A slightly surprised voice brushed against Laila’s ears. Since it wasn’t a familiar voice, Laila ignored it. No, she tried to ignore it.
“……The garden where the butterflies dance?”
Shudder.
Laila, feeling a chill, quickly turned her head. As she moved her head roughly, she felt a fluttering sensation from her accessories.
Laila looked at the person who mentioned “Butterfly Dance” with an unfamiliar voice.
‘Who is this?’
It was someone she didn’t know.
Black hair that didn’t allow even a hint of another color and eyes as red as if embers were planted in the pitch-dark hair.
If she had seen them somewhere before, she wouldn’t have been able to forget. It was a quite remarkable color for both hair and eyes.
But how did this stranger know about the butterfly dance?
Laila glanced at the person with an unconsciously guarded expression.
Then the person, a boy who seemed to be about three or four years older than Laila, spoke up.
“That’s how it looks.”
“Pardon?”
“Your hair accessory just looks like that.”
Laila blinked rapidly, then belatedly understood what the person was saying.
‘Did he just come up with a name on the spot?’
And it just happened to be a butterfly dance?
‘What’s going on…’
Laila began to be even more wary of the person. It was strange for someone to invent the name Butterfly Dance without hearing it from anyone.
Sensing Laila’s sharp vigilance, the other person chuckled awkwardly.
“I’m not a weirdo.”
“…….”
“I’m sorry for startling you by suddenly speaking to you. But I really…”
“Milord”
In the quiet library where silence was expected, a tall male attendant stopped abruptly.
The man who had approached the boy, who was in conversation with Laila-although it was a one-sided conversation, lowered his voice.
“Madam is waiting. Please finish up here and leave.”
“What? Just a moment…”
The boy, who had glanced at the male attendant, turned his gaze back to Laila.
But by then, Laila was already turning away and walking off.
With a short sigh, the boy reflexively lowered his outstretched hand in the air.
He stared at Laila’s back until she was completely out of sight.
Then the boy looked back at the man with an unreadable expression.
“Has Mother already left? Very well, let’s go.”
ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
“Sion, did you pick a book?”
Sion turned his head at the slightly less energetic voice than before.
He already sensed Laila approaching from nearby. He didn’t expect her to wear such a face, though.
“What…”
Sion, who was about to casually ask what was wrong, sealed his lips. His brow furrowed slightly.
“Huh? What?”
“…I didn’t know what book to pick. So, I didn’t pick any.”
“Really? Do you want me to recommend something then?”
“No need.”
Sion shook his head. Laila looked at him one more time, but he just shook his head again. Resignedly, Laila let it go.
“Let’s go then.”
They left the library and got back on the carriage.
Their destination this time was a nearby restaurant.
After they arrived at the restaurant and ordered their food, Laila, who had been lost in thought, suddenly spoke up.
“Sir Taylor.”
“Yes, Miss.”
The bodyguard who had been called immediately replied, and at Laila’s request, he sat down next to her.
“Do you happen to know someone like this among the nobles? He is a boy, approximately thirteen years old, with black hair and red eyes.”
Laila had been preoccupied with the boy she encountered in the library.
It wasn’t because the boy mentioned “butterfly dance.”
…Of course, that had some influence, but more so, it was the boy’s appearance that kept lingering in her mind.
The unusual hair and eye color.
She was sure she had never seen him before. That much was certain. But he felt strangely familiar. So, it bothered her.
As Laila, still lost in thought after asking the question, the bodyguard answered.
“Are you referring to Master Kidon Reisic, Miss?”
“……huh?”
Surprised that she actually received an answer, Laila looked at the bodyguard with astonishment.
“Kidon Reisic?”
“Yes. The appearance you described matches that of the second son of the Count of Reisic.”
Count Reisic, Reisic…
‘Oh!’
Laila’s eyes widened slightly as she swallowed a gasp.
She remembered. Kidon Reisic.
She knew the name. Well, she’d heard of it before. In her previous life, just prior to the regression,
The name Kidon Reisic had spread throughout the noble society, even reaching Laila’s ears, who was confined within the Marquisate.
Kidon became famous for something he did at the age of nineteen.
At the time, Laila was sixteen, and it was fashionable among the nobility to have slave guards instead of regular escorts.
The Marquis of Hildegarde was not a man who cared much for such trends, but Count Reisic was different.
He responded sensitively to trends and proudly presented carefully selected slave guards to each of his children.
And then the next day.
Kidon Reisic, the second son of Count Reisic, ruthlessly slaughtered every single slave guard he received as a gift. In just one night, a tragedy occurred.
Someone asked Kidon why he had killed all those expensive slaves.
To which Kidon replied,
‘Because I find slaves wielding swords and standing guard disgusting.’
Along with Kidon’s response, a rumor spread that he would arm the slaves and face them all at once.
‘…That’s how he became famous.’
Indeed.
What caught the nobles’ attention wasn’t just the fact that Kidon had killed nearly a dozen slaves overnight, but also the fact that his reason was simply “disgusting.”
Kidon Reisic was strong enough to massacre the carefully selected slave guards on his own.
The nobles were ecstatic about that. The person who had told Laila this story had also emphasized this point, blushing with excitement.
‘And that’s how rumors about his appearance spread at that time…’
He was a handsome man, his jet-black hair seemingly tainted with darkness, and his eyes were ruby-red.
Another description referring to Kidon.
After recalling all of that, Laila let out a light sigh.
‘No wonder.’
She had wondered why the appearance of someone she had never sworn to see felt so familiar and unsettling.
As it turned out, she hadn’t met him in person, but she had heard of him.
‘Strange how something I’ve heard several times doesn’t stick in my memory.’
In the past, or perhaps in the yet-to-come future, Kidon Reisic was indeed quite famous.
Somberly, Laila reminisced about the days when rumors about Kidon followed her everywhere, even when she didn’t go anywhere.
In any case, the mystery was solved. Her curiosity was neatly resolved.
Laila cleared her thoughts of Kidon Reisic, just as the dishes she had ordered began to arrive.
“By the way, there’s talk that Lord Kidon Reisic will be leaving for his studies this winter. So…”
The escort, unaware that Laila had lost interest in Kidon, started talking about things nobody was asking.
Laila focused on the various dishes filling the table.
As the table was filled with dishes she ordered, Laila picked up her knife and fork and cut off the escort’s chatter.
“Enjoy your meal, everyone.”
The meal began.
Laila observed Sion slowly as she moved her fork and knife.
‘Mmm…….’
How long had she been watching? Soon, a faint expression of disappointment crossed Laila’s face.
Sion ate his meal as usual.
Meaning he didn’t show any particular preference for any of the dishes.
‘I purposely ordered everything on the menu.’
Does he not have any favorite foods to begin with?
…Or is it because of his grief that they’re ‘gone’?
Laila became increasingly disturbed, and she couldn’t figure out why she was feeling this way.
In truth, Laila had no reason to be involved in Sion’s grief anymore.
What she wanted was for him to want to live.
Sion wanted to live. That’s why he threw himself in the lake and fought off the wolves.
What she hoped for had come true.
Therefore, she felt like there was no need to pay attention to his grief anymore…
‘Why am I so concerned?’
