IYWHM Chapter 180

As Seyard felt it, their relationship had undergone rapid and highly positive changes since that day’s garden walk.

 

From then on, Kisa would often invite him first to enjoy refreshments together or to share a meal.

 

Needless to say, Seyard had no grounds or reason to refuse such invitations.

 

He dutifully accepted every invitation, spending blissful time before returning to his guest room.

 

Of course, compared to the past when she didn’t know the truth, there was much awkwardness between them that was difficult to express in words.

 

There was no physical contact or affectionate whispers, and for an engaged couple, their relationship was even dry.

 

Their conversation topics were mostly mundane matters, and intimate discussions were nowhere to be found, not even a speck.

 

Seyard was merely someone who briefly participated in Kisa’s daily routine like a guest before disappearing.

 

However, he dared not desire anything more than that.

 

More precisely, it wasn’t yet time to be greedy.

 

‘Not bad. No, rather good.’

 

He clearly remembered the painful mistake he had committed.

 

Hadn’t he told her too much at once, causing her to flee from his embrace?

 

Because of his childish wish for his beloved to accept him completely as he was.

 

His mind must have become twisted from waiting in silence for too long.

 

Seyard had been regretting his unwise choice from that time and had no intention of repeating the mistake.

 

Now that Kisa had finally allowed even a small piece of her heart, he couldn’t let it go wrong.

 

‘Leisurely, with composure. Let’s wait for the right time.’

 

He would also provide Kisa with the space to allow Seyard into deeper places within her.

 

He planned to gradually, bit by bit, infiltrate Kisa’s life.

 

Until the day came when he would become not just a visitor who dropped by briefly, but part of her daily life itself.

 

Humans are creatures of adaptation. Even if Kisa currently held rejection toward Seyard, time could become a solution.

 

Waiting was his specialty. He had already spent countless years silently waiting to obtain her, so there was nothing he couldn’t wait for longer.

 

‘This will be quite a long battle.’

 

For now, the goal he should aim for in the current situation was going out with Kisa.

 

He couldn’t be satisfied forever with activities shared only indoors.

 

Although Gabriel’s recital had ended as an unsuccessful performance, fortunately another opportunity had arisen.

 

Seyard planned to carefully observe the situation and seize that opportunity at the right moment.

 

It surely would have been so…

 

Surprisingly, it rolled into his hands without needing any effort.

 

“A restaurant, you said?”

 

At Seyard’s question, Kisa swallowed what was in her mouth and answered.

 

“Yes, a restaurant. Actually, there’s been a place I’ve wanted to visit for a while.”

 

This conversation arose while the two were having lunch together at Kisa’s invitation, as usual.

 

Thanks to increasing her meal portions following the doctor’s advice, Kisa had been diligently moving food to her mouth when she suddenly brought up a certain restaurant as a topic.

 

“It’s a famous place, so Seyard might know it too. Camellia Bridge Restaurant. As the name suggests, it’s located on Camellia Bridge.”

 

Seyard pretended to search his memory but recalled it immediately.

 

It was the place that none other than Kisa had shown enough interest in to cut out a related article while reading the newspaper.

 

Hillan’s faithful servants reported quite thoroughly each night to their master about what she had experienced throughout each day.

 

‘Among those reports, the restaurant story was treated as particularly important.’

 

From the servants’ perspective, they couldn’t leave out information that might become an opportunity for the two people’s relationship to recover.

 

Seyard had also, after hearing the report in preparation for any possible future, separately looked into information about the restaurant.

 

That place, which didn’t seem particularly special to him, appeared to have quite won Kisa’s favor.

 

“I saw it in the newspaper and it looked wonderful. The food is delicious too, and especially the scenery is supposed to be spectacular.”

 

Whether she had missed the possibility that he might have already heard about it from the servants, or whether she knew but decided to cover it up.

 

Either way, there was only one attitude Seyard would take.

 

“I see. I’m curious about what kind of place it is.”

 

He listened attentively to the story while playing innocent, and she smiled as she added a few more words.

 

And following the natural flow of conversation, finally certain words flowed from Kisa’s lips.

 

“So, when would be a good time for you, Seyard?”

 

She seemed embarrassed to speak and shifted her gaze from his face to her plate on the table.

 

Even this evening would be fine. He suppressed the urge to blurt that out and observed her complexion.

 

On her face, which had gained a little weight over the past few days, nothing could be read except for slight awkwardness.

 

‘Is that all there is?’

 

Or was the irrational emotion called love blinding his eyes?

