Chapter 19

“S…?”

Jayden’s lips moved soundlessly, then he jerked his head away and mumbled:

“S-shoving you wasn’t on purpose. I regret that you seem to have gotten badly hurt.”

Oh, dear. What am I going to do with this young master?

His eyes were full of apology, and yet he was clinging to his pride instead of saying sorry—a child through and through.

I let go of my stern expression and looked at the child gently.

“Young Master.”

“…Wh-what. What is it?”

“At times like this, you don’t have to make a long string of excuses. You just look the other person in the eye and say you’re sorry.”

“…”

“That’s how you grow up to be a wonderful adult.”

I’d meant it to soothe him at his own level. But Jayden only pouted his lips and grumbled.

“Hmph. I don’t need to be some wonderful adult.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s not like… I even know how long I’ll live anyway.”

At the words he tossed out, my heart sank. A self-mocking voice. There was resignation in it, as though he already sensed what his illness meant, and the death to come.

But I didn’t waver. If anything, I looked straight at the child with clearer eyes than before.

“No. You can become a wonderful adult, Young Master.”

At the conviction in my voice, Jayden looked up. His brows drew together, as if he didn’t understand.

“…How would you know that?”

“Because I’ll be right there helping you. So of course you can.”

I smiled, my eyes curving.

“…Wh-what are you even saying!”

Jayden looked away, thoroughly flustered, but I paid it no mind and whispered gently.

“There’s only one thing left. You just have to decide, Young Master.”

“…”

“Whether to give up, or to try becoming a wonderful adult together with me.”

Jayden’s eyes trembled faintly. For a long while, the child’s lips moved without a sound. His face was full of thoughts.

And a moment later—

Jayden, who had been biting his lip hard, squeezed out a tiny voice.

“…I’m sorry.”

Then, as if to hide his embarrassment right away, Jayden added in a deliberately gruff voice:

“B-but don’t get the wrong idea. It’s not like I’m apologizing because I want to be that wonderful adult thing you said.”

“Oh? Then why?”

Jayden hemmed and hawed, then dropped his head.

“Just… because I think it must have hurt a lot, because of me…”

It was a voice that trailed away to almost nothing, but the heart in it was clear to the point of transparency.

I gently patted the back of the thoroughly dejected boy. And then—

“That’s it! You did so well.”

“…Huh?”

“See how cool you are when you apologize honestly?”

“Y-you…!”

He seemed to have no immunity to praise, because Jayden’s face flushed hot.

“It’s all right. Everyone makes mistakes. What matters is working up the courage to apologize like this, the way you did. So I forgive you.”

“…Really?”

“Yes. But in return, you’ll promise me you won’t do it again, won’t you?”

A strange light came into those ruby eyes. The boy seemed to hesitate, then squeezed his eyes shut and held out his hand to me.

Tap. A tiny warmth touched my fingertip.

Our little fingers naturally hooked together. A promise between Jayden and me that had to be kept from now on.

Jayden cleared his throat awkwardly, ahem, ahem, and pulled his hand away.

But his gaze stayed on my arm. His red eyes were still clouded with worry.

He’d apologized beautifully, so it was time to give the well-behaved child his reward.

“But you know. Maybe it’s because you’re such a good boy, Young Master—”

I carefully undid the button at my cuff. Then, in one quick motion, I pushed back my sleeve.

“—it healed completely overnight! Can you believe it?”

When I held out my forearm—ta-da!—Jayden’s eyes went wide. He examined my arm as if he couldn’t believe it.

The skin that had been covered in blood only yesterday had filled in with new flesh and was now smooth. All thanks to Melody.

The tension that had been written all over Jayden’s face melted away in an instant.

“Thank goodness!!!”

Hup!

Jayden started and hurriedly clapped both hands over his mouth. It seemed to be something he’d never meant to say out loud.

Then he glanced at me warily and once again pretended nothing had happened. Not that it did any good, since I’d already heard everything.

“Were you very worried?”

“I-I wasn’t worried!”

The little head shook frantically from side to side.

I put on a hurt face and clutched my arm.

“Is that so? Oh, you weren’t worried about me. Ugh. I think my arm’s starting to hurt again—”

“I-I was worried, okay! Does it not hurt anymore?”

Jayden checked my forearm, not knowing what to do with himself. His busily darting eyes looked especially big and round.

“Wow. How amazing. It suddenly doesn’t hurt at all.”

“Really? It’s really true?”

“Ye-es, of course.”

Phew. Jayden kept stroking his chest in relief.

Ah, I shouldn’t do this. I keep teasing him.

Swallowing the giggles bubbling up, I looked at the boy.

In the original, he’d been popular as the prickly older brother who took good care of Melody.

But Jayden in person was far cuter than he’d been on the page.

Like a cheeky little kitten, somehow.

Even though his face looks so cold.

How to put it? He was the spitting image of his uncle. He was going to grow up to be incredibly handsome.

I reached out toward Jayden’s forehead.

Perhaps because he’d been sick and hadn’t been able to get his hair cut when he should have, his silver hair was poking at his eyes.

“…Huh?”

“Just a moment.”

Jayden looked flustered, but he didn’t pull away. When I gently swept back his bangs, a round forehead appeared.

“Bangs in your eyes are bad for your eyesight.”

“But I’m a Dragonblood.”

“And you’re also a growing child.”

Hmm. I would have liked to just trim his bangs, but sadly, I didn’t have any scissors.

Is there anything I could use?

When I rummaged in my pocket, my hand closed around a small hairpin.

It was one I sometimes used at work to keep my hair from falling in my face. It had a little pink ribbon on it, but it was still better than nothing.

When I slid the pin in place, the boy’s pretty face was easy to see.

“There, done. So much better. How adorable.”

“Not abominable?”

“What? What do you mean by that?”

That wasn’t something that should come out of the mouth of a child with his whole life ahead of him. When I looked at Jayden in surprise, his small lips mumbled out quietly:

“But… everyone’s scared of me.”

It was something that had slipped out on impulse, but in truth, it was what Jayden had been keeping locked away deep in his heart.

Ever since he’d gotten sick, Jayden had met countless physicians. Thanks to his uncle seeking out famous ones from all across the empire.

But every time they failed to cure him and left the residence, what made Jayden sad wasn’t his body.

It was, far more, the look in the eyes of adults who trembled at him as if he were a monster.

Jayden knew it couldn’t be helped, since he’d been born a Dragonblood.

But feeling sad about it couldn’t be helped either.

It hurt that everyone was afraid of him when he hadn’t done anything.

Celia was the same. The personal maid who had been put in charge of him after his parents died in an accident.

In front of the adults, she pretended to be kind to him, but he could feel it in her eyes—how repulsed she was by him.

It had gotten so bad that, unless the adults were watching, she would dump everything that had to do with him onto the lowest maids, as though she couldn’t stand even facing him. He couldn’t remember her seeing to a single meal properly.

If it’s all going to end like this anyway, then I just shouldn’t hope for anything from the start.

And so Jayden had begun, little by little, to close his heart.

But…

Why was it?

He’d thought she would be the same, but Viola alone was different.

Far from being afraid of him, she’d shielded him even in front of his terrifying uncle.

Is Viola really not scared of me?

If that were true, it would be really, really wonderful.

But deep down, she might actually find him abominable.

So Jayden had deliberately killed off any hope.

No—he must have only thought he had.

Seeing as he’d blurted out a stupid question like that on impulse.