It was terrifying how hard he bit his lip.
She wanted to answer ‘You were there’ to the mournful voice that seemed like it would melt anyone.
Because he seemed to want that word.
“It wasn’t like that.’
But it can’t be.
“Because I’m not trustworthy?”
“No, nothing like that. I just thought I should be responsible for my actions. That’s all.”
Why would I use you? Why would I use you as a tool?
And why do you want it? Why on earth?
There were many things she wanted to say, but she couldn’t come up with words.
She was more confident than anyone else when it came to talking, but it seemed like the part of her brain that was in charge of speech had melted away.
Luce, who was sitting in the chair, lowered herself.
They finally get to talk to each other face to face.
The words that had been lingering in her mouth like fog were finally spoken out slowly.
“Sorry for making you worry. You said I don’t have to say thank you, but I have to say I’m sorry. I was the one who asked you in the first place, and I was the one who saved the boy, and I was the one who asked to go with him after being invited, but of course I thought I should take care of it. But you don’t like it, right? What am I trying to solve by myself?”
She asked calmly, and Rev lowered his eyes and nodded.
“Okay. I won’t do that again, I just felt so uncomfortable in that place, so I did it.”
“Eung.”
“And I’m not using you, but I’ll ask for your help whenever I need anything. So you should too. Got it?”
“…I will.”
“I won’t take this as a wish. It’s my fault that I worried you, so you still have two left.”
“Eung. Okay.”
“Why do you keep using it for me when it’s your wish? Like asking me to accept the necklace, and not being hurt recklessly. Use it for you, too.”
Then, as she gently stroked his hair, he smiled as usual.
Luce, who was staring blankly at her friend who was picking only bad things for her heart, raised her arm and shook it.
“Ta-da. A lot of the redness is gone now, right? Thanks to you, it’s not itchy at all.”
“That’s a relief.”
Luce’s heart was racing when she saw Rev come back with a soft face, as if he had never done what he had just done.
*****
Franz left the banquet hall with a blank face and looked at his watch.
He had come prepared for emergencies, but he never thought he’d be left alone where they’d both run away.
Even for three hours!
‘It’s to the point where my mouth is prickly.’
Since he lived as a wandering knight, he had met many aristocrats in the meantime, but he was new to people like the Duke and Duke Ximel’s husband.
He gave up quickly when he couldn’t find a single word to explain it.
‘People whose intentions are unknown.’
Facing the people of the Ximel family who tried to cross-check the day’s events by changing only a few words for three hours, he thought, ‘If you’re going to do this, why don’t you just ask for an investigation? Ah, is it because you said it in a twisted manner, so my father and assistant Yohan didn’t understand?’
He’s not the kind of person who wants to find out what other people are thinking, make guesses, and talk around things.
Even if he takes a little risk, it’s more comfortable to go straight into it.
“Do you have any requirements?”
“Please give up.”
Rather, like that guy Revinas.
‘The corridors are so long.’
Jumping out of the window, he headed towards the shadow of a tree.
He roughly took out a cigarette and lit it.
As he chewed the tip of the cigarette carefully, his gaze reached the end of the hallway.
The place where he stood with him before the banquet, waiting for Lucette.
“I’m done organizing.”
The strange green eyes turned to him.
“I’m not going to find out more about you. I won’t be curious. I won’t ask, so I got it.”
“That’s the right choice.”
Revinas, who was about to turn his head, stopped at the words that followed.
“But I don’t know how others will feel.”
Leaning against the wall carelessly, Franz continued.
“I don’t know if you know it, but you really stand out. If you look at it good, you’re a unique person, and if you look at it bad, you’re a strange person. There’s too much of a difference compared to the average person. It’s the same with those eyes, and it’s even worse to try to hide them. Your speech, your attitude, your way of speaking, and even your face all protrude too much. At least in Rodante.”
“Is that so?”
“I can only explain that you were lucky that people didn’t doubt your identity. No, there’s only one. It’s because a friend named Lucette is by your side. People’s eyes are naturally dispersed because you understand people who are like water and oil, tell them the good points ahead of you, and go around together. I don’t think he’s that weird, just to that extent.”
Emotions were reflected on his expressionless face at the sight of Lucette’s name.
