CH 29

“Pfft!”

It was none other than Rainier’s laughter that broke the atmosphere. He was the only one who found this situation funny, he held his stomach and laughed. The sight didn’t feel pleasant. My eyebrows instantly furrowed. Leto, the actual party involved, did not say anything and kept his mouth closed.

“Wow. What’s this, isn’t your hair too long?”

Rainier snorted and pulled on Leto’s long hair. Rainier’s expression then hardened when Leto smacked away his arm. The tense atmosphere somehow made me nervous.

“It’s nice to see my proud little sister here, isn’t it?”

“…….”

“There’s something I need to say to this younger sister.”

As I pushed through the crowd to head towards Leto, Rainier approached him and whispered in his ears. I couldn’t make out what he said. The only thing I could tell was that he didn’t say anything good. Leto’s expression hardened and his clenched fists trembled. Only Rainier remained smiling and soon followed after the Duke who had left first. 

Everyone’s eyes turned to Leto. Leto, who lowered his head slightly, was quietly controlling his breath under the gazes. If I stretched my hand a little more, I could finally reach him! But before I could stretch my arm, Leto turned around.

He disappeared from the crowd and was nowhere to be seen.

“Bree!”

Vivian came after me.

“Vivian, have you seen Leah?”

“N-No. Won’t she board the train later? We’re about to leave.”

I shook my head at his words. Knowing Leto, he would definitely refuse to travel in this situation. I made Vivian go first without me, and then searched around for Leto. The students began to board the train one by one and blocked my way. My shoulders kept bumping into them and cold gazes turned towards me.

Ignoring all those gazes, I thought of a place where Leto would go. Where would he be at this huge train station? It should be a place difficult to find and hard to spot. Like Vivian said, he might have even been on the train already.

Then, I heard the clear sound that the train was about to depart.

“Bree!”

Vivian, who opened the window and poked his head out, called me. The moment I heard the sound, I spotted Leto’s red hair walking in the distance. In times like these, his tall height was really a convenience!

The wheels of the train moved slowly.

“Bree, get on!”

I turned my head at Vivian’s shout.

I glanced at Leto in the distance, and looked at Vivian again. He waved his hand and urged me to get on. The wheels of the train gradually began to move faster.

Soon, the train completely sped up and I couldn’t board it anymore. I made my way towards Leto, who was leaning against the wall. Instead of the train that was leaving, my footsteps got closer to Leto. Leto was still biting his lips, not aware of my presence due to the loud noise from the train.

As the train completely passed by me, I stopped my steps and looked at Leto. When I slowly reached him, he finally noticed my presence and lifted his head up. The moment our eyes met, I froze.

“…….”

“…….”

We looked at each other and didn’t say a word. Leto just stared at me with his eyes wide open, stunned. I smiled awkwardly at Leto.

“I got lost and missed the train.”

I lied.

Leto stayed still, and then smiled wryly. The smile gave me some confidence so I moved closer to him. I leaned against the wall next to Leto and wriggled my hands.

Leto didn’t mention anything about his father and brother. He merely lowered his head and smiled, concealing his pain.

I didn’t intend to bring up anything he didn’t wish to speak about either.

“You and I.”

Leto broke the silence and opened his mouth.

“We’re the same.”

I nodded at his words.

“Isn’t that why we’re friends?”

“Friends…”

Leto muttered the word, then pulled his back away from the wall. The train had left and the dream of travelling to the south was in vain. The carriage had returned to the academy, leaving the two of us alone. What should I do now? I thought I should head back to the dormitory, but Leto opened his mouth.

“It’ll be a pity to go back like this, so do you want to hang out?”

“Where?”

“There’s a theme park nearby. It’s famous for its fireworks at night. What do you think?”

I nodded without hesitation at Leto’s suggestion.

“Let’s go.”

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Please do not repost. Read only at Dropped Inks.

I heard that there were only two theme parks in the Lexley Empire. I’ve never been to one since there wasn’t any in the south, so I was curious to know what’s inside. As I stamped my feet with anticipation, Leto led the way. He walked without hesitation as if he knew the roads of this place well.

He even knew the maze-like train station well. After exiting the central train station, we walked towards the large square. Right in front of it stood the white Imperial Palace that represented the colour of Lexley and occupied the centre. It was more old-fashioned and gorgeous than what I saw in the book. It was also very grand that one would be overwhelmed in an instant.

PR/N: The structure of the palace was very large that it was easy for people to feel overwhelmed. 

As my mouth widened in admiration, Leto opened his mouth.

“If you apply in advance, you can enter the palace.”

“Have you been inside?”

“A few times.”

Leto shrugged at my question.

