Chapter 87
In the darkness where the light slept, a sliver of dusky moonlight reached Pession.
The sound of the wind and grasshoppers melted into the darkness. Through the silent, breathtaking landscape, she could only make out a single set of eyes, the only ones she could see clearly.
“And you?”
Everything slows to a crawl.
“Why are you here?”
For a moment, it’s as if time has stopped.
There was only one person moving animatedly in her vision.
“I came to see you.”
“You rejected my request for an ally.”
“That’s…”
The long lashes fluttered down slightly. The shade of his lashes hid his pupils. There was also a hint of youthful clumsiness in his eyes.
“…I’ve been busy.”
His cheeks were pale in the moonlight. Was it her, or did Pession look like he was floating?
“You’re lying.”
“It’s true.”
“I’m not fooled.”
“I’m the Crown Prince.”
Raising his gaze again, Pession spoke in a low voice.
“It’s true, I’ve been busy dealing with the Gunkai and the emissaries.”
When her expression didn’t change, the corners of her eyes drooped slightly.
“You didn’t even make it to Halbern because you didn’t have time.”
“…”
“Glad you didn’t work out because I wasn’t there, huh?”
There was a hint of mischief in his voice.
With a wary glance, Pession sneakily took her hand. The warmth from their touch awakened her numb senses.
Her expression almost crumbled.
She groaned silently at the stark truth that she could no longer ignore, even if she wanted to.
“I’ll fool you, just this once.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
A meltingly sweet smile tugged at the corners of Pession’s mouth.
Was Pession… was he… this pretty…?
She could clearly feel her own heart beating, slowly but surely rising in intensity.
Everything she saw, everything she heard, everything she felt in her hands was so familiar that she felt like she was back in the beginning.
It Was the first time she met Pession.
“Arel.”
Her doll-like features were delicate, even in the darkness. Her watery eyes were transparent. They looked as if they had been drenched in rainwater.
Pession smiled shyly as their gazes met, her white cheeks tinged with a blushing color.
Aah.
He’s pretty.
She doesn’t know if he ever felt so sorry for the limitations of her language and lack of vocabulary.
Her feet were still numb as if submerged in water, and her body felt like it was sinking, but she could hear her own heartbeat clearly.
“Pretty.”
What, did he say that out loud?
“It’s so, so, so beautiful, Arel.”
Pession praised her, her pretty face flushed like someone who had just seen something ecstatic.
Who is really pretty?
Her heart fluttered as she watched Pession laugh lasciviously, shyly averting his gaze.
Pession carefully moved his hand and delved between her fingers. Their fingers intertwined, soft and firm.
Suddenly, she realized.
They were different.
Not the twins, not Aaron, not Mehen, not Dad, not the Nursery, not anyone.
She was giddy with a vague sensation that was slowly encroaching like a swamp, and she made an involuntary impression.
… She feels like crying.
She didn’t know why the tears filled her eyes, she just felt like crying.
“Arel, what’s wrong?”
Why is he so sweet?
Makes her want to cry even more.
“Are you sick?”
“Ugh. I think I’m sick.”
Otherwise, this feeling didn’t make sense.
The eyes that looked into hers, the hand that touched her, the voice that spoke to her, it was all so good, she wanted to die.
Pession’s concern for her made her heart flutter.
The feeling of goodness has a range and gradually expands.
The feelings that originated from Pession extended to the ground he walked on, the sky in the background, this garden and the world.
The world seemed beautiful, simply because of Pession’s presence.
“Arellin, you’re acting weird today.”
She must be crazy.
“Are you really sick?”
No one would do this without being crazy.
She laughed softly, an unfamiliar warmth touching her forehead.
“I don’t have a fever.”
Pession, the boy who’d planted the bean on her forehead, laughed bashfully.
She torn between the urge to flee and the ambivalence of wanting to crash into him with all her might and shatter the mountain.
How did this happen?
How, what, why…
The sudden outpouring of awareness resembles despair. A feeling she wanted to deny, but couldn’t.