“But the question is, why doesn’t Lucette have any doubts about you? She’s the one who’s seen the strangest and most disparate side of you up close, so why does she cover you up? Don’t you think you’ve talked to her before? She’s not that slow-witted, but it’s weird. It’s like… she’s trying hard. It’s like closing your eyes so you don’t have to face your oddities.”
Franz, who had scattered his hair irritably, murmured.
“So it’s not that kid doesn’t know. She instinctively knows that there are so many things you’re hiding. If she knows that, she has a feeling that everything is over. It’s an instant to become convinced of your intuition. Do you see what I mean?”
Revinas was silent.
“Yes, you can tell me to give up. I don’t know much about you. As you say, I’m not worth much to you. But it’s not about Lucette. You have to know that hiding a child who is so important to you is like walking a tightrope, and that you are holding her hostage.”
“…Hostage.”
“This is the conclusion of my theorem. Think carefully.”
Only when he saw Lucette in her peach-colored dress did his complexion clear up and his expression become less complicated.
Franz thought for a moment about whether his own long words had become hard to hear.
Maybe that guy is right. There’s nothing good to be nosy about. He has nothing to gain.
However, as a senior who has lived his life for some time, he should be able to give some advice.
‘It’s up to him to accept it.’
He was going to go to Menelik after staying a little longer with Rodante, but he thought he had to leave quickly.
It seems he was involved in a complicated matter unintentionally. Damn it.
Franz, who was biting the third cigarette in a row, raised one eyebrow.
Wasn’t there a room Lucette used at the end of that hallway? But
‘…Isn’t that Princess Alois?’
Why is Princess Alois going in there?
As if she shouldn’t be found out by anyone, looking around?
“It makes things more complicated.”
Franz sighed briefly.
****
After Rev left, Luce immediately turned off the light and laid down.
She took a nap in the carriage, and she was nervous during the banquet, so her body, which had a lot of energy, was enough to help her fall asleep quickly.
But today, she couldn’t sleep, so Luce tossed and turned the whole time.
‘People from the Ximel family.’
It seemed like the cells in her body were shouting loudly that she had a bad feeling and that she couldn’t be more involved.
Luce pulled the blanket over her head and closed her eyes tightly.
‘Princess Alois.’
Comments related to the heroine, which she usually doesn’t even think about, come to mind as soon as she sees the face of the princess.
She thought it was just a coincidence, and she could have moved on, but the fact that she was also part of the Duke of Ximel’s family bothered her.
If, very if, let’s assume that Princess Alois is the heroine of tragedy.
Let’s say she’s the main character in the tragic love story.
As long as she’s imagining it, there’s nothing wrong with that.
‘Her parents are plotting, and the princess, who can’t even look at it or stop it, is drying up day by day. On the surface, they had an arranged marriage, but the Emperor, the male lead, and one of the best families in the Empire, the female lead’s family, end up pretending. Of course, the Emperor will make a reason and kill the obnoxious mother-in-law, and the mentally outgoing female lead sets an edge against the male lead…’
It was a variation on a story she had seen countless times, but Luce shook her head abruptly.
‘No matter how much this is in a book, Alois is a person who breathes and acts right in front of me. I feel guilty assuming that she’s the main character in such a tragedy. Let’s stop.’
Imagination is also a problem.
Luce squeezed her throbbing eyes.
‘Ah, why can’t I remember the names of the characters…! Does it make sense that I keep thinking and nothing comes to mind? No matter how much I read the comments, it’s like that. Also, someone must have mentioned the name in the comment, but why can’t I think of that part as if it’s blurry?’
There are only two clues about the name.
The male lead’s name was ‘Au’ blah blah blah, and the comments she saw as if it were too much.
[I’m confused because the names of the characters are similar.ㅠㅠ]
[Western style and family are different, but at first, I thought they were sibling ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
Are the male and female names similar?
Do the names ‘Au’ blah blah and Alois look similar?
Her head feels like it’s going to explode. It was a time when she was grumbling.
“Lucette.”
Her eyes flashed open.
It was the voice of a girl her age.
The person who can call her like this in this mansion—.
‘I heard that even a tiger will come if I say it.’
The tiger is here.
Without a single step, quietly.
Luce swallowed her saliva.
