Luce knew it before she even opened her eyes.
She is in Rev’s bedroom. Even while lying on the bed.
The sun was already going down when she looked out of the window while lying down.
How long did I sleep? Did I sneak into Rev’s bedroom because I was uncomfortable in my sleep?
Leaving the blonde kid alone?
Thud—!
She got up in a hurry and fell down.
“Ouch…”
It must have been a very small sound.
“Luce.”
But the person waiting outside the door didn’t think so.
Luce’s eyes widened as she sat down and touched her knee.
Surprise, delight, and—.
“Rev?”
If she wasn’t mistaken, Rev’s eyes were full of regret and a little bit of resentment.
Not knowing he was in pain, Luce jumped up and pulled Rev’s hand with all her might.
Rev, who was being led along, knew his destination.
“Where on earth have you been?”
Luce’s small shoulders.
It was a very awkward posture.
But Luce, who had Rev in her arms even though he was different from what was in her head, didn’t seem to know the fact.
“I was worried. I knocked 16 times, and you didn’t come out. So, I thought something was wrong. I thought you went somewhere far.”
The scent of raspberries from Luce can be felt up close to the point of dizziness.
Shaking as she did, Rev buried his face a little deeper and let her fist, which didn’t hurt at all, touch his arm.
“Just how much I, how much….”
Are you mad?
You, who is nice and kind, are you mad at me?
Normally, he would have been afraid. He would have been afraid of being hated. She must have been heartbroken at the time she waited.
But now, now that he was leaning on this shoulder, somehow he felt a little different.
Are you worried about me to the point where you’re mad that I’m gone?
A faint feeling of happiness seeped into his consciousness.
‘You said disappearing and reappearing is the most special way for you.’
Then I’ll be a little more special to you.
Rev, who opened his eyes slowly, turned his head slowly.
He can see Luce’s neck. He could see a warm neck with veins.
It was the moment when he looked at Luce’s skin as if he were mesmerized and appreciating a piece of art and when he tried to put his lips on her neck.
“Do you know if I regretted it?”
Regret?
It was an emotion that Rev couldn’t read in her eyes.
Rev, who slowly pulled his own body away, couldn’t believe the words that came next.
“I should have been nicer to you. I should have said more pretty things to you. Be familiar with what you do, and don’t take it for granted….”
No, Luce. Your threshold, which I find fascinating, is very high.
Your smile, your voice, and your scent are all things I never dreamed of.
Are there any limits to you?
“I really really regret it. I’ve been thinking about that for five days.”
And yet, do you still have something left to give me?
A smile came from Rev’s mouth without him realizing it.
No words in the world will be clearer, heavier, or sweeter than the ones I hear now.
“Don’t laugh, I was really serious.”
“I missed you, Luce.”
“I missed you, too! I missed you! Ha, I should have said I missed you first. You took the initiative again. Anyway!”
“Mmhm.”
Rev held Luce’s hand, looking at the lips where another beautiful word would flow out.
She doesn’t avoid it.
He carefully ran his other hand through her messy hair.
This time too, she doesn’t avoid it.
Next was the realm of wishes.
At night, when listening to the voice coming from beyond the pendant, he would close his eyes and take in the story of a kind and honest chatterbox.
His extraordinary memory recalled everything about Luce and traced it under his eyelids.
The face that he can see well, as if it were stuck, speaks to him right in front of his eyes.
Sometimes laughing, sometimes grumbling, sometimes upset.
Sometimes… sometimes very close.
The delicate red lips move.
He imagines moving his hand carefully and stroking her lips.
But it didn’t go the way he wanted.
The terrible imagination couldn’t overlay the intense, miserable, and vivid memories compared to that memory.
Lips smeared with green medicine. The day she gave him medicine and collapsed in his arms.
That alone comes to mind.
‘But today.’
The hand that was stroking the hair slowly came down.
There was a shudder at the fingertips that brushed down the ear and chin.
With silently pressing down on his stiffening chest, Rev slowly but earnestly raised his finger over Luce’s lips.
He paid attention to the sensation of his fingertips, who was frighteningly focused when he was immersed in something.
The memories of today are overlaid on the lips that were cold, stiff as if paralyzed and stained with green.
Soft, gentle, red, warm—.
“Are you okay?”
It was clear what those bright green eyes were saying.
They both saw the assassin die horribly, so he thinks she’s asking if he’s okay with that.
