Chapter 68
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Chapter 68
Lahedis didn't particularly question my lie and turned his gaze away.
To the newspaper I'd been reading, with its section on incidents and accidents spread open.
'Oops.'
Anxious that he might catch my carefully hidden worry, I turned the page.
As he watched me for a moment, an unexpected proposal came from his lips.
"Want to go to the Dessert Cafe after we're done today?"
* * *
That afternoon.
After leaving the Guard Post, we visited the Dessert Cafe as promised.
"Delicious!"
Avocado, cookies, cake, financiers, and so on....
I ordered every menu item I wanted and savored each one with a blissful smile.
'Sweet treats really are the best!'
The lingering unease from last night's nightmare had vanished without a trace.
After eating rather enthusiastically for a while, I noticed that Lahedis, who had suggested coming here in the first place, hadn't touched much of his dessert, so I asked.
"By the way, why did you suggest coming here? I thought you didn't really like desserts."
"You like them."
At his unexpected answer, my eyes widened.
So that meant....
'He suggested coming here just for me?'
For some reason, my fingertips tingled at that realization.
'I should thank him.'
But what actually came out of my mouth was something entirely different from what I felt.
"...Hmph. And when did you stop teasing me about always liking desserts, saying I'm childish?"
"You're more spiteful than I thought. Like a child."
"Stop teasing me again!"
When I bristled at his teasing remark, he let out a soft laugh.
That smile was irritating, yet strangely, I didn't dislike it.
Rather, quite the opposite....
'Being with this person puts my mind at ease.'
When we joked around and bickered with each other, my other worries faded away for a moment.
That's what made it wonderful.
These moments spent together with him.
Before long, having eaten even Lahedis's share of dessert without hesitation, I rubbed my full belly and murmured.
"I want to earn a lot of money and buy desserts here every single day."
Then Lahedis, listening from beside me, asked as if bewildered.
"That's all you want to do if you earn a lot of money?"
"No? I have so many things I want to do. Like, I want to buy a necklace with diamonds hanging from it like this."
"You want a necklace?"
"Well... honestly, it's not so much that I desperately want that necklace. I think I just want to experience some extravagance for once."
"And what else?"
"And I want to be filial to Curtis Rohan―"
I stopped mid-sentence, catching myself as I casually mentioned Curtis Rohan.
'I don't want to talk about Curtis Rohan.'
I didn't want to discuss melancholy or heavy matters.
I didn't want to burden this person who'd brought me to the Dessert Cafe for my sake, or the Duke who was making efforts to find Curtis Rohan, with any more worry.
I was searching for another topic to steer the conversation toward when a tall Clock Tower beyond the Terrace suddenly caught my eye.
"Knight, have you ever climbed that Clock Tower?"
"Yeah. Once before."
"Oh. Can you see the entire Capital from up there?"
"Do you want to go see?"
That was precisely when I was about to nod.
"Kyaaaah!"
A scream suddenly erupted from the direction of the Clock Tower.
Soon after, people began murmuring and gathering in front of the Clock Tower.
I had an instinctive feeling that something terrible had happened.
"Someone help!"
...And my ominous premonition proved accurate.
Lahedis and I sprang to our feet without needing to discuss it.
"Lahedis."
"Let's go."
As we hurried out of the chaotic Dessert Cafe, I overheard someone who'd apparently just grasped the situation speaking in hushed tones.
"Apparently, today was when they were cleaning the outer wall of the Clock Tower, and the rope snapped. Fortunately, the man is still clinging to the wall, but..."
A man.
The moment I heard those words, my hands began trembling uncontrollably.
Could it be? Surely not.
'It can't be Curtis Rohan.'
Last night's nightmare flashed through my mind like a panorama.
I denied it, insisting it couldn't be, but my breath came in gasps and my mind went blank.
I ran in a daze, hardly aware of how I'd gotten there, until I reached a spot where the Clock Tower was visible. There, precariously clinging to the outer wall of the Clock Tower, was a middle-aged man.
Below him, citizens were laying out tarps and wooden boxes as a safety net.
But...
"Ah, ah! I'm falling!"
Before the preparations below were even complete, the exhausted man lost his grip and plummeted.
I was still quite far away, pushing through the crowd, and the wall's position made it awkward for Lahedis to reach with teleportation magic.
In that moment of despair, a single solution flashed through my mind.
I unsummoned Blackie from above my head, repositioned the summoning point directly beneath the falling man, and resummoned him.
"Blackie, catch him!"
"Mew!"
Blackie materialized safely beneath the man and lunged upward, swallowing him whole.
It all happened in an instant.
Upon landing on the ground, Blackie spat the man back out.
By the time I pushed through the crowd and reached him, I was already at his side.
"Are you alright?"
"Y-yes, I think I'm okay... but this creature you're raising—"
The middle-aged man, bewildered by the situation and about to ask about Blackie, froze when he saw my face.
"Oh, miss... are you crying?"
"I..."
The moment I realized tears were streaming down my cheeks.
I felt my heart, which had been developing small cracks for some time now, crumble completely.
And in that same moment, I understood.
Every time I'd rushed toward someone in danger, it was because...
If Curtis Rohan were somewhere unknown to me, in peril, I hoped someone would help him.
I'd been doing good deeds hoping they would circle back and save him.
I'd clung to that superstition that kindness returns, because every single day was terrifying.
I'd always pretended everything was fine, but the truth was, nothing was fine at all.
"...Vivian."
Lahedis's eyes widened slightly with surprise at the sight of my tears, then twisted with emotion.
I hurriedly wiped away my tears and forced a smile, as if nothing were wrong.
"I suppose I was just startled. Haha."
But once acknowledged, the ache in my chest refused to fade easily.
* * *
Before long, the sunset deepened, and the sun descended swiftly beyond the horizon.
"Huff... huff..."
Lahedis and I arrived atop the Clock Tower, now shrouded in darkness as the sun had fully set.
Why had we climbed up at this hour, you ask?
[The night view from the Clock Tower is quite beautiful. Want to go up?]
At Lahedis's suggestion, I—who loved admiring scenery—accepted without hesitation.
And so I found myself undertaking the arduous task of climbing roughly ten flights of stairs this evening.
After all that effort, the night view of the Capital that greeted me was...
"Wow... it's beautiful..."
Countless lights sparkled like a river of stars against the darkness that had settled over the world.
"The night view is this beautiful, yet we're the only ones who've come to see it?"
"Usually people only watch the sunrise and sunset before heading back down."
"I see..."
"Whatever you do or say here right now, no one will see it or hear it."
Lahedis simply said that much, then changed the subject entirely.
He spoke of buildings visible in the distance—what they were, when they were built—matters entirely unrelated to me.
Only then did I understand why he'd brought me to this place.
That's why he'd suggested going to a Dessert Cafe he didn't particularly care for.
'He noticed that I was worried about Curtis Rohan....'
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org