36
Not long after, I could see Riette and Cedric sitting under a tree.
Riette stared at me intently, then opened her mouth when we got close enough to hear each other’s voices.
“Why did they call you?”
“Hmm… I heard something strange.”
“Something strange?”
“They said there’s magic cast on me.”
“Magic?”
I nodded.
Cedric looked toward us with somewhat interested eyes, while Riette widened her eyes with a completely clueless expression.
“What kind of magic?”
“I don’t know either. Even the Spirit King couldn’t interpret it.”
“Really? If even the Spirit King can’t interpret it, it must be quite advanced magic… Who on earth could cast magic of that level?”
The questions Riette raised were all ones I had as well, so I had no answers to give back and shook my head again this time.
“Well. But it doesn’t seem to be bad magic.”
“That’s fortunate. You have no idea where it might be from?”
“None…”
“Hmm. It’s really strange.”
“I know.”
I plopped down beside Riette.
Riette, who had been pondering thoughtfully, asked Cedric “Do you have any hunches?” and Cedric stared into space with a contemplative expression before moving his lips.
“Not really.”
I felt a strange nuance of trying to avoid conversation in that curt answer, but I just thought it was my imagination and let it pass.
Whenever I looked at Cedric’s face, yesterday’s events kept coming to mind, making me suffer in various ways, so I tried my best not to think about anything related to him at all.
[Humans, time to eat!]
That’s when the spirits who had been preparing meals for a while called us. The scattered people gathered together.
At first, most of it looked like tree fruits, so I worried it might be tasteless and not filling. But contrary to expectations, the fruits were quite delicious, and my stomach felt more satisfied than I thought.
Still, I couldn’t help but think of meat.
‘I’ll eat to my heart’s content when I get home.’
It was a time when I newly realized that being able to eat what you want when you want to eat it is truly a blessed thing.
We stayed one night under the spirits’ giant tree, and the next morning, thanks to the teleportation magic the spirits cast for us, we were able to move directly to a nearby village.
And from where we arrived, we purchased new carriages and horses to prepare to depart again.
It had been an eventful journey with many incidents… but fortunately we were able to safely arrive at our respective homes.
Afterward, the families we three belonged to imposed severe punishment on the porter and coachman who had caused this accident.
However, considering that Riette, Cedric and I didn’t want harsh punishment, and that they had worked hard to find us, the strongest penalties like property confiscation or death weren’t imposed.
Thus we gradually returned to daily life.
Although it was still awkward dealing with Cedric because the ‘accident’ we experienced in the forest sometimes came to mind, since neither Cedric nor I brought up what happened then anymore… I thought everything was returning to its place.
Especially because I believed there was a tacit agreement between him and me to quietly cover up what happened then.
…That was my mistake.
So I shouldn’t have thought lightly of it when Cedric brought up the promise to travel together from last time and even pulled out his wish voucher from before to push the issue, and accepted it.
* * *
It was a day when Riette, Cedric and I gathered in the salon as usual.
“Eddie. Let’s go have fun.”
While Riette was briefly away, Cedric, who was sitting across from me, suddenly suggested.
Since I was left alone with Cedric again, I had become awkward and was looking elsewhere when I was startled and looked back at him.
“Huh? Where? The three of us with Ret?”
“No. Just the two of us.”
“…Ah, hmm.”
“You said let’s travel together last time.”
That was then, this is now.
…Those words rose to my throat but I swallowed them.
“Let’s go to the ocean.”
“……”
“Don’t you want to?”
“No, it’s not that I don’t want to.”
While I was hesitating, Cedric suddenly strode over and sat in the empty seat next to me. The moment we became too close, I unconsciously flinched and moved my body far away from him.
“You said you wouldn’t be neglectful toward me anymore.”
“……”
“Are you going to wrong me again?”
“……”
“Try saying you don’t want to. I can use my wish voucher.”
Ah. Come to think of it, this guy took one wish voucher.
‘Haah.’
I sighed inwardly and rubbed my face.
‘…I’m still embarrassed because of what happened then.’
I was trying to forget.
It seems like Cedric has already forgotten everything while only I keep worrying about it, which makes me feel restless for no reason.
But forgetting such intense memories was harder than I thought.
