Chapter : 73
When I entered the alley by the Information Guild, the scene was different from what I expected.
“Huh?”
The knights who were supposed to be waiting at the gate weren’t there. I looked around with a puzzled expression. They couldn’t have left already, not before I returned…
“Maybe they just stepped away for a moment?”
Eloy spoke to me, but her expression was noticeably unpleasant.
“Are you okay? Feeling unwell?”
I asked her, and she shook her head. Her face still didn’t look good, so I looked around and asked,
“Is there a carriage waiting?”
“No. We sent it back.”
I wanted to take the carriage I came in back home, but with no knights around, that was difficult. I lightly tapped Sirinyu, who was standing next to me, and asked,
“Do you have a carriage?”
Sirinyu nodded. Relieved, I quickly spoke up,
“Could you take Miss Eloy home?”
“And you?”
“What about Miss Selene?”
The two of them stepped forward simultaneously, as if interrogating me. I instinctively took a step back and said,
“No, I need to wait for the others who came with me.”
Eloy seemed to think for a moment at my answer, then snapped her fingers and said,
“Let’s leave a message.”
With that, she approached the corkboard on the wall in front of the Information Guild. Pulling out a piece of paper, she wrote a message and pinned it to the board. I stood behind her, watching.
Then, after a brief glance at the board, she took a piece of paper off and put it in her pocket.
“Huh?”
Blinking in surprise at her unexpected action, I lowered my gaze as she turned her body. It seemed like she had hidden it secretly, and I saw no reason to acknowledge it.
“I’ll head back on my own.”
I looked up at Eloy’s words.
“Really? Is that okay?”
“Yes. I remembered something I left earlier.”
Eloy smiled brightly and gave me a wink. It seemed like she wanted me to keep what happened earlier a secret, so I nodded and turned away.
After greeting Eloy, I walked toward Sirinyu. The carriage door was open, and Sirinyu was standing next to it, presumably having called it earlier. I got into the carriage with his escort.
Sitting across from me, Sirinyu stared at me intently before speaking.
“So, what were you doing there?”
I glanced at him briefly and then turned my gaze out the window. I didn’t plan to tell him why I had gone there, so I dodged the question.
“And you, Your Grace? From what I heard from Miss Eloy… were you following me?”
I rolled my eyes slightly at Sirinyu, who continued to stare at me.
“I came to see you.”
“Hah.”
I couldn’t help but snicker. Strange flirting… here we go again. Since talking was pointless, I decided to just enjoy looking at his face.
As I stared blankly at Sirinyu, he blinked, seemingly flustered.
‘Cute.’
Time passed without me noticing, and before I knew it, the carriage had stopped.
“Why here…?”
I had naturally assumed it was our mansion, but it was an unfamiliar place. Though I wasn’t told, it was clear at a glance that this was Sirinyu’s mansion.
Not as grand as his northern mansion, but built of black bricks and majestic, it seemed to bear the sign of Sirinyu’s capital residence.
When I looked at him, Sirinyu opened the door, stepped out, and shrugged his shoulders.
“Since we met with such difficulty, how about some tea?”
What is he planning? I narrowed my eyes and stayed seated in the carriage. Sirinyu raised one corner of his mouth and fluttered his hand toward me.
“How can you have tea without a prior invitation?”
I was desperately trying to get home quickly. At that moment, the mansion gates swung open, and a familiar face appeared.
The butler’s perfectly creased uniform gleamed as if someone had turned the word “butler” into a person. He approached with elegant strides, hurrying yet never running.
“Miss Weden.”
Though his voice was calm and low, he looked clearly excited. I awkwardly nodded, and Sirinyu raised his mouth into a grin and flicked his hand once.
Pretending not to notice Sirinyu’s hand, I heard the butler speak.
“I did not expect your arrival, but the capital residence of Lefrix is always ready to welcome Miss Weden.”
When the butler bowed politely, I could no longer resist. I held Sirinyu’s hand and stepped out of the carriage. His handsome face grinned mischievously, which somehow annoyed me.
Inside the mansion, I was smoothly guided to the parlor. Dessert and tea were prepared as if they had been expecting me. I sank into the comfortable sofa, hugging a cushion.
‘Pink… with a ribbon?’
Seeing a cushion with a pink ribbon, I had a question mark pop into my head but decided to stop thinking about it. The pink color naturally reminded me of Eloy’s hair. I recalled how Eloy and Sirinyu had been standing side by side earlier, feeling a twinge of regret.
“It would have been nice if Miss Eloy had come along too.”
I suddenly spoke, and Sirinyu furrowed his brow. Sitting with one leg crossed elegantly, he looked like a painting; I blinked, mesmerized.
‘A painting? No… it moves…’
As I blankly watched him, Sirinyu looked puzzled and asked,
“Why that woman?”
“Why ‘that woman’? You shouldn’t talk like that.”
“…”
“And don’t look as if Miss Eloy were a man either.”
Perhaps from meeting him often, or from observing him steadily, I felt like we had grown somewhat familiar. I couldn’t help but make a joking remark.
‘Will he frown again?’
Contrary to my expectation, Sirinyu chuckled, rose from the sofa, and picked up a teacup.
“So, why should there be anyone else here besides you?”
“Well…”
One cannot live alone forever. I reached for a cookie on the table.
“How about throwing a party?”
I couldn’t understand it myself, but parties seemed to be the fastest way for people to become close.
“Why?”
“People like parties.”
“Do you like them too?”
I stuffed a cookie in my mouth, and the sweetness made me widen my eyes and shake my head.
“You don’t? Then why should I?”
After swallowing, I reached for another cookie.
“It’s good to get along with people.”
“What do you like?”
I picked up a different cookie and sighed.
“I just want to lie at home…”
“Excuse me.”
The butler entered the parlor with a large tray, bowing politely.
“It is a custom from abroad, but there are parties held where long sofas are brought so guests can lie down.”
I looked at him, dumbfounded. No, I just want to lie in my home sweet home. Why mix it with a party?
Before I could respond, Sirinyu, leaning against the sofa, spoke.
“So, if we throw that kind of party, you’d like it?”
No. Naturally, with a cookie in my mouth, I couldn’t answer. I had never realized how frustrating manners could be when food is in your mouth.
I waved my hands frantically, but Sirinyu and the butler started whispering together, excluding me.
“Could we even get that kind of sofa?”
“It can be made if we commission it.”
Great… doing their own thing… no, wait, there’s nothing here like that.
‘What would they even play here?’
While I had this random thought, Sirinyu looked at me seriously and said,
“Then let’s have that party.”
No, we’re not having it. Just as I swallowed my cookie and was about to speak, a footman entered the parlor.
“A guest has arrived at the Weden Mansion.”
Standing behind the footman was Arkas. I jumped up in delight.
“Brother!”
Arkas smiled at me and greeted Sirinyu.
“I’ve come to fetch Selene.”
Sirinyu didn’t rise from the sofa but gestured for me to go ahead. I bowed slightly and walked toward the parlor door.
I noticed the butler staring intently at Sirinyu. Without saying a word, he just looked, and Sirinyu clicked his tongue, got up, and approached me.
I looked at him in bewilderment.
“Here.”
Sirinyu extended his arm toward me.
‘Is he offering an escort?’
I smiled and placed my hand on his arm. Arkas went ahead toward the entrance, and I followed with Sirinyu.
At the entrance, just as we were about to step outside, Sirinyu placed his hand over mine and said…
