Chapter 23 - Volume 1 (2/2)

His hair looked so alluring in the moonlight, his sunrise-colored eyes mixed with purple and orange glittering. Each and every single one of his facial features was of superior quality, arranged so magnificently not even the word ‘perfect’ was enough to describe them, on his transparent-like white skin. So beautiful.

Yulifalet didn’t have the words to describe all that. Agedilus, with his impossible to read expressionless face, was so absolutely beautiful to the point Yulifalet was speechless.

Just how long did they remain silent like that? It felt like a moment, and it also felt like eternity. Even so, Yulifalet somehow opened his parched mouth.

「……Oh, Agedilus, about earlier……」

Before he could continue with ‘I’m sorry,’ Agedilus had stepped up to him without hesitation. Yulifalet looked at him, barely managing to bear the instinct to step backwards in retreat. Agedilus stuck out his white hand in front of Yulifalet.

「Give it back.」

「Huh?」

「I’m telling you to give that back.」

「By 『that,』 you mean this?」

「What else is there?」

Agedilus said that in irritation, unusually exposing his feelings plainly. Yulifalet looked at him, comparing him and the handkerchief. Then he slowly held out the handkerchief to Agedilus. Almost at the same time, Agedilus snatched it from his hand instantly. Yulifalet wasn’t offended by it – rather, he was doubtful about Agedilus’s unusual state. Just like that, he brought up his doubts.

「Is that… handmade by someone?」

「That’s none of your business.」

「T-that’s, that’s right, I guess. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings. I was just a bit worried about you.」

Agedilus declared that so sharply, as if suddenly slashing him in half with a sword. Yulifalet felt like his heart might break. But, he’d experienced this many times on this trip. And on top of that, it wasn’t just Yulifalet. Agedilus used the same tone with Alhelm and Clementine too, so he wasn’t really that hurt.

Yulifalet awkwardly scratched his cheek, sheepishly laughing. Agedilus let out a sigh, and then softly muttered.

「It’s a gift from……」

「Huh?」

He didn’t hear it properly. Yulifalet tilted his head to the side. Agedilus turned away his face, as if trying to escape from those green eyes filled with curiosity. But the green eyes sparkled, awaiting Agedilus’s response. Finally being outlasted by those eyes, Agedilus half-sighed and half-spoke in his beautiful voice.

「I said, it’s from my fiancée.」

Yulifalet’s train of thought instantly stopped at those words.

「——Fiancée?!」

He couldn’t help raising his voice, bewildered. Agedilus furrowed his brows at the noise. But from Yulifalet’s perspective after having hit with the reality of that sudden shock, that reaction was a trifling matter.

「You, you have a fiancée?!」

「Is that bad?」

As he raised his voice, still in shock, Agedilus glared at him. That beautiful face already had an intensity to it, but it was all the more incredibly terrifying when it was deliberately faced towards you. But Yulifalet was in the middle of such a surprise that it even surpassed the fear.

「It’s not bad! But, really?!」

「Why would I lie about something like that?」

Agedilus spat that out; he could almost hear ‘are you an idiot?’ in his tone. ‘No, no, no!’ Yulifalet internally shook his head.

Considering Agedilus’s social status and position, it wasn’t strange at all for him to have a fiancée. Since Agedilus’s circumstances were different in just about each and every way from Yulifalet’s, who was nothing more than the heir of a small countryside aristocrat family. But, even so, he couldn’t help being shocked.

Was that because of the otherworldly, out of touch atmosphere Agedilus had about him? That air of pushing other people away. No doubt if someone carelessly touched that cold atmosphere, they’d get ripped apart. And someone like that, had a fiancée. Sooner or later he’d get married, and there was someone who was capable of being his life partner.

He couldn’t just believe that so easily. Even though Yulifalet had just realized in these weeks that Agedilus wasn’t just an indifferent person rumored about by society, he still couldn’t help thinking, ‘No way.’

But Agedilus ignored Yulifalet’s confusion, very carefully folding the handkerchief. He caressed the embroidery in the corner with his fingers, as if checking it.

How could he best describe Agedilus’s expression then? Yulifalet certainly was captivated by that expression. It was an expression completely different from the expression he showed Yulifalet and the others on this trip, this journey that couldn’t be called long but not short either.

That loving expression, imagining someone who wasn’t here, was the most beautiful expression Yulifalet had seen, even out of Agedilus’s expressions.

「——I see.」

Yulifalet muttered that. Agedilus gazed suspiciously at Yulifalet, having put the folded handkerchief inside a pocket in his robe. The delicate expression he had on earlier vanished, replaced with a glare as if he wanted to say something. Unintentionally laughing at how calculating that expression was, Yulifalet continued.

「I’m glad.」

「For what?」

「Nothing, I was just talking to myself. Don’t worry about it.」

The reason Yulifalet couldn’t help worrying about Agedilus until now was because he saw Agedilus as someone who pushed everyone away, staying alone.

Agedilus had naturally jet black hair. That meant that no one could help but being terrified of him, more or less. It was only natural he tried to stay alone to protect himself. And then, he slowly became really alone. Thinking that way made Yulifalet worry about him naturally.

But Yulifalet was wrong. Agedilus’s earlier gaze towards the handkerchief, his hand caressing the embroidery, had clearly shown Yulifalet that he did have someone he lowered his guard around.

Yulifalet couldn’t help being relieved, ‘Thank goodness.’ Being alone was lonely. It was sad. It made Yulifalet so happy to know that there was someone out there who held onto Agedilus as he tried to choose the path of solitude. He couldn’t help feeling relieved that Agedilus had someone out there who he could make that expression towards.

And at the same time, he was just a little annoyed. The several weeks they’d spent on this trip together couldn’t be called long, but they certainly weren’t short either. But now he realized that despite that, he still hadn’t gotten through to Agedilus.

「……Agedilus.」

「What?」

「Get ready.」

「Huh?」

Agedilus furrowed his brows as if to say ‘for what?’ But Yulifalet smiled and didn’t speak any more about it.

This was the night that Yulifalet’s fierce attack on Agedilus began. He started talking to Agedilus each and every single opportunity he got, followed him around like a baby bird clung to its mother, tried getting closer to him more and more.

At first, he was almost always ignored, but he wouldn’t give up. Then Agedilus began to reply to him with phrases like 「Cut it out.」 And then, eventually Agedilus started letting him do what he wanted, saying, 「Do as you wish,」 as if being outlasted by Yulifalet.

Alhelm would watch over the two of them, grinning broadly. Clementine would say, 「How charming,」 as if she was enjoying herself too.