‘…No. Rather, should I really just go have fun with just the two of us?’
If we have a good time together as if nothing happened, it might actually be better than now.
‘Mm. Right.’
Having decided, I nodded.
“Alright. Should we go to the villa I mentioned last time?”
Then Cedric curved his eyes like crescents. With his deep, sharp eyes and plump aegyo-sal rising, he looked cute for a moment.
“I’m fine with anywhere.”
“I’ll ask my parents. Whether we can use the villa.”
“Yeah. Let’s stay there for about 3 days.”
“3 whole days?”
“What do you mean 3 whole days. It’s only 3 days.”
“Is it?”
“Aren’t you thinking about travel time?”
“Hmm.”
It takes half a day just to get there, so the time would definitely be tight for proper fun. Especially if we planned to sightsee since the area around the villa was a tourist destination.
But even so, staying stuck together for 3 days when I don’t know if it’ll be okay for just the two of us is a bit much, isn’t it? But if I tell him honestly, he’ll sulk again.
Cedric was secretly prone to sulking. Even now, look at that. His sulky expression seemed to say ‘I’m about to sulk.’
And strangely, when that guy acts sulky like that, my heart softens. It must be because I’ve wronged him too much until now.
“…If you use your wish voucher, I’ll agree to 3 days.”
“Hmm… well, fine.”
Just as Cedric relaxed his sulky expression and answered satisfactorily—
Riette finally returned.
I had been inwardly waiting for her to return soon, so I felt relieved to be able to avoid the situation of having to be alone together.
‘Phew.’
Riette asked what we had talked about while she was gone and sat in the opposite seat, while Cedric instead of me began chattering about this and that.
I belatedly became conscious that my hand placed on the sofa and Cedric’s hand were almost touching, so I subtly moved mine onto my thigh.
A few weeks later, the day we decided to go have fun arrived.
Cedric visited our mansion from early morning. He looked so excited that I couldn’t criticize him for coming much earlier than our promised meeting time.
Are you that happy?
“Welcome, Cedy. Have some tea while you wait.”
“This is the first time you two are going out to play alone, isn’t it?”
While I finished preparing to leave, my parents surrounded Cedric expressing great interest. Since I was packing in the mansion’s living room, I could hear everything they were talking about in the adjacent reception room, so I couldn’t help but eavesdrop.
“It’s the first time.”
“That sounds fun.”
“It was for 3 days of fun, right? Be careful and have fun.”
“Yes, I’ll take good care of Eddie.”
“Well, we’re not worried since you’re there.”
The three people chatting so warmly looked so close that I felt strange. Anyone looking would think I’m the child and he’s my guardian. I sighed deeply and quickly stuffed the remaining luggage into my bag and stood up.
“Cedy! Let’s go. We’ll be back.”
“Oh my, did you pack everything without missing anything?”
“Yes.”
Cedric and my parents followed behind me as I walked ahead. The newly hired coachman was greeting us respectfully.
“Don’t do anything dangerous when you get there. You understand, right?”
My parents stayed by our side watching over us until we got into the carriage.
They said they weren’t worried since Cedric was there, but contrary to their words, their faces looked full of worry, making my heart ache for no reason.
After the previous accident, my parents had been particularly worried about and caring for me.
“Yes, I will. Don’t worry.”
I hugged my mother and father once each and left greeting kisses on their cheeks.
When the door closed, the carriage began to move. While I watched my parents waving goodbye through the window for the last time, Cedric, who was sitting across from me, muttered.
“I feel the heavy responsibility of being entrusted with the safety of the Lowell family’s young master.”
His slightly smiling tone somehow sounds annoying. I narrowed my eyes and moved away from the window to lean back against the seat.
“If you put it that way, my responsibility is heavier.”
A trip alone with the Grand Duke family’s young master. If anything happened, ugh. Most people would probably spend the whole day being mindful and offering to be errand boys.
“Are you saying you’ll take responsibility for me while we’re at the villa?”
“Yeah. …Hm?”
I answered carelessly then my eyes widened.
Something about the nuance seems strangely odd.
“Right, then. You’ve agreed to take responsibility for me.”
Seeing Cedric’s smile turn mischievous as he quickly snatched up my answer before I could add anything more, it seems like I’ve been caught in a nasty prank.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