It was terrifying how hard he bit his lip.
She wanted to answer ‘You were there’ to the mournful voice that seemed like it would melt anyone.
Because he seemed to want that word.
“It wasn’t like that.’
But it can’t be.
“Because I’m not trustworthy?”
“No, nothing like that. I just thought I should be responsible for my actions. That’s all.”
Why would I use you? Why would I use you as a tool?
And why do you want it? Why on earth?
There were many things she wanted to say, but she couldn’t come up with words.
She was more confident than anyone else when it came to talking, but it seemed like the part of her brain that was in charge of speech had melted away.
Luce, who was sitting in the chair, lowered herself.
They finally get to talk to each other face to face.
The words that had been lingering in her mouth like fog were finally spoken out slowly.
“Sorry for making you worry. You said I don’t have to say thank you, but I have to say I’m sorry. I was the one who asked you in the first place, and I was the one who saved the boy, and I was the one who asked to go with him after being invited, but of course I thought I should take care of it. But you don’t like it, right? What am I trying to solve by myself?”
She asked calmly, and Rev lowered his eyes and nodded.
“Okay. I won’t do that again, I just felt so uncomfortable in that place, so I did it.”
“Eung.”
“And I’m not using you, but I’ll ask for your help whenever I need anything. So you should too. Got it?”
“…I will.”
“I won’t take this as a wish. It’s my fault that I worried you, so you still have two left.”
“Eung. Okay.”
“Why do you keep using it for me when it’s your wish? Like asking me to accept the necklace, and not being hurt recklessly. Use it for you, too.”
Then, as she gently stroked his hair, he smiled as usual.
Luce, who was staring blankly at her friend who was picking only bad things for her heart, raised her arm and shook it.
“Ta-da. A lot of the redness is gone now, right? Thanks to you, it’s not itchy at all.”
“That’s a relief.”
Luce’s heart was racing when she saw Rev come back with a soft face, as if he had never done what he had just done.
*****
Franz left the banquet hall with a blank face and looked at his watch.
He had come prepared for emergencies, but he never thought he’d be left alone where they’d both run away.
Even for three hours!
‘It’s to the point where my mouth is prickly.’
Since he lived as a wandering knight, he had met many aristocrats in the meantime, but he was new to people like the Duke and Duke Ximel’s husband.
He gave up quickly when he couldn’t find a single word to explain it.
‘People whose intentions are unknown.’
Facing the people of the Ximel family who tried to cross-check the day’s events by changing only a few words for three hours, he thought, ‘If you’re going to do this, why don’t you just ask for an investigation? Ah, is it because you said it in a twisted manner, so my father and assistant Yohan didn’t understand?’
He’s not the kind of person who wants to find out what other people are thinking, make guesses, and talk around things.
Even if he takes a little risk, it’s more comfortable to go straight into it.
“Do you have any requirements?”
“Please give up.”
Rather, like that guy Revinas.
‘The corridors are so long.’
Jumping out of the window, he headed towards the shadow of a tree.
He roughly took out a cigarette and lit it.
As he chewed the tip of the cigarette carefully, his gaze reached the end of the hallway.
The place where he stood with him before the banquet, waiting for Lucette.
“I’m done organizing.”
The strange green eyes turned to him.
“I’m not going to find out more about you. I won’t be curious. I won’t ask, so I got it.”
“That’s the right choice.”
Revinas, who was about to turn his head, stopped at the words that followed.
“But I don’t know how others will feel.”
Leaning against the wall carelessly, Franz continued.
“I don’t know if you know it, but you really stand out. If you look at it good, you’re a unique person, and if you look at it bad, you’re a strange person. There’s too much of a difference compared to the average person. It’s the same with those eyes, and it’s even worse to try to hide them. Your speech, your attitude, your way of speaking, and even your face all protrude too much. At least in Rodante.”
“Is that so?”
“I can only explain that you were lucky that people didn’t doubt your identity. No, there’s only one. It’s because a friend named Lucette is by your side. People’s eyes are naturally dispersed because you understand people who are like water and oil, tell them the good points ahead of you, and go around together. I don’t think he’s that weird, just to that extent.”
Emotions were reflected on his expressionless face at the sight of Lucette’s name.
