Chapter 68
“Wow, it really doesn’t suit your face. It doesn’t seem like your name.”
“I hear that often.”
“What’s this? Why are you suddenly being so friendly to me? Was our family that great? Enough to change your attitude so suddenly?”
“Why? Are you the heir or something?”
“No. My older brother will be the next count. Are you going to become cold again if there’s no crumbs left for me?”
So you’re the second son of the count, since the count only has two children.
“I don’t think I’ve been particularly kind.”
“You gave me a heart-fluttering smile. Are we dating now?”
What’s with this sudden outburst? What’s going on?
“Hahaha. You’re really funny.”
It’s not funny at all. It’s just annoying. But because I had that dream… The vivid scene of Luwen dying suddenly came to mind.
As Luwen said in the dream, I’m originally a selfish person. It means only the people important to me matter. So, I will use Adrian.
“You were pretty when crying, but you’re even prettier when you smile. Really, won’t you date me? I’m not joking.”
“We don’t know each other well yet, so dating might be too much. Let’s be friends first. Don’t you like that idea?”
“Not bad. I’m confident I can make you fall for me.”
Adrian smiled confidently. I carefully maintained a gentle smile while continuing to think.
Currently, I have two possible scenarios. One where Adrian has memorized the ledger, and one where he hasn’t. If he has memorized it, I need to coax him into spilling it out. If not, it means the ledger still exists.
‘I can catch the evidence.’
Before being wiped out by the 1st Prince’s tail-cutting.
Even if left alone, the 2nd Prince would resolve it, but if I can secure additional evidence that was missed in the original story, I might be able to expedite their downfall. Even a day earlier. Before that bastard sells out the empire.
“Try your best. I’m going back to the dormitory now. Let’s meet again when we have the chance.”
“It’s a shame to part so soon. Can’t I escort you back?”
“Then, would you support me?”
“It would be my honor.”
Maybe with this guy’s help, I might even be able to escape the 4-person room. The medical department’s special rooms have many vacancies, so a count’s family should be able to move one commoner.
* * *
The first weekend after entering the academy. I hurried back to the mansion and first removed the hair color.
“Sigh…”
After restoring my original color and drying my wet hair, I let out a deep sigh. Since having that dream, I couldn’t control my emotions. Whenever I thought of the dream, the scene of Luwen dying would follow, making me anxious. Because of that, I couldn’t even go see Luwen, worried that the same thing might happen.
‘He’ll be here in an hour…’
I resumed my paused hand movements, but soon another sigh escaped. I was troubled. I always felt happy when seeing the child, so I disliked feeling this way. I even wished Luwen wouldn’t be able to come. I wanted to avoid him until I felt certain everything was okay.
However, as they say, it’s better to face your fears head-on. My desire to meet and talk with him soon grew, and unlike my usual self, I wavered back and forth until finally, on Saturday, the appointed time arrived.
As I was slowly getting ready, still sighing heavily, there was a knock at the door.
“Come in.”
“Excuse me, master. Your expected guest has arrived.”
It was one of the people I had requested from the Merchant Guild this morning, right after leaving the dormitory. I was surprised that such a large guild didn’t have a separate department for personnel mediation, but as they were the easiest people to move with money, negotiations weren’t difficult.
‘I originally planned to meet outside.’
Things got complicated because I happened to become acquainted with Adrian. I needed a servant to show Luwen, as it would be troublesome if we ran into each other while wandering outside. Still, since I’ve already hired this help, I plan to have them manage the mansion continuously as they don’t know my real identity, so there’s no risk of my absence being reported to my sister.
“Luwen is already here?”
“Shall I show him to the reception room?”
I’m not mentally prepared yet… Why did he come so early? If he had come just a little earlier, I wouldn’t have had time to remove my hair color. Should I set the appointment time later next time?
“…For now, do that. Ah, and tell them to hurry with the food preparation.”
“Understood.”
As the servant withdrew, I hurriedly finished drying my hair. Since I had never been lazy in front of Luwen, he would surely find it strange if my hair was wet.
However, despite my intention to hurry, my hands moved sluggishly, and it took quite some time. Finally coming to my senses, I rushed to the reception room. But as I stood in front of the door, anxiety inevitably crept up.
‘This is driving me crazy. I should have seen him one more time earlier. Stupid idiot.’
I can’t keep him waiting forever, so I should go in, but…
As I was hesitating in front of the door, suddenly the reception room door flung open, and before I could react, I was pulled into a tight embrace.
“Young master.”
“Lu-Luwen?”
“I missed you. I really missed you.”
