Chapter 31

〈Benny! Live, you must live, Benny!〉

〈You must… be happy, Benny.〉

〈Benny… Benny!〉

“Gasp!”

She sat up, breathing heavily. She had a damn dream… a damn dream…

“Vivi.”

Costance, who was lying next to her, was also startled and sat up.

She looked around blankly. Sunlight streamed in through the window. Clothes were scattered on the floor, and an empty feed container was visible nearby.

“…Costance?”

“Yes, it’s me, Vivi.”

“…Sir.”

“Are you alright?”

She nodded without answering.

“Come here.”

Sir Costance pulled her arm and patted her back.

“It was just… a bad dream.”

“Vivi.”

He embraced her. The tension in her body eased with his warmth. His touch made her feel good.

In an instant, the tension dissipated.

She held onto Costance’s arm and snuggled closer. She rubbed her face against his bare chest.

A small groan came from above. As expected, the veins in his arm stood out prominently. It was morning, and Sir Costance was a robust man.

At that moment, something touched her thigh.

“Ugh.”

When she inadvertently moved her thigh, he let out a groan. He stared at her with reddened eyes. Pretending not to notice, she moved her leg more. Soon, Sir Costance held her tightly and buried his nose in her shoulder.

“Huff, Vivi.”

She felt warmth on her thigh. Sir Costance trembled and let out a breath he had been holding.

“Oh… sorry, sorry.”

“It’s alright. Just…”

When it touched her thigh again, she moved her leg back, opposite to before.

“No, Costance.”

“I know…”

Their eyes met, and they both laughed awkwardly.

“Well… I’ll clean it up for you.”

He said with reddened eyes. She shook her head, not moving away from him.

“More than that, Sir, today is the weekend.”

“…Is there something you want to do?”

“Aren’t you going to work?”

“It’s a day off.”

He whispered while touching her hair.

“Vivi.”

“…Well, I usually go to the orphanage on this day.”

So how about going together? 

She swallowed the last words.

Costance said nothing. He hadn’t made up his mind yet. Of course, she didn’t intend to force him to go meet Eugene together.

She checked the time and looked up at his face. Carefully brushing his hair back to reveal his forehead, he chuckled and wrapped his arm around her waist.

“Really… It seems you like my forehead, Vivi.”

“Is that why you bought pomade in various types?”

“…”

“I saw it in your bathroom yesterday.”

He didn’t answer, just blushing.

“Pfft.”

“Don’t laugh.”

It was by chance that she saw the pomade yesterday. While searching the bathroom for a cleaner to wipe Irini’s pee, she found a box basket in the corner. Inside the box were pomades bought in bulk.

Imagining Costance hesitating whether to buy them was so cute that she almost squealed. She had been holding back her excitement and was pondering when to tease him. The timing was now.

“Sir, you’re really like a child.”

“…I’m an adult.”

“Yes, I know.”

“I heard that the Orsi Marquisate was very busy when I was born.”

“What?”

He suddenly changed the topic. Seeing his serious expression, she listened without asking further.

“Because of that, there’s a high possibility that my birth registration was delayed. I might have been born in the same year as you, Vivi.”

“…Ah.”

“I’m not younger than you, Vivi.”

He spoke with certainty.

“Still, you prefer someone older than the same age?”

She wondered what he was talking about…

“Vivi, please tell me quickly.”

Costance urged her for an answer. It seemed he had heard from his colleagues that “women prefer older men to younger ones.” A laugh escaped her lips.

“Do you know, Sir? This behavior is what makes you seem young.”

As she spoke with a smile, his face turned even redder.

“…I lost.”

“You know, Costance. I like everything.”

He was 24 years old. She was currently 25.

What reaction would he have if she told him her real age?

“Really?”

“If I say otherwise, you’d remember your birth year differently. Sir, really… if I said I liked beards, would you grow one?”

“…Do you like beards?”

He immediately caught onto her words.

“…Seriously.”

“…”

“I lost too, Sir.”

She couldn’t say anything more. She wriggled in his arms and sat up. She wanted to clean off what was on her thigh quickly.

He held her hand with a longing look.

“If I don’t go to the orphanage, Eugene will complain next time.”

“He wasn’t like that when he was young.”

“Eugene is really like you. Once, I told him I liked apples, and the next week, he secretly picked apples and gave me a box of them.”

