CH 37

“Uh, huh? Milan!”

“I got in from the rain. I-It’s cold. There’s no one inside. Give me a break.”

Simon had no choice but to nod because Milan had already come in.

“…I see. Instead, if it’s personal business, you’ll have to wait until my work is done.”

“I don’t think your boss is here, so could you give me a minute? I’m in a bit of a hurry.”

“That’s a bit troublesome.”

As Simon shook his head and tried to sit in the chair, Milan hurriedly pulled Simon by the collar.

“I-I came here to ask you a favor. It’s very urgent!”

Looking down at Milan’s trembling hands, Simon shook for a moment. But he soon made up his mind.

“Umm, Milan. I don’t know what you’re asking for—”

“Le-Lend me some money!”

Simon looked at Milan with surprised eyes. Seeing that he needed money all of a sudden, it seemed that he wasn’t lying about being in a hurry. But it wasn’t a light matter. This issue had to be decided after discussing it with his daughter. Astein also asked me to do it.

Simon replied with a troubled face. “Didn’t I listen to your request last time? But are you asking me again this time?”

“T-That’s…”

Milan, suddenly depressed, let go of Simon’s collar and began to cry. Embarrassed by it, Simon let out a low sigh, grabbed Milan by the shoulder, and sat him down at the chair.

“I will listen to you for a moment. Have some hot tea before that. Will you wait?”

“O-Of course… That’s, Simon, ahem, thanks… really.”

Milan nodded his head and then bowed. Simon warmed the teapot then patted Milan’s drooping shoulder once.

Tak.

“I will bring it to warm you up.”

“Thank you.”

Simon, who was watching Milan carefully emptying his teacup, looked out of the window for a moment. Again, the raindrops fall thicker. I was going to leave work a little early today. But it seems I can’t. Simon sighed as he looked at his friend in front of him.

“So, what kind of urgent business made you come all the way here?”

“D-Do me one last favor, Simon.”

“Look, Milan.”

“This time is enough. It’s really the last time. Then I can pay back all the money I borrowed earlier.”

“Milan, as you know, I don’t have enough money for that. Wasn’t the last time the estate, which should be Lusi’s wedding gift, became the collateral?”

“I-I’m sorry about that.”

Milan briefly shut down for shame.

Three years ago, Milan asked for help because his daughter was dying. Milan, who ran to the administration office, urgently asked for a quick loan, saying that he could pay it back immediately if he received the money from the sale of export goods.

Simon, who believed his words perfectly, loaned money to his close friend with the last remaining estate as collateral. My friend’s daughter is dying. How can I just leave my friend alone? Simon had already lost his wife due to illness. Losing family because of money was something Simon never dared to imagine again in his life. However, Milan, who had promised to pay back the money soon, was still unable to pay it off.

“T-There was a thief.”

“What?”

“While I was at the top, a thief broke in, and m-my wife… she got hurt a lot.”

“Did Becky get hurt?”

“Keheug, t-that’s right. She’s still… unconscious.” As if trembling while holding back his tears, Milan covered his mouth.

Simon, a close friend of Milan, also had a deep relationship with Becky. In particular, Becky, Milan’s spouse, had been his wife’s companion before her death. So Simon was always grateful to Becky.

“If so, how is her condition?”

“They say she can live if she receives treatment from the priest. By the way… as you know. I-It’s cost a lot of money.”

“Milan. You…!”

“I’m sorry, Simon. But I had no one else to ask but you. That’s why I came here shamelessly. If it’s a lost item, I can buy it again. But my wife’s life… Huhu.”

Tears welled up in Simon’s eyes. Milan, who thought it was time, quickly took out a contract from his arms.

“All you have to do is sign here, Simon. If you do that, I will never forget this grace for the rest of my life.”

But Simon, who briefly looked at the contract Milan held out, pushed it away.

“I’m sorry, Milan. There’s nothing I can give you right now. I made a promise with my daughter.”

“…Are you saying you can’t help me?”

“Yes.”

Milan’s face was distorted by Simon’s firm answer. For some reason, the eyes of his friend, who had been shaking as the wind blew, seemed to have returned cold-hearted like in the past.

