“That bastard… He’s already approached Rivanu?”
“So who’s there?!”
Grace had been trying to avoid getting involved with him, but she never expected him to have approached Rivanu already.
Even though every instinct in her burned with hostility, she knew she had to keep a low profile for now.
But Grino was slowly getting closer.
It looked like he would reach the tree she was hiding behind at any moment.
Then suddenly, a small black shape leaped into the air.
Meow!
It was a cat with a sharp, angry cry.
Grino came to an abrupt stop.
“…Hah… Just a cat…”
Letting out a sigh, he turned back to Rivanu.
The two seemed to exchange a few more words before Grino finally left.
Not long afterward, Rivanu walked away as well.
“Haaah…”
Only then did Grace lower the hand covering her mouth and slowly collapse to the ground.
She was certain Rivanu’s skin disease wasn’t cured until he had already become an adult.
So how were the two of them acquainted already?
How?
Why?
Did Grino already know?
Or did he have some other objective?
If so… what was it?
The idea of Grino and Rivanu already being connected threw Grace into complete confusion.
Thinking too hard made her head feel like it was about to explode.
Grino never acted without a purpose.
She was certain there had to be something behind this.
“Damn…”
In the original timeline, Rivanu only became involved with Grino after leaving the Foret Duchy as an independent adult.
The meeting between a genius mage and a genius swordsman had become the talk of the Empire.
By then, Rivanu’s skin disease had already been cured.
A few years later, his swordsmanship had reached an unparalleled level.
Although years of neglect had left permanent pockmarks on his skin, his ability alone made him one of the Empire’s most desirable bachelors.
“What changed?”
Rivanu still had five years before reaching adulthood.
“…Wait.”
A terrifying thought crossed Grace’s mind.
What if Rivanu himself wasn’t Grino’s target?
What if Grino only wanted experimental subjects?
“That lunatic.”
The curse slipped from Grace’s mouth before she realized it.
Was he really targeting members of a ducal family?
She knew acquiring human test subjects had become difficult because human trafficking carried severe punishments.
But even so…
Wasn’t this far too dangerous?
There were countless other noble houses.
Why the Forets?
Even if Grino needed test subjects, there should have been no reason to approach Rivanu himself.
Of course, it was only her guess.
But it was the only explanation that made sense.
Running a hand through her hair, Grace muttered,
“Experimental subjects…”
This was something she could never ignore.
At first, she had lived every new life in fear, terrified she would be captured again.
Eventually, after so many reincarnations, she had forced herself to overcome that trauma.
She had mostly succeeded.
But whenever she remembered how her very first life had ended in Grino’s underground laboratory…
Rage still surged through her so fiercely that she sometimes woke up furious in the middle of the night.
She could never stand by and watch others suffer the same fate.
****
Grace spent the entire night trying to think of a way to separate Rivanu from Grino.
Unfortunately, nothing came to mind.
More importantly, she had no idea what kind of relationship the two actually had.
Without knowing that, she had no idea how to even bring up the subject.
“Good morning, Young Master.”
“…”
“It rained lightly before dawn today, so the soil is nice and damp. The air feels really fresh. I’ll open the window.”
The emotional distance between them, which she had assumed would disappear with time, suddenly felt unbearable.
So Grace decided to take the direct approach.
“Oh, by the way… I noticed you went somewhere yesterday.”
“…Huh?”
Rivanu, who had been staring into space as though determined to ignore her, visibly reacted.
“Why do you look so surprised?”
“It’s nothing…”
“So where did you go?”
“…Why do you want to know?”
“Oh… I was just worried about you…”
The word worried made Rivanu flinch ever so slightly.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you leave before…”
“So what? Because I’m sick, you think I should stay locked inside forever?”
Grace blinked.
He really did have a talent for twisting everything she said into something negative.
Or maybe…
Maybe he was deliberately saying hurtful things to keep his distance.
“No! That’s not what I meant!”
“Then what did you mean?”
I want you to tell me who you met.
That’s all.
Instead, Grace smiled naturally.
“If you were just taking a walk, let’s go together!”
“…Together?”
