CH 9

〈 …Even if my father doesn’t love me, I’m not a bad person, right?  〉

Words she could not bear to ask her mother emanated from her mouth.

〈 Of course! 〉

The answers he gave…

The conversations they had…

They became the strength to endure the present for Leilia. She has not seen each other since then, so she does not know how he grew up. She just sponsored him and received a letter once a month.

Even so, the heart that was engraved in her childhood did not change.

When she realized that she had a heart for a child younger than her, Leilia ran away without looking back at him again. It was because she thought that the closer she was, the more her heart would grow, so she deliberately stayed away from him. There were times when she wanted to cut the feelings off coolly though it was so painful that she could not bear to do it.

‘…There were so many letters that I threw away instead of sending them to him.’

With such a complex and subtle mind, Leilia waited for his letter and read them over and over again before throwing them away. As she threw them away, she fetched them back again.

She smiled as she recalled her own past.

Knowing the feelings in her that had not disappeared even now, she now resigned and just collected his letters. As usual, Leilia was also planning to collect the letter she was going to receive today and store them in her keepsake cabinet. However, not only did her uncle not give her the letter, but he also said something strange.

“The truth is, Cassel said he wanted to meet you in celebration of his coming of age.”

“Me…?”

Leilia was perplexed.

“But, he doesn’t know who I am?”

‘…Doesn’t he?’

“Cassel knew about you.”

Natale suddenly told her an unexpected story.

“I couldn’t deny it because he spoke straight out that he was assuming that you were the daughter of a friend of his mother’s, and that he wanted to meet Leilia Eloisa.”

He knew who she was.

“For that kind of reason…?”

…Does he just want to meet her?

Why could she not accept his words easily? Perhaps, it was because most of the people around her were untrustworthy and deceitful.

“Go meet him and ask.”

As he replied, Natale laughed softly.

“…All right.’

In the end, she thought they should meet and talk for now. Still, her heart was beating strangely. When she heard that she would be meeting Cassel, her heart started beating faster than before.

‘Damn it.’

She was not dull enough to know her own feelings. As Leilia acknowledged how she was feeling, her heart fluttered rapidly.

“He said He’d wait here.”

Natale then handed her a small piece of paper.

‘This is…’

A long time ago, holding her mother’s hand, she followed her mother to a small cafe. There, she met the young Cassel.

…He was waiting at the place where she first met him.

ﾟ· : * ✧ * :· ﾟ

Her mother did not see her friends very often during her lifetime. She also did not have many friends and refused to meet them as her heart was ravaged by her father’s unrequited love. However, she had a friend whom her mother would regularly write letters to. 

The friend’s son was Cassel.

After her friend died, her mother would help and secretly sponsor Cassel.

Glancing at the cafe that was made out of wood, it was always a serene place as they sold tea, coffee, and cakes. Although it does not seem like it had many customers, it was an eccentric place where regulars would come constantly.

Leilia, who came with Natale, opened the door and entered.

As she entered, she could see the inside. There was a wooden floor, tables, and chairs in the middle, and there were people drinking tea quietly. The next moment, she instinctively walked towards the watermill. It was there that she met Cassel, so she thought he would be there. Though it was since childhood that she saw him, could he remember her since that time…?

The water flowed out, and the watermill turned. And there, a man was sitting at the table next to it. The short silver-haired man was lost in thought as he gazed into an empty cup of tea.

‘That outfit…’

It was a gift that was sent along with a sword to congratulate him on coming of age. Wearing it, Cassel now sat in front of her. As if noticing Leilia’s staring gaze, he turned his eyes to this place. His bright, refined, red eyes glistened in the sunlight.

“Ah.”

He recognized her.

He let out an exclamation before rising up and bowing his head.

“Well, he really knows who you are.”

Natale smiled and patted Leilia on the back.

“Well then, have a good time. Uncle will wait over there.”

“All right.”

Nodding her head, she strode towards Cassel. As she approached, Leilia bowed slightly to him and opened her mouth.

“I’m Leilia Eloisa.”

“I’m Cassel.”