Costance smiled.

“Don’t you think Eugene and you are alike?”

“We are alike.”

“Right?”

“We also like the same woman.”

She blocked his gaze, which was staring at her intently.

“…Don’t say embarrassing things.”

“Will you talk with Eugene for a long time?”

“I’ll just have a quick chat and come back.”

He looked at her with a hopeful expression.

“After that, let’s go out of town and have fun. It’ll be troublesome if someone recognizes us, so how about we disguise ourselves and meet in front of the station? I’d like it if you brought Irini too.”

“Of course.”

Only then did his face brighten. Before getting ready, she gave him a quick kiss on the forehead.

When leaving the house, she also kissed his cheek. However, he seemed unsatisfied with the small kiss, as he pulled her closer and held her cheek.

“Costance… mmph!”

With his hand, he turned her head. He took her lips entirely and held her waist. After exploring her mouth, he finally released her with wet lips.

“I’ll be waiting…”

He sent her off with a gaze full of longing.

* * *

The sky, which had been cloudy for several days, was clear and blue today.

“Vivi! I’ve been waiting for you!”

As soon as she arrived at the orphanage, Eugene greeted her. He repeatedly asked if she had seen his drawing and subtly inquired about his chances of winning an award.

“I really drew well, Vivi. I did my best!”

Thanks to the experienced Senior Webley, the award-winning drawings were already narrowed down. She recalled Eugene’s warm and peaceful drawing. Most children drew pictures of themselves as spies or heroes maintaining peace. Compared to that, Eugene’s drawing was fresh and stood out.

Senior Webley viewed that aspect positively.

“Will I be able to win? Who’s the grand prize winner? Huh? Can I get a special prize?”

“Vivi, what place am I in?”

Other children also came up, asking what place they were in.

“…Well, I’m not the one judging the drawings, kids.”

“Liar!”

The children were quick-witted. Despite her flimsy excuse, they wanted to hear the answer they desired.

“Kids! Stop! You’re making Vivi uncomfortable!”

Fortunately, a nun intervened to mediate the situation. The children all pouted and moved away from her. She hoped they wouldn’t resent her if they didn’t win an award…

She quickly took out a board game set from the envelope she brought.

“Hey, kids. Do you want to see what I brought?”

The children’s eyes widened instantly.

“Wow, look at this!”

“Big sis brought the ‘Dragon Guardians’ board game!”

At Anna’s shout, even the children busy playing ran over, leaving their toys behind. Their eyes sparkled at the sight of the board game. She was glad she bought it, as she heard it was a popular board game recently.

“It’s a game not in the orphanage, right? It’s a prize for participating in the contest I planned.”

“Wow!”

“Thank you so much, kids.”

“Can we open it now?”

The children were excited, jumping up and down in place. Was it really that enjoyable?

“I’m sorry we keep receiving things from you, Vivi.”

“No, Sister. Thanks to you, the contest ended well.”

“Are you going out somewhere today?”

The nun asked, looking at the dress she wore.

It was a sky-blue dress that Sir Costance had recently bought for her. He went with her to a shop outside the village and picked out clothes for her, gifting her several outfits.

He had the best reaction when she wore this sky-blue dress.

“Yes, I have to go now.”

At her words, Eugene, who had been glancing at the board game, grabbed her.

“Are you leaving already?”

“I’m sorry. I’ll come back next time.”

“…”

“Really, Eugene. There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

“Is it about what we talked about last time?”

“Yes.”

“…Alright.”

Eugene reluctantly nodded. Before she felt more guilty, she left the orphanage. The nun and children waved until she disappeared from view.

* * *

About 15 minutes left until the appointed time. She needed to hurry to reach the station on time.

On both sides of the main road, trees were lined up. Weeds grew sparsely on the pavement. She ran, stepping on the weeds, until she reached the outer city. It would take over five minutes to run to the city outside.

At that moment, a beige brand car with a sleek design approached from afar. If it passed this road, it would only lead to the orphanage. 

Was there anyone among the visitors to the orphanage who owned such a brand car?

The car’s speed gradually decreased until it stopped right in front of her.

An all-too-familiar cat’s meow came from the open window.

‘No way…’

“I’ve come to pick you up, Vivi.”

She found Sir Costance holding the steering wheel.