It was obvious he had no intention of telling her who he’d met.
Anything else she asked would only make him more defensive.
So she improvised.
“Since we’re talking about it… want to go now?”
“Now?”
“Yep. They say taking a light walk after breakfast is good for your health.”
Whether he accepted or refused…
Grace intended to stick to him all day.
Rivanu rolled his eyes thoughtfully.
“…Okay.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
Grace had only suggested it on impulse.
She never expected him to agree.
“What?”
“You mean… you’ll come?”
“…Would you rather I didn’t?”
“No! I’m just happy!”
Beaming, Grace immediately began listing all the benefits of going for a walk.
Most of it amounted to convincing him that he wouldn’t regret saying yes.
Rivanu quietly listened while eating the breakfast Grace had prepared.
***
Rivanu had been trying to keep his distance.
But Grace never got discouraged.
And before he realized it, the word together had broken down all the walls he’d been trying to build.
More than anything…
It had been a long time since he’d gone for a walk with someone.
Without realizing it, he found himself looking forward to it.
“Here. Put this on.”
“…What’s this?”
“A scarf. It’s chilly today.”
He had never worn one before.
Awkwardly holding the long strip of fabric, Rivanu wrapped it once around his neck.
It was loose and full of gaps.
It wouldn’t keep out the wind at all.
Grace laughed softly.
“That’s not how you do it.”
She stepped closer.
Undoing the scarf, she carefully wrapped it around his neck herself.
Her face was so close that Rivanu unconsciously held his breath.
“Like this.”
The neatly tied scarf looked completely different from his attempt.
“There are lots of ways to tie one. Want me to teach you later?”
“…Later?”
“Yep. You’ll get better with practice.”
“…Okay.”
Grace was the one who had said later.
To Rivanu, it sounded like she intended to stay for a long time.
Unable to stop himself, he smiled.
“Then… teach me.”
Grace grinned so brightly her eyes nearly disappeared.
“There are lots of styles.”
Rivanu lowered his head slightly, gently touching the scarf she had tied for him.
It was soft.
Warm.
It made him feel strangely happy.
By now, he’d completely forgotten about keeping his distance.
“Here. Put these on too.”
Grace slipped a pair of mittens onto his hands.
Only then did they head outside.
Whenever Rivanu went out before, he simply threw on whatever clothes he happened to be wearing.
Being bundled up this carefully felt completely unfamiliar.
He had reached his limit.
He wanted Grace to stay by his side.
Forever.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“…Nothing.”
“Shall we go?”
He knew it was hopeless now.
Even if Grace announced that she would leave after exactly one month like every other maid…
He didn’t think he could let her go.
“Hm? Seriously, why are you staring? Did I do something wrong again?”
Grace looked genuinely confused.
“It’s nothing.”
“Then did you want to say something?”
“Grace.”
“Yes?”
“…Never mind.”
If only she hadn’t been so kind…
He never would have started thinking like this.
***
The garden outside Rivanu’s residence had been abandoned for years.
It had once looked like nothing more than an empty lot overrun with weeds.
Now it was so clean that it hardly seemed like the same place.
There were still a few unfinished corners.
Even so, the difference was astonishing.
“What do you think?”
“…A table.”
Not a single weed remained in the wide garden.
Fresh green grass covered the ground evenly.
A sturdy table stood proudly in the middle.
The sunlight reached it perfectly.
It looked like a wonderful place to sit and rest.
His eyes drifted toward a swing hanging from a thick tree branch.
“I made that.”
“…You did?”
“Yep. I thought maybe one day you’d come outside, so I wanted you to have somewhere to relax.”
“The table too?”
“I found it in the junk pile over there and cleaned it really well. If it still bothers you, you don’t have to use it.”
Rivanu knew roughly where everything was around the annex.
No one could stay locked inside forever.
He clearly remembered this garden being nothing but a garbage dump.
Seeing it transformed like this left him speechless.
“Is it okay?”
Grace asked.
Rivanu carefully sat down at the table.
One thought crossed his mind.
After doing all this…
…would she really abandon me?
Comments (0)