After passing the Imperial Palace and looking at the largest fountain in the Lexley Empire, we headed straight to the theme park. Even though it was around noon on a weekday, it was full of people. Most of the people came with their children. There were a few kids who wore student uniforms like us, but hardly any of our peers were seen.

Inside, a wide park with all kinds of animals was visible. My eyes were almost bulging out seeing all the animals from other continents that I had never seen before. I can’t believe I get to actually witness what I’ve only seen in pictures! When I pointed to the animals and asked for their names, Leto kindly answered them.

He had a thorough knowledge of animals that I knew nothing of.

“Are you that happy?”

When Leto asked with a smile, I nodded my head several times. In all honesty, I wanted to ride the VVIP seat, but I didn’t want to see the southern sea very much. It would be useless to think about the train fare and accommodation fee, but I was glad to come to the theme park.

More amazing and pleasant things made my eyes sparkle. It wasn’t just animals. The lakes and peculiar sites all around were so fascinating that I couldn’t stop admiring them. It felt perfect to just sit down, paint or sing. Leto and I were wandering around and stopped at a small puppet show.

It felt nice to see something I used to often watch when I was young after a long time. We stood there and watched the puppet show before turning back. Then, I saw a place where the crowd gathered.

[The Haunted House]

The most popular spot in this theme park was none other than the mansion that was pointed to by an old sign. A gloomy and dark collapsing mansion appeared and caught Leto’s eye.

“Let’s go inside.”

“Yeah, I’d rather pass.”

When I suggested it, even though I wasn’t a fan of scary things, Leto answered quickly.

Huh?

That was unexpected. I thought Leto wouldn’t be scared at all. Looking at his face that was glancing at the mansion, it didn’t seem like that was the case. Somehow, his reaction sparked my curiosity.

“But since we’ve come all the way here, shouldn’t we go inside at least once?”

“……What?”

Leto looked at me in bewilderment.

When I pointed to the mansion, he gulped and gave no answer. I pulled Leto’s arm and he was dragged along stiffly. It was cute to see Leto being dragged along without saying that he was scared out of pride. As I secretly burst into laughter, Leto felt discontented then suddenly passed me and took the lead.

“Hurry up. Why? Are you scared?”

When Leto taunted me first, I became determined. As I reached the entrance of the mansion, I felt even more chilled. The screams coming from inside the mansion were unnerving. The pale expression of the people who came out also contributed to my fear.

Some of the people who stood in front of me said it was scary. There seemed to be a reason why this haunted house was so popular. That said, I couldn’t even turn around. It would be unfortunate to go to the theme park and return to the academy without going inside the haunted house once. With shaky hands, I bought two tickets and walked towards the entrance of the mansion.

“Do you want to go in first? I’ll be generous.”

“I will decline such an offer. You go in first.”

In the end, when I held Leto’s arm tightly, Leto trembled as if his spine was already chilled.

“Are you two going inside?”

An old man checking the tickets asked with a sly smile.

“So?”

“Aren’t you afraid? It was designed by a talented wizard.”

“……Wow.”

“Welcome to the haunted house, girls.”

The man stamped the tickets and beckoned for us to come inside.

The door opened automatically and a brief fog blew out. A little girl’s voice could be heard. Although spring was approaching, a cool breeze brushed my skin, perhaps from a magic that lowered the temperature. As I hesitated, Leto, who stood in front of me, barely moved.

Still, I did not complain or express any dissatisfaction. We were currently at the entrance…At that time, the opened door, which had been the only source of light, slammed shut.

“Mommy!”

“Oh my god!”

When I screamed, Leto jumped and shrieked as well.

“S-Sorry.”

After I apologised quickly, I grabbed Leto’s arm even tighter.

“You’re not going to faint like last time, are you?”

“Like last time?”

“The day you were drunk.”

Leto said, his lower lips quivered. It was a strategy to relieve fear by talking about the traditional ceremony where I had suffered. I recalled the incident, remembering the last memory I had before it was cut off.

I clearly had a lot of alcohol and someone helped me. He made me drink water by the fountain and after that, I had no memory of anything. Was it Leto who poured the water into my mouth?

“Did you take me to the dorm?”

“What? Don’t you remember?”

When I nodded, Leto shook his head with a blank expression on his face.

“Jimbo or Nimbo. That senior took you out first. I escaped from the cellar an hour after the ceremony was over, and you were sleeping peacefully by the fountain. Leaning on that Jimbo or Nimbo.”

He spoke in a slightly angry tone. Oh, so the person who fed me the water was none other than Senior Jimbo.

“So I helped move you to the dorm……Aaargh!”

“Aaaah!”

When Leto screamed, a loud sound naturally came out of my mouth too. The ghost, who had been waiting for us, lost their patience and came directly to Leto and me who were standing at the entrance. I didn’t expect you to be so kind……