His face was pale. Or rather, she was looking at the face of a corpse.
Juno had seen it before. Her mother was like this right before the funeral.
“Mr. Nereus is cold,” Juno said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“What?” Jupiter, seemingly startled from Juno holding his hand, hugged her from behind.
Juno got out of his embrace and yanked the quilt off the old butler.
“Wait!”
She grabbed Nereus’s face. “Mr. Nereus!”
He still didn’t wake up. Juno tightened her grip.
Then, Jupiter gently pulled her back. “Juno.” His gaze, so full of worry and concern, was annoying.
She didn’t want to say it. She knew what had happened, but she didn’t want to say it.
“Jupiter, this isn’t real, right? This isn’t real.” She wanted him to reassure her that everything was fine, that Nereus was in a deep sleep.
However, Jupiter’s expression said otherwise. “Juno.” He reached out to comfort her, but she slapped his hand away.
“I said hello to him yesterday…” She really did say hello and good night to him. She would see him the next day. But now he’s dead.
Jupiter touched her shoulder. “Calm down, Juno.”
She flew into a rage. “How can I calm down?”
“Juno!”
“Why…” Why did he have to die? Why today?
“He was old. We should prepare for the funeral.”
Juno didn’t want to hear Jupiter’s voice. She knew Nereus should have retired already and lived out his remaining years in the countryside.
This is because of me. Nereus was so worried about her that he stayed at the mansion and continued to work.
She stared at Nereus’s dead body as Jupiter called out her name.
“Juno. Juno.”
“…”
She turned her head. Their eyes met, and Jupiter said, “I’ll prepare the funeral for you. Don’t worry about it.”
Juno felt as if someone punched her. That was her responsibility. “…No, I can do it. I will do it.”
“Juno.”
Nereus was the only one who Juno considered family; he treated her like his daughter. His funeral was something Juno had to prepare.
As if talking to herself, Juno said, “Mr. Nereus doesn’t have a family, so I have to do it.”
“All right.”
“I was like a daughter to him, so I can do it, right?”
While she wasn’t his actual child, she thought their friendship was enough to justify having a funeral.
Jupiter nodded. “Yes, of course.”
“Let’s send out invitations first. As for the funeral itself…”
Juno remembered what Nereus had said right after her mother’s funeral.
“I get lonely quite easily, so I’d appreciate it if my lady buried me under a tree and visited me often.” As Nereus spoke, he glanced at her. He was afraid she would dislike what she heard.
Instead, Juno had nodded happily.
Other than that, Nereus often talked about death.
Did he worry such a day would come? That was how old he was.
Juno took a deep breath and said, “He asked for his body to be cremated…”
“I’ll see if that can be done.”
However, this was Juno’s responsibility.
“But—”
“Juno, I’ll do it for you.”
She looked at Jupiter, and his blue eyes were like a lake shining under the warm sunlight.
Juno bit her lip. “…Thank you.”
“Did Mr. Nereus request anything else?”
“…No.”
“All right.”
Jupiter left the room and stopped a passing servant. Juno covered Nereus with the quilt. Seeing his peaceful expression, she knew he did not have a painful death. Juno stood by the bed in a daze, and Jupiter approached her. However, she wanted to be alone.
“Jupiter, can you leave me alone for a bit?”
He was silent. Then, he asked, “Are you going to cry?”
She said nothing.
Jupiter didn’t avert his gaze. “Will you cry if I leave?”
“…”
“You’re going to cry, aren’t you?”
“…I’m asking you to leave.”
Jupiter pulled up two chairs. After he made Juno sit down in one, he sat in the other.
“I refuse. I’ll stay with you.”
It was ridiculous. She didn’t know why he decided to do this. They weren’t close.
“Who are you?”
Despite her sharp tone, Jupiter said, “You’ve been there for me before.”
“Huh?”
“No one was sad about my mother’s death, so you said you’d be sad for her.”
“When did I…”
Jupiter’s mother died when Juno was six years old. Jupiter smiled. “Do you not remember? It’s most likely because you were too young.”
“Excuse me?”
“That’s what happened. You even told me that since I couldn’t openly mourn her, you’d do it in my place.”
