TLVGAJ 46

~Chapter 46~

The trip in the Kingdom of Harmen ended in the blink of an eye.

Before I knew it, it was already time to get back on the train.

“Anyway…”

Eric, who had neatly escorted us to the front of the train, spoke while standing on the platform.

“It’s a shame I couldn’t show you more good restaurants. There are so many I wanted to recommend to you, My Lady.”

“…No, it’s fine. The one you showed me today was more than enough, Eric.”

After touring the temple, we had lunch with Eric, naturally at a restaurant he recommended.

It was a place that served a course meal inspired by the goddess Irene.

The dishes themselves were things you could often see in the West, but they were fun to look at and made with the kingdom’s best ingredients, so they tasted amazing.

Thanks to Eric’s recommendation, not only I, Sophie, and Deon, but even Fabian, enjoyed the meal with interest.

“All the restaurants you’ve shown me have been delicious. Thank you so much.”

Yes — there had been a moment before when Eric promised to introduce me to good restaurants.

Even if he didn’t show me as many as he had promised, thanks to him, I had been able to enjoy wonderful meals during this trip.

Eric smiled and gave a small bow toward me.

“Then, please return safely to the Empire, My Lady.”

“Ah… So, Eric, is your trip ending here?”

When I asked, noticing he didn’t seem like he was planning to board the train, he replied:

“Yes. I’ll be staying here. I’ve been traveling for quite a while, even though I’m technically on sabbatical. I plan to rest at the temple for now. The temple is basically my home.”

“I see…”

I nodded.

Well, if the train dropped me off near my home, I wouldn’t go all the way back to the Hashit Empire just to say the trip was “complete” either.

Now I could really feel the trip was ending.

I looked up at him.

So… this was really goodbye with Eric?

After the trip ended, I didn’t plan to meet any of the male leads again.

This was probably the last time I’d see him here.

‘He was my favorite male lead too…’

It felt a bit sad to part like this.

Thinking that, I held out my hand for a handshake.

“Thank you for everything and for being so considerate, Sir Eric Hedderson.”

I hesitated before adding something about my terminal fate.

After I told him about it, he didn’t bother me like Albert had, and instead kept his distance. I was thankful for that.

Thanks to him, I could enjoy the trip without feeling pressured to get involved with the male leads.

“…It’s nothing.”

Eric looked at me for a moment, then shook his head.

Bwoo—

The train let out a horn, signaling its departure soon.

Looking at the steaming train, Eric said:

“You should get on now.”

“…Alright. I hope you live happily from now on, Eric.”

It was really time to head toward the Hashit Empire.

After our final goodbye, I turned to board the train—

“Oh, right.”

Eric’s voice came from behind me, along with the sound of rustling.

“I almost forgot. I meant to give you this.”

Huh?

When I turned back, Eric was holding something.

“What is this?”

“…A handkerchief. I embroidered it myself.”

I looked at the small handkerchief in his hand.

It was big enough to cover an average woman’s hand, but in Eric’s large hand, it looked tiny.

On the surface was embroidery that clearly looked hand-stitched — a small forsythia flower.

“It’s a small return gift for the ornament you bought me in Sinks.”

“…Eric.”

I stared at him blankly. He twitched his eyebrow and said:

“I thought about you while stitching this.”

“…”

“As I embroidered each petal of the forsythia, I thought how much it resembled your bright personality.”

Eric’s gaze rested on the forsythia on the handkerchief.

“As for using me because of Albert… I don’t really care. But when you said you liked me, I didn’t expect that to be a lie. That’s… a little disappointing.”

“…Ah.”

A small sound slipped out of me. For some reason, my face felt warm.

Eric scratched his head and made a soft noise again.

“What I mean is… it just felt strange these past days. A lot.”

“So, are you planning to accept his confession?”

The moment I got on the train and the door closed, a man’s voice spoke.

It was Fabian, who had been mostly silent during our time in the Kingdom of Harmen.

“Huh? Co–confession? What confession?”

“It was obviously a confession. But he seems unaware of his own feelings.”

“No, it wasn’t! It was just… just a small gift.”

I quickly shook my head, denying Fabian’s words.

Eric’s sudden words had caught me off guard.

I had confessed to using him to get rid of Albert because I felt guilty — but he said he was disappointed the feelings weren’t real.

Could the steadfast second male lead, Eric, really have been swayed by me?

But my personality and fate were nothing like Emily’s…

‘Still…’

I looked down at the handkerchief with the forsythia.

I liked the gift — because Eric had put effort into it.

The thought of him embroidering each stitch with his large hands made me smile without realizing it.

…Since it was a gift from my favorite male lead, I’d treasure it.

Anyway, with the trip over, I probably wouldn’t see Eric again. I decided not to think too much about his last words.

“I’ll head to my cabin now.”

I carefully folded the handkerchief and slipped it into my dress pocket, then looked at Fabian.

“You should rest too, Fabian. Thank you for traveling with me.”

“…Whatever.”

Fabian just shrugged and turned to go into his cabin.

…Still, right now, Fabian was probably the only one who treated me without any ulterior motives.

Thanks to him, I had almost finished the trip safely, so I felt he was the one I was most grateful to.

‘Maybe… it wouldn’t be bad to see Fabian even after the trip is over…?’

Thinking that, I turned toward my cabin — and then I saw something.

I stopped walking.

‘Huh…?’

At the far end of the first-class car corridor, in the corner, an elderly woman was sitting.

What?

I tilted my head.

In front of the woman was a sign.

<Selling Matches.>

Looking closer, there were piles of matches in front of her.

The old woman sat quietly behind them.

‘…A first-class passenger? She doesn’t look like one at all.’

If she was a problem, the train staff would remove her.

But the passengers walking by didn’t even look at her.

It was strange — her being there didn’t fit with the luxury of the train, so you’d expect people to notice.

Even a staff member passed her without a glance. That made me start to feel uneasy.

‘…The floor must be really hard.’

After hesitating, I finally walked toward her.

“Ma’am, isn’t the floor too hard? Are you selling matches?”