Chapter 18
On a dark night, a chilly wind blew.
Theo sat on the bed, lost in thought.
“Kyu?”
The fox beside him let out a small, curious cry, as if wondering what was wrong with him,
“It's nothing.”
Theo stroked the fox, pretending everything was fine with a nonchalant expression.
“Kyuang!”
But the fox cried out as if scolding Theo for keeping everything bottled up.
It seemed to be saying, “Stop being so frustrating and tell me!”
Theo hesitated a little, but figured it was fine to talk about it, since the little one in front of him wouldn't know the circumstances anyway.
“Maybe, just maybe….”
“Kyu?”
I might have fallen for someone.”
“Kyu?!!!”
The fox cried out as if screaming at Theo's words, but for some reason, he felt relieved.
Of course, he wasn't sure, and since Theo had never liked anyone before, what he was feeling now might simply have been gratitude.
But when he saw her again after so long, what Theo felt was…
Joy, relief, and excitement.
He was happy she'd come back, relieved she was safe, and his heart had fluttered when she was right there in front of him.
He'd certainly had plenty of negative feelings toward her when she'd left without a word and never returned,
but the moment Edel appeared before him, those feelings melted away as if they'd never existed.
So Theo wondered.
Could this perhaps be love?
“Kyu!”
“You want to know who it is?”
“Kyu!”
“You wouldn't understand even if I told you.”
“Kyu!!!”
Despite Theo's words, the fox kept lightly pounding the bed with its adorable little paws, as if threatening him to keep talking.
And when a small hole began to appear where its paw touched, just like before, Theo couldn't simply sit there and watch, so he reached out and picked the fox up.
“Kyu?!”
“If you keep making holes like that, you'll give the maids more work.”
Besides, there was no need to keep up his playboy image anymore.
If anything, people in Rebellin had recently started praising Theo.
They were saying absurd things like, “Theo Rebellin is both a genius swordsman and a capable leader.”
‘Capable? I didn't do anything.’
I'm incompetent.
I wasn't the one who caught the criminal, nor the one who brought in a fortune and improved Rebellin's finances as a result.
Edel did all of it.
“Kyu?”
Just then, the fox in his arms called out to Theo.
“Ah, sorry. Right. You were asking about that woman, weren't you?”
“Kyu!”
“That woman…”
A woman with abnormally great strength, who'd somehow used him to bring Daiham down.
And yet he didn't know her identity. She was suspicious in all sorts of ways—a woman he ought to be wary of.
And yet…
“She's the kind of woman I always want to be with.”
And yet, afraid she might leave him, he hadn't managed to ask her in the end.
Because he'd decided that her identity didn't matter, whatever it was.
He had no idea how he'd come to feel this way.
“Kyu…”
The fox seemed to fall deep in thought at Theo's words.
‘Why is it thinking so hard?… It won't understand anyway.’
But it looked so serious that Theo found it cute and decided to leave it be.
Besides…
Swish, swish
For some reason, the movement of its tail, which seemed to be wagging expectantly, caught Theo's eye.
Its soft tail swayed from side to side like a wave, and there was something strangely captivating about it.
Just like her…
Thump
“Kyu?!”
Theo smacked himself on the forehead, startling the fox into a cry, but
he didn't have time to worry about that right now.
‘I'm really in deep.’
He couldn't deny that he was interested in her, but now he was even thinking of her when he saw things that had nothing to do with her.
He even wondered if he'd already fallen under her spell.
“Let's go to sleep for now. I have to get up early tomorrow, too.”
Theo lay down on the bed and beckoned to the fox,
“Kyu…”
The fox approached him with a dissatisfied look and lay down, resting its head on his arm.
Theo wanted to ask it something, but decided to sleep for now.
His own mind was a complete mess at the moment.
“Good night.”
“Kyuang…”
Hoping that a good idea would come to him after he woke up,
*
The next day,
“Master, there's something I'd like to ask you.”
Theo was sitting in his office, handling paperwork as usual, when Edel's sudden question made him look at her in surprise.
She'd been quiet all morning and seemed serious.
Theo had a bad feeling about this.
“What is it all of a sudden?”
“Please answer seriously.”
“Go ahead.”
But he couldn't let his unease show, so he pushed his worries to the back of his mind and asked her,
“Do you—do you like me?!”
Edel suddenly dropped a bombshell.
“What?!”
“I-I asked if you like me.”
Perhaps she was embarrassed even as she asked, because her face began turning as red as an apple.
But Theo was no different.
The sudden question had left his mind completely blank.
‘What is she talking about all of a sudden?!’
Had he shown too much affection yesterday? He'd tried his best to hide it, though.
Complicated thoughts swirled through Theo's mind, and after a brief moment of consideration, he saw two possible choices.
Should he honestly tell her that he had feelings for her, or pretend not to know what she was talking about?
It was as if a stopwatch had appeared in Theo's heart, urging him to hurry up.
“I asked if you like me!”
Edel pressed him, as if she had no intention of waiting for his answer,
and in the end…
“I…”
“You…?”
“As if I could. You're full of yourself.”
He chose the latter.
‘Confessing only after being pressed into it isn't right for a man.’
Of course, that was just an excuse. He simply didn't have the courage.
“I see.”
Edel accepted his answer calmly, but her voice sounded strangely deflated.
Seeing her like that made Theo's heart begin to beat a little faster.
‘Is she disappointed?’
At first, he'd kept his distance and stayed wary because he thought Edel was one of the people of Verdia,
but now that he knew she wasn't that kind of person, he realized she'd shown interest in him from the very beginning.
Edel had liked him from the start…
“That's a relief.”
