Chapter 81
At the banquet, Maya happened to come in, and Seiren, who had opened her heart thanks to that, told Maya everything she had been holding inside.
“I can’t live like this anymore!”
Seiren Baker had lived her whole life in high society as if she were a delicate flower. She could not bear such humiliation.
She sought change, and that led to her runaway to the West.
“It’s dangerous to travel alone in times like these.”
Even if she wasn’t awakened, Maya was still a descendant of Pendragon.
Having made her very first noble friend in society, Maya could not simply let Seiren set off alone down such a dangerous path. She decided to go with her.
After arriving in the West, Maya heard rumors that real monsters existed there. Somewhere in her heart stirred a faint thought—perhaps she might see again that mysterious man who had slain a monster and vanished (a detail Maya herself had long forgotten). And so she set out.
What followed was exactly what Lyserfield later heard from Kendrick and Tristan.
Lyserfield was presented with a flawless script, with no loose ends.
“…I see.”
In the end, Lyserfield accepted it.
All the stories surrounding him were lies, yet he was completely fooled.
It was the exact opposite of the time when he had deceived Maya.
Of course, Lyserfield knew something was fishy. A situation that fit together too perfectly only bred suspicion.
But there was nothing he could grab hold of to challenge it.
He had not erased his doubts.
Everything now depended on how Maya Pendragon behaved from here on.
Dinner with Lyserfield was not exactly pleasant, but the food was good.
After the immense effort it had taken to defeat the monster, every bite tasted twice as delicious.
Tristan excused himself to go speak with Hayden about the future.
It was time for Tristan to take the stage.
After eating, Maya slipped into the bathtub. Her exhausted body melted into the warm water.
It was the first peace her heart and body had felt in a long time.
The sudden appearance of Lyserfield had prevented her from fully enjoying her earlier happiness, but only now could she feel it properly.
Kendrick didn’t die.
She had prevented the death she regretted most in her past life.
Now Kendrick’s future is unknown…
But she wished, with all her heart, that his life would be a happy one.
He said he had something to talk about.
Come to think of it, she remembered he had asked to meet later that evening to talk.
Hurriedly rising, Maya towel-dried her wet hair.
Suddenly, she recalled the image of Tristan coughing up blood.
Though he seemed fine afterward—perhaps because he had used healing magic on himself—was he truly fine, or merely pretending?
It would be nice if he could just be honest instead of always insisting he was fine.
The thought pricked her—because that was exactly what she often did herself.
Maybe after talking with Kendrick, I should bring him some warm tea or something.
As she thought this, she opened the door.
“Maya.”
Kendrick greeted her with a smile.
“When did you get here?”
“I couldn’t let you be the one waiting.”
“Thanks.”
Maya smiled faintly. How fortunate she was to be able to share words like this with Kendrick again.
“It might be troublesome if we go too far and Lyserfield sees us… why don’t we just talk in the room?”
At Maya’s suggestion, Kendrick nodded.
“Alright.”
Anything Maya said sounded good to him.
The room Maya and Tristan stayed in had a small sitting room that doubled as a parlor, and a bedroom separated by a door.
Maya and Kendrick walked through the bedroom into the parlor.
“You’ve never said before that you wanted to talk like this.”
As Maya sat on the sofa, she got right to the point.
“First of all… thank you so much for saving me.”
Kendrick lowered his head.
“If not for you, I would have died.”
“But that didn’t happen.”
Maya didn’t deny his words.
“So… was calling me here just to say thanks?”
It had been a long time since Kendrick had spoken with such seriousness.
“Maya, what am I to you?”
A straight question demanded a straight answer.
Kendrick asked what he had always wondered.
“You?”
Maya blinked, startled by the unexpected question.
Why would he ask that?
“You’re… a good friend. Someone I’ve known since childhood, and someone I want to know all my life.”
After a moment of thought, Maya answered honestly. Kendrick’s brows lifted and fell.
