Once her lips parted, there was no sadness. There was a revolution, a blessing.
“Ahaha.”
Lucas burst into laughter as he looked at Rosedale.
She was busy moving her fork while shedding tears, which looked funny and fresh.
Whether he laughed or not, Rosedale’s fork never stopped.
“Another plate of this!”
There were three plates of steak, two plates of salad. Pasta and bread were unlimited.
Was it thanks to the etiquette she learned strictly in the fairy world? Fortunately, she didn’t look sloppy, even if chomped down a lot. She only ate fast, but her manners were elegant beyond measure.
She looked so different from when she first appeared in front of Lucas as a commoner.
‘I’m eating this much because I’m in a human body right now.’
Fortunately, the human body that needed nutrients for survival gave her an excuse.
The books she had read about humans were written by a high-ranking fairy who had visited the human world hundreds of years ago. But there was no mention of human cuisine and its taste in the book.
Why did he do that? Rosedale felt like she knew the reason. The author must have felt guilty.
But this taste couldn’t be ignored. She also ordered desserts while eating the main course.
“Lucas. What do you call this food?”
“This? Crème brûlée.”
“Cream bule?”
“No. Crème brûlée.”
“Cream bule it is! This is really the best. It’s crispy on top and fluffy underneath.”
Rosedale wrapped her cheeks with her hands and thought this must be the best human food.
Lucas smirked seeing her ecstatic look. Yeah, what’s in a name anyway? As long as they can communicate with each other.
A satisfied smile spread across Lucas’s face as he watched her, feeling proud of making her happy…But this, isn’t this too much to eat?
“Rosedale.”
“Rosie.”
“Yes?”
“My nickname. Call me Rosie.”
Rosedale was in such a good mood that she even gave her nickname.
The nickname “Rosie” was something Rosedale had diligently thought up herself in the fairy world. Even though no one called her by that name.
She gave her carefully chosen nickname easily to the man who bought her delicious food.
She didn’t know that one should be cautious of strangers buying you food, as it wasn’t mentioned in the book.
“…Okay, Rosie.”
He was a little embarrassed by the sudden intimacy, but Lucas reacted calmly.
“Is it okay to eat this much?”
“What?”
“I’m worried you might get a stomach ache.”
“Oh, are you guys prone to stomach aches if you eat too much?”
Rosedale still didn’t stop eating.
Even though she was currently in human form, she was a fairy made up of powerful mana. So, simple illnesses like colds or stomach aches that humans suffered from were far from her concern.
“I’ll be fine.”
She omitted the word ‘probably.’
She couldn’t be sure because she had only lived in human form for a few days.
“A-Am I eating too much?”
She swallowed the food in her mouth and asked with a little worry.
“Are you short on money?”
“Of course not.”
Lucas frowned slightly, feeling a little offended.
Even though he hadn’t revealed himself to be an emperor, he had lived as a nobleman all his life. The dignity that came from his noble upbringing hadn’t disappeared just because he had experienced a few years of war.
Rosedale considering him poor hurt his pride.
“Eat more. I can buy this restaurant too.”
“Really? Then can we go out and eat something else?”
“Of course.”
“Then let’s go out after finishing this.”
Rosedale’s eyes sparkled.
In fact, she had been very curious about the smells wafting through the streets when she first arrived in the capital.
She didn’t know it then, but now that she was in a restaurant, she realized that those smells must have been from food. The human world was truly amazing.
“Let’s go.”
Lucas didn’t eat because of the mask, but he only watched Rosedale eat.
Rosedale couldn’t understand why watching someone else eat was so entertaining, but she quickly finished eating without forcing him to eat and got ready to leave.
“Okay.”
“What else do you want to eat?”
“I don’t know. Let’s wander around and see if there’s anything that looks delicious.”
Rosedale quickly left the store with Lucas, who left the money on the table.
Outside the store, there were still many people bustling and lively noise filled the air.
Rosedale, who was mixed in with them, looked like a normal human. But she strongly felt that she was a stranger in a completely different world.
Everything felt unreal and made her heart skip a beat again.
“Lucas. Can we go see that?”
“We can do whatever you want.”
Lucas, who obediently followed her, went around with Rosedale.
She looked at the big and round hats and saw people performing on the street.
Suddenly Rosedale disappeared from Lucas’s side to look at something interesting, only to be found gleaming in front of a street vendor’s stall.
She bought a sparkling bracelet and shared it with Lucas, who didn’t like it much. And also argued with a parrot that mimicked people’s words.
