Side Story ~ 15
Lexion remained silent.
“…”
Lexion’s face was full of puzzlement as he walked alongside Sereniel. Although everything was neatly organized, strangely, there wasn’t a trace of human presence.
Where could the Count and Countess have gone?
…Did they temporarily vacate the mansion?
In the meantime, Sereniel led Lexion to a place he was familiar with.
Her own room.
“Please have a seat. Kina takes care of cleaning regularly, so it should be clean.”
Lexion nodded briefly and sat down on the low bed.
Then, he slowly looked around her room, his eyes gleaming faintly.
Lexion had visited here quite frequently. He had come with Elsie and with Sereniel, at least three times a month.
But for Lexion, who had returned to the past, Sereniel’s room was a place he had never visited before.
And, it was a difficult place that he had thought he would never set foot in.
“…”
Through Lexion’s black pupils, a slightly open window was reflected.
Hidden beyond that window, alone, he didn’t know how much he had peeked at Sereniel, hidden, hiding his chest.
It seems like that was just yesterday, but I’m here in the room.
I couldn’t believe it.
“How is it?”
Sereniel asked Lexion as she looked at him.
“Is it as you imagined?”
To Lexion now, Sereniel knew better than anyone else how unfamiliar this space would feel.
“Yeah.”
Lexion nodded slowly.
“It’s warm, like you.”
Sereniel’s room was quaint and cozy, just as expected, like its owner.
As Sereniel looked at him with a faint smile, Lexion changed the subject unnecessarily, turning his gaze away.
“But the Count and Countess…”
“They have passed away.”
At the unexpected words, Lexion fell silent for a moment.
“Many things happened, but now it’s okay.”
“…”
“It’s all thanks to you, Duke.”
It was sincere.
If it hadn’t been for Lexion, Sereniel wouldn’t have been able to properly seek revenge on Belles and Calian, nor would she have been able to reveal the truth about her parents’ death.
The anniversary of her parents’ death still came every year without fail, but she had never felt as sad as before.
It was all thanks to Lexion, who had always been by her side.
“When you were sad and struggling…”
Lexion, who was silently staring at Sereniel, cautiously moved his lips.
“Did I help? Even a little…”
“You did.”
Sereniel smiled brightly.
“I just said that earlier. Thanks to you, I’m okay now.”
However much he wanted to reach her, he couldn’t do anything. To Lexion back then, Sereniel was a person he couldn’t even call by her name.
If Sereniel had been even a little helpful to him when he was sad and struggling… that would have been enough. It was sufficient.
Lexion’s quiet smile suddenly caught sight of something on the bedside table next to the bed.
There was a book on the bedside table.
“Shall I read you the book?”
Sereniel noticed Lexion’s gaze and asked him, holding the book.
“It’s my favorite book. And you, Duke, also said you liked this book.”
[Kina, so in the book I read today, there was an Empress who was amazing….]
That was the book.
[Peeking at you here, while listening to you secretly… I always thought that you were someone who could never be reached, so lovely, noble, and beautiful. But even now, you still seem that way. And I suppose it will be the same in the future.]
On the day when I read this book to you here before, you put a wedding ring on me.
Even though that day doesn’t exist in your memory now, are you still looking at me with those eyes?
Probably because you have always spoken only sincerely to me.
With a faint smile, Sereniel recalled old memories.
“Yeah, Read it to me. I want to hear it in your voice.”
Sereniel nodded briefly and slowly opened the book. Then, she began to read the tender and quaint story that Lexion had once listened to secretly, in a subdued voice.
“Once upon a time, in a certain empire, there was a very wise and brave Empress….”
The pleasant and gentle voice settled in the sunlit room.
Lexion and Sereniel sat facing each other like children.
As Sereniel read the fairy tale book, she hadn’t changed a bit from the image he remembered.
Although she had grown older, everything was the same. Her emerald eyes shone brightly and her unique kind atmosphere.
Sereniel was still the same, but I was not.