Juno had no memory of this, and she didn’t want to try and remember. Nereus’s death was hard enough. She couldn’t focus her energy on something else.
“I don’t remember.”
“Yes, but I do.”
“I don’t need to know.” Juno was becoming more curious, but she was stubborn. She didn’t want to reveal her vulnerable self to a stranger. However, like Juno, Jupiter was also stubborn.
“You think so? But you do need it. You told me it’s better to have someone hold your hand when you’re sad and want to cry.”
“…Did I really say that?”
Jupiter smiled softly. “You told me what the marchioness had told you.”
Those words were something her mother would say. She was a very kind person. But Juno wasn’t sure.
“I don’t remember any of this.”
“It’s all right. I should’ve been by your side at your mother’s funeral, but I wasn’t. At least you had Mr. Nereus.”
“Did you actually come to her funeral?”
“You’re asking the obvious.” Strangely enough, Jupiter acted more like a human today.
It’s like he took off all his masks. Was it because Nereus’s death was too surreal? Or was it because she heard a story from her past that involved her mother which made Juno lower her guard?
For the first time, Juno relaxed in front of Jupiter and asked, “Why can’t I remember?”
He tucked her hair behind her ear. “Haven’t you been very busy?”
Indeed. She was too busy holding herself together.
Jupiter placed Juno’s hand on top of Nereus’s and said, “Allow me to be here for you this time. Mr. Nereus was as important to you as the marchioness.”
“…Okay.”
“That’s right,” Jupiter said. “I’ll be here for you.”
Juno bit her lip. “I won’t cry.”
“If you don’t want to cry, then don’t cry. I’ll cry for you.”
It was the most ridiculous thing he ever said. Even in a situation like this, Juno laughed at the absurdity. “You?”
Jupiter nodded. “Yes.”
“Are you actually going to cry?”
“It’s a daunting task.”
It was strange Juno could laugh. She was so sad that she couldn’t believe she laughed. Perhaps she had yet to fully accept Nereus’s death.
Juno looked at Nereus again. It hurt, but it wasn’t as bad as before.
Ah, you were preparing for this day. Nereus always said that he was old enough to die at any moment. He wanted her to be ready for it. She was upset whenever he talked about it, but Nereus was wise.
She wasn’t completely devastated; she was okay.
I can get through this. Still, tears fell. Juno ignored the person next to her and wept. She said she wouldn’t cry, but she cried. She didn’t dislike the warmth next to her, so she let him stay. Juno didn’t want to tell him to leave. She appreciated him holding her hand. It was nice that someone, who didn’t say anything, was next to her.
Her mother was right. It was comforting to have someone hold her hand as she cried.
***
The funeral was over. Juno placed the urn with Nereus’s ashes on the table and looked at Jupiter.
“I have a question.”
“What is it?”
She thought about whether or not to ask him, but she decided to do so in the end. Only then could she figure out what to do with Jupiter in the future. “You’re very nice to me. Is it because I said those things to you as a child?”
“That’s correct.”
She didn’t understand. Wasn’t his story from a long time ago? Juno didn’t even remember it. Not hiding her disbelief, she said, “I must have said it without meaning anything.”
“It was meaningful and helpful to me. So I don’t mind.”
“You’re not that kind of person.”
Jupiter smiled and leaned in close. “You must have some kind of misunderstanding about me then.”
He was so close that they could feel each other’s breath.
“I know what you think of me,” Jupiter whispered. He moved his hand toward Juno’s face.
“Good.” She narrowed her eyes at Jupiter, who looked like he was having fun. “You’re pretentious and arrogant.”
Jupiter’s hand brushed against the side of her face.
“Nothing like a human.”
He was too close.
“Ah, but I am one.”
A person who says he or she is a human only made said individual less human.
Jupiter cupped her cheek. “I’m normal.” He said it almost like he was guilty of something.
“You are a little weird at times,” Juno said, grabbing the hand that was on her face. “…I didn’t know why you were fond of me until now.” In any case, he couldn’t be trusted.
With a sly grin, she asked, “Are you hoping I’ll treat you like family? What is your goal here?”
Jupiter frowned as if he were in trouble. “…Well, that’s going to be difficult, don’t you think?”
His response made Juno laugh.
