Chapter 51
“…In this rain?”
I looked over his shoulder as I spoke. The rain had eased somewhat by now, but just a few dozen minutes ago, it had been pouring like a torrent.
To think he was out here cooling his head in hail-like rain. Rather than cooling, it seemed more likely his head would shatter into pieces.
I couldn’t hide my skeptical gaze as I stared at Apollyon. He blinked frantically and spoke hastily.
“Th-I’m serious.”
For once, he answered without hesitation.
Seeing him respond immediately without stammering made him seem truthful. His pupils, as always, danced violently.
I stared deeply into his eyes, which seemed like the melted colors of the dawn sky. Then Apollyon slightly turned his head to avoid my gaze.
‘Aha.’
Something smelled suspicious.
Normally, I might have let it slide, but not now.
Right now, I had already been caught in all sorts of ridiculous and shameful states by him. It wouldn’t do for only me to be exposed.
I quickly composed my expression and put on a kind, gentle, “wife-like” tone.
“Cooling your head in the rain… Did something happen?”
I spoke casually, but my eyes scrutinized him with relentless curiosity.
“J-Just… I had a lot on my mind.”
“Not just a little, I think?”
As I said that, I scooted closer to Apollyon. He flinched and stiffened.
“How much must you have been thinking to stay up this late? To even stand in the rain?”
“Just… various things… this and that…”
“What do you mean by ‘various things’ and ‘this and that’?”
In the past, he would have kept his lips sealed as if glued shut, but lately, he had changed a bit.
He still found it difficult to have a private conversation with me, but he no longer avoided interaction altogether.
So I decided to cling a little more, to nag a bit.
“Tell me so I can understand too. We’re husband and wife, after all.”
“……”
“Don’t you know that spouses are of one mind? If it’s an important worry for you, then it’s very important to me too.”
Blink-blink.
I said that while blinking my big, sparkling eyes.
A wink might have been too much, but this seemed fine. And at night, it probably wasn’t so obvious.
Besides, my eyes are pretty!
I thought that if I shone them at him like this, maybe he’d tell me.
“…One mind?”
“Yes.”
“That this worry of mine is important to you as well… is what you’re saying?”
“Of course.”
I nodded firmly.
“I see…”
He trailed off, staring into the distance. He seemed deep in thought.
I pressed myself closer to Apollyon. He slowly shifted his hips to move away from me.
‘What the…’
I thought he might finally speak, but suddenly the conversation seemed to end.
Of course, I never expected him to give a perfect answer, but I had hoped a little, so it was disappointing.
‘Still, this is a huge improvement.’
In the past, he wouldn’t even answer yes or no, keeping silent with tightly closed lips. Now he expressed himself, at least trying to answer when asked.
‘Yes, well done, Apollyon!’
I looked at his side profile with a mixture of pride, delight, and slight disappointment.
Though it was only his side, hidden behind a mask, only his ears and jawline were visible.
“The rain will soon stop.”
He spoke quietly, and I glanced outside the gazebo.
The downpour was easing, and the clouds that had covered the sky had cleared.
The surroundings brightened a little, and the moon, hidden behind the clouds, peeked out.
I looked at his hair, shining deep violet under the moonlight. The moonlight reflected his rounded crown, plump earlobes, and sharply sculpted jawline.
“…Huh?”
Then I noticed something strange.
“Why is that?”
Apollyon asked, his voice casual, but under the bright moonlight, his ears were excessively red.
Then I noticed his neck and hands were flushed red too.
‘…This guy?’
I poked Apollyon’s side with the handle of a fork. Startled, he crumpled up like a big sheet of paper.
“Wh-Why…?”
Poke.
I poked his side again. He twitched and shuffled sideways.
If anyone else did this, it would look ridiculous, but with his sleek, agile body, he looked elegant, like a dancer.
Poke.
I poked once more, and this time he sprang up from his seat.
I looked him over calmly, standing in the direct moonlight.
His shirt, soaked in water, was half-dry now. You could almost see the contours of his body through the thin fabric.
‘He’s hiding something.’
It was instinct.
Apollyon was shy and blushed easily, but this was extreme.
I hadn’t even done anything overtly flirtatious, yet he was blushing this badly.
And he had been standing in pouring rain. He wouldn’t tell me what was wrong. He was definitely hiding something.
“Why are you like this?”
I tilted my head and asked. He replied with a sulky expression.
“You poked me with the fork, didn’t you?”
He sounded indignant, as if saying, “You did it first.” He even looked unjustly wronged.
I looked at his wet hair, red lips, and long neck before speaking.
“No, something’s definitely strange.”
I squinted at him.
“Why are you acting so weird today?”
“……”
“You jump at the slightest move when I come close.”
“……That never happened.”
He avoided my gaze.
‘Never happened my foot…’
“You’re bright red.”
I pointed to his neck and hand. He hurriedly covered his neck with his hands, but they too were red.
“Be honest. Are you hiding something from me?”
“……”
“Something you can’t say?”
I stood up to meet his gaze. Having been crouched for a long time, I wobbled slightly, and he reached out to catch me.
“…!”
And yet he was startled. Why even reach out to catch me?
I stared silently at him.
Perhaps more than the chattering beside me, my gaze made him uneasy. His face grew even more troubled.
He opened and closed his lips several times, hesitated, then finally let out a deep sigh.
“Actually…”
“Yes. I’m listening.”
“Uh… it’s because of… the book.”
“Pardon?”
I added, “It’s too quiet to hear,” and he wiped his face with his hand.
“It’s because of the book you gave me…”
“Hm?”
A book I had given him?
I tilted my head, frowning. I couldn’t remember giving him any book that could cause such serious worry.
“Didn’t you send me a book through the servants recently?”
“Oh.”
I remembered buying the book for Apollyon at the bookstore and instructing the servant to deliver it.
But was any book I gave him serious enough to make him fret like this?
I tapped my cheek with a finger, pondering.
“Why? What’s the problem?”
He pressed his chin and asked stiffly, then swallowed hard.
“Do you… like such things…?”
“Huh? What do you mean, ‘such things’?”
I looked at him wide-eyed, but he couldn’t meet my gaze and turned his head sharply.
I frowned. What kind of question was that, cutting everything off like this?
“Stop speaking in fragments. Tell me properly what happened. Then I can answer or defend myself.”
I chose to ask directly. I had no clue what was troubling him.
“……So, the book I gave you is the problem, yes?”
He nodded vigorously.
“Hm, the books I gave you were… ‘Our Curious and Inquiring Sex,’ ‘For Adolescent Teens,’ and ‘Toward Elegant Etiquette,’ I think?”
“……Four books.”
“Huh?”
I was picturing the books in my head, when he finally spoke, looking somehow pitiful.
‘Four books?’
“Four books? No, it should’ve been three…”
“‘Our Curious and Inquiring Sex,’ ‘For Adolescent Teens,’ ‘Toward Elegant Etiquette,’ and…”
“……”
I swallowed hard, waiting for what came next. His serious expression made me tense.
“…‘Summer Forest.’”
“‘Summer Forest’?”
“Yes.”
“‘Summer Forest’? What…?”
I couldn’t finish my sentence because I remembered what kind of book “Summer Forest” was.
“…Oh no.”