Of course, it was fine. He knew he would be on the upper road more than anyone else in the Rodante estate because he had seen more people die than anyone else.
But a different thought stuck to the words today.
What if I say it’s not okay?
What if I tell a lie different from my heart?
“…A little, I’m not okay.”
What if you don’t notice the truth of the word hanging in a slow tone?
The tongue that could be seen between the slightly open lips moved densely.
“Right, I was shocked too. At least you covered my eyes, and I even passed out, so I was in a better position, but you must have seen everything. Collecting the corpse, ugh, everything like that.”
Ah. You don’t know.
He lied to her.
This time, emotions other than joy rose.
I betrayed Luce. I did the wrong thing. She will surely be disappointed when she finds out the truth, but what if, really what if— if she doesn’t know my wrong and shady heart.
If your worried expression is so lovely that I feel a little guilty.
What if she found out that the moral code I was sticking to could be broken so easily?
It was the first feeling he felt, so he couldn’t easily name it, but he was sure of one thing.
“Thank you. I’m sorry, Rev.”
Rev, who had been stroking Luce’s lips, slowly lowered his back.
Then Rev muttered while putting his lips on her forehead while gently stroking Luce’s hair, neck, and back as he was hugged without a gap.
“Thank you too.”
At least this new feeling wasn’t guilt.
*****
Luce, who was drinking cocoa, felt a little more sorry after hearing about what had happened.
He was so focused on fixing his pendant that he didn’t even hear a knock!
Luce stroked the returned pendant a few times, as clean as new.
‘It seems a bit heavier than before.’
Was there any additional weight in the repair process?
“I added a little more magic stones to be used as fuel, Luce. It may feel a bit heavy.”
Luce gave Rev a thumbs up for clearing her curiosity at once and drank her cocoa.
Rev also sipped his cocoa and gazed at the pendant hanging around her neck.
It wasn’t just magic stones that were added. Unlike before, which only had voice transmission and reception functions, it was equipped with location coordinates and a function to hear surrounding sounds when Luce’s heartbeat became faster automatically.
After thinking about his successful second lie, Rev gave Luce another cup of cocoa.
“You don’t have to care about the kid you saw, Luce. Because he is back.”
“Who is he? I opened the door on the 2nd floor, and I was very surprised when he suddenly jumped out and hugged me.”
“…Hugged you?”
“Mhm. He was half asleep and half out of his mind.”
Luce, who swallowed the cocoa marshmallow, didn’t see Rev’s expression.
Rev, who caught his breath, answered slowly.
“A distant relative.”
“A distant relative? Ah… I even thought it was a new person at first. Because he don’t look like you.”
Since Luce nailed it that way, he was relieved.
She wouldn’t think of them as brothers.
“Is he here to play?”
“Mmhm. He tends to be a bit unruly, so I didn’t find out until I came out that he had sneaked into the vehicle that delivered my medicine.”
Luce seemed to believe everything Rev said, walking a tightrope between truth and lies.
It was also because the original word was ambiguous and because it was an answer that dispelled her curiosity.
‘There was someone who delivered medicine. I guess I just didn’t see it.’
“By any chance, uhm, is he not feeling well?”
“Not as far as I know. Why?”
“He said he was always sleepy but couldn’t sleep well, so I gave him a sleeping pill I made. I took it with him because he seemed to distrust me even though he asked for medicine. Maybe next time we see each other….”
“You will never see that child again.”
It was a strangely cold tone.
“Mmhm, so when you see the child again. I don’t know who the pharmacist is, but tell him he can take the medicine. Medicines made from herbal ingredients would be fine.”
With his eyes slightly narrowed at the story of the medicine, Rev summarized the story he had heard.
Delmar has chronic insomnia.
Even though there is the best pharmacist in the empire called Radanum, Diana doesn’t allow Delmar to take medicine.
He is holding out even though, by Delmar’s standards, he may not know that he is broken enough to beg for medicine from strangers.
It’s not simply because Radanum is questionable. It was a matter that he could ask another pharmacist to know.
‘She’s afraid of Delmar’s illness becoming official. She can handle it if the rumors just circulate among the servants….’
Diana is trying to choose a princess quickly.
There is only one reason.
To make Delmar the Crown Prince.
There is one reason why she is in a hurry, who used to be moderate in everything.
‘The Emperor’s mood is becoming bad.’
Rev thought.
Luce always gives himself an answer.