Milan was quite confused. It was then that his eyes, shaking his head, suddenly turned to Simon’s desk. An unknown light shone in his eyes for a moment, which was disappointing.

“Simon, I made a slip of the tongue. How much have you done for me so far, but I’ve been so shameless. I’ll look for a way to get money again, so forget about it today.”

“Hey, Milan.”

“Don’t worry, man. Can you give me another cup of hot tea? It’s too cold.”

Simon nodded as he looked at Milan’s shaking hands.

“Okay, there’s a blanket there, so you can use it at the moment. I’ll have the tea ready soon.”

Watching the restless Milan, Simon lifted the teapot. But at the time, the water wasn’t enough. Originally, he wasn’t supposed to leave his guest and leave his room, but he couldn’t just send the trembling Milan back, so he decided to leave it for a while.

“Milan. I’m running out of water. I’ll prepare it in the pantry, so could you wait a little longer?”

“I’m sorry to bother you.”

“Don’t be sorry.”

As Simon entered the pantry, Milan rushed to Simon’s desk. Obviously, he saw it on this desk.

“H-Here you are. Simon is right.”

Milan picked up Simon’s seal with a trembling hand. And he hurriedly stamped the contract he brought. Ah, my god.

“It’s not my fault. This is not my fault. You brought this all on yourself.”

Milan, muttering something he didn’t know what he was saying, looked at the pantry where Simon went. However, he soon grabbed the papers and left the administrative office without looking back.

Shortly after Milan left, Simon came out of the pantry with tea.

“Huh? Where did Milan go?”

Simon looked out of the window casually. There was the back of Milan rushing out of the administration office. He ran so fast that he didn’t stop even when he slipped and fell in the rain.

“What if he gets hurt in such a hurry?” Simon sighed sadly at the appearance of his friend, who couldn’t stay for a moment just because he was worried about his wife.

There was a time in the past when Simon too ran from place to place trying to save his dying wife. The time when he frantically searched for everything with the feeling of grabbing at least a straw. As the memory of that time came to his mind, Simon felt heavy for no reason.

“I’m worried about Becky.”

Simon’s face darkened as he remembered Becky, who had been talking with his wife with a kind face.

* * *

“If your work is over, don’t come into the office.”

Elusiana, who was standing in front of the administration office, put an umbrella over Simon’s head and said, “I’m back early too, Father.”

“Just stay home next time, Lusi.”

“Why? Do you have a lover that you hid without me knowing?”

Simon was startled by Elusiana’s playful question. “W-What a lover! That’s ridiculous! How could I commit such a crime, for leaving your mother behind? Nonsense!”

“Haha. But why won’t you let me come? Visiting Father like this is one of the things I like to do.”

Simon replied disheartened as Elusiana poked her tongue out. “…Astein, that guy isn’t by your side. I can’t help but worry more, especially on a day like today.”

“…!”

Elusiana felt a tingling sensation in the back of her head as if she had been attacked unexpectedly. The sadness that she had tried to press squeezed through the crack and raised to her head without notice. Her heart ached. It pricked as if cold grains were stuck in her heart. She was glad that it was a dark night. Because if it wasn’t for that, Simon might have caught her distorted face.

Elusiana said, “What does it matter if there is a guy like that or not? I haven’t heard anything about him, whether he is alive or dead. And now Father will protect me, right?”

“Cough. Yes, still, wouldn’t it be better to be careful at night?”

A warm smile spread to Simon’s smiling face. Even on Elusiana’s face, a smile resembling Simon’s bloomed like a flower. However, the faces of the two smiling people were full of longing and concern for Astein.

“I’ll think about it.”

After that, Simon started talking about the children of Angel’s house. Like the story of 2-year-old Amy running around and falling. Ulsian ate dumplings and got an upset stomach. Cain, who had only been in Angel’s house for three years, has now learned to read and write.

“Father?”

“…Wait. Stay here, Lusi.”

Simon tilted his head when he found a stranger standing at the entrance of Viscount Waieos’s mansion.