Chapter 85…
Clears was also frozen in place, startled by Ellie’s sudden appearance.
Kwaarang!
As if declaring the end of their game of tag, the sky roared again, and only then did the two of them blink.
At that moment, a tear that had been clinging to the corner of Clears’ eye rolled down.
“…Huh.”
Ellie let out a shocked gasp first.
“…Hic.”
Then Clears hiccuped.
As if the hiccup had been the fuse, his whole face instantly went up in flames.
“W–what are you doing here! Why did you enter my room without permission?! You kicked me out before! No, barging into someone’s bedroom while they’re sleeping is extremely—”
Ranting in embarrassment and anger, Clears suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
Even in his mortification, he instinctively realized there were certain words he must not say.
If I say that, Ellie might never come visit my room again for the rest of my life!
Another mistake like their first meeting could happen again.
Back then, he had drawn a line, saying it was rude to call his name freely—and because of that, it felt like he kept being pushed down in rank, from second place, to lower, to even lower!
If he set another rule now—“it’s rude to come in”—and pushed Ellie away again, what then?
He might fall out of the top ten… no, even below strangers!
That can’t happen!
Even as the lightning storm of embarrassment raged in his head because she had seen him crying, that thought came first.
“M-mi-mi-mi-mi, I’m sorry! It’s my fault!”
But Ellie was already in apology mode.
Even though he hadn’t said the word rude, the fact that he didn’t smile warmly upon seeing her made her immediately think she had done something wrong.
That’s right! I’m the one at fault!
She had entered someone else’s room without permission, lifted the blanket of someone sleeping, and tried to secretly look at his face. All of that was wrong.
When she wanted to do it, it hadn’t felt wrong at all—but seeing Clears angry made all the guilt crash over her.
Feeling a spoken apology wasn’t enough, Ellie clasped her hands together and bowed earnestly.
She hadn’t expected Clears to get this mad.
“I didn’t see anything! I’ll leave right now! I just… I felt bad eating popcorn alone with Rilcia, so I brought some for you, because I wanted to eat together!”
“…Popcorn?”
Clears pushed away the blanket and looked at the table beside the bed.
Just as Ellie said, a few pieces of popcorn were sitting on the table.
Ellie brought that… for me… herself?
His chest tightened, and this time he couldn’t speak.
Ellie mistook his speechlessness for lingering anger and quickly stood up.
Staying here any longer might make him angrier.
She had to leave right away.
“Clears, I’m going! Keep crying if you want! Ah—and I won’t tell anyone! I promise! So enjoy the popcorn and sleep well!”
Ellie turned toward the door.
“W-wait!”
Clears quickly grabbed her hand, stopping her.
“Huh? Why?”
She apologized, promised not to tell anyone, and gave him popcorn.
What else was left?
“You said you brought popcorn so we could eat it together!”
“Well… yeah. But you looked like you were sleeping, so I was just going to leave it.”
“I wasn’t sleeping, so you have to eat with me.”
Right now? In this atmosphere?
Ellie hesitated, unsure if she should sit back down or politely refuse like an adult and leave.
“You were just going to leave after seeing me cry? Without comforting me?”
“Oh.”
Right. You had to comfort someone when they cried!
Realizing what she had forgotten, Ellie hurried back.
“Popcorn makes crumbs… um… should we spread a blanket on the floor and eat there?”
“That sounds great!”
Clears wiped his eyes with his sleeve, came down to the floor, and pulled down his blanket.
Ellie grabbed the opposite corner to help, grunting softly as she worked.
Once they spread the blanket wide like a carpet and sat down, it felt like they were having a picnic.
Between them sat the few precious pieces of popcorn Ellie had brought.
Kwaaaarung!
Even while doing this, the sky continued its loud tantrum.
“Rilcia is standing guard outside.”
“The Berndt knights are in the next room.”
If any adults caught them, they would be dragged out immediately.
Ellie and Clears met each other’s eyes and giggled.
