CH 55

Let’s Go

“What do you mean, then?”

“Do you want some cookies?”

“Ah… uh…… Okay, you mean it’s not a good idea to get in there, right?”

Kyrie smiled and put the cookies in Aaron’s arms.

“Don’t come here either.”

“Did the Legendary Lord catch you?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know if he already knows, or if he is pretending not to know.”

“If he doesn’t like Noona, then it doesn’t matter if I meet you?”

Aaron was absolutely right. But Kyrie’s feeling was saying that wasn’t the case. Nathaniel was a little bit worse.

“Whatever it is.”

“It’s a little weird. Is the Legendary Lord strange? Or isn’t it Noona’s misunderstanding?”

“It can’t be.”

“Why don’t you give it a try, Noona?”

“Try?”

Aaron grinned.

“Maybe there’s no problem with it!”

Aaron pulled her arm, hugged Kyrie, and jumped to the floor before Kyrie could respond. It was when MarryAnne’s reaction was slow while she was cutting a fruit.

“Miss!”

MarryAnne threw the knife that only penetrated Aaron’s afterimage.

Fortunately, the two landed safely on the floor.

“Crazy!”

Kyrie immediately flagged. Either way, Aaron put her down and raised his hands to MarryAnne, who had jumped before he knew it.

“Hey, hey! Wait a minute!”

“MarryAnne will kill everyone who tries to hurt Miss!”

MarryAnne could eat Aaron with her eyes. Not only there, but birds began to flock from all over the place. The wind blew horribly, and under MarryAnne’s pumpkin pants, all kinds of dreary weapons popped out.

“Bad man! You have to die!”

“Wow, whoa! No! No, I’m not trying to hurt her.…! Noo, Noona, please stop her!”

Aaron cried and hid behind Kyrie’s back. Kyrie sighed and touched MarryAnne on the shoulder.

“MarryAnne……, it’s okay. Will you back off the birds?”

“But….”

MarryAnne’s black eyes fiercely watched Aaron. Soon, however, she looked at Kyrie with a worried look.

“Miss. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No, fortunately.”

“You should tell me if you have a scratch! Then MarryAnne…….”

“Well, I know that MarryAnne will fix it.”

Kyrie tried to appease her. MarryAnne’s shoulders drooped. The birds that gathered in the eaves and trees of the palace and watched Aaron soon flew away. Only then did Kyrie feel safe.

“Aaron.”

As Kyrie turned toward Aaron, the boy smiled coyly.

“Noona, are you okay? I think she’s a little funny! How careful I was!”

Kyrie glanced at him a little, then turned her back and erased her expression.

“Lieutenant Aaron Fitz. Are you out of your mind? There’s a limit to rudeness.”

“Ah……”

Aaron was embarrassed. Her voice was so cool that the distance that had been gradually narrowed so far opened up in an instant.

“I, I mean, that…  …  .”

“Do you think it’s right to act without asking for someone’s consent as a human being before the guard?”

“That, I’m sorry…….”

Aaron was quickly depressed and couldn’t make excuses. He bit his lips and carefully took off his helmet. Kyrie’s eyes widened when she saw Aaron taking off his helmet for the first time.

“You, your ears….”

Aaron rubbed his right ear. He had no ears. Not only the ears, but one side of the face, including the ears, seemed to have been cut off by something very sharp.

“Is it ugly……?”

Kyrie could not answer. It was obvious that it was a wound. It would have happened when he faced Nathaniel before. Kyrie’s mind grew dizzy. Aaron continued.

“I just…It’s hard for me, my colleagues, and Noona, because of the Legend… Since I’m in the same situation, I wanted to give Noona some air because you looked tired. I’m sorry…….”

Tears formed in the boy’s eyes. He must have thought of his colleagues. MarryAnne still remained vigilant next to Kyrie, but Kyrie could no longer blame Aaron.

“……No, I see. Let’s stop, but don’t let this happen again.”

“Forgive me… Are you going to…?”

“Yes.”

Aaron’s face brightened quickly.

“Thank you, Noona!”

He just cried and laughed in a flash. If she had a younger brother, she would have felt this way. Kyrie sighed and swept her hair away.

“You didn’t have to worry about my situation, Aaron.”

She murmured like that, and suddenly thought it had been a long time since she had felt her feet on the soil. On the flowerbeds, winter trees stood, waving dry branches. There was a bird sound somewhere, and the wind was fair. 

It all felt so unfamiliar that Kyrie’s mind became distant. She didn’t know what Nathaniel would do if he knew. She had to hurry back to her room after biting Aaron. Even though she knew it, her feet did not fall off.

(Q/C: She meant that she had to quickly go back after lecturing Aaron, but her feet wouldn’t move.)

Aaron, who put his helmet on again, smiled lightly when he saw Kyrie like that.

“You don’t want to go back, do you?”

“…….”

What a bad boy the knight was. When Kyrie didn’t answer, Aaron reached out in a gesture like a knight.

“Ahem! Uhm, Ky, Miss Kyrie Buchanan, would you give me the honor of escorting you?”

Kyrie looked down at the boy’s hand with a confused face.

What if she grabbed it?

There was no way Nathaniel would stand still.

He might be watching from somewhere.

There was no way he didn’t know this.

He couldn’t leave her alone.

There was no way Nathaniel would set herself free…….

With that thought, she really wanted to run away. Aaron grinned with an excited face, perhaps noticing Kyrie’s bewildered mind.

“Hold on, Noona. Noona is not the Legendary Lord’s toy. There’s no reason for Noona to be locked up.”