Luce knew it before she even opened her eyes.
She is in Rev’s bedroom. Even while lying on the bed.
The sun was already going down when she looked out of the window while lying down.
How long did I sleep? Did I sneak into Rev’s bedroom because I was uncomfortable in my sleep?
Leaving the blonde kid alone?
Thud—!
She got up in a hurry and fell down.
“Ouch…”
It must have been a very small sound.
“Luce.”
But the person waiting outside the door didn’t think so.
Luce’s eyes widened as she sat down and touched her knee.
Surprise, delight, and—.
“Rev?”
If she wasn’t mistaken, Rev’s eyes were full of regret and a little bit of resentment.
Not knowing he was in pain, Luce jumped up and pulled Rev’s hand with all her might.
Rev, who was being led along, knew his destination.
“Where on earth have you been?”
Luce’s small shoulders.
It was a very awkward posture.
But Luce, who had Rev in her arms even though he was different from what was in her head, didn’t seem to know the fact.
“I was worried. I knocked 16 times, and you didn’t come out. So, I thought something was wrong. I thought you went somewhere far.”
The scent of raspberries from Luce can be felt up close to the point of dizziness.
Shaking as she did, Rev buried his face a little deeper and let her fist, which didn’t hurt at all, touch his arm.
“Just how much I, how much….”
Are you mad?
You, who is nice and kind, are you mad at me?
Normally, he would have been afraid. He would have been afraid of being hated. She must have been heartbroken at the time she waited.
But now, now that he was leaning on this shoulder, somehow he felt a little different.
Are you worried about me to the point where you’re mad that I’m gone?
A faint feeling of happiness seeped into his consciousness.
‘You said disappearing and reappearing is the most special way for you.’
Then I’ll be a little more special to you.
Rev, who opened his eyes slowly, turned his head slowly.
He can see Luce’s neck. He could see a warm neck with veins.
It was the moment when he looked at Luce’s skin as if he were mesmerized and appreciating a piece of art and when he tried to put his lips on her neck.
“Do you know if I regretted it?”
Regret?
It was an emotion that Rev couldn’t read in her eyes.
Rev, who slowly pulled his own body away, couldn’t believe the words that came next.
“I should have been nicer to you. I should have said more pretty things to you. Be familiar with what you do, and don’t take it for granted….”
No, Luce. Your threshold, which I find fascinating, is very high.
Your smile, your voice, and your scent are all things I never dreamed of.
Are there any limits to you?
“I really really regret it. I’ve been thinking about that for five days.”
And yet, do you still have something left to give me?
A smile came from Rev’s mouth without him realizing it.
No words in the world will be clearer, heavier, or sweeter than the ones I hear now.
“Don’t laugh, I was really serious.”
“I missed you, Luce.”
“I missed you, too! I missed you! Ha, I should have said I missed you first. You took the initiative again. Anyway!”
“Mmhm.”
Rev held Luce’s hand, looking at the lips where another beautiful word would flow out.
She doesn’t avoid it.
He carefully ran his other hand through her messy hair.
This time too, she doesn’t avoid it.
Next was the realm of wishes.
At night, when listening to the voice coming from beyond the pendant, he would close his eyes and take in the story of a kind and honest chatterbox.
His extraordinary memory recalled everything about Luce and traced it under his eyelids.
The face that he can see well, as if it were stuck, speaks to him right in front of his eyes.
Sometimes laughing, sometimes grumbling, sometimes upset.
Sometimes… sometimes very close.
The delicate red lips move.
He imagines moving his hand carefully and stroking her lips.
But it didn’t go the way he wanted.
The terrible imagination couldn’t overlay the intense, miserable, and vivid memories compared to that memory.
Lips smeared with green medicine. The day she gave him medicine and collapsed in his arms.
That alone comes to mind.
‘But today.’
The hand that was stroking the hair slowly came down.
There was a shudder at the fingertips that brushed down the ear and chin.
With silently pressing down on his stiffening chest, Rev slowly but earnestly raised his finger over Luce’s lips.
He paid attention to the sensation of his fingertips, who was frighteningly focused when he was immersed in something.
The memories of today are overlaid on the lips that were cold, stiff as if paralyzed and stained with green.
Soft, gentle, red, warm—.
“Are you okay?”
It was clear what those bright green eyes were saying.
They both saw the assassin die horribly, so he thinks she’s asking if he’s okay with that.
