WGMFTR | Chapter 21

Episode 21

Lydia was sure that her face must have turned very, very red.

“……Then, Marquis, you should lie down beside me too.”

Maybe that’s why something completely unexpected slipped out of her mouth, even though she hadn’t meant to say that at all. Lydia, flustered by her own absurd words, immediately began to babble.

“That’s not what I meant, I meant you should get some rest too, Marquis. Not that you should stay here, but that you should go back to your room and rest at least a little so you can regain the strength to fight the curse……”

The more she faced Ilian, who looked down at her without a single change in expression, the more her voice trailed off, until she ended up mumbling her words.

“All right. I will.”

Lydia let out a sigh of relief as Ilian raised his body again, as if he were about to leave.

But he moved in exactly the opposite direction from what Lydia had expected and comfortably lay down right next to her.

Of course, she had brought it on herself, but Lydia looked at him in disbelief.

Ilian didn’t seem to care whether she stared or not.

Resting his head on his cursed hand and lying on his side facing Lydia, he naturally reached out with his unblemished hand, the one with the seal ring, but paused to ask:

“Does this kind of contact have no effect on you?”

“……No. As long as it’s not the part affected by the curse, I don’t feel anything.”

Only then did Ilian’s fingers slowly intertwine with Lydia’s, so slowly it was almost frustrating.

As the tension in her stiff shoulders slowly eased, he let out a satisfied breath.

She saw his blue eyes gradually disappear beneath his eyelids.

“For me, everything becomes this quiet.”

“I wondered if the self-defense mechanism of the power I possess might be including you in its protection, Marquis.”

Lydia explained in a calm tone as she looked down at their joined hands and curiously observed the seal engraved with a golden bird.

At that, Ilian opened his eyes again and let out a faint laugh.

“Are you always like this?”

“Like what?”

“Analyzing everything in such a structured way.”

“Me?”

The way he said it made her seem terribly cold, so she questioned it, thinking she wasn’t really like that. Ilian fully opened his eyes and replied:

“Your way of thinking seems that way.”

“Knowing things in detail gives a sense of stability. It brings things within the realm of expectation.”

“So all your curiosity about me is along those lines too?”

For some reason, it felt like a question that required a careful answer.

Lydia followed the line of his arm and noticed that he was still wearing Ethan’s bracelet that she had given him. She smiled.

“With the curse, yes. But not the rest. You’re still wearing this.”

As she unconsciously flipped his hand over to check the bracelet, he gave a low hum, as if to say yes.

Then, Ilian’s hand naturally touched the inside of Lydia’s wrist.

“Not the rest, huh.”

As Ilian leaned his body forward, she suddenly realized how very close he was.

Lydia thought maybe she should break the mood, even in the most awkward way possible, by suddenly sitting up.

Meow—

A white fluff ball jumped out from somewhere and landed perfectly in the empty space between them.

“Didi?”

Lydia’s cat, Didi, licked her front paws a few times and let out a grumpy meow.

She was clearly expressing her displeasure that her owner, despite lying in bed, hadn’t called for her like usual.

Soon, Didi climbed up to where the pillows were and laid down, taking her spot.

Lydia had to try very hard to hold back a laugh.

Because, of course, Didi’s fluffy tail ended up covering half of Ilian’s face.

“Didi, don’t do that. The Marquis won’t like it.”

When Lydia sat up to pick Didi up and hold her, the cat escaped her grasp.

It would’ve been fine, if only she hadn’t chosen to escape by literally stepping on and leaping over Ilian.

“Didi! Don’t jump like that… Oh my, are you all right?”

Lydia couldn’t hold her laughter any longer and burst out laughing.

It was truly a rare sight to witness a mere cat stepping over the Marquis of Esteban as if he were a stepping stone. And it was her cat, no less.

Surprisingly unfazed, Ilian let out a sigh, sat up, and quickly caught Didi as she tried to crawl under the bed.

