Chapter 23

* * *

Flicker, flicker–

The flames of the fireplace burned warmly and peacefully.

I had just entered Rixus’ room with him, who was all wet.

His room was very simple.

He gave me more than 10 dressing rooms, but he didn’t have much.

‘It’s my first time coming to this room…’

I felt a little odd.

I looked at the room slowly and shifted my gaze to Rixus.

With his wet jacket off and a single see-through top on, he was slowly drying his hair.

His slightly curly black hair swayed softly.

‘It’s like a dog drying its hair.’

Looking at that, it seemed to overlap with his old appearance. 

It had never happened when I met Rixus again.

As if ‘Candy’ was a magic spell, it brought back memories of the past.

It was really strange.

“Drink it warm.”

Rixus put the hot tea down in front of me and sat loosely on the chair opposite me.

I quietly picked up the teacup and savored the scent.

“It’s chamomile tea.”

“Yes, because it rained for a while in the morning.”

What did the morning rain have to do with chamomile tea?

In a moment of doubt, I remembered the young me who said that I cried because I hated the sound of rain.

I was surprised inside.

‘Do you still remember that?’

To sleep well without listening to the rain, he brought me herbal tea that was good for sleep.

I suddenly wondered.

How many memories did he exactly have from those days?

‘It’s a long time ago, but I remember it well.’

As I drank a sip of tea, my body and mind slowly relaxed.

When I took out the boy who had been buried in my memory, strangely, I felt more comfortable with Rixus.

Seeing the boy always made me feel at ease, but do I still have that feeling?

After a while, I put down the teacup and asked,

“But how did you know it was me…? You obviously couldn’t see at that time.”

“I regained my vision for a moment.”

He looked at me and smiled

“I ran to see your face first, because that was what I wanted to see the most.”

“……”

“It was worth it.”

I lowered my gaze as my face felt red for some reason.

“What, you were just a baby back then.”

He sat up at an angle and raised his eyebrows slightly.

“Baby?”

Looking at that hurt pride, I thought I made a mistake, but for some reason, I couldn’t stop my mouth.

“Yes, baby.”

He clenched his chin still and said,

“Then starting today, let’s share a bed together.”

“What……?!”

“Who cares?”

The corners of his eyes curled silently.

“You’re sharing it with a baby.”

…Such a crazy kid.

He fell into the lake water and came out even more crazy… 

Biting my lips, I said,

“Not now… I’m talking about that time.”

“I wasn’t a baby back then either.”

He continued after taking a sip of heated wine.

“If I was a baby, I wouldn’t have had a crazy crush on you. Ever since the girl put candy in my mouth, I’ve been in love with her.”

He said without blinking an eye.

“Take responsibility. You set fire to my heart.”

“……”

‘Where are you, firefighter…? Please put out that light…’

I was embarrassed and refuted with a pale face.

“You suddenly left without a word.”

He calmly put down the glass and said,

“I left a note.”

“What note? I haven’t received anything.”

At this moment, Rixus’ eyes shook noticeably.

“…You didn’t receive anything?”

“Yes.”

Did I not find it? He left it, and if I couldn’t find it, then it was my fault.

As if at a loss for words for a moment, Rixus put one hand to the corner of his eye and exhaled a painful breath.

“Then you must have been waiting, alone.”

“……”

“You didn’t even know I left…”

Yes, I waited a long time… over a week.

But to be honest, I thought he would be sad. If I told him I had waited for him to come back for days and days in an empty hut.

The Rixus in front of me. No, it seemed that the boy who had to leave in a hurry would be sad.

So I shook my head.

“No. I just checked that you were gone and I left immediately.”

He felt apologetic to me over what had happened a very long time ago. I could feel a deep sense of sincerity in his expression.

“Is that so?”

“What?”

“When you saw me this time, you pretended it was the first time you saw me.”

“……”

“You must have hated me.”

“…It’s not like that. I just…”

I instantly became honest.

“I just forgot.”

The memories with Rixus were beautiful, but it was too dangerous to keep and cherish.

In the distant future, when the boy grew up and came to kill me.

‘If he speaks malicious words to me, looks at me with contemptuous eyes, and pierces my heart, I…’

I felt like my heart was going to hurt too much. I thought I would die, covered with wounds until the end.

‘So I tried to forget.’

I even thought of Rixus and the boy as separate people.

In fact, it was somewhat successful.

But now I have come to realize… It was not a complete success. I just consciously tried to hide it beyond my memory, but I guess I didn’t really forget.