“Stupid, stupid!”
“Hey! Who did you just call…”
“Rosie! Let’s just go.”
Lucas barely pulled her away with embarrassment, but Rosedale was still angry.
‘You are stupid! I’m the daughter of Elpis, the father of nature, and the second strongest fairy!’
Lucas, who couldn’t understand her inner thoughts, simply laughed.
Lucas bought a candy apple to coax Rosedale, who had puffy cheeks with anger. Her heart was instantly calmed, and she requested Lucas, “Can we go there next?”
“Sure!”
No one recognized Lucas. No human looked suspiciously at Rosedale, who was a fairy.
The two of them sang like birds on their first flight and laughed like travelers who had explored the entire country.
They dyed each other with new freedom.
Maybe that’s why, when it was dusk, they felt closer than before.
“Lucas, why did you follow me earlier?”
Lucas found her question silly.
“You didn’t have to listen to me. It would have been simple if you just gave me money like Cain said, I was curious why you accepted my offer.”
“Well…”
Lucas glanced at the scenery of the street for a moment.
The smile of a child holding his mother’s hand and the cheerful bargaining of the merchants. In the fading day, people were peacefully living as always.
“I just.. maybe I wanted to blend in as well.”
“….”
Rosedale was a little surprised by Lucas’s words, which were the same as hers, and looked at him without saying anything.
His smile, meeting hers, looked more beautiful under the setting sun. His gentle smile, tinged with a hint of loneliness, stirred up an unknown longing in her.
“I haven’t seen anyone who looks at me straight like you in a long time.”
“Why doesn’t anyone look at you?”
“More precisely, they can’t.”
“….”
Was it for the same reason as she couldn’t look at Elpis? Then did Elpis also feel the same way as Lucas?
Rosedale knew the feeling from the fairy world, where status was a barrier.
She couldn’t help but listen to Lucas’s voice more and more.
“I wanted to see a peaceful day as an ordinary person for a day. I thought you could make it possible.”
“Because I’m someone who speaks directly to you?”
“Because you’re someone who faces me directly.”
When he first met her, he took off his mask as soon as he saw her treating him without any restrictions. He hoped from the beginning that Rosedale wouldn’t recognize him.
Even for a moment, he wanted to meet someone who could pull him out of that hellish war, even for a moment, and make him feel normal.
“So, did you have a peaceful and ordinary day with me?”
“It was perfect.”
Seeing Lucas smiling brightly, she laughed softly.
Rosedale was pleased. She had helped her first human.
She felt a sense of satisfaction in being able to confidently stand up to Lucas, who had momentarily overlapped with Elpis.
Above all, she felt a tingling in her heart as she no longer saw sadness in his eyes.
“Lucas. Did we become friends today?”
“What do you think a friend is?”
He seemed to avoid the answer. But Rosedale didn’t mind.
“Someone who eats with you, shares time with you, and laughs with you.”
Someone who helps you naturally when you’re in trouble, without any agenda. Who thinks of you naturally when they’re bored. The person who you want to share your happiness with, and someone who is happy for you.
“That’s a friend, right? Isn’t it?”
The definition of a friend she had read in books was firmly ingrained in Rosedale’s mind.
Unlike the affection of parents that she could never have, the friendship with a friend gave her hope.
So he wouldn’t know. How much their time together made her heart flutter. The excitement almost made her forget Eros’s mission.
“If so, then, Rosie and I are friends.”
Lucas smiled as conceding.
He tidied up her bangs that the wind played with, very affectionately.
“I’ve never met someone as pure as you. Rosie, you’re honest and confident. I like that. So…”
“So?”
“I’m afraid to see you change after you know the real me. I don’t think you’ll call me a friend anymore.”
He was afraid that today’s sweet freedom would feel like a lie. His murmured words made Rosedale’s heart tingle.
‘I guess we’re really friends, Lucas.’
When I see you in pain like this, it hurts me too.
Rosedale cautiously reached out to Lucas’s cheek and wrapped it warmly. She looked at him with her red eyes that smelled like the sun.
“Whoever you are, I’m your friend.”
“….”
“A pure and confident friend who looks at you straight and speaks to you without any filters.”
Lucas glanced at Rosedale as if to confirm her words. He leaned on her hand without taking his gaze off her red eyes.
The sunset burned the last flame and went down, and the darkness that resembled Lucas’s hair emerged.
In that fleeting time, both of them shared their most vulnerable self with each other.
