CH 45

Vincent stared blankly at Cardien in response to his question, then quickly regained his senses and shook his head.

After hesitating for a moment, he cautiously opened his mouth.

“Tutor…”

But Vincent stopped himself from saying more and closed his lips. He was afraid that his words might sound like childish behavior to Cardien.

Cardien quietly observed Vincent, who suddenly sealed his lips. His gaze shifted back to Livia.

She was checking out, having made her choice. While looking at her from a distance, Cardien spoke softly.

“Vincent.”

“Yes, yes?!”

Startled by the sudden call, Vincent raised his head.

Cardien’s gaze lowered for a moment, and then he added in a subdued voice, “You don’t have to be scared.”

“……”

“Whatever you say, I won’t judge you.”

Then, Cardien’s violet eyes lightly brushed past Vincent.

Vincent stared blankly at Cardien. He never imagined Cardien would say something like that.

However, the impact of those words was significant. With clenched fists, Vincent opened his mouth again.

“I… I cried because I thought Tutor… might leave.”

Upon summoning his courage and speaking those words, Vincent was met with Cardien’s gaze.

Vincent’s cheeks and ears were red.

As Cardien looked at his son’s face, he casually asked, “Do you like this tutor that much?”

Without a moment’s hesitation, the answer came back.

“Yes!”

Vincent’s ruby-colored eyes sparkled more than ever.

“Tutor Livia is like a light to me. That’s why I like Tutor the most. I hope she never goes anywhere.”

Having said that, Vincent ran off.

Cardien’s gaze followed Vincent. 

There was Livia with a paper bag beyond, arms outstretched, grinning broadly.

“A light…….” Cardien muttered to himself in a low voice as he watched the two of them. “I envy you.”

As he said that, his eyes dropped even more than before.

* * *

Livia caught Vincent in her arms as he flew towards her.

“Vincent! It’s dangerous. What if you trip and fall?”

“It’s okay, hehe.”

Vincent laughed cheerfully, enough to make her worries seem futile.

~ Translations by Lurelia | Editing by Valpal | Read only at moonlightnovels.com ~

As Livia stared at him in disbelief, she suddenly noticed that the corners of his eyes were red.

Just in case, she gently asked, “Vincent, did you cry……?”

“Ah.”

Her words must have startled him because he quickly rubbed the corners of his eyes.

Livia quickly caught his arm.

“You’re going to hurt yourself rubbing that hard,” she explained. 

Vincent shifted his eyes away and avoided eye contact. Livia assumed that he was crying, given the circumstances.

‘What happened between you and Cardien?’

Livia looked at Cardien, who was slowly approaching us, with a suspicious look in her eyes.

“Don’t read into it as if I caused it, okay?”

Oh, did her feelings show?

“Ahem,” Livia cleared her throat and looked at Vincent again.

His eyes were definitely red, but his expression was as cheerful as ever.

She couldn’t be sure what happened between them during that short period. Regardless, his expression seemed cheerful, so maybe she didn’t need to worry too much.

“By the way, Tutor, what’s this?”

Whether he was trying to change the subject or was genuinely curious, Vincent pointed at the paper bag hanging from her wrist and asked about it.

“Oh, right. So, about this…”

Livia rummaged through the bag and pulled out a small box, offering it to Vincent.

“Ta-da! It’s a gift.”

“A gift…?”

Vincent’s eyes widened with curiosity. He alternated his gaze between the box and me before cautiously opening it.

“Wow…”

After examining the contents of the box, Vincent let out an exclamation of admiration with shining eyes.

Finally, Vincent took out the item from the box.

It was a brooch with a ruby that emitted a faint red glow.

“Thank you for being attentive in class… It may not be expensive, but…,” Livia trailed off sheepishly. 

Vincent stared at the brooch absentmindedly.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Livia scratched her cheek and observed Vincent’s reaction.

‘Do you not like it?’

She had bought it on impulse because she thought of Vincent the moment she saw it, but on second thought, it didn’t seem like the kind of gift a 10-year-old would like.

Feeling a bit timid, Livia added more words.

“If you don’t like it…”

But before she could finish my sentence, Vincent urgently shouted, “No!”

Worried that it might be taken away, he tightly clutched it with both hands and turned his body.

“It’s mine. Even if it’s you, Tutor, I can’t give it to you.”

As he said this, Vincent’s expression was more serious than ever.

Finding it both cute and touching, Livia asked, “Do you want me to put it on for you now?”

