It was quite sudden news. Cobi, whom I had met just the day before yesterday, was now no longer in the capital.
“May I ask why he left this place?”
To Kisa’s question, Seyard replied nonchalantly.
“I recommended it.”
“You did, Seyard?”
A few seconds later, Kisa made an “ah” sound as if she understood.
“Did you send him to Bonzmos? You persuaded him to go to the Pavela Monastery and turn himself in, right?”
“Unfortunately, that’s not the case.”
He shrugged his shoulders.
“That was my greatest hope, but the person in question was too resistant. Cobi, in fact, had many complaints about the monastery.”
“Really?”
“From the perspective of the monks there, they believe they’ve shown him great kindness, but he seems to have felt differently. Well, the same situation can be perceived quite differently by different parties.”
This was something Kisa had never considered before.
Come to think of it, even Seyard, a member of the prestigious Duke Hillan’s family, had been frowned upon during his time at the monastery for his supposedly improper conduct.
With Cobi lacking proper social standing and associating with Seyard, it seemed unlikely that he would have been treated well.
The monks who had welcomed Kisa several months ago were generally kind, but they were only a few, and it would be premature to assume they maintained the same attitude toward Cobi.
There was a clear difference in circumstances between her—a noblewoman and Duke Hillan’s fiancée who visited with a certain level of hospitality—and Cobi, who occupied the bottom rung of the monastery hierarchy, tasked with all manner of errands.
Kisa slowly nodded her head.
“Indeed, that makes sense.”
“Of course, I intend to eventually persuade Cobi to properly face the crimes he committed. But as his friend, I don’t want to force him when he’s so firmly against it.”
“I understand that feeling.”
Seyard was indeed a warm-hearted person. Upon seeing Kisa, he gave a faint smile.
“Thank you for saying that. Anyway, I want to give Cobi some time for now. He’s in such a devastated state that it’s hard to recognize his former self. Both physically and mentally.”
Seyard, having judged that recovery was the priority, had sent him to a region quite far from the capital.
“He’s at one of the Hillan family’s vacation homes. I asked him to take on the position of caretaker there.”
“Caretaker?”
“Yes, partly for recuperative purposes, and in my view, it would be good for Cobi to learn the value of honest labor. From what I observed at the monastery, merely serving others doesn’t seem to suit his temperament at all.”
“So you gave him a position and assigned him specific duties?”
“That’s right. There aren’t many people there either, so the possibility of conflict with others is minimal.”
“That’s true. But…”
Kisa found herself trailing off. She couldn’t help but wonder if it might have been better to keep Cobi here and give him work to do.
Seyard would surely want to see his friend frequently after their reunion, and keeping him close would make it easier to monitor how well Cobi was adapting to his new life.
Although she understood there were other purposes like recuperation, the image of Seyard’s joyful face after reuniting with Cobi the other day kept appearing in her mind.
“I did consider having Cobi stay in this mansion.”
The perceptive Seyard seemed to have read Kisa’s thoughts at a glance.
“But before being his friend, I am the head of the Hillan family. I couldn’t make the choice to bring a criminal into the household, not knowing what kind of trouble he might cause again.”
Upon reflection, Kisa realized Seyard was right.
Her cheeks reddened slightly at the thought that she had viewed the problem with too narrow a perspective.
The more Kisa learned about Seyard, the more she liked him.
Not only did he genuinely care for his friend, but he also clearly distinguished between public and private matters.
As she was thinking this, Seyard opened his mouth after a brief silence.
“And to be frank, I wanted to keep Cobi far away from you.”
This was completely unexpected.
“From me? Why?”
“Kisa might have noticed, but Cobi has a fondness for women. And he certainly cannot be called a moral person.”
“Ah.”
“In fact, when he was talking with you the other day, I felt quite uncomfortable inside.”
His voice suddenly dropped lower.
“I don’t like another man looking at you that way.”
His reddish-brown eyes momentarily filled with distinct animosity before quickly returning to normal.
“It’s strange. This is the first time I’ve felt this way while being with Cobi.”
“Seyard…”
“I suppose it means how deeply I care for you.”
Embarrassed, Kisa fidgeted with the handle of the teacup in front of her.
He had a tendency to come out with such unexpected declarations, and each time, Kisa found herself at a loss for words.
However, having been officially in a relationship with him for quite some time, things had changed from before.