Luwen’s voice, which had become deeper, resonated in my ear. I couldn’t tell when I saw him from afar, but being this close, I realized how much he had grown in height over the past two years. His body had also become much firmer.
‘It seems… better than I thought?’
My heart was fine, and there were no emotional fluctuations. Only then did I slowly raise my head to properly check his face.
Up close, I could see that his sharper and more refined features were exactly the same as the Luwen in my imagination. The bright atmosphere had also settled into a calm demeanor.
However, there were things that hadn’t changed.
‘…His eyes.’
His eyes, which had become much deeper in the time we hadn’t seen each other, still sparkled, and his slightly curved eye corners were charming. Above all, the gentle gaze directed at me was familiar.
But… why did I feel this contradictory emotion of unfamiliarity? Was it because we were reuniting after two years? Or because of his changed way of speaking?
‘Well, I’m not used to the adult Luwen after all.’
But perhaps it was awkward because his eyes remained the same, creating a gap.
Yes, thinking about it, this seems right. Although his appearance was the same as the Luwen in the original story, the Luwen in front of me was smiling gently. The coexistence of familiarity and unfamiliarity might be because I knew both sides deeply.
‘It might feel more so because his way of speaking has become similar to the original story.’
Personally, I preferred his previous cute way of speaking, but I couldn’t interfere that far. I’ll just have to adapt.
‘It feels a bit… disappointing that he suddenly became so mature, but it can’t be helped.’
Of course, on the other hand, I couldn’t help but think that there was no need for him to be so formal with me. Still, his actions hadn’t changed much, so it seemed okay.
In fact, it was a trivial matter in a way. What was important was that I was now certain that seeing Luwen wouldn’t cause the same symptoms as before. Just like when I first met the young Luwen, it only happened that one time, and afterwards, everything was fine. This time seemed to be the same.
“Why have you become so thin? You seem much thinner than when I last saw you. Have you been sleeping properly? Have you been eating well?”
The force with which he squeezed me, as if to show how much he had missed me, was strong. It was natural in a way, given that our close proximity had been everyday life, to the point where Taran had once misunderstood us.
This aspect hasn’t changed. Now that he had confirmed I was fine, it was time to have a proper conversation with Luwen.
“You’ve grown a lot. If we had met outside, I might not have recognized you.”
“You look the same, young master. Except that you’ve lost too much weight. Are you sure you’ve been taking care of yourself properly?”
“Is that so? I hadn’t noticed. Anyway, how long are we going to stand here? Let’s go in and sit down.”
My voice lightened as I felt relieved after clearly answering. As I moved, the now heavier footsteps followed at a familiar distance. Then, I felt a sense of comfort, as if my tense body had relaxed. I felt the reality of my habits, my daily life, returning.
Judging by the lump in my throat, I must have missed Luwen more than I thought. But I wanted to maintain a composed appearance in front of Luwen, so I kept my usual neat smile.
“You can sit there. By the way, you must be hungry, but the meal isn’t ready yet. What should we do? I had told them to prepare it by the appointment time.”
“It’s fine. I came early because I wanted to see you quickly. And this is a gift.”
“A gift?”
Luwen, smiling, immediately pulled out a small box from under the table and handed it to me.
Inside the elegantly wrapped box was a small bottle. It was aromatherapy oil. It looked similar to what he had given me before going to the academy, but the intricately carved glass bottle claimed it was a high-priced item. It must have cost at least 20 gold.
A territory management proxy earns 10 gold as a monthly salary and lives quite comfortably. In other words, the value of 20 gold was enormous.
“As you can see, it’s aromatherapy oil. I bought it because you said the one I gave you before helped you sleep.”
As I quietly held the unexpected large gift in my hand, I raised my head at the voice and was drawn to his polite attitude and formal gestures. He hugged me so readily at first, but his attitude changed immediately, which made me feel a bit sad… No, I shouldn’t feel hurt by things like this.
I looked down at the aromatherapy oil in my hand again.
“It looks expensive.”
I had lied because I was touched by his thoughtfulness, but to think it made him spend money on such unnecessary things. Did he even have money for this? I had sent him plenty of pocket money so he could focus on academy life without worrying about money, but it wasn’t enough to buy such expensive items.
“I couldn’t buy just anything for you, young master. Of course, I didn’t use the money you sent me. I couldn’t help it when I was younger, but not now.”
“Where did you get the money from? Weren’t you busy studying and training?”
He didn’t even return to the mansion because he was taking seasonal courses, so he couldn’t have gone out to earn money. If he did… I would really be upset.
“Well…”
Seeing Luwen hesitate to speak, my mood kept sinking. I stared at him and smiled brightly. You should confess, Luwen.
“I’m worried, so please tell me honestly.”