Upon her question, Vincent pondered for a moment and confidently raised his head.

“Not now… I want to save it for a more special day.”

What a beautiful thing to say.

Respecting Vincent’s opinion, Livia nodded her head.

As Vincent turned around completely, his face flushed, he repeatedly examined the brooch and delicately touched it.

Observing that sight, she felt relieved.

‘I’m glad.’

It seemed like he liked it.

While Vincent cherished the brooch, she turned her body towards Cardien.

“Ahem,” Livia coughed again unnecessarily and pulled a box out of her other bag and held it out to him.

As he looked at it with questioning eyes, she explained as if making an excuse.

“I have many things to thank you for, Your Grace.”

Firstly, it was Cardien who gave her the opportunity to speak out during the Anna incident.

Although there were some communication issues, he allowed her to attend the festival outing, so Livia thought she should show some sincerity.

‘Of course, considering his status, it might not be the best gift.’

Livia actually spent a long-time contemplating.

The reason why she ultimately chose a gift for Cardien was that she recalled what he said in front of the restaurant.

‘I don’t care what it is as long as it’s edible.’

Although his words didn’t sound particularly positive, they made her feel like he wasn’t the type to judge the value of things.

It took a lot of courage for her to buy anything for the duke. And also, it was the biggest expense.

But Cardien just stared at the box without showing any sign of acceptance.

Feeling embarrassed, she hastily added, “If you don’t like it, it’s okay……..”

As she tried to retrieve the gift, Cardien quickly snatched it in one swift motion.

In the blink of an eye, Livia looked at him with bewildered eyes.

As he opened the lid and examined the contents, he muttered quietly, “……cufflinks.”

Feeling even more embarrassed, Livia blushed and nodded her head.

As Cardien had correctly guessed, the gift she bought for him was a pair of purple cufflinks.

If someone were to ask why…

‘Because it matches the color of Cardien’s irises.’

So, Livia thought it would suit him very well.

Vincent, who had also approached, looked inside the box and exclaimed.

“Wow, it’s so pretty.”

“Really?”

With Vincent saying that, she felt a little more courageous.

She discreetly observed Cardien’s reaction.

Cardien was looking down at the cufflinks with an expression that was difficult to decipher.

Livia wished he would say whether he liked it or not, or at least something. The absence of even such words made her feel frustrated.

Then, in the next moment, his voice unexpectedly reached her ears.

“I’m not particularly fond of cufflinks. It’s bothersome to put them on by myself.”

‘…He’s quite picky.’

~ Translations by Lurelia | Editing by Valpal | Read only at moonlightnovels.com ~

But it didn’t seem like he outright disliked them, so Livia quickly responded, “Then we’ll just have to find another use for them.”

“Another use?”

“Yeah, like this…….”

Livia took the cufflinks out of the box he was still holding and approached him abruptly. She could feel Cardien calmly looking down at her from above.

She smoothed his light beige cravat and carefully slipped the amethyst cufflinks onto it.

Stepping back a little, she looked at him as a whole and a satisfied smile formed on her face.

“How is it? It won’t be troublesome like this, right?” 

“…….”

“They suit you well,” she said decidedly. 

She wasn’t trying to brainwash him into thinking that her gift was great. The purple buttons and Cardien just matched perfectly, as if they were meant to be.

‘Of course, it’s Cardien, so he’ll look good with anything.’

“What do you think?”

In response to Livia’s question, Cardien touched the cufflinks that had transformed into cravat buttons and replied with a slight toss of his head.

“…Well, they’re not bad.”

That alone was enough.

Afterwards, they continued their window shopping in the shopping district.

As the sun began to set into the evening, Cardien said, “It looks like it’s going to rain soon.”

He spoke while looking up at the sky. It was overcast since morning, but as evening approached, the sky became filled with dark clouds.

“I think we should head back.”

Livia nodded and agreed with Cardien’s words.

The streets were already crowded due to the festival, and if it started raining, the traffic could come to a complete standstill.

In addition, the road to the Duchy of Mercedes was off the main road, so getting home would be difficult if they missed the opportunity to secure transportation.

It was a route usually used only by nobles, so it wouldn’t be congested on a normal day, but today was a special day.

It was a shame to cut their outing short, but it couldn’t be helped. Livia had a strong desire to enjoy the festival a little longer, but it was inevitable.

‘I hope we can come to the festival again next year,’ she thought wistfully.

As she was thinking this, she was about to call Vincent.

‘Huh?’

Livia paused at the sight in front of her.