“Yes, understood,” Maeta replied. Olga set the teacup down and looked at the almost empty cup of red tea, lost in thought. Her son was a bright child. Therefore, she believed that he would soon come to his senses and not pay attention to such a servant. But if he couldn’t, then…
Her eyes sank coldly. The maid, who sensed what Olga was thinking, awkwardly smiled. The young master should come to his senses quickly. She silently worried about it.
* * *
It took exactly three months for the child to recover. Nox carefully watched over Khalid until he could work properly again, and Khalid quickly got up as if repaying him. By the time the child got up, it was the hot summer.
Khalid, with a body even healthier than before, ventured out into the city. On a day when heavy rain poured down, preventing him from participating in knight training, he spent the whole day stuck in his room.
Since there was plenty to study, Nox immersed himself in writing between the pages of a book for the first time in a long time.
Tick-tock.
At that moment, a cup of tea was placed on Nox’s desk. When Nox raised his head, Khalid was standing there, holding a teapot. Nox gestured lightly as if telling him to put down the teapot, and Khalid put the teapot on another table and approached him.
Then Nox asked, “Can you read?”
“Oh, no….” Khalid shyly lowered his head, but Nox thought it was natural. Commoners, busy with the necessities of life, usually did not know how to read. So, Nox gestured for the child to come closer and took out a blank sheet of paper. Then, after picking up a pen, he spelled out basic letters and said, “I’ll teach you how to read.”
“Really?”
“Don’t want to?”
“No, no. I’m okay!”
Khalid nodded vigorously. His grayish golden hair shook like a puppy’s. Nox unknowingly reached out and stroked his hair. The child’s face turned pale. In response, Nox unconsciously touched the child’s ear with his fingertips.
“Oops.”
Khalid either felt embarrassed or ticklish, so he slightly hunched his shoulders with a face that showed uncertainty. Nox looked at the child quietly and then removed his hand. He said casually, “What’s on your mind?”
“Uh, nothing….”
It was just an excuse. The child touched his reddened ear as if he were embarrassed. Nox remembered the sensation that touched his fingertips. And he looked at the pale face.
I feel good being loved by the child now. It was a selfish thought. The fact that he raised feelings that he couldn’t reciprocate to such an extent was in itself.
“It’s kind of funny.”
A foolish father, an overbearing mother. The noble family, seemingly perfect on the surface, was like an empty safe. In there, a child like a soft thread was so good to have. It felt so good to be loved. To feel like becoming someone who could be loved. Nox interrupted his thoughts and opened his mouth again.
“Like this….”
Nox went through each letter, teaching Khalid pronunciation. Khalid learned quickly and memorized well. He desperately followed Nox’s fingertips. Nox didn’t know. The fact that the child’s gaze was focused not on the letters but on his fingertips. The fact that he proudly made the neatly trimmed fingernail at the end. The fact that the child’s heart had changed more than he thought.
“You’re quite good.”
“…Yes.”
The child made an effort not to be caught in that fact. Young master, if you knew how much I like you, you would probably be surprised. Although she wanted to say such words someday, he understood. That it was something like an eternal, unreachable affection.
‘But…’
It didn’t seem to matter. It was okay as long as he could see the child growing up, becoming an adult bigger than himself, by his side. Even if the child didn’t pour affection on him forever. Or…
‘Even if he marries someone else.’
It seemed okay. Nox and Khalid spent peaceful times together. Nox was affectionate towards Khalid, unlike when dealing with others, and Khalid devoted himself to him. It was a perfectly drawn time.
The damn father didn’t show his face for a while, the family was stable, and even the weather after the rain stopped was good.
But one day, as if announcing misfortune, the strong mother suddenly fell ill.
* * *
It was the fifteenth winter. The tree branches were dry, and the ground had frozen cold. The chilly wind, brushing against the clothes, made people huddle, and in such a season, the sudden illness of the mother shook the family enough.
“Get out!”
Bang!
The flowerpot Olga threw narrowly missed the maid and hit the wall. The maid screamed and sat down. Olga, looking at her trembling arm after throwing just one vase, cursed herself.
Fantasy, BL/Lesbian.
