He was concerned about keeping the other person standing for so long. He was even starting to feel anxious about it.
Laila seemed to notice that Sion was trying to be considerate towards her, showing a slightly surprised expression before shaking her head.
“It’s a short story.”
So there was no need to move. Understanding Laila’s refusal, Sion silently nodded.
Seeing Sion like that, Laila wore a faint smile. For some reason, Sion thought it looked like a smile she hadn’t intended to show.
And before Sion realized it, he found himself captivated by that smile.
“Right now, the Marquis of Hildegarde is my older brother, Henry Hildegarde. And Henry is trying to kill me.”
“What?”
Sion reflexively responded. As a result, he realized a moment too late what he had just said.
Only Sion, who had unintentionally been disrespectful, stiffened slightly, while Laila continued speaking with an indifferent expression.
“It’s understandable. I helped Henry kill the former Marquis of Hildegarde, in other words, our father.”
“……”
“I found out not long ago that Henry intended to harm me as well, so I ran away.”
Laila turned her gaze away from Sion’s face and scanned the hallway before speaking again.
“To here.”
“Did you use a pseudonym and hide your identity to avoid being exposed to Henry Hildegarde?”
“Yes.”
“Why…”
Why? Laila thought as she looked up at Sion’s face again. Why did she want to avoid being exposed to Henry Hildegarde? Why ask such an obvious question?
“Because I want to live.”
To be precise, she wanted to live until she could see him.
Now that she has seen him, dying right away wouldn’t matter much.
As this honest thought crossed Laila’s mind, Sion opened his mouth.
“No.”
Sion looked surprised. The reason would soon become clear.
“I haven’t finished my questions. What I mean is, why did you specifically run away to this place…?”
“Ah.”
“You can blame me if you want. But no matter what, I don’t remember you.”
“……”
“…I know who you are, but I don’t know you. Isn’t that right?”
The last question sounded quite cautious, prompting Laila to burst into laughter. Sion paused at the clear sound of her laughter.
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
Laila gazed at Sion, who quickly denied it as if feeling rushed, and murmured, “You’re kind.”
“Excuse me?”
“Did this really happen? Or is it just my wishful thinking…?”
The vague mutterings, difficult to understand, pierced Sion’s ears. He fell silent, debating whether to ask what it meant.
At that moment, Laila spoke up.
“There’s nothing wrong with the Duke’s memory. We’re meeting for the first time now.”
“……”
“But I’ve been interested in you for a long time, Your Grace.”
“…What?”
Sion was certain he had responded even more awkwardly than before.
Laila did not laugh at Sion’s ridiculous appearance—at least, in Sion’s opinion. Instead, she continued in a soft voice.
“When I heard that a hero had appeared to seal the evil god…”
“……”
“From that moment on, I thought about it. I wondered what kind of person they would be, and I really wanted to meet them.”
“……”
“After the evil god was sealed, as foretold, those thoughts grew even stronger.”
Sion couldn’t help but speak.
He thought it couldn’t be true, but when he pieced together Laila’s words…
‘You see, Sion, that woman… seems to respect you.’
Cecile’s completed words swirled in Sion’s mind.
Could that be true?
“You respect me?”
By the time he regained his senses, he had already blurted out the question. Laila’s eyes widened. She repeated his word, ‘respect,’ before nodding her round head.
“Yes, that’s right. I respect you, Your Grace. I also feel grateful for saving the world.”
“……”
“So I ran away here. If you permit it, I would like to continue working here.”
I will make sure not to cause any trouble, Laila added quietly. Sion stared down at her for a long moment before speaking.
“I…”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
‘It doesn’t matter. But starting tomorrow, do something else.’
Sion’s voice seemed to echo in her head. Laila blinked as she sat in the library.
‘Why can’t I wake up from this dream? I just met Sion.’
That is the first question.
‘Why is Sion being nice to me…?’
That was the second question.
Laila was still a maid at the Duke’s estate, using the name ‘Lala.’ However, instead of cleaning the mansion, she was assigned to manage the library.
To be precise, she was actually working as a ‘library management assistant.’ There was already someone in charge of managing the library.
The library manager unexpectedly gave Laila free time on her first day at work. There was a reason for it. She was instructed to familiarize herself with the layout and arrangement of the books.
However, Laila realized from the manager’s attitude that this person had no intention of giving her any work.
Even if Laila became perfectly acquainted with the library and its collection, that sentiment likely wouldn’t change.
Since no one wanted her to work, Laila decided not to do anything.
In fact, whether she worked or not didn’t make much difference from her perspective.
The day Laila experienced in her dream was different from a day in reality.
Her dream had a “skip function” that allowed her to skip over certain parts of the day.
For example, after pausing to clean the hallway and meeting Sion for a conversation, she would blink and find herself having breakfast in the bedroom she used as ‘Lala.’
The ten days leading up to meeting Sion had mostly passed in that manner.
At least when she talked with Cecile, time flowed as it did in reality…
But when she was doing the labor of cleaning the mansion, time would fly by, and Laila had almost no memories of working as a maid.
‘This is why it’s clear that this is a dream.’
With her elbows resting on the desk, Laila propped her chin up.
‘Why can’t I wake up? Wasn’t it just about meeting Sion?’
With both hands cupping her chin, Laila fell deep into thought.
Naturally, only one person filled her mind.
Sion.
Sion looked just like the Sion that Laila remembered. Well, it would be stranger if he were different.
Thanks to this, when Laila encountered Sion, she briefly thought she had woken up from the dream. She quickly realized that wasn’t the case.
‘If I had realized just a little later, I might have touched him.’
What would have happened then? Would she have been kicked out of the Duke’s house for committing an indecent act?
Laila imagined herself being dragged out of the mansion after fondling with Sion. Hmm… being dragged out is fine, but she wouldn’t want to see Sion looking displeased.
It was definitely a good decision not to touch him.
Laila’s thoughts, which had gone down a strange path, quickly returned to their original course.
In any case, the Sion here looked like the real Sion… and was kind.
The real Sion is also kind, but the Sion in the dream seemed, how should she put it, a bit more affectionate.
To explain, the real Sion is only kind to a few people, while this Sion has a fundamentally gentle demeanor towards everyone.
‘Yes, I could say this one has humanity…’
If the real Sion saved the world out of a sense of duty, then this Sion seemed to endure the battle against the evil god out of affection for the things that make up the world, in addition to that sense of duty.
As she thought about it, the question, ‘Why is Sion being nice to her?’ naturally unraveled itself.
