Chapter 20

“…You…”

Gizelle, her face instantly flushed red, was just about to come down the stairs. Naturally, I did not wait for her and climbed into the carriage.

It was rare for Gizelle to lose her composure. She had always been three or four steps ahead of me, but something had changed.

Perhaps it was because I had resolved to stop loving Kirill. The reason Gizelle could always stay ahead of me was that my love for Kirill had made me the villain. But now, by giving up Kirill, I had stepped outside the future the book had ordained for me.

“Let’s go.”

The coachman nodded at my words. The wheels began to roll the moment Gizelle came down the stairs. Picturing Gizelle’s dumbfounded face lifted my spirits.

* * *

Having liked the Charbon estate I had looked at a couple of days ago, I was on my way today fully intending to finish the contract.

“I think we could remodel the annex on one side and bring your younger brother and grandmother to live here first.”

“…You really mean to do that for me?”

Jessie still seemed to think she did not deserve such help.

“Of course I do.”

At my words, Jessie blushed, unlike her usual self.

“Thank you, my lady.”

“Save your thanks for after I’ve bought the estate. What will you do if something like last time happens again?”

“I’m still grateful!”

At Jessie’s spirited voice, I finally burst out laughing.

The village on the outskirts felt rather quiet even at midday. It was different from the capital, where people were everywhere.

By now I knew the way roughly, so the moment I stepped down from the carriage, I headed straight for the estate.

Even seeing it again, the estate was flawless. Though the annex was old, I intended to remodel it anyway, so it did not matter.

The main house and the annex were separate, and the yard was quite spacious, but the real gem was the rear garden. The rear garden was about twice the size of the yard. At this size and this price, it was actually cheap.

“The annex is quite old, after all…”

Jessie said, watching my reaction. I furrowed my brow as though agreeing with her.

“Indeed. If only it weren’t for the annex…”

Our whispers were loud enough for the agent to hear.

“The annex is perfect for remodeling if new owners are moving in. At Charbon, the annex is separate, so there’s no inconvenience in living in the main house while the annex is being remodeled.”

That was something we already knew. When I winked, Jessie nodded slightly, just enough for only me to see.

“…It seems my lady is hesitating because of the annex.”

Jessie quickly played the role of the maid attending a fastidious lady.

“If that’s the case, how about this? Taking the remodeling costs into account, we could adjust the price to this much…”

“One moment, please. Let me ask.”

Jessie bowed her head with a look that said she was still unsatisfied and came over to me. I pretended to look outside while opening the window. Jessie cautiously approached and whispered in my ear.

“My lady, now is the time.”

At her almost solemn voice, I looked back and forth between the agent and Jessie and nodded as though there was no helping it.

Having completed a perfect contract, we were in good spirits and took a walk around the village where we would soon live. Then we found a decent restaurant and took a seat.

“Hm?”

Jessie, who had been looking over the menu, spotted someone behind me and waved. My gaze followed her fingertips.

At the end of Jessie’s gaze stood a young boy. He looked surprised to see us.

Jessie, on the other hand, waved as though she had run into a dear old friend from home. She waved so vigorously that even the people around us turned to look.

‘He really does look like Kirill, even seeing him again.’

Kirill’s childhood was practically the same as my own childhood. We had met when we were thirteen, and I had the absurd thought that a younger Kirill would have looked exactly like that.

“Come here, come here!”

In the end, unable to resist Jessie’s fussing, the boy approached us with a sulky face uncharacteristic of a child.

“We meet again? How nice.”

When Jessie reached toward his cheek as she would with her own younger brother, the boy sharply slapped her hand away.

“Don’t touch me.”

“Oh ho, talking back again?”

“……”

Though it was only our second meeting, the boy looked utterly fed up with Jessie, and I burst out laughing. At that, the boy fixed his gaze on me persistently.

“Do you live here?”

At my question, the boy nodded. I was sure I had heard another friend call the boy’s name last time, but I could not remember it.

“Your name is…”

“Ros, my lady. Ros!”

