IDIBC Chapter 27

Maybe, a Happy Ending?

Fortunately, Ricardo caught my waist and supported me as I was about to fall. No, perhaps it would have been more fortunate if I had just fallen.

When a large hand wrapped around a place rarely touched by others, I gasped without realizing it, my breath catching. I tried to shake him off, but he wasn’t fazed in the slightest. Instead, he put more strength into his hand and pulled me close to him.

“W-what do you think you’re doing right now?”

“Compared to you grabbing my wrist without my permission, this is nothing, isn’t it?”

“That was for a reason…”

“I’m also helping you so you don’t fall.”

“I’m grateful for that, but I’d be grateful if you’d let go now.”

“I don’t want to.”

In a state of being almost embraced, I glared at him sharply.

“Do you dislike this too?”

“Yes, I do. Didn’t you say you’d do anything?”

“What?”

“That’s what you said that night. That you’d do anything for me, without a thread of clothing, my feet…”

Reflexively looking around, I covered his mouth with the hand that had been holding his shoulder, pouring out every curse I could convey with my eyes as intensely as possible.

At that, Ricardo’s eyes widened briefly before his shoulders began to shake. Then he laughed with a refreshing sound, as if to etch himself into my eyes.

Suddenly, as if struck on the back of the head unexpectedly, my surroundings became hazy. And before I could stop it, my entire world filled completely with him.

In that moment, I thought: I’m doomed, completely doomed.

Perhaps there’s no going back to before I saw this face?

His straight, smooth forehead, the hair that swayed lightly whenever he smiled, the long eyelashes that captivated without any effort, the corners of his mouth that rose in perfect symmetry, the neat row of teeth within.

His jet-black eyes sparkling as if truly delighted, and the bright light surrounding him.

You’re really the same as ever. Still guilty of how you look, Ricardo.

Swallowing my inner thoughts like swallowing a sigh, I averted my gaze unnecessarily and muttered.

“You have a lot to smile about.”

He answered without wiping away his smile.

“I suppose so.”

I gripped his wrist that was on my waist to remove it.

“Lienne.”

But at the tenderly called name, I unknowingly stopped, still holding his wrist.

“You…”

He trailed off for a moment. Even that brief time seemed to flow slowly, as if it too had stopped.

“Do you like the emperor ending?”

“Ah…”

“You said the ending must always be an emperor ending.”

Where on earth did he hear that from?

“Will my answer have even a speck of influence on your life, young master?”

“No.”

“That’s just my taste in novels. To me in reality, His Majesty the Emperor and the Duke are all people who only appear in legends…”

Suddenly remembering that I was currently at the Duke’s residence, I closed my mouth. Now I might appear in that legend, even if just as a footnote.

“What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking… maybe I should change my taste in novels.”

“How?”

Now that I’ve entered the center of this novel, what use is an emperor ending? I just…

“An ending where everyone is comfortable and safe, an ending where that’s enough.”

“How can you even call that an ending?”

“Um… that’s…”

I briefly faced Ricardo. When our eyes met after avoiding them all this time, my heart that had been calm began to ripple like a dance. In the jet-black eyes I gazed at over the swaying waves, countless stars were sparkling.

Looking into those eyes, I thought: I just want you to… be happy. If that’s your ending, I’d want nothing more. So the ending I want for you is…

“Maybe, a happy ending?”

“Happy ending…”

Like someone voicing it for the first time in their life, he rolled the words around in his mouth several times with very awkward pronunciation.

“It suits you well.”

“What?”

“I’m saying such an ending suits you very well.”

In words that felt like a blessing at first glance, a sad conclusion was hidden.

The conclusion that your ending and mine will be different, that I won’t be in your ending. Even though it was an obvious thing to say, I couldn’t understand why it felt so disgustingly petty.

When I avoided his eyes again, the hand holding my waist suddenly tightened. Only then did I newly realize that he was holding my waist and I was gripping his wrist.

“I understand, so please let go now.”

“Lady Fennel, don’t speak formally to the maids.”

“What?”

Even as I heard the sudden words, I tried to remove his hand from my waist.

“Fine. But you could let go while saying such things…”

“You’re here as my guest.”

He meant that my actions were related to his prestige as well.

