“Really?”
Aisha was a little surprised as she watched Luzbel honestly lay out his thoughts.
She had said it in passing and hadn’t expected him to take it seriously.
She had only hoped he would think about it a little.
“Yes. So, I am going to try as well.”
“That’s a good decision!”
“I asked Monet for advice, and he said I should smile when I see him… Would something like that be all right?”
“It would!”
His face was full of decadent allure, but when he smiled at her, a gentle warmth seeped in.
If it was that kind of feeling, wouldn’t Jeron feel a little more at ease than he did now?
“I see.”
“When Jeron comes, try smiling at him.”
“Yes. I will try.”
Even though it was just smiling, he wore a resolute expression as if it were an enormous undertaking.
As she chuckled softly at how cute and amusing it was, Jeron barged in after finishing his lesson.
“Uh…!”
Having rushed in assuming Aisha would be alone, Jeron hesitated at the sight of an unfamiliar uninvited guest.
“…”
Not only did he hesitate, but his expression turned subtle.
“What is it?”
“Huh?”
“Did I do something wrong?”
Jeron asked.
His gaze was directed squarely at Luzbel.
‘Wasn’t he smiling?’
Wondering what that question was about, she turned her gaze aside to check Luzbel’s expression.
“…Eek.”
It looked like the devil’s smile.
Aisha gasped in shock, sucking in a breath.
“Is something wrong?”
But the person in question was smiling, pulling up only the corners of his mouth, with a look that suggested he had no idea.
“…C-Could you maybe smile with your eyes too?”
“Pardon?”
“Your eyes and your mouth are moving separately.”
“…”
After lightly touching the corner of his own mouth, Luzbel then smiled as Aisha had said, folding his eyes halfway as well.
“Eeeeeek.”
Jeron pressed himself tight against Aisha’s side, trembling all over.
“Why is he like that? Seriously?”
“…”
He was definitely smiling, but what was with that atmosphere?
That smile was so intense that even the devil would back off.
“Is it strange?”
“…”
But he himself seemed unaware of what was wrong.
This was bad.
***
“You want to get close to me?”
If he couldn’t express friendliness through his expression, then he would use honesty as his weapon.
“Why all of a sudden?”
He didn’t seem particularly pleased.
“Because I realized I was wrong.”
“…Only now?”
“Only now.”
Jeron wore a sulky expression.
Even so, he didn’t avert his gaze, as if trying to gauge whether Luzbel was sincere.
After a moment of silence, Jeron thought that Luzbel looked serious.
“You really mean it…?”
“I do.”
“…Is this really a conclusion you came to thinking only about me?”
“…To be honest, Aisha’s opinion played a small part too, but the conclusion was mine. I have never received familial love, so I don’t know how to give it either.”
“…You never received it?”
“Yeah. My father, the man who would be your grandfather, had a personality similar to mine.”
Two people with a personality like Luzbel’s?
Jeron first widened his eyes as if he couldn’t believe it, then, as if thinking that he might have followed a similar path had it not been for Aisha, he slowly spoke.
“Do whatever you want.”
“Hm?”
“…I don’t know, so just handle it yourself.”
“So you’re allowing it, then?”
“What is there for me to allow? Just do whatever you want…”
Honestly, neither the child nor the father was very good at being honest.
Aisha, feeling that this was a positive response despite the prickly attitude, met Luzbel’s gaze and grinned.
“You will do fine.”
“…Hmph. Just don’t smile frighteningly like earlier.”
“F-Frightening…?”
“Just keep a natural expression, like you are now.”
“I understand…”
In any case, it seemed like things between the two of them would work out without turning bad, and Aisha found herself in a good mood.
***
Jeron found it difficult to fully trust Luzbel, even if he trusted Aisha.
It didn’t seem like he was lying, but it was also true that it was too sudden.
He wanted to know what he was really thinking.
He couldn’t bring himself to say something like not to pull any tricks in front of Aisha, so he came to see him separately like this.
“What is it?”
“…Do you really want to get close to me?”
“Haven’t you already accepted that?”
“…You have some other motive, don’t you? What did Mom say?”
“I have no ulterior motive. Everything I said earlier was all there is.”
He tried to appeal as if asking him to believe him, but that attitude only deepened Jeron’s suspicion.
Seeming to realize that unless he made him accept this, they wouldn’t be able to get closer, let alone become friendly, Luzbel let out a deep sigh.
“Fine.”
“So there is something after all?”
“…There is something, but what I told you was sincere too.”
That much did seem true.
However, Jeron’s suspicion that it wasn’t the whole story was also correct.
“So what is it, then?”
“…It’s about Aisha.”
“Please tell me.”
Hearing that it was about Aisha only made him want to listen more.
“…Aisha doesn’t know yet. I’m only making a guess myself, but it occurred to me that Aisha might have a dual personality.”
“Dual personality?”
At the unfamiliar term, Jeron tilted his head to the side.
But wasn’t there a kind of instinctive feeling one gets?
“Is that why Mom changes?”
“…That’s what I suspect.”
“…So she could change again?”