Jessie said quickly. That was right. His name was Ros.

“Since we’ve met like this, shall we eat together? Would that be all right, my lady?”

Jessie pretended otherwise, but in truth she had a terrible brother complex.

Not only that, but she adored any child her younger brother’s age.

I did not mind, but whether the boy would dislike it…

“All right.”

Ros accepted Jessie’s offer as though he had been waiting for it. The way he confidently claimed the seat beside Jessie was nothing like the boy who had been scowling just moments before.

As I stared at the boy with a dazed face, he avoided my gaze.

‘Is he shy?’

“Here, choose something.”

At Jessie’s words, Ros pointed at just anything on the menu.

I was absurdly finding traces of young Kirill in that child again and again.

Of course, Kirill would never have acted like such a young child. Even at thirteen, Kirill had the maturity of a thirty-year-old adult.

Jessie excitedly asked the boy all sorts of things, but the boy answered only in monosyllables.

All we had learned about Ros was that he was thirteen and lived in this village. He did not even answer any other questions.

Jessie must have decided that probing further would not be good for Ros, so the conversation now continued between her and me.

Ros simply sat with a sullen face as he ate.

“Oh, right! Come to think of it, how is the search for your childhood friend going?”

Jessie asked, as though she had only just remembered.

Jessie also knew about my search for Chadie. I glanced at Ros for a moment, but he seemed uninterested, stabbing at his meat with his fork.

Should I say I had found her, or that I had not? Since I had not met her yet, it would be right to say I was still searching.

“I think I’ve found her, but it seems she doesn’t want to see me yet.”

“Oh my, why?”

Jessie looked delighted, then frowned at my follow-up words. Ros’s fork also stopped.

“Well, because I hurt her?”

That must be why she had attached a condition to meeting me. The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Thinking of Chadie made me a little gloomy. I had hurt her and then shamelessly said I wanted to see her, so from Chadie’s perspective, it was understandable that she would not want to see me.

“Still, you’ll be able to see her someday.”

Probably. As I answered with a forced smile, Jessie looked more disappointed than I was and pulled a tearful face.

“…That’s a shame.”

“……”

Ros had already set down his fork and was staring at me. As though he had something he wanted to say to me.

“Why aren’t you eating more?”

“…I’m done.”

He seemed determined to keep speaking informally to the end. He was a very stubborn child.

Just as I decided not to urge him further and stabbed my fork into my share of meat—

“Do you have a childhood friend?”

Ros’s question was sudden. Jessie let out a small laugh and spoke for me.

“Why, don’t you have one? Weren’t those friends from last time your childhood friends?”

“No.”

At his even firm voice, Jessie’s eyes went wide and she shrugged. Even so, Ros’s gaze remained fixed on me.

“Yes. I have a childhood friend. She’s a very precious friend to me.”

The more I thought of Chadie, the more the urge to see her welled up.

“…Is it a man?”

Ros asked a strange question. At that, Jessie and I exchanged puzzled looks. I did not know why he was asking, but I kindly shook my head.

“Why do you ask?”

“So it’s not a man?”

His voice was startled, as though that were somehow a problem.

“…How long have you been friends?”

My question seemed not to reach him at all—he only said what he wanted to say, with the stubbornness typical of a child his age.

“I won’t tell you.”

“……”

At my words, Ros scowled fiercely. That childish expression made me burst out laughing again.

He did resemble Kirill, but this child was, of course, not Kirill. Kirill generally kept a blank expression. He had always been poor at revealing his emotions.

“I’ll be going now.”

“Oh, all right. Let’s see each other again.”

At his bold attitude, uncharacteristic of a child, Jessie was rather flustered and said goodbye.

“I think he’d be perfect if you mixed him half and half with my younger brother.”

Jessie’s younger brother was said to be a gentle child, but timid.

“If he lives in this village, he could become friends with Ray too.”

“I suppose so.”

Jessie smiled and finished her meal. I emptied my plate as well.

All the while, thoughts of the boy named Ros would not leave my mind.