Dark red hair. Eyes of a silver close to pure white. Pale skin and a head taller than me.
“Little miss.”
The person standing in the middle of my bedroom was none other than Tommy.
“Tommy. How did you…”
I was startled to realize the intruder was Tommy.
I knew he was different from the common folks, having mana and even the ability to use it freely.
But I never expected him to boldly use his ability to find my bedroom like this.
My voice faded as I stared at him with eyes full of question marks, and Tommy’s lips turned down sadly.
“I don’t have much time left now. So, although I understand you might have many questions for me, I would like you to listen to my story first.”
Faced with such a desperate plea, I couldn’t say anything more. I could only silently listen to Tommy’s story.
“I told you before, didn’t I? My real name isn’t Tommy.”
“That’s right.”
“And do you remember when you asked me what my real name was, and I said I would tell you later?”
“Yes, I remember.”
After I found out that Tommy was an orphan, I had asked him. Then who gave you the name Tommy?
What did Tommy say to that question?
“Um… My real name isn’t Tommy, miss. So, there’s no one who gave me the name Tommy. But there is someone who did give me my real name.”
“Tommy’s real name? What is it?”
“That’s a secret.”
“What? How can you do that? Tommy and I are friends, aren’t we?”
“Sometimes, being a friend means there are things you want to hide. My real name… I’ll tell you later… when you, young lady, can fall like today without crying.”
“Ha. That’s impossible. If I fall, it hurts so much that I can’t help but cry, even if I don’t want to.”
…Could it be?
As I was recalling old memories and feeling anxious, I approached Tommy and asked,
“So, are you going to tell me your real name now?”
“Yes.”
“If I ask why you’re telling me now, will you answer?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t give you a detailed answer to that question.”
Slowly stepping back, he soon found himself a few steps away from me.
“Young lady, my name is not Tommy, but Thomas Levin.”
“…”
“So the Tommy you knew, a commoner orphan with a fake name, does not exist. Therefore, all the information you knew about me is false.”
Tommy, with trembling hands tightly clenched into fists, hid his arms behind his back. Then, he flashed a slight smile.
“I am a liar, young lady.”
A very bad liar who deceived the young lady.
“……”
I couldn’t respond to Tommy calling himself a liar. Not because I was surprised that he lied, but because I was a liar just like Tommy.
How could I, who lied to my family about Ruth, dare to say anything to him?
As I stood there with my lips tightly sealed, a cold chill wrapped around my hand.
When the sudden contact shook me from my reverie and I lifted my chin, I saw Tommy’s feet floating in the air.
As I aimlessly watched the space between the bedroom floor and his feet, Tommy spoke.
“But at the same time, I’m so selfish, I hope the young lady won’t forget me.”
Is he saying that he will leave if he asks not to be forgotten?
I looked at Tommy, who seemed to be bidding farewell, with a confused gaze.
Why……
Although questions swirled in my mouth, all I could do was nod my head, hoping to make Tommy’s heart feel a bit more at ease with my anxious expression.
Tommy, quietly smiling at my nod, bent down and lightly touched my hand with his forehead.
“Little miss, from now on, don’t forget the name Thomas Levin. Someday, when I have gained enough strength, I will come to see you. Please remember me until then.”
“…Are you really leaving?”
Barely parting my lips, I asked with a trembling voice.
To my question, Tommy gave a meaningful look. It was affirmative.
“….”
I ultimately closed my mouth again.
It was clear that holding onto him, who had already prepared his heart to leave, wouldn’t change anything.
But that wasn’t the only reason.
He had aligned everything with me, to the extent that it seemed he lived for me. Except for the last time we met, Tommy had never once shown me his back first, which said everything.
However, now that Tommy wished to leave, I could not hold onto him. For the sake of my happiness alone, I couldn’t rob him of his freedom any longer.
Silently maintaining my silence, Tommy, who had etched every bit of me into his eyes without missing a piece, eventually gently pressed his lips to the back of my hand.