Of course, it was fine. He knew he would be on the upper road more than anyone else in the Rodante estate because he had seen more people die than anyone else.
But a different thought stuck to the words today.
What if I say it’s not okay?
What if I tell a lie different from my heart?
“…A little, I’m not okay.”
What if you don’t notice the truth of the word hanging in a slow tone?
The tongue that could be seen between the slightly open lips moved densely.
“Right, I was shocked too. At least you covered my eyes, and I even passed out, so I was in a better position, but you must have seen everything. Collecting the corpse, ugh, everything like that.”
Ah. You don’t know.
He lied to her.
This time, emotions other than joy rose.
I betrayed Luce. I did the wrong thing. She will surely be disappointed when she finds out the truth, but what if, really what if— if she doesn’t know my wrong and shady heart.
If your worried expression is so lovely that I feel a little guilty.
What if she found out that the moral code I was sticking to could be broken so easily?
It was the first feeling he felt, so he couldn’t easily name it, but he was sure of one thing.
“Thank you. I’m sorry, Rev.”
Rev, who had been stroking Luce’s lips, slowly lowered his back.
Then Rev muttered while putting his lips on her forehead while gently stroking Luce’s hair, neck, and back as he was hugged without a gap.
“Thank you too.”
At least this new feeling wasn’t guilt.
*****
Luce, who was drinking cocoa, felt a little more sorry after hearing about what had happened.
He was so focused on fixing his pendant that he didn’t even hear a knock!
Luce stroked the returned pendant a few times, as clean as new.
‘It seems a bit heavier than before.’
Was there any additional weight in the repair process?
“I added a little more magic stones to be used as fuel, Luce. It may feel a bit heavy.”
Luce gave Rev a thumbs up for clearing her curiosity at once and drank her cocoa.
Rev also sipped his cocoa and gazed at the pendant hanging around her neck.
It wasn’t just magic stones that were added. Unlike before, which only had voice transmission and reception functions, it was equipped with location coordinates and a function to hear surrounding sounds when Luce’s heartbeat became faster automatically.
After thinking about his successful second lie, Rev gave Luce another cup of cocoa.
“You don’t have to care about the kid you saw, Luce. Because he is back.”
“Who is he? I opened the door on the 2nd floor, and I was very surprised when he suddenly jumped out and hugged me.”
“…Hugged you?”
“Mhm. He was half asleep and half out of his mind.”
Luce, who swallowed the cocoa marshmallow, didn’t see Rev’s expression.
Rev, who caught his breath, answered slowly.
“A distant relative.”
“A distant relative? Ah… I even thought it was a new person at first. Because he don’t look like you.”
Since Luce nailed it that way, he was relieved.
She wouldn’t think of them as brothers.
“Is he here to play?”
“Mmhm. He tends to be a bit unruly, so I didn’t find out until I came out that he had sneaked into the vehicle that delivered my medicine.”
Luce seemed to believe everything Rev said, walking a tightrope between truth and lies.
It was also because the original word was ambiguous and because it was an answer that dispelled her curiosity.
‘There was someone who delivered medicine. I guess I just didn’t see it.’
“By any chance, uhm, is he not feeling well?”
“Not as far as I know. Why?”
“He said he was always sleepy but couldn’t sleep well, so I gave him a sleeping pill I made. I took it with him because he seemed to distrust me even though he asked for medicine. Maybe next time we see each other….”
“You will never see that child again.”
It was a strangely cold tone.
“Mmhm, so when you see the child again. I don’t know who the pharmacist is, but tell him he can take the medicine. Medicines made from herbal ingredients would be fine.”
With his eyes slightly narrowed at the story of the medicine, Rev summarized the story he had heard.
Delmar has chronic insomnia.
Even though there is the best pharmacist in the empire called Radanum, Diana doesn’t allow Delmar to take medicine.
He is holding out even though, by Delmar’s standards, he may not know that he is broken enough to beg for medicine from strangers.
It’s not simply because Radanum is questionable. It was a matter that he could ask another pharmacist to know.
‘She’s afraid of Delmar’s illness becoming official. She can handle it if the rumors just circulate among the servants….’
Diana is trying to choose a princess quickly.
There is only one reason.
To make Delmar the Crown Prince.
There is one reason why she is in a hurry, who used to be moderate in everything.
‘The Emperor’s mood is becoming bad.’
Rev thought.
Luce always gives himself an answer.
