.

“Hug me~! Hmm? Please hug Letty!”

“······.”

Calix’s gaze turned to me for a moment. At his questioning look that asks what the hell was going on, I could only reply with a smile and shrug my shoulders. For I, too, don’t know why Letty is doing this all of a sudden.

“Haa······.”

Calix looked at Letty with a puzzled look on his face and breathed a deep sigh. Then he bent his upper body, and with both of his arms, he hugged Letty and lifted her.