CHAPTER 40………………………………………..
“No way.”
Could this be… separation anxiety?
After finishing the stew and bread I had for dinner, I went up to the bedroom and pondered seriously.
“He was there at the hardest moment.”
It was only natural that I’d become more reliant on him. I didn’t blame him for not understanding. It was like a baby bird, just opening its eyes, mistaking the person right in front of it for its mother. Perhaps Mathias was acting this way because no one had ever shown him kindness like this before.
So, he’s holding on just because we were apart for only half a day.
“He’s always been a little anxious about being apart.”
It seemed to have gotten worse after he got seriously injured in the last auction incident. He even admitted he was worried about getting hurt again. I guessed that might be why he wouldn’t let me go so easily.
“What should I do about this?”
If he were a pet, I could at least give him one of my clothes and slowly get him accustomed. Unfortunately, I had no idea how to deal with a person’s separation anxiety.
“Miss.”
At that moment, Sophia came into the bedroom, holding some documents.
“I heard that already three or four people have applied. I thought it’d be best to review them quickly and contact them, so I brought them over.”
“Good. Could you go again tomorrow afternoon and double-check just once more? You can rest a bit while you’re at it.”
“No, Miss. It’s fine. It won’t take that long.”
“Really, just go comfortably. You haven’t had a proper break lately anyway.”
Sophia, gently voicing her concern, hesitated for a moment before tentatively suggesting:
“How about finishing up your urgent tasks and taking a short break? Even if you can’t go far, maybe just the downtown area or the lakeside park would be fine?”
“Hmm—”
“You’ve worked so hard lately. You’ll only get busier from now on.”
Sophia offered this very sweet suggestion, grinning.
“Well….”
She wasn’t wrong. Right now, since I was just tidying things up and in the planning stage, I could steal a little free time. But once we started full-scale guild operations, I probably wouldn’t even have time to sleep.
If I wanted to rest, now—while I had even a little free time—was the perfect opportunity.
“Then maybe I should rest for a day or two.”
I couldn’t rest too long. I’d finish the urgent matters today or tomorrow. If it wasn’t for the interviews with the assistants, taking a short break wouldn’t be a bad idea.
“Alright, then.”
.
.
.
…Or at least, that was the plan.
I ran my fingers through my hair and glanced sideways at the man beside me.
“Aria.”
“!”
“Careful.”
Mathias, gently holding my shoulder, pulled me toward him. A passerby, narrowly missing us, bowed apologetically.
“I, I was supposed to…”
I had planned to walk alone.
Why had it ended up like this?
At first, I simply wanted to take a walk. I just wanted to stroll by the lakeside without thinking about anything. I had dressed comfortably for once and planned to take a quick round trip.
But when I actually stepped outside…
“Let’s go.”
Like a puppy thinking we were going for a walk, Mathias followed me and extended his hand.
“Y-you’re… coming with me?”
“…Not allowed?”
He cautiously looked around, as if asking whether I really wasn’t going to take him. I was momentarily speechless.
“Ah, no. It’s not that I can’t…”
What was this? Why did it feel like he was being pushy? I blinked late, but Mathias, now sticking close to me, smiled faintly.
“Let’s go.”
“…O-okay.”
Was this what they meant by “cutting your nose while keeping your eyes open”? I nodded absentmindedly and headed toward the lakeside with Mathias.
Then I remembered…
“I did say we’d go together before.”
When I had gone out to do some preliminary preparation for the plan, I had said something similar: that once everything was settled, we should go out together.
“Well, I might get bored walking alone anyway.”
In a way, it worked out. Since we were already out together, I decided it was best to just go along with it.
Being together wasn’t uncomfortable at all.
“Then, while we’re at it, shall we walk a bit and maybe look around the streets too?”
“Yeah.”
Mathias nodded obediently. Did he really agree with everything I said? He didn’t take his eyes off me and held my hand tightly.
“Mm.”
We both more or less tried to cover ourselves from view. Even at the quiet lakeside, there were still a few people around.
But with him holding my hand like a lifeline, I couldn’t just cruelly pull it away.
I hesitated briefly, then gave in.
“I’ll teach him later.”
What mattered now was giving him a sense of security. He was only just beginning to adjust to the outside world. Perhaps holding my hand was just his way of coping with the tension of being in an unfamiliar place.
Besides, maybe he wasn’t yet used to staying alone at the mansion. Thinking this way, I began to understand Mathias’s feelings, at least roughly.
But then…
“…Aria?”
I hadn’t expected to run into someone I already knew.
“…What?”
Until we stepped onto the lakeside path, it had been just the two of us. But when I blinked, there were three.
And of all people, the third person happened to be…
“Diane Odilon.”
Of all people.
The man Aria was once engaged to in the original story. Technically, my ex-fiancé.
I silently exhaled in relief.
If he hadn’t brought up Mrs. Odilon first… When we first met in the alley, I almost didn’t recognize him.
“I didn’t expect to run into you here.”
“I… neither did I.”
I nodded awkwardly, swallowing hard. To meet someone at leisure in a place like this, when everyone else must be working… it was quite the coincidence.
“I barely know him, so it’s fine for me.”
Still, from his perspective, meeting a woman he almost married could be awkward.
I stepped aside slightly with Mathias and asked,
“What brings you here?”
“This is a path I often used to walk.”
“I see…”
Damn. I thought I was the only one who liked quiet spots like this. Guess not.
“Then… you go ahead. I won’t get in your way.”
Setting aside discomfort, it would have been awkward for someone who had past connections with Aria.
Not that Aria was the main character, of course. As a minor character, I didn’t know all the details of their past.
Not wanting to lie, I gave Mathias a glance and started to move forward first.
But the moment I lifted my foot…
“Where are you going?”
“Excuse me?”
“I thought we were going for a walk.”
Diane then suddenly started leading the way.
“Let’s take a walk together for old times’ sake.”
