Chapter 7
“…….”
At that moment, something blown by a sudden gust of wind pricked her chest. The emotion that should have burst out right now ought to be anger, unpleasantness, or cursing, but it was an unknown throbbing.
Why was that man not scary or uncomfortable to her?
And what was the reason her breath was rising to the very tip of her chin?
“H-Here, put this on at least.”
Ibella picked up the shawl that was beside her and threw it at the man. The shawl flew accurately and covered even his face and the apple held in his hand.
Chuckle.
As if he were laughing, the shawl began to shake. Flustered, Ibella picked up the man’s shirt and overcoat and entered the bathroom as if fleeing.
“What a strange person……”
Ibella grumbled as she roughly wiped herself and changed her clothes. Shaking off the dirt on his clothes and squeezing out the moisture, she came out to the living room and tilted her head at the warmth filling the interior.
“Are you here? Come here and sit down.”
The man, who had brought two chairs in front of the fireplace before she knew it, beckoned her with a nod of his head. Inside the fireplace, a firewood fire he had lit was burning brightly.
He does things like this well without even being asked.
Ibella grumbled inwardly as she hung his clothes by the fire and sat on a chair. The man also sat on the chair next to her and draped the shawl Ibella gave him over his body.
Although his embarrassing upper body was covered, it looked ridiculous because it was short for him.
Ibella swallowed her rising laughter and asked the man.
“What do you do for a living?”
“A traveler. What about you?”
The man answered simply and asked her back. The pattern of questions exchanged with him had been like this for a while. When Ibella asked, he would answer and then always ask back with the exact same question.
“I, just do this and that.”
Ibella made a vague excuse because she had no proper words to explain. While dressed as a commoner, she could not reveal her true identity.
She also thought there was no need to explain her hidden circumstances to a passing traveler. After all, it was just asked out of politeness, and neither side had a great interest in the other anyway.
Fortunately, the man nodded and did not ask further. Instead, he stretched out his long legs and leaned his head back against the backrest of the chair.
“You look tired.”
Ibella asked, dumbfounded, looking at the man lounging as if it were his own house. This man, whom she met for the first time today, was shameless and sly, even considering that the situation had certainly arisen because of her.
“Because I haven’t been able to sleep for a few days.”
“You must have had a lot to see during your journey?”
“It’s not that……”
Without moving his body, the man just turned his eyes to look at her.
“Because I was thinking about how to catch the cat.”
“That’s too bad. Losing it when you like cats so much.”
“It’s fine. Because I can see it often from now on.”
The man smiled faintly and turned his gaze back to his place. Unlike a moment ago when he was teasing her and chewing the apple, he looked comfortable and kind.
A strange person, no matter how much she thought about it.
Because the man closing his eyes and falling asleep looked peaceful, Ibella could no longer disturb him. The streaks of rain still battered the roof and windows, creating music. Her wet body became listless, and the flickering flames eased her tension.
Perhaps it was because her body and mind became comfortable from the warmth. Ibella, who was staring at the flames, also could not overcome the rushing drowsiness and fell deep into sleep. How much time had passed?
Click.
Ibella suddenly opened her eyes, startled by the faint sound. The figure of the man who had been sleeping in the adjacent chair was nowhere to be seen. His clothes, which had been hung by the fire, had also disappeared.
Jumping up, Ibella only then realized that the shawl he had been wearing was draped over her body.
She hurriedly opened the door and went out, but she could not find the man anywhere.
There were only his footprints left on the muddy road where the rain had stopped. The man she met by chance today had quietly left her.
Without leaving anything behind, as if what happened today were a dream. Ibella only then realized that she didn’t even know the man’s name.
***
Five days had already passed since she left Rosebel House. Ibella was sitting across from Dorothy on a bench in Greenville Park. Because the date and place she had agreed to meet Dorothy before leaving the house were this time and this place today.
“What did you just say, Dorothy?”
“I said that person hasn’t gone back yet.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“When did he say he’s leaving?”
“How should I know? He is literally stuck to the house just like flour dough.”
“Ha!”
This was a completely unexpected situation. Meeting Dorothy today was meant to notify her that she would return after a few more days. Naturally, it was said under the assumption that the King’s spokesperson had returned.
“Anyone looking would think it’s his house. He reads books, takes walks, goes horseback riding, and the day before yesterday, he even went out to the river to swim. Honestly, I wonder if he came to meet My Lady, or if he came for a vacation.”
“And he doesn’t ask about me?”
“Not at all. What on earth do the two of them have so much to talk about with Humphrey? When that person suggested they go hunting together, that human Humphrey was absolutely thrilled to death.”
Dorothy’s dissatisfaction had grown as much as Ibella’s surprise. To her, who cherished Ibella terribly, the man who created this situation was simply an eyesore.
“What should we do, My Lady?”
“Leave it for now. If he asks about me, unconditionally pretend not to know.”
This was something that needed to be reconsidered. There must be a good reason why the outcome of a highly probable plan went awry. The fact that the party involved happened to be a widely renowned person made her feel even more uneasy.
Tristan Miller.
A person who graduated at the top of his class from the Thebes Royal School of Atlanta and naturalized in Estonia to become the spokesperson for the royal family.