Their laughter was mostly covered by the thunder, but they still covered their mouths just in case.
Their earlier shock faded quickly, and once popcorn entered their mouths, it really did feel like a peaceful picnic.
A picnic inside a room on a stormy, thunder-filled night.
“It’s good, right?”
“Yes. It’s my first time eating popcorn right after waking up…”
“When my brother heard thunder, he always ate popcorn. Sometimes fried food too.”
Clears rolled a popcorn kernel in his hand, then popped it into his mouth.
Crunch.
The crisp sound filled his mouth.
They even waited for thunder on purpose so they could go crunch! louder after it.
Crunch! Heeheehee.
No matter how many times they did it, it was fun every time.
“I think from now on, whenever it’s raining and thundering, I’ll think of popcorn first.”
As they were almost done eating, Clears said this.
Ellie, picking popcorn crumbs off her fingers, suddenly turned her head.
Oh. Right. Clears’ parents!
Caught up in the popcorn fun, she had momentarily forgotten Clears’ tragedy.
The former Duke and Duchess of Berndt had died on a rainy day just like this.
Ellie finally understood why Clears had been crying.
There was no way someone as strong and brave as Clears would cry just from thunder.
“So… you were crying because of that?”
Just imagining it made her heart ache.
Tears welled up in Ellie’s eyes instantly.
“H-hey, why are you crying?”
“B-because… thinking about how hard it must’ve been for you alone…”
Sniffle, sniffle.
“N-no! I’m fine now.”
“I shouldn’t have let you sleep alone…”
“That couldn’t be helped! We’re different genders. That’s not your fault.”
Even though Clears said he was fine, Ellie wasn’t fine at all.
Sniffle sniffle sniffle sniffle.
“I… I promised I’d take responsibility for you, but I haven’t done anything…”
“I’m really fine now. And you came to see me, and we ate popcorn together. That is taking responsibility.”
“Really?”
Her sniffles stopped.
Clears secretly sighed in relief.
If Ellie actually started crying, he might cry too.
And he couldn’t show such weakness.
Luckily, Ellie stopped before it was too late.
“Yes. Of course. And… thank you for coming.”
…Except for lifting the blanket and staring at him while he cried.
But he left that part out for Ellie’s sake.
“Hehe! And thank you for welcoming me!”
She thought she’d be kicked out, but instead she got to have such a fun time.
Ellie rubbed her happily full belly.
Eating lots of popcorn really did make her full.
“Ugh… I think I ate too much.”
“Did you eat a lot before coming to my room too?”
“Mm-hm. I ate a little with the others, and a lot with Rilcia. So my tummy’s full.”
The gentle smile Clears had been wearing instantly froze over.
“…So the popcorn you ate with me was the last one?”
“…Huh?”
Ellie stiffened and slowly turned to Clears.
He smiled again when their eyes met—
—but his eyes were scary.
Ellie hadn’t done anything wrong, but she trembled like a guilty criminal.
“S-so… the last is the most important! The king always appears last! So because you’re the most precious, you’re last!”
The truth was she’d just snuck away from Rilcia, so he naturally ended up last.
But sometimes a comforting lie is better than the honest truth.
“…Hmm.”
Excellent choice.
The anger and disappointment in Clears’ eyes eased slightly.
Now he just needed one more sweet temptation to fully claim his victory.
“Um… then, I’ll stay next to you and lull you to sleep!”
Ellie said proudly.
“…Lull me… to sleep?”
“Yep! It’s still thundering outside. If I leave, you might get scared again.”
“I wasn’t scared! I was crying because I remembered my parents!”
Clears protested firmly.
“Oh! Right. Yes! You might get sad or angry again because you remember them! So I’ll stay until you fall asleep so you won’t think about it!”
Ellie did her best to persuade him while respecting his pride.
Clears’ heart wavered dangerously.
Babian and Juruna got the privilege of sharing rooms.
But if Ellie herself put him to sleep…
That was an even greater privilege.
Clears was already blinded by the thought of a privilege only he could have.
