Terion Iligen simply laughed lightly at her vague words and continued.

“You will be jealous later, you know. Wishing you had gone in her place.”

“…… You are right.”

I really should have gone instead.

Pamona pressed down the deep sigh that threatened to escape. She found it pathetic, still here at the Twin Castle, on the western bridge, in this comfortable place, listening to gentle reassurances and wanting to believe that Heil would be all right.

No matter how fine that place might be, to Heil it was foreign land and a foreign castle. There was no way she could be at ease somewhere where she knew no one. The hand resting on the railing tightened. She gripped it until her fingertips went white. A few pleasant words were no reason to feel reassured so easily.

“…… That was the wrong thing to say.”

From Terion Iligen’s perspective, being sent away by force against one’s will was something he could not even conceive of, and so the reason for Pamona’s sudden low spirits was difficult for him to guess. She could see him growing flustered as he studied her expression closely, yet the thoughts of Heil would not stop.

She should have dug in and refused to the end instead of giving in to Sionel so easily. What kind of person sends their younger sister away and then stays behind, hoping to be comforted.

If Terion Iligen had not been standing right there in front of her, looking lost and not knowing what to do, she felt she might have needed to let out a scream just to feel any relief. He watched her with concern as her expression grew darker.

“Pamona, what is wrong…… Did you want to go to Ilion?”

It was too tedious to explain all the circumstances, so she gave a vague answer.

“…… Yes.”

Terion Iligen extended that long finger of his again and rested it lightly on top of Pamona’s hand, which was clenched with tension. Then he tapped the back of her hand quietly, the way someone does when calling a person gently.

Tap tap.

“Shall we go together someday?”

Tap.

“Go if you want to. Later.”

The tension left the hand that had been gripping the railing. The spot he had tapped felt as though a drop of water had settled there, leaving a lingering tingle. Something seemed to spread outward from that point.

“You can just go…… Go next time. I will take you.”

“Outsiders cannot enter Ilion.”

At her answer, he smiled with his eyes curved.

“That is exactly why I would have to take you.”

It was impossible for Pamona to go to Ilion with Terion Iligen. But saying so would only be something he could not understand. He spoke to her as though she had every right to make that choice. That he would take her.

As though she only had to nod and she could walk out of the castle and travel freely wherever she wished.

“I am not going.”

Pamona spoke with a deliberate bluntness, feigning indifference. She already knew it would never happen, so this was the better way. Even at her sullen words, Terion Iligen curved those unguarded blue eyes of his and laughed out loud. He kept laughing lightly, apparently not bothered in the least.

“The sunset from this spot is truly beautiful, Terion.”

“Yes, it is.”

“You are not looking at it.”

Terion Iligen looked at her face the way someone does when searching for something.

“This is the best vantage point. Of course you can see it well from the bedroom too, but this is my favorite spot.”

“I like it here too.”

“Why are you looking at me? Look at the sunset.”

Even at that, he made no move to look away, and went so far as to shift his posture to take in her face more deliberately. He would have propped his chin in his hand if there had been somewhere to rest his arm. Pamona felt heat rise to her face in embarrassment.

“I am looking. Right now the sunset light is falling across Pamona’s face, and your hair, your eyes, your face are all just the right shade of red.”

That was fortunate. He would not be able to tell that the flush was from embarrassment.

“The sky is redder.”

“Pamona’s face has both the sunset light and the shadow it casts. Is that not more striking?”

The breeze blowing in was cool, yet it felt warm. Was she running hot, the way Terion Iligen had suggested?

“What a lovely shadow.”

Whether it was the gaze of the blue-haired guest standing against the red sky, or the blazing light itself, something was far too warm, and Pamona closed her eyes.

“In all my life, that is the first time anyone has called my shadow lovely.”

A soft laugh escaped.

“Shall I say it often?”

“Please do not.”

Again. He laughed again.

“I just remembered I forgot to mention that a gardener should be hired. Would you pass that along to the caretaker?”

“Without telling them yourself, Pamona?”

“It is late at night. When dawn comes tomorrow, you tell them, Terion.”

“It seems like you could just say it yourself tomorrow……”

Pamona opened her eyes again to find him muttering to himself once more.

“She was the only one tending to it, so if it is left alone now, everything will fall apart. Please make sure not to forget.”

