I’m Just a Counselor Chapter 64

I took Jeremiah’s hand and walked around, taking in the sights.

 

Jeremiah followed my lead without a hint of restraint or annoyance at being asked to stay still, but he never let go of my hand.

 

‘Are you really worried about me getting lost?’

 

I thought to myself, but his grip on my hand wasn’t so bad that I didn’t let go first.

 

We wandered the streets until the parade started and I stopped in front of a stall. It was one of those stalls you see at festivals where you play a game and get a prize if you win.

 

The game seemed to involve throwing a toy dagger and hitting a bull’s-eye. I looked at the goods on the shelves in front of the vendor.

 

One of them caught my eye: a glass rose for achieving the highest score.

 

“Pretty…”

 

The glass rose sparkled in the streetlight. The delicately sculpted petals of the rose were beautifully shaped, tempting passersby.

 

However, no one seemed to have scored enough points to get the glass rose yet.

 

‘Is this harder than I thought?’

 

I wondered, glancing over at the bull’s-eye. Of course, I didn’t think I could do that and win this one, but…

 

As I was stumbling around in disappointment, Jeremiah spoke up.

 

“Do you like this one?”

 

It wasn’t even a crystal, just a glass rose. I laughed when I saw Jeremiah give me a look that said, “Seriously?”

 

Of course, it didn’t make sense to him, who could have bought a hundred more roses like that. 

 

But in a place like this, it’s easy to want things for nothing, and it’s more about the atmosphere than the object itself.

 

I rolled my eyes and contemplated how to respond to Jeremiah. But before I could say anything, Jeremiah let go of my hand.

 

He stepped forward and handed the stall owner some money.

 

“What do I need to do to get that rose over there?”

 

The vendor took the money, and his eyes lit up as if he had heard Jeremiah’s question. Apparently, he had already caught several people bluffing this way.

 

“All you have to do is hit all five of them in the bull’s-eye, go for it!”

 

The vendor laughed excitedly and handed Jeremiah five toy daggers. Jeremiah took the daggers and frowned slightly.

 

“Uh… are you trying to do this for me?

 

The idea of him doing something because of me was overwhelming, so I stopped him short.

 

“You don’t have to do it; I was just looking at it for a second.”

 

“And I’m just standing there watching.”

 

“Duke…”

 

I started to call him Duke, but quickly changed my tone, aware of the merchant’s eyes.

 

“Mr. Jeremiah. I’m fine.”

 

“…….”

 

The first time his name came out of my mouth, it felt more awkward than I expected. I don’t know if Jeremiah felt the same way.

 

Jeremiah stares down at me for a moment, then smiles sheepishly and places his hand on the top of my head.

 

He stroked my hair gently, and then, without any preliminaries, he threw down the dagger in his hand.

 

Kwajik!

 

The dagger flew through the wind and struck the center of the bull’s-eye.

 

“……?”

 

Hey…, wasn’t that a toy dagger without a blade? I think it went through the bull’s-eye and into the wall.

 

But that wasn’t the end of it.

 

Quack!

 

Jeremiah threw a second dagger, this one right next to the first. This time, it seemed to hit the bull’s-eye and go deep into the wall.

 

The merchant’s face turned pensive, as if he had just noticed something strange.

 

“Your strength… must be incredible…”

 

I muttered in a daze. As if he had heard me, Jeremiah smirked and threw a third dagger.

 

Kwajik!

 

Again, the dagger went through the bull’s-eye and into the wall. Anymore and the target would shatter.

 

Piercing a wall with a toy dagger. I was stunned by Jeremiah’s demonstration, and I came to my senses.

 

It was clear that for Jeremiah, this was easier than eating cold soup. This is a man who roams the North, slayng demons with a single sword.

 

“That’s enough, Jeremiah!”

 

Realizing in hindsight that this was cheating, I returned the other two daggers to the merchant and dragged Jeremiah away.

 

The merchant looked grim but then seemed relieved when I took Jeremiah away. Haha. He’s probably cursing me to never come back again.

 

“Vanessa, wait, the roses are…”

 

“I don’t need them!”

 

Jeremiah looked disappointed in his purchase, but I stubbornly dragged him away from the stall, and when we were some distance away, I let go of his arm.

