CH 10

Leilia, who was staring blankly at him, quickly came to her senses. Even though he was very handsome even as a child, his appearance as he grew up was beyond words.

“I came here because you wanted to see me.”

At her words, Cassel smiled quietly. When he smiled slightly like this, the mood changed. While he seemed nervous and shy, he bowed his head to her the next moment.

“Nice to meet you, sponsor.”

“Let’s sit down first.”

As Leilia sat in the seat opposite of him, Cassel sat down as well. His hand, holding the menu board, trembled slightly as if nervous.

“Would you like to order some tea?”

She then saw the tea that Cassel had ordered in advance.

“What kind of tea did you order?”

“It’s Senon’s tea.”

It was Leilia’s favorite tea.

“I’ll take the same one.”

She said, keeping her composure as much as possible. It was because when the man she liked as a child, the only man she had fond memories of, appeared like this and smiled at her, her heart could not help it but feel strange. It was even more difficult because she could not ignore the pounding sound of her heart.

Eventually, the tea she ordered was placed in front of her. Looking at it, she picked up the teacup. The reason why she likes Senon tea is because it always relaxes her nerves.

After taking a sip of the tea, she congratulated him first.

“Congratulations on graduating from the academy.”

“It’s all thanks to you.”

“No, it’s Cassel’s hard work.”

Saying so, she chuckled. Alas, she could not do anything other than laugh. Even her laughter sounded embarrassing, and Leilia wanted to hide somewhere.

“But, why did you ask to see me? How did you know who I was?”

The main reason was this.

At her question, Cassel handed her a piece of paper. Although it was poorly written, that was definitely her own handwriting.

⌊ Cassel and Leilia had fun together today. ⌉

“This is…”

She seemed to have written when she met Cassel as a child.

“Suddenly, I was surprised that the owner of the Hyllan merchants association was sponsoring me. I was confused because I couldn’t figure out why. Then, at some point, I realized that the handwriting of the owner had changed. Before, the owner was a friend of my mother’s, though now her daughter, Leilia, is sponsoring me.”

Sometimes, Leilia would write letters to him. Nevertheless, it would be as short as saying hello, but seeing this, Cassel was certain.

“…It’s such an old paper.”

“It was from my first friend, so It was a meaningful piece of paper for me.”

His face turned red as he replied. At the same time, Leilia also took a short breath and laughed softly.

“And, the reason I asked to see you was because I thought we could meet now.”

“Why now?”

“Because I’ve accomplished something. Until now, I couldn’t ask you to meet me because I didn’t have anything to be proud of.”

Cassel uttered quietly.

Hearing his words, Leilia’s eyes widened. She could not easily believe his words.

“Did you want to see me?”

“I’ve always wanted to see you. I tried to make myself qualified to meet you.”

Hearing those words, she was stunned. Even though she knew that he was working zealously, Leilia did not know that he was working diligently until the end with this kind of mind.

“I didn’t want to be a person the sponsor would be ashamed of.” 

As he continued his words, Leilia shook her head.

“Cassel has always been someone I’m proud of. You could’ve been conceited  when the Hyllan sponsored you, though you never did such a thing.”

Cassel’s cheeks heated up at her words. He lowered his eyes slightly.

“…Sponsor, can you come to the graduation ceremony?”

He must be well aware she was not going to attend the graduation ceremony.

His friendly smile shook her heart.

“The graduation ceremony…” 

“Didn’t the sponsor also graduate at the top of the class?”

“But, I didn’t go.”

Her heart was wavering.

‘…Dangerous.’

He had a woman he loved. It was often revealed to Natale that he had a girl he liked… He was in love with another woman, not her. Nevertheless, he asked her to come to the academy graduation. Was this really not a life that resembled her mother…?

‘I hate it.’

However, he was now gazing at her. It was really endearing to see his eyes wide open, anticipating her reply.

“…I’ll go.”

Not wanting to disappoint Cassel, Leilia replied without realizing it. At her answer, his hand trembled a little, and he rejoiced.

“I wanted to go around the academy with the sponsor.”

“Call me Leilia.”

“Thank you.”

Cassel hesitated before he reached his hand out to her. Then, he grabbed her hand as Leilia opened her mouth.

“We’ll continue to sponsor you until you settle where you want to be.”

“I’ll work hard and be successful.”

Relaxing a little, Leilia smiled back at him. Still, his hand was very hot.

‘Why is that…?’

“Lady Leilia is still lovely.”

“What do you mean?”

“You haven’t changed since I saw you as a child.”

Uttering so, Cassel smiled sweetly.

‘As a child… He remembered that time.’

Immediately, Leilia’s face was now as heated as Cassel’s. Even though she wanted to run away, she also wanted to be with him like this.