Chapter 23
“Lord Bartolomew.”
A temple attendant came looking for Bartolomew early in the morning.
Bartolomew looked at the attendant with obvious annoyance.
The attendant hesitated for a moment, then held something out to him.
It was a letter envelope.
“A letter has arrived for you, my lord.”
Even seeing it with his own eyes, Bartolomew could hardly believe it.
Whether he was residing at the temple or staying at the mansion, he had never received a letter addressed to him before.
Who on earth could have sent this?
Bartolomew took the letter and dismissed the attendant.
Left alone, he tore open the envelope and unfolded the letter inside.
Immediately, he frowned.
There were no words written on the paper.
Only clumsy drawings, like a young child’s illustrated diary.
Bartolomew’s eyes narrowed as he examined the letter.
A treasure map?
It looked like a map, with an X marking a particular spot.
At first, he wondered if the letter had been sent to him by mistake, but at the bottom of the letter, he saw the wobbly handwriting: “Lucy.”
It was a letter from Lucy.
Come to think of it, no one else would send him a letter besides Lucy.
A faint smile appeared on Bartolomew’s lips.
He remembered Lucy saying before he left the temple that she wanted to see him again.
He had thought it was just casual words, but apparently she had meant it sincerely.
Bartolomew had believed that once Lucy returned to her daily life, she would quickly forget him.
So he had no expectations at all.
Yet, for some reason, his chest tingled at the thought that Lucy remembered him and even sent him a letter.
But… why send a drawing?
In reality, Lucy had chosen to use pictures instead of words due to her stats, but Bartolomew didn’t know that.
He earnestly tried to decipher the letter.
After studying it for a while, he realized that it indicated the riverside near the annex where Lucy was staying.
Does she want me to come here?
Bartolomew tilted his head.
What could she need?
He thought of the Lucy who had said she needed him.
The one who said it couldn’t be anyone else but him.
Has she gotten herself into trouble again?
Bartolomew had already incurred the Duke of Faraday’s anger by attending the last palace banquet.
As punishment, the Duke had extended Bartolomew’s stay at the temple.
Knowing that Bartolomew found the temple more stifling than the mansion, the Duke had devised a sort of penalty.
If Lucy caused him more trouble, the Duke might even confine him to the mansion.
Bartolomew’s mind told him to ignore Lucy’s letter.
But his heart disagreed.
He wanted to respond to Lucy’s invitation.
He found himself eager to go out.
Why?
Was it because of his rebelliousness toward the Duke of Faraday?
After seventeen years without feeling such defiance, it suddenly arose.
Could it be…
Because he wanted to see Lucy?
Bartolomew let out a hollow laugh.
No way.
Why would he want to see Lucy?
She was bothersome, annoying even.
She always smiled brightly at him, acted overly familiar, and teased him without permission.
That aspect of her…
Do I dislike it?
Not exactly.
It’s just…
He pressed his palm against the left side of his chest.
Bartolomew had always felt as if a huge stone were pressing down on his chest.
Breathing was difficult, and his body felt heavy and sluggish.
This pain had been with him for a long time.
No medicine at the temple could relieve it.
If the pain worsened, only emergency medicine could dull it.
But when he was with Lucy, it felt as if the pain eased.
Ah.
Bartolomew realized something.
Cerberus.
Whenever he touched Cerberus, the pain eased immediately.
Yes. I’m going to see Cerberus.
With that thought, Bartolomew stared at the letter.
His eyes lingered on the name “Lucy” scribbled on the corner of the paper.
Bartolomew went to find Lucy.
A knight guarding the annex beside the palace blocked his way.
Bartolomew explained that he was a guest invited by Lucy.
“Oh, Lord Bartolomew.”
The knight’s vigilance immediately eased.
“Princess Lucy has ordered that Lord Bartolomew is always permitted to enter.”
After sending the letter, Lucy had personally told the knight:
Listen carefully. Bartolomew is my friend.
Yes?
You’re always welcome here.
That was the best phrasing Lucy, who had been diligently raising her intelligence, could manage.
The knight understood perfectly.
“Please, go ahead.”
The knight opened the door.
Bartolomew repeated the words in his mind as he stepped inside.
He thought about the strange exhilaration swelling in his chest as he headed toward the riverside.
Around Lucy, he felt like a truly special person.
He had long believed that in the world, no one would even notice him.
The more special treatment he received from Lucy, the more he felt his existence acknowledged.
Why did the simple words of the knight—that he could see her anytime—excite him so much?
Shaking his head, Bartolomew quickened his steps.
Finally arriving at the spot Lucy marked on the letter, he could hardly believe his eyes.
A sunlit meadow.
Lucy’s pure white dress fluttered gently in the breeze.
Her hair and skin glimmered in the sunlight.
A neat profile and long eyelashes.
A stack of books arranged neatly beside her.
It looked like a painting.
A painting-like Lucy was…
“Big catch!”
She was fishing.
Bartolomew felt a sense of cognitive dissonance.
Lucy always embarrassed him, but he never imagined her fishing.
Even without attending social events, he knew that young ladies generally did not fish.
Why on earth is she… fishing?
He looked around.
The surrounding anglers, perhaps seeing her for the first time, were clapping and congratulating Lucy.
Then Lucy spotted Bartolomew.
“Lord Bartolomew!”
She greeted him with a bright, smiling face.
She jumped down from the rock and ran to him.
“You got my letter!”
Bartolomew instinctively wanted to ask why she was fishing, but he cleared his throat instead.
“What is the reason you called me?”
“I called because I wanted to see you.”
Bartolomew’s eyes widened slightly.
“Didn’t you want to see me?”
“…I did want to see you.”
Lucy’s eyes widened in surprise when he answered seriously to her teasing question.
Bartolomew looked briefly at her astonished face, then diverted his gaze.
It fell on Cerberus, lying at Lucy’s feet.
“Cerberus…”
Bartolomew added.
Ah, of course.
Lucy smiled sheepishly.
“Cerberus missed you a lot too, Lord Bartolomew.”
Of course, she was exaggerating.
As proof, Cerberus bared his fangs and growled at Bartolomew.
Unfazed, Bartolomew knelt and petted Cerberus’ head.
Yes. This peace.
He realized it was definitely Cerberus he had wanted to see.
Petting Cerberus brought peace to his mind.
The stone pressing on his chest disappeared, and his breathing became easier.
He had once tried petting the rabbits in the temple’s backyard, thinking animals might ease him like this.
The rabbits were gentle, but they did not bring him the same comfort.
Only Cerberus can do this.
Bartolomew, unable to take emergency medicine every day, thought that if he could pet Cerberus daily, he wouldn’t need the medicine at all.
Argh.
As Cerberus growled, Lucy tried to stop him.
Then her eyes widened in surprise.
Cerberus’ tail was wagging happily, opposite to the growling mouth.
Does he not dislike me?
Lucy could not understand Cerberus.
Though he followed her, Cerberus did not automatically show hostility to strangers.
He even showed affection to the annex staff, rolling over and showing his belly.
He had seemed to dislike the anglers, suggesting he was wary of strangers, yet he growled at Bartolomew, whom Lucy treated kindly.
However, the wagging tail suggested otherwise.
Why is Cerberus acting like this?
A guardian beast should have dignity.
True—Cerberus had originally been brought when Lucy’s mother married into the empire, serving as a guardian beast.
Thus, he was essential for progressing in the game.
Of course, to Lucy now, Cerberus seemed like nothing more than a capricious little dog.
Is there some special reason for this?
Lucy tilted her head, puzzled.
But she could not figure it out at all.