“Then, take care until then. My little miss.”
“!”
Startled by the damp sensation on the back of my hand, I hastily withdrew my hand from Tommy’s grip just as a breeze began to blow from somewhere. To me, who often uses magic stones for teleportation, this wind was very familiar.
“Tommy!”
Just before his figure completely disappeared, I called out to him. Then, he slowly opened his eyelids that had been shut.
Seeing his silver eyes fully revealed, I quickly spoke.
“I’ll trust you. Your words that you’ll come back.”
“…….”
“So, you must come find me later. Just like how you found me the first time we met. Got it?”
Since Tommy never breaks his promises, he was bound to return someday.
Still, the reason I pleaded almost like issuing an order was because I was anxious regardless. Nobody would be unafraid when a childhood friend and family-like figure, who has been with them for six years, suddenly decides to leave one day. Probably.
Hearing my urgent plea, he soon wore a very faint but definitive smile.
……It was an affirmation.
With that as the last, Tommy disappeared from my bedroom, leaving not a single trace behind.
“…….”
I was enveloped in an indescribable emotion as I looked at the empty space left by his sudden disappearance. It was a feeling that was neither sadness nor regret, difficult to clearly define.
As I stood silently, gazing into the void, Vestina, who had just entered my bedroom, widened her eyes upon seeing me.
“Miss, why are you standing like that?”
Shaken from my thoughts by her voice, I looked at Vestina, who had brought snacks. Just as I was about to make an excuse that I had been zoning out, a question that I hadn’t realized before suddenly occurred to me.
When a servant decides to leave the mansion, they have to explain their reasons for leaving and erase their memories related to the Oberleton family completely, leaving only faint memories of having worked at the Duke of Oberleton’s mansion, so it wouldn’t affect their daily life. This is because our mansion harbors secrets that must remain concealed.
However, Tommy, who worked in the laundry room, retained all his memories. Even though he should have informed the steward or the head servant if he wanted to leave.
Looking at Vestina, who was still watching me with curiosity, I thought to myself.
Given Vestina’s outgoing nature, might she know at least one person working in the laundry room?
“Vestina.”
“Yes?”
“Do you know anyone who works in the laundry room?”
“Yes, there is. Emma, who shares a room with me, works in the laundry room.”
Because she works in the laundry room, her hands are so strong. If you make the room dirty, you get hit on the back, and it hurts so much that it brings tears to your eyes.
As usual, I half-listened to Vestina’s stories, which were laced with unnecessary additions, until they seemed to reach an end. Then, I spoke up.
“Could you ask this servant named Emma if she knows a servant named Tommy? Someone who quit recently.”
“A servant named Tommy…?”
Vestina, unable to guess why I was asking, tilted her head in confusion but soon broke into a wide smile.
“Understood! I’ll go ask right away!”
With that, she set down the tray she was holding onto the table and left the bedroom.
I watched Vestina’s disappearing figure behind the door, munching on the vanilla cookies laid out on the tray as I waited for her. If this servant named Emma knew Tommy, I decided to find out why Tommy’s memory wasn’t erased.
I expected it to take some time, but Vestina returned quite soon, as she had promised.
“Did you ask?”
“Yes. But Miss… uh…”
It made me anxious to see her, always so articulate, hesitating and dragging her words.
What did she hear that made Vestina react this way?
Just as all sorts of negative thoughts were about to flood my mind, Vestina, with her eyes tightly shut, relayed the words she heard from Emma.
“There’s no servant named Tommy working in the laundry room. And there hasn’t been anyone who recently quit either.”
***
Two days have passed since Tommy left.
During the last two days, I practically lived in the study, trying to understand why Tommy’s existence seemed to have been completely erased from everyone’s memory, and to locate the Levins family. I went through books that appeared even slightly related and repeatedly looked over outdated newspapers.
“I found it.”
And finally, after all the effort, I managed to discover where the Levins family was located.
