Chapter 23

chapter 23

‘Or did the De Flon family have a one-sided vindictment against the Carthia family?’

Even so, there was no way that the Marquis Carthia would not be unaware of the fact.

“Really?”

“Why would I lie to you?”

“Really, really nothing happened?”

With a suspicious voice, the Marquis smiled and looked at her. His eyes were more serious than usual, as if he was trying to grasp her mind. Yurina looked eagerly toward him. She said she was trying to control her facial expressions, but she guess she couldn’t fool him with his old eyes.

“Did you go out and meet him today?”

It was an obvious question, but she didn’t expect to be recognized so soon. Yurina was trying to get rid of it, but when she realized it wouldn’t work, she nodded.

“Yes.”

“What did he do to you? Is that why you’re asking this question?”

His expression and voice made him angry only then. But it was more of a father’s expression of anger at the man who touched his precious daughter. Yurina shook her head quickly, looking at his expression.

“No, that’s not it. He just want to claim to be Ray’s sponsorship. He didn’t care if I tell him that Ray sponsored by the Carthia family, and he asked Ray to come to De Flon. He was wondering if the Carthia family did it on purposely.”

“Don’t worry. You don’t have to think about that.”

The Marquis carefully held Yurina in his arms and patted her back.

“It must have been a great day. But you must have been very surprised. It’s okay, it’s okay. Because you have this father.”

How can I not worry? How am I supposed to do that…

She closed her eyes, leaving her body to the tender touch of her head. The Marquis’s arms were so wide and reliable that they could prevent any harsh wind waves.

Yurina clung to him, hugging the Marquis’s neck.

I left all the problems to him as if I were really a 10 year old child, and now I just wanted to rest in his arms.

*****

Raynald was hanging around in front of Yurina’s door, holding a palm-sized gift box with both hands.

‘I should give this.’

He sighed small, looking down at the box in his hand. It was a gift for Yurina that Betsy and he bought alone when they went to the main street earlier.

I don’t know if Yurina has more precious jewels than this, but I wanted to present something to her, who has always been worth giving herself for the past three months. So he took courage and whispered to Betsy.

-The Marquis told me to tell you if there’s anything I want for my birthday present, can I buy Yurina a present with it?

Unexpectedly, Betsy seemed surprised, but soon after, she led Raynald to a shop that was popular with nobles of Yurina’s age.

Originally, as soon as I left the store, I was going to give her a present, but I missed the right time to meet the strange nobleman at the store. After that, Yurina’s mood seemed somewhat depressed, so I couldn’t even give her a present.

‘But I still have to give it to her.’

He looked down at the brooch on his right chest as he rubbed the outside of the velvet box for no reason.

The beautiful ruby, sparkled in the dim candlelight, was clearly different from the cheap jewelry that his mother saved. It looked very beautiful even in his eyes, who did not know the value of jewelry.

Every time he saw this, doubts kept rising.

‘Do my eyes really look this pretty to Yurina?’

I didn’t doubt her words. When she said I was pretty, Yurina’s face didn’t contain any lies. It was just him who he didn’t believe.

No matter how many times Yurina told me I was pretty, he couldn’t think that his eyes were pretty. When I looked in the mirror and ruby brooches with my eyes several times, I couldn’t find any similarities except that they were red.

“Mmm.”

While looking down at the brooch with frowning eyes, Raynald raised his head in surprise at the sound of the door opening.

Yurina, who looked at him through the open gap, smiled without showing any surprise. Raynald gazed at her eyes curving prettily, that looked like a cat.

“I thought there was someone out there.”

Dressed in her pajamas, Yurina led him inside without a trace of melancholy. Even if it was a room, the bedroom and the small drawing room were separated, so the two sat face to face in the drawing room.

Betsy, who was called, brought two cups of warm milk with honey.

“What’s going on at this late hour?”

Yurina asked without touching the milk. Raynald hid the dark red velvet box behind his back and had only sipped milk for no reason. Yurina’s eyes bent thinly when she saw him without an answer.

“What would you do to a pretty girl like me?”

Yurina covered her body with her X-shaped arm with a stiff look. At one time, it was the words and actions that Raynald often spoke to her and others in the mansion.

He didn’t know when he said it himself, but when he heard it, he felt guilty as if he had a really mean intention even though he didn’t mean it.