Kyrie narrowed the gap. Shivering hands stopped in the air.

“Everyone is safe when I’m here.”

“No one can force you to sacrifice yourself.”

“You can have everything but you cannot be full.”

“That’s not what you really want, right?”

Kyrie’s eyes trembled harder.

“If I go out, I’m sure Nathaniel…….”

“Stop! What do you want to do? Let’s just think about that.”

“I…….”

Kyrie looked up. She could see the sky. Not the ceiling. She never thought the day would come when she felt majestic while looking at the sky. But she thought it was not a big deal, but the blue color, the flock of clouds were so lovely. The cold air rattled Kyrie’s chest.

Eventually, Kyrie took Aaron’s hand. Aaron smiled broadly.

“Let’s go!”

It was surprisingly a used lounge where Aaron dragged Kyrie with his arms clapping like a frog on a rainy day. The palace or mansion usually had semi-basement space for users, but it was a space where there was no need to go except to manage the mansion.

Kyrie was seated there.

“…….”

They glanced at Kyrie pretending not to be the people who stopped by the lounge, and Aaron and the chef, who saw her, hung the door of the lounge and locked it.

“Oh, my God! People who are precious don’t usually come to this kind of place. Please understand!”

(PR note: He asks for understanding since the lounge is not prepared)

Meloni, a good-looking female chef, smiled graciously. Kyrie opened her shawl awkwardly.

“It’s okay. I apologize for coming so suddenly.”

“No, no, no! It’s all Aaron’s fault!”

“Oh, Aunt Meloni! It’s not!”

“Don’t talk and stir it up, you punk!”

“Aunt!”

Aaron, who was being used to stir the broth in exchange for bringing in a high-ranking person, squirmed inside the room.

“Don’t talk nonsense to Noona! Okay!”

“Oh, my God, you have a good voice.”

Meloni sat across from Kyrie with a smile. When she saw MarryAnne, who clung to Kyrie and even paid close attention to her fluffy hair, she held out a dried jerky.

“Oh, she’s cute, too. Do you want to eat this? It’s beef. It’s going to be spicy.”

“……I’ll eat it.”

‘Have she been trained……?’

Kyrie was impressed. MarryAnne was unexpectedly shy, but she was too easy on her guard. Meloni, who was smiling happily, turned to Kyrie.

“Would you like anything? Although I will always make it, whatever Miss wants to eat.”

“Oh! Aunt! I’d like the same thing too! I heard that Noona always eats expensive things. Is it true?”

“Whew, then you’re not lying. Not long ago, the truffles from Lutier…Oh, my God, that’s right! Wait a minute. There’s something I made.”

“No, I’m fine.….”

“Huh? Don’t say no. Since it’s the Royal Palace, it’s kept clean, and it’s all made of good ingredients. Especially from Fort Ducane, there’s a lot of stuff like that.”

“Not that, but the taste…….”

“Come on, give it a try.”

‘Already…?’

Meloni offered bouillon at a surprisingly fast pace. Kyrie looked down at the bowl of water and carefully picked up the spoon. She was going to have a bite or two out of courtesy.

But, it was more delicious than she had thought. Meloni smiled softly as she looked at Kyrie’s surprised face.

“Eat a lot. We always eat as much as bird feed, so it’s good for our customers to eat the leftovers, but that’s why we get sickly thin.”

“Noona looks pretty even if she’s sickly thin!” 

(PR note: please don’t.)

“You just stir the broth well!”

“That’s too much, Aunt!”

Meloni closed the door to the room where Aaron was. Aaron grumbled something, but she couldn’t hear it.

It was cozy even though it was a hectic room with all kinds of things scattered around. Kyrie, who held the spoon, sipped bouillon in a daze, and Meloni sometimes stroked MarryAnne’s head, saying that she should give her this and that. She felt like she was in an unrealistic fairytale.

‘I’m sure everyone was very hospitable at the night party, but it wasn’t like now. It’s a little more…….’

Kyrie’s eyes shook. Meloni, who saw it, asked carefully.

“It doesn’t suit your taste?”

“No, the food is very delicious. It’s not that, I…….”

Kyrie couldn’t find anything to say, so she struggled to open her mouth.

“……I thought you would be reluctant with me.”

Kyrie regretted after saying it. It sounded like she was feeling too sorry for herself. But Meloni had a generous look as if she knew everything.

“Miss, life isn’t that tough. It’s not your fault, and the people who lived should live after all, right?”

A powerful and soft voice blocked Kyrie from speaking. Meloni shifted her eyes to MarryAnne and smiled happily.

“Right, kiddo?”

MarryAnne laughed as if she were really right.

“Yes! You have to die of natural causes!”

“……Is that so?”

Meloni went into the kitchen, embarrassed by MarryAnne’s unusual words. The remaining Kyrie sighed and stroked MarryAnne’s head.

“MarryAnne, let’s not use the word natural death in front of others.”

“Yes! MarryAnne likes that lady! She smells good!”

MarryAnne grinned. Kyrie also smiled.

“So do I.”

She wished this moment would last forever.

Looking at Kyrie petting herself, MarryAnne briefly wore a blank expression. The girl soon clung to Kyrie with an anxious look.

“But not that person.”

Kyrie’s blood that was heating up in her calm landscape froze.

MarryAnne’s eyes turned to the kitchen where Meloni and Aaron were. Her black eyes quickly became fierce. MarryAnne grabbed Kyrie by the hem and whispered, keeping her eyes open in the kitchen.

“The guard smells really bad every time he smiles…….”