“Nothing is certain yet, so there is nothing we can know for sure.”
Luzbel didn’t give a definite answer, but he seemed to be thinking, at least halfway, that Aisha had a dual personality.
Someday, Aisha would change again.
He felt the vague fear he had only thought about before swelling up once more.
“What should we do?”
“I don’t know either. I’m only trying to do everything Aisha wants to do, thinking it might help.”
Jeron had eyes and ears too.
He had seen the suddenly changed Aisha, and he had heard the servants whispering.
That she and Luzbel had originally been distant.
“Mom is sick because of you, isn’t she?”
“…”
At the question that struck right at the core, Luzbel wore a pained expression, and Jeron hesitated for a moment.
But there was no excuse.
“That’s right. Everything ended up like this because of me…”
“…”
“Even so, I…”
He couldn’t finish the sentence, but it was clear what he wanted to say.
Jeron didn’t know why the two of them had no choice but to drift apart.
However, at the very least, he could tell that Luzbel’s feelings toward Aisha were sincere.
“All right.”
Jeron held out his hand toward Luzbel.
“Let’s form an alliance, the two of us.”
“An alliance?”
“…We are on the same side until Mom gets better. We can pretend to be close or whatever.”
He believed that when it came to caring about Aisha, he was second to none.
“An alliance is fine, but my desire to get close to you is sincere as well, so I will make an effort for that too.”
“…Handle that on your own.”
Only then did Luzbel let out a short chuckle and clasp Jeron’s hand.
And so, an alliance unknown to Aisha was formed.
***
Deikan’s mind was a mess.
The Madam he had thought to be a gentle person was actually someone with a dual personality?
What kind of twist was this supposed to be?
On top of that, family issues were scattered everywhere.
A family that had to rebuild their relationships with one another from the very beginning.
The more he looked, the more problems there were.
What felt even more serious was the fact that Luzbel seemed inclined to stand by and do nothing about the issue concerning Aisha, which Deikan believed to be the central axis of all of this.
“Hoo…”
What good was finding the name of the illness when Luzbel seemed satisfied with the current situation as it was?
Of course, even after saying that, he still looked quite conflicted, but at any rate, it was clear that he had no intention of pursuing treatment right away.
To be honest, Deikan even considered secretly seeking out Aisha and laying everything bare.
After all, Luzbel doted on Aisha to the point of losing his head, so he wondered what might happen if he explained things well to Aisha and asked her to protect him.
— Don’t even think about secretly going to see Aisha.
No sooner had he had that thought than Luzbel, as if he had already taken everything into account, issued Deikan a firm warning.
— No matter how much Aisha shields you, I will kill you.
As he spoke, Luzbel’s eyes gleamed with a savage light.
It was the gaze of someone who would kill no matter what. Even if he couldn’t kill him in front of Aisha, it felt as though he would be dealt with one way or another, even if it meant being driven out in secret.
In the end, curing Aisha’s illness required staying alive.
He excluded the option of confessing everything honestly. Having been struck head-on by that killing intent, he had no choice.
Then what remained was only one thing: making Luzbel realize on his own that treating Aisha would be better.
In the end, there was only one method.
If Aisha continued to show similar symptoms again, he would want to treat her.
For now, that seemed to be the best option.
“Kyaaaah!”
Just as Deikan was lost in thought like that, the power suddenly went out, and a scream that seemed to tear through the corridor rang out.
Startled, Deikan kicked off from his seat and rushed out.
Where was that sound coming from?
A blackout. Aisha.
“No way?”
Deikan hurriedly ran toward where Aisha was.
***
Aisha was blankly gazing out the window.
She liked rainy days, and here it really did rain every day, so she could see it to her heart’s content, which was nice.
She didn’t know why, but hearing the sound of rain calmed her heart.
She also liked the scent of grass and soil on rainy days.
Just like any other day, after finishing her tasks and returning to her room, Aisha would sit on the windowsill and spend time looking outside.
“Do you like rainy days that much?”
Mika asked, sounding curious.
“I do.”
Still, when it rained to an excessive degree at times, it did make her a little worried.
After all, there were people living in this Valencia territory too, and if it rained heavily, the damage would be great.
At that moment.
Tududududuk.
The gentle sound of rain suddenly grew fierce.
“Ah, it’s suddenly raining a lot.”
“We should close the window.”
No sooner had the worried thought crossed her mind than the rain began to pour down like madness.
Seeing her being drenched in the cold rain, Mika quickly stepped in, closed the window, wiped Aisha’s body with a towel, and draped a shawl over her shoulders.
And then, at that moment.
As if it couldn’t withstand the suddenly intensified rain, the power went out once again.
“Madam!”
Startled, Mika called out to Aisha.
“Are you all right?”
Her vision darkened, and as she struggled to adjust, she groped around and grabbed Aisha’s arm.
But no response came.
“Lady Aisha…?”
With an inexplicable chill running through her, Mika cautiously called her name again, but…
“Kyaaaah!”
Aisha let out a scream that felt like it would tear her ears apart and slapped Mika’s hand away.