“Then what about the Grand Duke?”
“The Grand Duke?”
Why was Tristan suddenly brought into this?
“I wonder… if what you and the Grand Duke have is really still just a contract.”
Kendrick had noticed that Maya’s relationship with Tristan had definitely changed since the first time he had seen them together in the North.
Because Kendrick had always been sensitive where Maya was concerned, he felt that change even more keenly.
What had happened in the short time he’d been away?
“It’s clearly different from before, isn’t it?”
Maya nodded.
Many things had changed.
She had realized that she liked Tristan.
As the thought settled in her, her face flushed crimson. Seeing an expression on her face he had never seen before, Kendrick’s chest felt like it was about to burst.
“I think… I like him.”
For the first time, Maya voiced her feelings aloud. Her heart raced as she spoke.
The only reason she could say it was because her confidant was Kendrick.
The only person she trusted enough to bare her heart to.
Kendrick bit his lip hard.
Would it have been better never to wake from that nightmare?
What sweet words had that Grand Duke used to charm her?
Was Maya truly in love with him?
Why wasn’t he—the one Maya liked?
He was about to be rejected before even confessing.
Sinking into gloom, Kendrick asked:
“Why did you start liking him?”
Unless he knew the reason, he couldn’t accept it.
“Um…”
Maya thought carefully. But the truth was, there wasn’t a single clear reason.
She had come to like him in every moment they shared together.
“There are too many reasons.”
She thought of Tristan’s beautiful smile. His gentle voice.
That he was the one who had hosted her very first ball.
That he comforted her, saying even he had never had a debutante.
That he trusted her wholeheartedly, even without knowing she had turned back time.
That though he could have been consumed with breaking his own curse, he always stopped to ask for her opinion first.
How could she possibly put all of that into words?
Kendrick had always put Maya first. If her feelings were true, then he was prepared to respect them.
…Even if it meant crying into his pillow every night. Even if it meant burning with jealousy every time he saw her with the Grand Duke.
Maya’s happiness mattered most.
And so, the most important thing now was to know whether her feelings were truly real.
“Can you say with certainty that what you feel is genuine?”
“…Huh?”
Maya was caught off guard.
If she liked someone, then she liked them—how could one be certain about such a thing?
“Other than me, the Grand Duke is the first man you’ve ever gotten close to.”
“Mm…”
She couldn’t exactly agree. Kendrick didn’t know, but in the knights’ order she had met all sorts of men (though calling them “varieties” sounded strange).
And none of them had caught her interest.
“It’s not like there weren’t other men…”
Kendrick corrected himself:
“I mean, the first decent man—at least outwardly—besides me is the Grand Duke, right?”
He tried to sound calm, but his clenched fists trembled slightly.
“So I think you should take some time to think it over.”
Kendrick knew it was selfish. But he couldn’t stop himself from saying it.
It was his last fragile hope.
Maya didn’t fully grasp what he was feeling.
Is this some kind of aftereffect from having a monster possess him?
Even when fighting the butterfly monster, Kendrick had been calm.
Maybe the backlash was only hitting him now. Maybe this was why he seemed so shaken.
Still, she knew he was speaking from the heart.
And because she knew he was sincere, she couldn’t just brush it aside.
It was true she had been neglecting Kendrick ever since she started spending time with Tristan.
So she felt she owed him this much.
“…Alright. I’ll think seriously about whether I truly like Tristan.”
Maya rose and sat down beside Kendrick.
His shoulders were still trembling faintly. She patted them gently.
“Don’t cry, Kendrick.”
He hadn’t shed tears, his eyes weren’t red, his voice hadn’t cracked—yet Maya felt he was on the verge of tears.
“And don’t worry.”
“About what?”
“Even if I do like Tristan, nothing’s going to happen between us.”
“Why not?”
At that, Kendrick felt the tears that had been about to fall vanish in an instant.