 

“Well, I’ll need to check my schedule.”

 

Kisa smoothly responded to the answer Seyard gave after brief but intense consideration.

 

“Yes, please let me know after you check. As you know, I’m free anytime, so I’ll adjust to your schedule.”

 

The related conversation ended there.

 

After that, Kisa moved on to topics about Matera’s maritime climate, but Seyard had to remain in the same place.

 

He had been invited by Kisa to go out together.

 

Even after finishing the meal and returning to his guest room, he kept pondering that fact.

 

His mind, trained to be suspicious of everything first, habitually examined the possibility that some scheme might be hidden in it.

 

‘But it’s just a proposal to go to a restaurant.’

 

How much time had passed? He couldn’t prevent his lips from curving up ever so slightly.

 

Since the garden walk, Seyard felt like he was walking in a bright world overflowing with sunlight rather than in darkness.

 

If his heart had its way, it seemed he could go anywhere.

 

As long as it was with Kisa.

 

Once his contemplation ended, he called Gilliam without delay and checked his schedule for the next few days.

 

After listening to his aide’s complete report, Seyard brought up the main point.

 

“Remember that restaurant we looked into before? Kisa says she wants to go there.”

 

At those words, the expression of his loyal retainer, who considered his master’s joy as his own joy, brightened.

 

“Then shall I make a reservation for the earliest available day among those when you’re free?”

 

“…No, I have a different idea. Come to think of it, I think I saw in the newspaper that there will be fireworks in this city soon.”

 

“Ah, I saw that too. Indeed, they say that every year a festival including fireworks is held to commemorate St. Stiuna’s feast day.”

 

Muttering “Just a moment,” Gilliam stroked his shortly trimmed beard.

 

“The distance between Matera Central Park where the festival is held and Camellia Bridge isn’t very far, so the fireworks should be quite visible from there too.”

 

But the next moment, a sigh flowed from the old servant’s lips.

 

Seyard could easily know the reason without having to hear it.

 

“Unfortunately, there’s another appointment that day.”

 

“Yes, you’ve been invited to a banquet at the Duke of Aeipeu’s house. You’ve already replied that you would attend.”

 

Holding large and small gatherings on St. Stiuna’s feast day was a long tradition of this country.

 

The Duke of Aeipeu’s family had maintained deep friendship with Hillan over many years and was providing considerable help for Seyard’s comfortable stay in Octava.

 

Wasn’t it also the Aeipeu family who had connected him with the management of the royal concert hall?

 

Gilliam, who had watched his master’s love closer than anyone, asked carefully.

 

“Shall I ask for understanding that you won’t be able to attend due to unavoidable circumstances?”

 

Seyard, who had been silent for a moment, shook his head.

 

“The banquet starts rather early, so I can just show my face and leave.”

 

“Would that be alright?”

 

The servant was asking whether it wouldn’t matter not to spend more time with Kisa.

 

“Yes. That way it won’t be burdensome.”

 

Kisa had only slightly opened her heart.

 

If he approached without measuring the distance, he could clearly predict what her reaction would be.

 

If he couldn’t spend the entire day with her anyway, unnecessarily offending Duke Aeipeu would be an irrational decision.

 

“Slowly…”

 

Eventually, Seyard, left alone in the room, gazed out the window and murmured quietly.

 

Though there were some regrettable aspects, even that couldn’t harm the fullness growing in his chest.

 

Approaching step by step like this, someday the day would come when he could hold Kisa in his arms again.

 

Together as a child’s guardian, laughing and chatting beside her as if it were natural.

 

Just the vague imagination of the future made his heart flutter sweetly.

 

The time when Kisa had run away saying she disliked him, and the time when they had conflicts over the cure issue, felt like very distant past.

 

Now only happiness remained.

 

Just when his elation reached its peak, an uninvited guest visited his guest room.

 

“Your Grace, I have something to tell you.”

 

One of the servants assigned to Kisa, who was also the head supervisor, had a dark expression.

 

Seyard felt an uneasiness he wanted to ignore and nodded as if to say speak.

 

Then the man handed him the newspaper he was holding.

 

In fact, it was something Seyard had been secretly paying attention to since earlier, and now that he received it, the front page was clearly visible.

 

“It arrived this morning addressed to the young lady, but there’s something strange about it…”

 

He kept his mouth shut while staring at the blue stain.

 

“At first I thought it was just coincidence, but when it happened twice, I became concerned and removed it. I brought the young lady a different newspaper.”

 

It seemed like a crushing sound could be heard from somewhere. The sound of happiness breaking.