Lexion realized belatedly. The current me is subtly different from what he remembers.
Unlike before, I had a mild face in some way. There was no trace of the usual tense feeling. Of course, the features themselves looked cold, so that couldn’t be helped.
What kind of life was I living with Sereniel?
Living like this, buried in morning comforts and this peacefulness.
Perhaps happier than others.
“…”
Lexion just quietly watched Sereniel.
The fairy tale story that he once eavesdropped outside the window was still interesting, and Sereniel’s warm gaze as she read the book remained the same.
In this way, Lexion enjoyed happiness and stability that he could never have imagined before, basking in the warm sunlight.
—
Lexion and Sereniel left from Verdellete as the sky began to turn red with dusk.
They hadn’t planned to stay this long, but they had lost track of time while talking together.
But it couldn’t be helped for Sereniel either. Lexion had listened eagerly like a child to the things he had already experienced.
Should they return to the mansion now?
She had thought about it, but somehow Lexion, who had boarded the carriage, seemed a little disappointed.
It wasn’t incomprehensible. After all, to the current Lexion, Rosenvester didn’t feel like home.
Therefore, Sereniel decided to enjoy an unplanned outing a little longer, for Lexion’s sake.
“It’s been quite a while since we visited, so I think you’ll like it.”
Sereniel brought Lexion to Paul’s shop.
But when Lexion got off the carriage, he wore a slightly puzzled expression, as if wondering where they were.
“Come to think of it… I don’t know how long I’ve known Paul….”
Unexpectedly, Sereniel found herself in an awkward moment.
“Hello, Duke Lexion!” A boy running errands from Paul’s shop warmly greeted Lexion. “The weather is really nice today, isn’t it? By the way, why haven’t you visited for so long?”
“Um…?”
“I’m actually going out on an errand right now! So, I can’t chat long… Oh, right.”
The boy smiled slightly and pulled out a small dagger from his pocket.
“With the book you gifted me along with this dagger, I’ve been practicing really hard!”
“…”
“Also, maybe because of that rumor, people don’t treat me like they used to. It’s really strange!”
Lexion, seemingly unable to understand the situation, listened quietly to the boy’s story and then asked in a low voice.
“Since earlier, you’ve been speaking to me without any hesitation.”
“Huh?”
“You don’t seem scared of me.”
“Why would I be scared of you, Duke?”
The boy widened his eyes and asked back.
“You’re kind and affectionate! I think everyone in the market feels the same way.”
“…”
“And they all like you.”
People like me?
In that moment, myriad emotions flickered through Lexion’s eyes.
“Are people really intimidated just because of a rumor about your dagger practice?”
Then Paul, who had come out of the shop, looked bewildered.
“Maybe because it’s known that the Duke gave you the dagger, you fool.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“What do you mean ‘is that so’? Hurry up and finish your errand.”
The boy made a slightly pouting expression at Paul’s words, then grabbed Lexion’s hand abruptly and shook it roughly. Afterward, he walked away with determined steps.
“But, Duke, Madam, what brings you here?”
Paul alternated his gaze between Sereniel and Lexion.
“You didn’t come here for anything special, did you? Like asking for some bizarre furniture to be made in an unreasonable time.”
“Paul, that’s…”
“If you’ve come just to have a chat over tea, of course, you’re very welcome.”
Sereniel hesitated for a moment, then whispered quietly into Paul’s ear.
It wasn’t anything extraordinary.
Just about yesterday’s incident and Lexion’s current condition.
“…What did you say?”
“The situation has turned out like that. I naturally thought the Duke and I had known each other for a very long time.”
“You don’t remember?”
Paul’s reaction was quite interesting.
“So that means…”
“Paul?”
“Finally, the opportunity has come for me to seek revenge against the Duke.”
What is he talking about again?
Sereniel widened her eyes and looked at Paul, but Paul gave an inscrutable ominous smile and began to lead Lexion and Sereniel into the interior of the shop.