“But the question is, why doesn’t Lucette have any doubts about you? She’s the one who’s seen the strangest and most disparate side of you up close, so why does she cover you up? Don’t you think you’ve talked to her before? She’s not that slow-witted, but it’s weird. It’s like… she’s trying hard. It’s like closing your eyes so you don’t have to face your oddities.”
Franz, who had scattered his hair irritably, murmured.
“So it’s not that kid doesn’t know. She instinctively knows that there are so many things you’re hiding. If she knows that, she has a feeling that everything is over. It’s an instant to become convinced of your intuition. Do you see what I mean?”
Revinas was silent.
“Yes, you can tell me to give up. I don’t know much about you. As you say, I’m not worth much to you. But it’s not about Lucette. You have to know that hiding a child who is so important to you is like walking a tightrope, and that you are holding her hostage.”
“…Hostage.”
“This is the conclusion of my theorem. Think carefully.”
Only when he saw Lucette in her peach-colored dress did his complexion clear up and his expression become less complicated.
Franz thought for a moment about whether his own long words had become hard to hear.
Maybe that guy is right. There’s nothing good to be nosy about. He has nothing to gain.
However, as a senior who has lived his life for some time, he should be able to give some advice.
‘It’s up to him to accept it.’
He was going to go to Menelik after staying a little longer with Rodante, but he thought he had to leave quickly.
It seems he was involved in a complicated matter unintentionally. Damn it.
Franz, who was biting the third cigarette in a row, raised one eyebrow.
Wasn’t there a room Lucette used at the end of that hallway? But
‘…Isn’t that Princess Alois?’
Why is Princess Alois going in there?
As if she shouldn’t be found out by anyone, looking around?
“It makes things more complicated.”
Franz sighed briefly.
****
After Rev left, Luce immediately turned off the light and laid down.
She took a nap in the carriage, and she was nervous during the banquet, so her body, which had a lot of energy, was enough to help her fall asleep quickly.
But today, she couldn’t sleep, so Luce tossed and turned the whole time.
‘People from the Ximel family.’
It seemed like the cells in her body were shouting loudly that she had a bad feeling and that she couldn’t be more involved.
Luce pulled the blanket over her head and closed her eyes tightly.
‘Princess Alois.’
Comments related to the heroine, which she usually doesn’t even think about, come to mind as soon as she sees the face of the princess.
She thought it was just a coincidence, and she could have moved on, but the fact that she was also part of the Duke of Ximel’s family bothered her.
If, very if, let’s assume that Princess Alois is the heroine of tragedy.
Let’s say she’s the main character in the tragic love story.
As long as she’s imagining it, there’s nothing wrong with that.
‘Her parents are plotting, and the princess, who can’t even look at it or stop it, is drying up day by day. On the surface, they had an arranged marriage, but the Emperor, the male lead, and one of the best families in the Empire, the female lead’s family, end up pretending. Of course, the Emperor will make a reason and kill the obnoxious mother-in-law, and the mentally outgoing female lead sets an edge against the male lead…’
It was a variation on a story she had seen countless times, but Luce shook her head abruptly.
‘No matter how much this is in a book, Alois is a person who breathes and acts right in front of me. I feel guilty assuming that she’s the main character in such a tragedy. Let’s stop.’
Imagination is also a problem.
Luce squeezed her throbbing eyes.
‘Ah, why can’t I remember the names of the characters…! Does it make sense that I keep thinking and nothing comes to mind? No matter how much I read the comments, it’s like that. Also, someone must have mentioned the name in the comment, but why can’t I think of that part as if it’s blurry?’
There are only two clues about the name.
The male lead’s name was ‘Au’ blah blah blah, and the comments she saw as if it were too much.
[I’m confused because the names of the characters are similar.ㅠㅠ]
[Western style and family are different, but at first, I thought they were sibling ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
Are the male and female names similar?
Do the names ‘Au’ blah blah and Alois look similar?
Her head feels like it’s going to explode. It was a time when she was grumbling.
“Lucette.”
Her eyes flashed open.
It was the voice of a girl her age.
The person who can call her like this in this mansion—.
‘I heard that even a tiger will come if I say it.’
The tiger is here.
Without a single step, quietly.
Luce swallowed her saliva.