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

Of course, the part ‘pretty girl like me’ didn’t apply to ‘nonsense’. He didn’t tell anyone, but Yurina was the prettiest person he had ever seen in Raynald’s short 12-year-old, or 13-year-old life.

The eyes that felt pretty at first sight, as well as the entire face were pretty. And unlike of the children in the orphanage, who had rough hands, the white and smooth hands and the neat teeth that appeared every time she laughed were also pretty.

But for one reason or another, he decided to keep this fact as a secret from her, or from everyone.

“So what are you really doing here for?”

“I have to say something first to come?”

His voice went out bluntly. After speaking, Raynald looked up and slapped his lips so that Yurina wouldn’t see him. I am an idiot.

“It’s not that, but it seems like you have something to say. You look very suspicious right now.”

“So…”

Raynald , rolling his eyes, fiddled with a box hidden behind his back, asked unconsciously.

“Does my name really mean ‘hope’?”

Huh? I didn’t mean to ask you this. His eyes were glaring at the thoughtless remark.

-What an interesting name. It’s an ancient name that means ‘hope’. Did you know?

I thought I heard it, but what this spoiled nobleman said earlier must have been stuck in his head like a stone somewhere.

Earlier, I couldn’t reflect on the meaning of it because I was in a hurry, but on second thought, it wasn’t something I should just say.

Hope, certainly hope.

Tom, the name his mother gave him as a child, was the most common name in the neighborhood. If you go out to the main street and shout ‘Tom!’ two or three little kids will look back.

My mother didn’t say anything about the name, but Raynald was convinced that she would have given the name without thinking deeply about it. So I didn’t have much affection for the name.

Sometimes I didn’t like the name that didn’t contain any affection.

Perhaps because of this that he abandoned the name ‘Tom’, who had spent 12 years there and chose the name ‘Raynald’ that Yurina gave without hesitation.

At least the name ‘Raynald’ seemed more concerned than ‘Tom’. I also had a desire to live a new life away from the middle class past.

‘But it’s hope.’

Raynald was nervous and waited for Yurina’s answer without breathing. 1 second, 2 seconds felt as long as 1 minute and 2 minutes.

Why is it so suffocating? Although he laughed at himself, he sweated out of his palm because of the tension.

Yurina, who was thinking about something with her arms folded as if she were agonizing, finally nodded.

“Yes. That’s right. ‘Raynald’ is an ancient word for ‘Hope’.”

Raynald blinked his eyes blankly and asked back.

“Why?”

“What do you mean why?”

“Why….. You gave me that name?”

“Why are you asking me that all of a sudden?”

“That’s…”

All he ever heard was negative. Monsters, demons, children hated by goddesses, etc. I’ve never heard of someone’s hope. So Yurina was in a desperate need.

How could she name him ‘Hope’ when she first met him?

No, maybe he want to check. He wanted to be assured by her that he was so special about himself, the fact that he was a hope.

“Because you are my hope. You promised me that you will protect me.”

As soon as he heard what he wanted to hear, Raynald’s face instantly heated up. He fluttered his hand with his hands to cool his hot cheeks.

Suddenly, the inside of his throat seemed to be burning, so he drank the remaining milk in a instant. Yurina watched the ridiculous figure in silence.

Raynald, who had been unable to bring up the subject even after emptying the milk, coughed in vain at her urging to sleep and took out the box hidden behind his back.

“What’s that?”

“This is….”

“Did you buy it with Betsy earlier?”

Oh, really. Why are you so quick? He turned his head for no reason, but quickly sat beside her and swallowed his saliva. He came here to give her a present, but when he tried to give it to her, he felt nervous and thirsty.

‘If I knew this would happen, I should have saved the milk.’

He moistened his lips with his tongue, then sighed once and opened the box. In the box there was a ruby bracelet, which he and Betsy had picked carefully. A ruby brooch and a set he bought for her.

“Huh? What bracelet is that?”

“Well, that’s….”

When I saw Yurina’s face, my mind went blank and I couldn’t think of what I was going to say. When she saw him with only a sweet lip, Yurina asked again.

“Are you giving it to me?”

Only then could he answer.

“Yes. You’ve always given something to me, you know. You just buy me a present today…..”

“That’s because it’s your birthday…..”

“Anyway, I wanted to give it to you.”

Raynald laid his hand toward Yurina. Then, he hesitated, and slowly filled the bracelet with a careful touch on the white wrist.