Theo's hopes, which had swelled so high, promptly deflated at Edel's next words.
“What do you mean?”
But she didn't answer his question. Instead, she walked over to the window,
“It's a secret.”
And the smile she gave him was,
as ridiculous as it was, beautiful to Theo, like a flower shining brightly in the sunlight on a clear day.
He found himself staring at her in a daze.
“Hmm? Why are you looking at me like that?”
Whip
“It's nothing.”
Theo quickly turned his head and looked back at his documents.
“Were you perhaps going to give me a hug…?”
“No!”
Edel had been quiet for a moment, but when she brought up the same strange thing as before, Theo reacted sharply and refused.
“Just once!”
“I refuse!”
Even as he refused, Theo honestly wanted to give in and hug her just once.
No, honestly, that wouldn't be enough, either.
If he had his way, he'd just…
‘…Just what? Get a grip, Theo Rebellin!’
Theo scolded himself inwardly for having such improper thoughts.
How could the head of House Rebellin imagine something like that with a young woman? That was…
[So you're my son after all.]
For some reason, it suddenly felt as if his father were giving him a thumbs-up from somewhere and praising him,
but Theo shook his head, banishing the evil spirit trying to sway him.
He was different from his father, after all.
“Master?!”
“…It's nothing.”
Edel started toward him in alarm, but he raised a hand to stop her.
She let out a sigh.
“How are you ever going to find a woman like that?”
She said it as casually as a mother worrying about her son's future.
“That's not something you need to worry about!”
It wasn't something he wanted to hear from her, either.
“Good grief, all right. It's almost time, so I'll go help prepare dinner!”
“Already?”
When he looked out the window, it had grown dark before he knew it.
The day had flown by.
“Well then…”
“Wait!”
Theo hurriedly called out to Edel.
“You're off tomorrow. You'll need to go shopping for clothes.”
“Clothes?”
“Yes, clothes for the birthday party I mentioned yesterday.”
There wasn't enough time to have something made to order, of course.
But Theo wanted to pick something out himself and give it to her.
“Um, all right.”
Edel seemed to think it over for a moment, then nodded.
“Good. You worked hard today.”
“Thank you.”
After Edel left the room,
“Whew…”
Theo leaned his elbows on the desk and clutched his head again.
He wasn't as tired as before, and there was nothing to stress him out.
And yet Theo had a headache.
“What on earth did she mean?”
What was a relief? What did she mean by that being a relief?
Edel's expression from earlier kept coming back to him, flying around inside his head and stirring up a mess.
* * *
Flop
“Haa…”
I finished all my chores, went to my room, and flung myself onto the bed.
Even for a maid's room in a medieval world, having a single bed is way too nice, if you ask me.
“Edel, aren't you going out today?”
It was a little disappointing that I didn't have the room to myself, though.
“I'm not going anywhere.”
“Is something wrong?”
“No.”
“You're lying.”
Tch, she's still way too perceptive.
But I couldn't tell Seolli.
To begin with, I wasn't even sure what I was worried about.
I buried my face in the bed as if I had nothing to say,
and Seolli suddenly went over to her spot, then came back and held something out near my head.
It was a small black pebble,
“Chocolate?”
“Yeah. Choco. The madam gave it to me earlier today.”
It was a familiar treat I hadn't seen in a long time, but
“I don't want any.”
“Huh? Why?!”
It's way too different from the chocolate I ate in my previous life.
This one is too bitter.
“Hmm, then how about this?”
I looked at the hand she held out again and saw a little round bead-like thing, so I immediately reached for it.
Tap
“I like this.”
It was a candy.
It wasn't as sweet as the candy from my previous life, either, but it wasn't so bad I couldn't eat it.
As soon as I put the candy in my mouth, a hint of sweetness spread across my tongue, along with a slightly refreshing sensation.
Candy is delicious!
But why is Seolli glaring at me like that?
“You're not going to tell me now?”
“…”
It's really nothing, honestly. Just…
“Master said he has a woman he likes, so I thought it was surprising, and kind of heartwarming…”
“What's heartwarming about it?”
Of course it's heartwarming! The boy I knew as a child has grown up so much.
Of course, I'm actually younger than him, but I wish she'd count my age from my previous life, too.
Including my previous life… how old was I then, anyway?
“Pfft. So you were sad because you thought it wasn't you?”
Her laugh got under my skin, so I immediately threw the pillow beside me at her face.
Wham
“Ow, that's so mean.”
“Don't tease me!”
I'm so embarrassed I could die.
I got the wrong idea all by myself, and about a man, no less. I seriously want to die…
Yeah, when Theo talked about it last night, I wondered if he meant me.
No, honestly, I was sure he did.
Whenever he saw me, his face turned bright red. Wouldn't anyone have figured it out?
I'm pretty perceptive, you know.
Anyway, that's why I asked him first today,
and if Theo said he liked me, I was going to reject him.
It wasn't that I disliked Theo, but dating a man… Honestly, I still had a mental aversion to it.
So… that's what I did, but…
“Uuuugh!!”
“W-What's wrong?!”
He didn't mean me! He said he liked another woman!!
More than anything, I'm so embarrassed I could die!!!
“Haa…”
But who could it be? Was there another woman Theo was close to?
Surely it couldn't be his fiancée…
“Are you feeling better now?”
“Yeah. I'm okay. And actually, it's probably for the best.”
If he'd confessed to me, I might not have been able to stay here anymore.
When I think about it that way, this is better.
If we can stay close as friends from now on, that would be the best outcome.
“What do you mean, for the best?”
“…Nothing.”
“Hey!!‘
Eek, that's the first time I've ever seen Seolli get mad!!