013

“The tea has gone cold. Tea time is over, Miss. Regrettably, I do have official working hours.”

The timing was perfect. When he touched the teacup, it was lukewarm. He could have brought fresh hot tea, but he chose not to. Though only partially successful, he was satisfied with having stolen quite a bit of her time.

There was a definite gain as well. For reasons he didn’t immediately understand, he had won Agate Irone’s favor. Naturally, it didn’t stem from romantic interest. Though he couldn’t fathom what aspect of him she found personally appealing, what she showed him was goodwill and beyond.

Sion picked up the pen.

[This bold butler will take his leave now.]

After adding that single sentence, the fountain pen’s cap was closed again.

Despite being in a position with much to be guilty about, Sion left with dignity. When she was willing to forgive his sins, bowing and scraping would be something only an amateur would do. With his face layered a hundred times over with thick skin, he even joked as if nothing had ever happened between them.

He tidied up neatly and departed. Agate likewise showed no sign of regret, merely following his retreating figure with her eyes.

Left alone, Agate reflected on what had just transpired.

The sight of Daniel—normally stiff as if obsessed with perfection—fidgeting and feeling embarrassed was quite interesting and smile-inducing. Agate had watched him without missing a single moment.

And just as her lips began to curve upward, she was startled. The unfamiliar movement of facial muscles she hadn’t used for a long time felt strange. Showing this expression, which even she barely remembered, to someone else felt even stranger.

Daniel had seen her expression. He too, adept at hiding his emotions though in a different way from her, couldn’t conceal his bewilderment when he saw her.

She hadn’t deliberately avoided smiling until now. Over the past few years, her expressions had naturally disappeared because she couldn’t feel emotions.

Of course, people can create false expressions even without feeling emotions. But she lacked even the energy for that minimal deception.

A fake smile to avoid worrying those dear to her, tears forcibly squeezed from dried-up tear ducts—even making that effort had been unbearably difficult.

Those expressions were all for others, and she had wanted to be left alone anyway. There was no reason to make such a deadly effort for others.

And just now, without any such effort, her stiffened lips had curved like a crescent moon, if only briefly.

Only recently had she realized. She had been wasting time, so foolishly.

Though she had become a different person from just a month ago, she hadn’t forgotten or overcome everything. She remained precarious—one step backward could send her back to square one.

But nothing happened when she went outside for walks, conversed with people through written notes, or occasionally forgot his existence.

She had thought the ground would collapse if she tried to live, but the earth was firmer than she had imagined.

Let’s erase it very slowly. So slowly that the people around her might grow tired of waiting again. If she erased it that slowly, even “he” wouldn’t hate her.

And so, Agate painted her ash-gray world once a day. That enormous ash-gray world, so vast she couldn’t gauge when she would finish coloring it.

But it wasn’t burdensome. She had met someone who could help her. In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he had forcibly placed the brush in her hand first.

Her new friend—sharing the same name but so very different—was both indifferent and attentive. Eccentric yet kind. Though his true feelings remained unknown, he seemed quite deep.

A friend with as many secrets locked away as herself.

She wanted to know this friend better. Focusing on this question-mark-filled existence seemed the only way to escape the nightmare she had created. To escape from the familiar claws of the past still gripping her ankles, constantly pulling her into the quagmire.

Agate followed Sion’s retreating figure with her eyes as he entered the villa with the tray loaded onto a cart. Her movements and thoughts were as slow as rusty iron moving after a long time. Because of this, she couldn’t convey what she had wanted to tell him.

Feeling regret—even that came a beat late—Agate picked up her pen and wrote a message that would never reach him.

[May your dream become reality.]

* * *

[I’m bored.]

“To see such words from the young lady’s mouth—or rather, hand—the sun must have risen in the west today.”

It was an afternoon no different from any other.

The pleasantly drowsy sunshine that made people languid, the cookie-cutter landscaping that never changed thanks to gardener Gilbert’s dislike of change, the fountain that continuously poured water until sunset.

No matter how beautiful the scenery, a few days seemed enough to make it tedious. The Ponten villa maintained the same appearance year-round, thanks to the obsessive gardener who meticulously kept every shrub exactly seven feet tall.

What was astonishing was that she—who had tried harder than anyone to live the most stifling life possible—had expressed what everyone secretly felt.

[You don’t even pretend to be proper in front of me anymore.]

“The same goes for you, Miss.”

Sion, never one to back down, stuck out his tongue in disbelief. It provided a momentary diversion from the boredom.

‘How did she manage to live like this for three years? If it had been my former self, I couldn’t have endured such tedium.’

It felt as if time had stopped for her alone for three years. Like finally waking from a vivid dream that seemed real.

“Shall I order all the landscaping trees to be trimmed to five feet?”

A playful glint showed in Sion’s face, filled with a faint smile. He must have found this villa quite boring too, though he had never shown it until now.

[Gilbert would faint.]

If she had been her former self in the capital, she might have responded with even more mischief, but now she just shook her head. She had no desire to completely change the garden. Though the scenery was indeed monotonous, she detested commotion.

“Did you know there’s a lake nearby?”

At Sion’s casually dropped question, a slight sparkle flashed in Agate’s eyes. Judging by her reaction, this was news to her.

Though he had expected it, it was pitiful that she knew less than himself, who hadn’t even been in Ponten for half a year.

“It’s not far from the villa. I haven’t been there myself, but it should be more interesting than the fountain before us.”

Following his words, Agate’s face turned toward the fountain. Having stared at it so often she could draw the statue’s pose with her eyes closed, Agate nodded her head. She seemed to agree with him.

[Let’s go.]

Further explanation would only tire her hand and waste time. Agate’s expression was more resolute than ever.

She loved tranquility. The beautiful scenery of a lake with only the gentle lapping of water instantly became Agate’s greatest interest.

“If the young lady wishes to visit the lake, wouldn’t the chief butler’s permission be necessary? He’s currently out on banking business and will return late this afternoon. Today seems impossible.”

And with that, Sion mercilessly deflated the young lady’s expectations. Agate raised her eyes toward Sion, who stood beside her stating only the dry facts without any hint of teasing.

Though surely impossible, looking down at her, it felt as if she were glaring at him. As if thinking, why even bring it up then?

“Please be patient for just one day.”

It became difficult to keep looking into those eyes. He turned his face away as he placated her. Hoping she would understand, since she wasn’t a child.

But that was merely his optimism.

Not long after, his neatly pressed tailcoat was repeatedly pulled downward. Sion tried to ignore what was surely someone’s doing as he pulled his coat back up.

‘It’s no use. I don’t have the authority to take you out without permission.’

But that someone’s stubbornness was extraordinary. What kind of person was this lady? How could such tenacity come from someone who seemed ready to collapse at the slightest touch?

Of course, the strength pulling at his collar was pathetic, but for thirty minutes now, she hadn’t released his tailcoat, continuing her silent protest.

Occasionally, he tried to dissuade her—it’s useless, I’ll be the only one severely scolded if we go out now—but to no avail. Her mind was already filled with visions of a lake she had never seen.

The force pulling at his clothes grew stronger. Sion reflexively turned his head.

Oops, he lacked confidence when making eye contact.

But it was already too late. Having shifted his gaze toward Agate, Sion saw the notebook she was holding out.

‘Next time she’s being stubborn, I should just take away her notebook.’

[Want to play a wish-granting game with me?]