“Yes, yes, I’m honored that you call me a guest. But judging by your tone, it’s like you’re my master or something.”

As if his smiling face from moments ago was a lie, his expression hardened.

“Don’t be contrary.”

Does he not realize that the one being contrary is himself? But I, as the ultimate weakling, bowed my head instead of answering.

I felt him sigh softly above my head.

“You’ll be staying at the ducal castle for at least half a year.”

My head snapped up at the news I’d been waiting for. When our eyes met, he stared at me intently. Then the strength drained from the hand that had been stubbornly placed on my waist.

Instead, I moved closer to him.

“Half a year?”

“Yes.”

“Is that when the saintess will come? To the Duke’s residence?”

“Probably… though it’s something you mustn’t tell anyone.”

The timing of the saintess’s appearance was unknown to anyone except the head of the family. It was a forbidden topic to that extent. How did he know this? I wanted to ask, but my situation was too desperate to be curious about that.

“Half a year is quite a long time.”

The instruction not to speak formally to the maids must have meant that I should conduct myself well as his guest during this rather long period of staying in this household.

“I understand. I was planning to speak informally to the maids starting tomorrow anyway.”

He let out a laugh as if incredulous.

“It might be a bit longer than that.”

“What?”

“Because in a month, you and I will…”

Just then, crash, the sound of something falling came from the first floor. Probably the sound of a wooden ladder hitting the floor. The sound echoing through the quiet library was as loud as thunder.

Because of that, Ricardo and I hastily stepped a bit apart from each other.

It was probably the sound made by one of the maids who had been holding their breath on the first floor, unable to do this or that.

The commotion quickly subsided, and we made eye contact again against the backdrop of the returned silence. Ricardo was the first to break that awkwardness.

“By the way, when are you planning to let go of my wrist?”

“Ah!”

I was genuinely startled but didn’t let go of the wrist I was holding. At that, Ricardo looked at his caught wrist and furrowed his brow slightly.

With a playful smile still on his lips, he tilted his head as if asking what this meant.

“It seems you’ve chosen all the books you wanted to read. Do you want me to serve as a ladder some more?”

“That’s not it.”

I had always wanted to run away from him, but somehow, just this once, I couldn’t easily take that step.

“Aren’t you curious?”

“About what?”

“About how the kind savior becomes the emperor.”

Ricardo, whom I expected to chuckle as before, just stared at me silently.

‘Ah, what did I just say?’

I snapped to my senses at that cool, emotionless gaze. I seemed to have crossed the line for a moment out of gratitude for setting a six-month deadline.

“N-no, never mind. I shouldn’t disturb your rest any longer, so I’ll be going now.”

“I’m curious.”

Thud, my heart sank at words that were nothing special. The steps I was about to take stopped at his voice.

“Read it to me.”

After hesitating briefly, I gripped the wrist I was holding even tighter at words that sounded like a plea. I pulled slightly on the wrist that didn’t even fit entirely in my grasp, and he followed without any resistance.

Tap, tap, my chest sank heavily at his actions of following obediently wherever I led. I deliberately raised my voice more cheerfully.

“Since you don’t remember, I’m telling you this. Since childhood, when I read books to you, young master, you slept really well.”

“Did I?”

“Yes, sometimes you fell asleep before I even turned the first page.”

“I see.”

He answered somewhat languidly, like someone who had become sleepy from the moment his wrist was caught.

“Yes, that’s why I’m going to read to you. The reason you feel sleepy when you see me, young master, is probably because of that. That’s about all that existed between us two.”

“…”

“Of course, since you don’t remember, it has no meaning.”

“…Right.”

“Even if you had remembered, it’s just that much. So there’s really no difference. Between having memories and not having them.”

“Mm.”

He went to the sofa where he’d been lying earlier and stretched out his body. I watched him lie down and looked around. Seeing a chair in the distance, I dragged it over with a scraping sound.

With our backs to the bookshelf, settling side by side on the railing overlooking the first floor, it felt like we were the only two people in this world.

“You haven’t fallen asleep already, have you?”

It was like when we were young.

On a dark night with rain falling and thunder striking, with only the faintest light remaining in the room… he would lie down and I would sit. When I read a book, he would soon fall asleep.

“Of course not.”