A terrible feeling of defeat washed over her.
‘I wish I’d never known anything.’
If only she hadn’t seen Chloe.
Vague regret washed over her. A vague regret that she couldn’t tell who or what it was directed at.
She was lovely.
She’ll like her, too.
A frustration that mimicked the despair she’d buried reared its head.
He is going to leave her.
All these relationships are fleeting.
A sweet, fleeting dream.
And yet.
“Why.”
The only sensation that was clearer than the vague fear that gripped her was a vague, brilliant ecstasy, like a shower of stars.
“Why do you look at me like that?”
“Because you’re beautiful.”
“It’s dazzlingly beautiful, so…”
She couldn’t open her eyes.
Alas, she wanted something she couldn’t have again.
It was purely out of habit, out of pride, that she didn’t cry until the end.
It was because she was weak that she didn’t let go, even though she knew the ending, the defeat, the end.
“Pession.”
“What?”
“That day.”
Pession paused.
“Why did you run away?”
“…”
Reflexively, Pession’s face hardened, his lips pursed and then tightened. His lashes fluttered, wet with anxiety.
“Did you see me hugging Aaron?”
“Aaron, do you like him?”
Eyes sinking darkly.
“If Arellin… if you like Aaron…”
“If I likes, what?”
“…”
Pession’s mouth clenched shut.
He looked as if the world had come to an end, and a strange joy spread through her. She glowed.
Really, really glowed.
“Smile.”
She laughed as she pressed firmly on Pession’s wrinkled brow and stretched it.
“I’m just trying to figure something out.”
Pession’s eyes lit up.
“What did you find out?”
“Something important.”
“What is it?”
‘I won’t tell you.’
“Then share it with me.”
Pession’s eyes changed color, and he swarmed uncharacteristically.
“Hug me, too. Hug me.”
“… Okay.”
“I mean, are you really going to hug me?”
“Then I’ll fake it.”
Pession’s instant blush was cute. She love his honest and transparent expression of emotion. She happily hugged Pession.
Maybe it was because he was bigger than her, but she felt like she was being hugged.
“Did you kiss Aaron?”
His voice was close. She bit her lip hard, feeling ticklish for some reason.
“No, I didn’t.”
“Really?”
“No.”
“Then did anyone else?”
“I didn’t.”
She heard a sharp intake of breath.
“Then why don’t you do it with me?”
A trembling voice grimaced at the suggestion. It pulled away from Pession.
“No.”
Her heart was racing like this just holding him, what if she, a sunfish, had a heart attack?
Pession lowered his head, looking grim. She could see the optical illusion of his missing ears and tail drooping, and he couldn’t help but make fun of his mouth.
“Later.”
“Uh, huh?”
Pession’s eyes widened in a broken expression.
“Really? Really?!”
She suddenly realized what she had said and felt embarrassed as Pession clung to her with joy.
Pession’s excitement was palpable as he squirmed and sagged against her evasive grasp.
Seeing him so happy makes her happy. It was serious.
‘I shouldn’t like him so much.’
She tried to force a sense of urgency, but the sensation that kept floating around her was like stepping on a cloud.
It’s so strange that all these feelings can come from just one person…
ecstatic.
“Arellin, do you want to dance?”
She could hear the faint sound of music in the distance, almost inaudible if she didn’t listen carefully.
“Do you know how to dance?”
“Of course.”
She laughed at Pession, who shrugged, saying he was good at anything physical.
“I’m not good at it.”
“That’s okay, I’m good.”
There’s only two of them here, so they can be wrong, Pession said, leading the way.
She put her hand on his and followed his instructions, giggling unintentionally.
She laughed, and he laughed. Each time they laughed, it was as if soap bubbles were popping. A tingling sensation rushed through her.
Dancing alone on a moonlit night.
Only the tiniest glimmer of light, like a star, illuminated them, and she had a premonition of what was to come.
She will never forget this moment.
Until the day she dies, no, even after she dies.