 

‘It’s not worth it to cheat to win a prize,’ I thought.

 

As he was thinking this, Jeremiah spoke up.

 

“The dagger I was given earlier had a special treatment. It was probably tampered with to prevent you from hitting the bull’s-eye.”

 

“Hmm, really?”

 

So that’s why Jeremiah frowned when he received the dagger. Some people do this sometimes.

 

Come to think of it, that merchant was an unusually deadly one.

 

“Maybe I should have just gone all the way.”

 

I took a small bite and shook my head, deciding against it.

 

“Just because they cheat doesn’t mean we can’t, and the duke is a cheat, too.”

 

“…Why “the duke”?”

 

“What?”

 

“You said Jeremiah so nicely earlier.”

 

“Well, I can’t call you “Duke” when those… people are listening, and you’re wearing a disguise.”

 

“I see.”

 

Jeremiah said in a slightly gravelly voice.

 

“…though.”

 

“What?”

 

“I thought it was kind of nice of Miss Vanessa to call me by my first name. I guess there’s a reason Estella likes to call me by my first name.”

 

I felt a little awkward, but apparently Jeremiah didn’t. Does he?

 

I smiled sheepishly.

 

“Still, it’s not like I can go around calling the duke by his full name casually.”

 

“I don’t mind.”

 

I blinked in surprise at Jeremiah’s surprisingly easy acceptance of the name. Still, I don’t think I could just go around calling him by his first name.

 

There was a difference between “Duke” and “Mr. Jeremiah”. I knew that, and I had a feeling Jeremiah would know it too.

 

I smiled awkwardly, shrugged, and started walking down the street. Jeremiah followed me quietly, and then he spoke up.

 

“Vanessa.”

 

He let out a low sigh at the sound of my name.

 

“Are you feeling awkward being alone with me?”

 

My eyes widened at his out-of-the-blue question.

 

“What?”

 

“It’s just that you don’t seem to talk as much as you did when you were with Estella.”

 

“Oh…”

 

Was it? I suppose it was. In fact, it’s so natural to have Estella between Jeremiah and me that I’ve been walking around with her in the middle today.

 

‘I don’t have much to talk about with Jeremiah, except for Estella…’

 

If you take Estella out of the conversation that Jeremiah and I might have, well, there’s something about the slave top, but even that’s about Estella, and it’s about work.

 

And Jeremiah probably doesn’t want to talk about that nightmare… 

 

I thought slowly, and then I realized something and looked up at Jeremiah.

 

I had thought before that I wanted to see what Jeremiah’s face looked like as he went about his daily routine, but… I had never been given the chance to see it.

 

“I’ve been thinking about this since Estella, and I came to the Islands.”

 

He looked down at me for a moment, then spoke up.

 

“Estella will be making her social debut at this New Year’s ball, and come spring she’ll be coming of age, and when that happens, I won’t be able to keep her out of my sight anymore.”

 

“…….”

 

“It was Miss Vanessa who informed me that I shouldn’t keep her from expanding her world.”

 

“…….”

 

“But Estella is almost everything to me, and I’m going to feel very empty when I let her go.”

 

I suppose you will. It’s a bit like a parent’s space shrinking as their child grows up. As Estella has friends and a lover, her brother’s place will only get smaller.

 

“Actually, I was a little bit like that when I saw Estella and Miss Vanessa, and I saw that she liked Miss Vanessa more than me, and I was a little bit jealous of you.”

 

And the more Estella neglected Jeremiah, the lonelier Jeremiah would become, but it was really unavoidable.

 

I looked at Jeremiah with new interest as he opened up about the situation.

 

“So you’re saying that you should find someone who can take Estella’s place.”

 

A friend… Well, I don’t think there’s anyone I can really call that right now, except maybe Shane. I need to make some friends, find someone to marry…

 

I pursed my lips in thought, then slowly closed them as I met Jeremiah’s gaze. He looked serious.

 

The stars that were usually young in his hair seemed to sparkle in his eyes today.

 

It was a sparkle that heralded spring in the midst of winter, far more beautiful than the ones that fluttered from the petals of glass roses.

 

“Now I… want to try something else instead of being jealous of you, like you taught me.”

 

“…….”

 

“So that I won’t feel so empty without Estella anymore.”