Pamona repeated herself firmly to stress that this was something that absolutely could not be forgotten.

“What if I did it?”

Terion Iligen’s eyes suddenly lit up.

“Did what?”

“You said the garden needs tending.”

“Pardon? No.”

Pamona dismissed the idea immediately, thinking it absurd. That garden was not something that could be managed with a halfhearted imitation of care. It could not be abandoned once the interest wore off either. Until the day Heil returned, she wanted it kept exactly as it was when Heil left, even if it could not be improved upon.

“I am quite good at it. I have a real knack for taking care of things, I will have you know.”

He had not expected to be turned down, and tilted his head to one side as he raised his objection.

“No. Please do not. The garden cannot be ruined by the time she comes back.”

“I am confident I will not ruin it.”

Whatever easygoing nature Terion Iligen had, he was still a man. In Masion, tending a garden had always been a pastime for women. She had never once heard of any man sitting in a garden fussing over flowers.

“It seems you do not trust me……”

When confidence failed to work, he suddenly put on a pitiful air. Pamona let out a scoff of disbelief. Those hands of his, larger than her own face, would be rummaging around and snapping every flower and shrub in sight. She could not even picture him crouching down to dig in the soil.

“…… I will just ask Lady Rine. She was the one who tended it originally, I was told……”

“Fair enough. Why would you trust me after only meeting a handful of times.”

Terion Iligen’s blue eyes looked almost pleading.

“No.”

“Still, I am a reasonably decent person……”

“Yes, no.”

“If they had eyes, do you not think they would like me?”

“……”

They do not have eyes.

Pamona had never in her life met a man who spoke the way he did. She felt an inexplicable itch somewhere around her side and gave it a discreet scratch with her elbow. Even her eyes felt ticklish. Why did the sight of his body from earlier have to come to mind at a moment like this.

“Could you not trust me just once. Hmm? I will do well.”

…… What a truly strange man. How could anyone say things that embarrassing so completely without shame?

Even she, with no particularly warm or tender side to speak of, had never once made an expression like that or spoken in a tone like that to say something like that. Did everyone in Ilion speak in such a…… endearing way?

“…… You have to tend it carefully and return it to me in good condition.”

Terion Iligen smiled with the confidence of someone who had known all along he would get a yes. His drying hair seemed to give off a faint steam.

“Trust only me.”

Behind Terion Iligen’s bright smile came a sound: patter patter. Heavy rain poured down over the garden at once. Droplets splashed onto them where they leaned out near the pillars.

“Pamona, you nearly got caught in the rain on your way out. It is a good thing I kept you here.”

The sudden downpour was truly tremendous. It did not look like a passing shower.

“Stay the night.”

“Pardon?”

Not only did Pamona’s voice jump, her whole body gave a start.

Why am I like this, honestly?

She was embarrassed at herself for being unable to hide her flustered reaction to the strange combinations of words that kept coming from him. Perhaps it was because there was such an unusual creature standing before her that even ordinary things startled her.

Pamona’s loud response seemed to startle Terion Iligen in turn, and his eyes went wide.

“If you do not sleep here. How do you intend to get through that rain?”

“Ah.”

“You seem to like water, Pamona.”

He looked at her with an expression that questioned whether she wanted to fall into the water again after he had just pulled her out. She started to say that was not it, but then again, the water from earlier had not been entirely unpleasant, so she let it go. What did it matter what he thought?

“Even so, you would be better off not getting caught in that rain. You are often ill, I heard.”

There was no need to listen so attentively to what Reynard said and commit it to memory. She did not bother telling him that if he stayed here a little longer, he would come to know more about Reynard than he ever wanted to.

She thought it would be better to go to the bedroom in the adjoining castle before any more words came out of his mouth. She opened her mouth to speak, but her throat caught and she let out a small cough first. That, too, was embarrassing.

“Good night, Terion. I will be going now.”

Without giving Terion Iligen a chance to respond, Pamona left only those words and turned quickly to head toward the adjoining castle. Through the back of her head, the sound of rain and laughter seemed to mingle.

“Make sure to pull your blanket up!”

The blue prince who had come from the place Pamona had dreamed of as a child was, in some way, a ticklish and strange sort of person.