“I feel the same way.”
Kisa belatedly expressed her honest feelings in a small voice.
“I love you.”
At that, a smile spread across Seyard’s face.
Looking at him, Kisa felt a great sense of happiness and just a slight sense of dismay.
‘Oh dear, I can’t bring myself to say it.’
In fact, she had been about to suggest that they visit Cobi together sometime.
Since the place Cobi was managing was a Hillan family vacation home, it wouldn’t seem strange for Seyard and Kisa to visit for leisurely purposes.
But Kisa wasn’t insensitive enough to make such a suggestion to Seyard, who had just expressed jealousy toward Cobi.
Although she wanted to hear stories about her lover’s past, it would be putting the cart before the horse if it upset him.
‘And to be honest…’
It might sound strange, but there was something pleasing about seeing him, who was always gentle and affectionate, display such overt jealousy regarding her.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. Perhaps what mattered most wasn’t who Seyard was before meeting Kisa, but who he was now, right in front of her.
With that thought, she wasn’t entirely disappointed about missing out on hearing Cobi’s stories.
“Kisa?”
Seyard looked up at Kisa, who had suddenly risen from her seat.
Without giving any particular answer, Kisa moved a few steps and plopped down beside him on the sofa.
Right beside him. Leaning against Seyard’s sturdy body, Kisa whispered quietly.
“I just feel like being a little spoiled.”
Goodness, to say “spoiled” aloud. It was a surprising word even coming from her own lips.
The strict Count Vansfelt hadn’t tolerated even the slightest hint of spoiled behavior from Kisa even when she was young.
“Is that so?”
But Seyard was not the Count.
Chuckling, he shifted his position and easily enclosed Kisa within his embrace.
“I find myself in the mood to indulge you.”
His voice tickled the nape of her neck, and Kisa squirmed a little but didn’t try to leave his arms.
The two remained silent for a moment, sharing each other’s warmth.
“Seyard.”
Suddenly, Kisa spoke.
“I’m truly happy right now.”
The answer came immediately.
“So am I.”
A cozy moment spent with a beloved. Could there be a happier time than this?
As she had just said, Kisa was truly happy.
I’m happy. Kisa repeated to herself with closed eyes.
As if refusing to acknowledge any other, less pure emotions.
****
That day too, Kisa was at the Duke Hillan’s mansion.
While Seyard attended to his work, Kisa sat in a corner of his office reading a newspaper.
At first, she had intended to go elsewhere, concerned that her presence might disturb him, but Seyard had stopped her.
He wanted to be in the same space as her.
Sharing his sentiment, Kisa gladly stayed.
She pretended to read the newspaper diligently while occasionally stealing glances at him working.
‘He’s so handsome.’
Seyard was always handsome, but there was a magical charm about him when he scanned documents with serious eyes or occasionally engaged in difficult conversations with Gilliam.
As Kisa was engrossed in admiring him, their gazes met.
She hastily turned her attention back to the newspaper, embarrassed at being caught staring blankly at him.
Seyard then rose from his chair at the desk and approached the sofa where Kisa was sitting.
“Is there an interesting article?”
Since she hadn’t really been reading the newspaper properly, Kisa randomly pointed to an article.
“I was reading this.”
“This is…”
It was an article about a vagrant’s body discovered yesterday in the lower reaches of the Anne River that cuts through the capital.
The article explained that the identity had not yet been revealed, but judging from the stab wounds on the body, it appeared the person had died after being stabbed.
Furthermore, due to the lack of evidence or witnesses, the perpetrator had not yet been caught.
In all likelihood, the perpetrator would never be arrested, nor would the identity of the body ever be revealed.
This wasn’t just a recent occurrence.
The capital’s police officers weren’t idle enough to pay attention to every death of those wandering the streets.
Moreover, it was quite common for vagrants to take each other’s lives after conflicts.
Unless ordinary citizens became involved in their disputes, such incidents typically received little attention before disappearing from people’s memories, leaving behind just a few lines in articles.
After briefly reviewing the article’s content, Seyard spoke.
“It’s quite a heavy article. I didn’t know you were interested in this type of content.”
“Yes, I wasn’t originally. But today I was reminded of Cobi for some reason.”
“…..Why Cobi?”
He asked as he wrapped his arm around Kisa’s shoulder.