Now that I was facing Rixus, I remembered it like it was yesterday.

All the emotions I felt then filled my heart with warmth and affection.

“…….”

I looked at him.

He still looked very sorry to me.

I wanted to comfort him.

“But it was a good thing you left then.”

“……”

“Look, we worked hard and found a place to meet again.”

I said with a faint smile.

“You did well. Rixus.”

I knew how much he suffered to get here.

After I said that, I felt a little embarrassed.

“You did well too.”

“…….”

But at the words he returned, my heart was strangely choked up.

No matter how hard I struggled, no one praised me for holding on well.

How much of a torment it was in the deserted swamp.

How fierce and difficult it was while defending the throne alone in the Spinel Palace.

No one knew… Ironically, the first person who knew was Rixus. 

His friendly eyes were a great comfort.

He seemed to say that he knew how hard I worked.

Strangely, I felt like I was about to cry, so I struggled to hold it back and hurriedly changed the subject.

“…Are you giving me the necklace? That was why you went into the lake. I’ll take it now.”

“Okay.”

I didn’t necessarily want the necklace, but that was the only subject I could use.

Rixus walked to an old drawer in his room and pulled out a small box.

But it wasn’t the box he sent me as a gift.

It was a very old oak box with traces of the time marked layer by layer.

Ancient words were written on the box.

≪Barren Lomoso Pretinas≫

My heart sank the moment I read it.

“……This?”

I looked at him with a surprised face.

* * *

At night, in the garden of the Imperial Palace.

Lucia was wandering around looking for one of the missing earrings, just as Berylia had instructed.

She said that it was an earring that shone more at night.

As if to prove that, the red magic stone earring Lucia was holding shimmered dazzlingly in the moonlight.

“Spinels are rich in magic stones, so they can wear them as earrings.”

Lucia looked at the earring in her hand with renewed admiration.

In Aktoum, one could do so many things with this single magic stone.

For example, three years’ worth of tuition for her younger brother, who was a gifted student, who could not graduate from the academy due to lack of money in the family.

And she would be able to live her life doing what she had always dreamed of without worrying about money.

With a slightly gloomy expression, she held the magic stone earring tighter. 

She realized that she had a cheeky idea about the magic stone belonging to Her Majesty the Queen.

From Lucia’s point of view, she was a benefactor to be truly grateful for, who gave her the job of a maid.

It was like a dream for Lucia, who has a poor reputation, to become someone’s handmaiden, and that person was Her Majesty the Queen.

“…I must find it. I, Lucia, must repay her.”

It was when she was determined to be a noble girl, clutching the magic stone with her rough hands.

A voice she never wanted to hear came from behind her back.

“Oh my… Young Lady Lucia, I can’t believe you’re wandering around the garden suspiciously tonight.”

“!”

Without realizing it, Lucia hid the magic stone and looked back.

Deborah was standing behind her.

The one who permanently ruined the reputation of Lucia’s mother and Lucia in Aktoum’s social circle.

From Lucia’s point of view, she was the woman who ruined the lives of her mother and brother.

She looked at Deborah’s face, and there was a fire in her heart. So she ends up putting too much strength in her hands without realizing it.

The magic stone earring that slipped out of her hand in an instant fell onto the floor.

It was when Lucia, startled, hurriedly reached her hand down for the red earring that had fallen.

Thud—

On her hand, were white, clean and luxurious shoes.

Deborah asked with a blatant sneer.

“Where did you steal this from?”

“…….”

Lucia quietly bit her lips.

In response, the maids who followed Deborah burst into laughter. Everyone was enjoying the situation.

Lucia’s glistening eyes were now desperately staring at Deborah.

Lucia spoke with proper pronunciation.

“……I didn’t steal it. Madam Deborah.”

“As far as I know, Count Hermes has gained a lot of momentum… But this looks very expensive.”

Again, Deborah stepped on Lucia’s hand, trampling it with strength.

Lucia’s eyes reddened due to pain and insult.

‘Mother… How long should I endure this insult?’

Lucia Hermes.

Her mother, Octavia Hermes, was a female head of the ‘Count Hermes’.

Although her husband died early, Octavia, a very wise and capable woman, took over.

She managed to quickly restore the economic situation of her estate, which had been ruined by her husband during his lifetime.

A combination of such a figure and her original amiable personality made Octavia a prime figure in the social world.

Octavia Hermes, who was respected by everyone, eventually became the butterfly of the social circle in name and reality.

So… It was only natural that she became a thorn in Deborah’s eyes.