It was said that he possessed an appearance charming enough to become the star of high society, and was clever enough to hold the King in the palm of his hand. At that level, he should have read the meaning behind her actions, so why was he still staying?
She couldn’t guess whether he was trying to see things through to the end because his high pride was offended, or if, as Dorothy said, he decided to rest since he had already come. Or could it be that because he is a clever person, he read my move and wants to challenge it? Experiencing it firsthand, the gap between rumor and reality is substantial.
“Then until when are you going to stay away from home?”
“Until that person goes back.”
Hearing it, he seemed like quite an obstinate man, but she also had no intention of losing. If she were going to test the waters for a day or two and return, she wouldn’t have left the house in the first place.
Hopefully, that person will return quickly and state accurately that there is no hope for the future of the King and her.
“What if something happens again then!”
Dorothy’s voice rose, then stopped as she realized her mistake. On her face, worry for Ibella was cast more deeply than self-reproach.
“Don’t worry, Dorothy. I haven’t had those symptoms lately.”
Ibella smoothed Dorothy’s shoulder, reassuring her. The reason Dorothy couldn’t hold back and gripped her was because of the dyspnea that had developed in Ibella.
The most trivial among the reasons she did not go to the side of her family in the capital. However, to Dorothy, it was the greatest.
Sometimes symptoms of hyperventilation or shortness of breath appeared, and the pain disappeared only when she was nearly at her last breath.
Those symptoms occurred when Ibella forced herself to recall memories or deeply held onto and dragged out one of the faint memories.
She choked on the memories that did not return even if she tried, or patiently waited. Fortunately, the symptoms rarely appeared now, which was a relief.
“Phew. I understand. That aside, are you eating well? Is it definitely a safe place? Even if the house is inside the Bourbon Convent, how do we know what kind of bastards might climb over the wall.”
Once all the main points were finished, Dorothy’s full-scale nagging began. After her respected master, Lord Campbell, died suddenly in an accident, Dorothy’s obsession with Ibella became even more severe.
In particular, what she cared about the most was Ibella’s health and safety. If Dorothy found out the fact that Ibella had let a strange man into the house yesterday.
“I’m eating well, sleeping well, and living well, so don’t worry.”
Ibella shuddered and stood up from her seat. She had to escape before the nagging turned into a rainstorm. Before Dorothy squeezed out hurt tears again after Ibella raised the intensity of her rebellion by saying it’s good, it’s fine, don’t care.
“I’m leaving. If there is an urgent matter, I’ll deliver it to Mrs. Donna, so Dorothy, you do the same.”
“My Lady. Even now, please think—”
“I’m leaving!”
Ibella cut off Dorothy’s words, turned around, and began to run. Her ears becoming peaceful was only momentary; other thoughts rushed in, intricately tangling her mind.
Tristan Miller. She kept minding that man whose face she didn’t even know. She knew he wasn’t someone to stay still, so his quiet inner thoughts made her anxious instead.
What on earth is his intention?
He would absolutely never find her, but it was a mystery why she kept feeling an uneasy sensation.
***
The entire Emmerville area began to stir. Despite three days still remaining until the full-scale festival, everyone already began to grow excited.
Ibella purposefully picked out old clothes to wear and left the cabin. Today’s schedule was to go to the rehabilitation hospital for disabled soldiers and take care of the patients.
Creak.
Ibella opened the iron side door, came out, and locked it with a key. It was the moment she pushed the door to confirm it was completely locked and turned around.
“Oh my!”
Startled, Ibella took a couple of steps backward without realizing it.
It was him. The man who, after colliding with her in the heavy rain two days ago, came all the way into her house and left a strong impression.
Although his leaving without a word was bitter, she thought it was rather for the best. She thought that even when he pushed into her mind and showed his face from time to time, he would soon disappear.
“Hello?”
The man smiled casually as if he were a friend met yesterday. Although she thought he was shameless, she was still glad to see him again.
“What brings you here?”
“I was contemplating whether to enter or not, partly to apologize for leaving without a word and partly to repay the favor.”
“Since it was something that happened because of me, there’s no need to think like that. And this door is always locked, so it’s not a place you can enter just because you want to.”
Ibella corrected the man’s misconception and naturally averted her gaze. She appeared to be looking at the door, but in fact, it was because she couldn’t look straight at the man’s face. He possessed an appearance that shone anywhere, but on a clear day, his neatly dressed figure was even more attractive. The green trees and beautiful flowers of a spring day became nothing but a faint background behind his back.
“If I can enter, may I enter?”
“I told you that you cannot enter.”
“If I can enter?”
“Try entering then.”
Ibella answered half-heartedly to the man’s needlessly persistent questions. She thought he wasn’t asking because he could truly enter. It must be something like a joke to break the awkwardness.
“I have received permission, right?”
The man smiled handsomely, slightly revealing his even teeth. His voice also seemed to get damp or clear up according to the weather. The moment his heavy yet gentle voice flew over, her ears felt itchy along with a listless feeling.
“I am called Tei.”
“…Please call me Bel.”
Following him who was smiling, the corners of her lips curved upward.