Meooow—

Didi looked incredulous that a mere human had captured her, but soon she started to purr under Ilian’s unexpectedly gentle petting and melted into his touch.

“Lydia, this cat is just as unpredictable and willful as you.”

“As much as me? I think I deserve a better score, at least because I’ve never walked all over you like she has. Didi, come here.”

Lydia tried to retrieve Didi but stopped, looking bewildered.

Didi had comfortably settled down in Ilian’s arms, resting her head against the headboard.

She was completely stretched out, clearly finding Ilian’s arms very comfortable.

“Didi, you’re not coming to me? Do you like it there better?”

As if she understood, Didi let out a soft, noncommittal “meow” and rubbed her face against Ilian’s chest.

“She must’ve quickly figured out who the wealthy one is that can give her more tasty treats.”

“Must be nice to be rich.”

“At the very least, it’s never been bad.”

When Lydia crossed her arms and pouted, Ilian responded nonchalantly.

“Why? Jealous?”

“Of course! Didi is my only family and friend, you know.”

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t amused by how lively Lydia’s reactions were to every little prod.

But in her final words, he sensed a carefully hidden sadness, so he decided to stop teasing. He didn’t want to see her looking gloomy.

“……I’m supposed to become your family too, am I not?”

“Hearing it like that sounds really weird. But, well, I guess it’s true.”

Lydia finally decided to think of it as a good thing.

She had to stay here for a while anyway, so it wasn’t a bad thing for Ilian and Didi to get along.

Though perhaps not that well.

A comfortable silence settled between them.

Lydia pulled her knees up and rested her chin on them, smiling as she watched Ilian absentmindedly pet Didi.

“You look just like my grandma right now.”

“I’ve heard all sorts of compliments in my life, but that approach is certainly new. Are you trying to say I have gravitas?”

It was an arrogant remark, but coming from Ilian Esteban, who had the status and appearance to say such things without sounding ridiculous, it was strangely convincing.

Objectively speaking, Lydia was certain she would never again in her life see someone as handsome as Ilian—he was more dazzling than a sculpture crafted with the utmost care.

“I didn’t mean like a grandpa. When I was little, I used to do this with my grandma too.

When I was scared to fall asleep alone at night, I’d run over hugging Didi, and she’d tell me to lie next to her and would tell me old stories.”

Hugging her knees tightly, Lydia recalled the memories with a smile tinged with longing, but also deep sadness.

“My grandma always worried about me. Even more so after she got sick. You have no idea how hard I tried not to make her worry.”

To her grandmother, Lydia was a pitiful granddaughter who had lost both her parents at a young age and was growing up alone.

So Lydia had become strong for her grandmother’s sake.

Even when it was unbearably painful not to have her parents, even when she was envious of other kids holding their parents’ hands, she had to hide it.

Because if she didn’t seem okay, her grandmother would be sad.

That’s why Lydia always had to be okay.

At that moment, a hand gently touched her cheek.

Startled by the warm sensation, she turned her gaze from the void to Ilian, who softly brushed near her eyes as if wiping away tears.

“I’m not crying. I can’t even remember the last time I cried. I’m fine.”

As she pulled his hand down, Ilian murmured quietly.

“No one can always be fine.”

She had been okay when thinking of her grandmother—but for some reason, his words made her feel like she might cry.

As if he had seen straight through her heart.

“I’ve always believed that only I can take responsibility for my life. That I must bear the consequences of my own decisions.”

But even if she kept telling herself that, there were times she didn’t want to.

Maybe now was one of those times.

“……But what do I do when I’m not okay?”

“Well.”

Despite having lived such different lives, they had arrived at the same point.

Ilian, who like Lydia had never learned to rely on others, dropped his hand helplessly when faced with a question he didn’t have the answer to.

For someone who had never learned how to entrust his worries to others, who had grown numb to how exhausting it was to live that way—this was not an easy question for Ilian Esteban to answer.