Chapter 7
Étienne had come to the Caspian Empire a year ago, all alone. With no connections in this strange land, he wandered without purpose.
He did not know what to do or where to go. Or rather, he did not particularly care.
What is the point of living like this?
He was simply ashamed of his miserable, lingering existence.
In the midst of that confusion, Étienne was nearly run over by Countess Evgenia’s carriage. It was just an ordinary accident that could happen on any street.
But the Countess, afraid of being accused of hit-and-run, brought him to Legbel.
I never planned to stay here…
He had intended to leave soon because of Eli’s violence and harsh words. Yet he ended up remaining.
Perhaps it was because life was so hard here that he had no energy left for any other thoughts. Or perhaps there was some other reason he himself was not aware of.
One thing was certain: the person in front of him irritated him immensely.
Not content with pitying me…
It was almost laughable how she acted as if she had made him her friend all on her own.
He grumbled inwardly, but her gaze and her touch were always gentle. He clearly remembered Sioana’s trembling shoulders as she handed him soup when he could not swallow solid food after a severe beating.
“In just a few days, I’ll be seventeen.”
On her pale cheeks, as she looked back at him, a blush spread like crushed rose petals.
As if her excitement were contagious, his own earlobes also grew warm.
“Oh, by the way, how old are you?”
Even though they spent time together, the two rarely had a conversation. He still did not speak, and Sioana never asked him anything either.
In response to her question, he bent down, picked up a small branch, and quietly wrote a number on the ground.
“……What? You’re eighteen?”
Sioana’s eyes went wide as she stared at his face.
The fact that he was two years older than her was not all that surprising. In the past year, he had grown taller than Eli and could easily pass for a grown man.
Not knowing what to say, he simply shrugged.
“Don’t look at me like that. Just because you’re older than me doesn’t mean you’ll get treated like an oppa.”
With a sulky face, she shot back and then promptly turned away.
“……Hah.”
A long sigh escaped her lips as she gazed down at Legbel. She had endured time like the tangled bushes lying around there, and she would have to keep doing so.
“I wish you could speak.”
At Sioana’s murmured words, as she looked at the distant mountains, Étienne’s eyes deepened.
Just when it felt like winter was arriving, it suddenly became the dead of winter.
In Legbel, buried in snow, there was little to do except read books.
Though Martha lavished Sioana with endless affection, she was always busy. Her father did not return to Legbel at all during winter, and Eli also stayed long at Highbell.
But this winter was different from before. Because Sioana was not alone.
“Look at this.”
Sioana, sitting on the carpet in front of the fireplace, opened a book with pictures of strange animals. The man sitting beside her leaned his head toward the book.
“That’s your reaction? Isn’t it amazing? If I ever saw a beast with a neck this long in real life, I might faint.”
The man glanced briefly at the picture and then, as always, just stared at the crackling fire with indifferent eyes.
He’s like a wildcat that’s hard to tame.
Picked up by her father, he was not easy to read. Just when she thought he had a gentle side, he would sometimes act like a stranger.
Moreover, even though he was a hired hand, he never once behaved servilely.
Eli hated that attitude and called it impudent, but Sioana did not mind. As long as he kept a proper distance, she could tolerate it.
After all, he does listen to me quite well.
Besides, she could have a conversation with someone instead of just talking to herself. Of course, there was the small problem that he didn’t speak.
“……Hmm.”
Sioana quietly shifted closer to him and tapped his shoulder. Startled by her movement, his eyes went round.
“What are you so surprised about? Am I going to eat you or something?”
Even at her joke, his expression remained stiff. She continued regardless.
“There’s something I’ve wanted to say for a while now……”
Sioana was curious about his name. When she addressed him, she used “you,” but that felt insufficient.
Where was his hometown? Why had he been wandering the streets? Whose eyes did he have? What did his voice sound like? Sioana wanted to know.
She never told anyone about these questions. And so, sometime along the way, she began to have one or two secrets she could not even share with Martha.
“Your name, I mean. If you don’t have one, would it be all right if I made one up for you?”
After a brief pause, Sioana hastily added an excuse.
“No, it’s just—calling you ‘you’ all the time is strange. Even among the hired help, there’s no one without a name.”
Afraid that her confused feelings might show, Sioana rambled on.
Watching the emotions flickering in her blue eyes, he snatched the book from her hands. Slowly flipping the pages, he began to point at letters one by one.
“……É, ti, enne?”
As Sioana slowly spoke the name, only then did he hand the book back. She felt both joy at learning his name and a strange sensation.
“You… can read?”
She had never heard of a lowly slave wandering the streets who could read. Even Martha could not write her own name.
“No, I’m not trying to look down on you—I’m just surprised.”
Worried that she might have scolded him just like her father or brother would, Sioana brushed her own cheek.
“Étienne… that’s a really nice name.”
At her whisper, Étienne turned his head back to gaze only at the fire.
Hearing his own name after so long made him feel strange.
In truth, there had been no reason to tell her. Or perhaps he should not have told her. He was currently hiding from someone’s eyes.
But he did not want Sioana, of all people, to call him by some random name.
While Étienne was lost in thought, Sioana’s swaying body suddenly leaned against him.
“……!”
He was so startled that he nearly jumped up from where he sat.
Soft brown hair spilled over his shoulder, and her gentle, sleeping breaths tickled his ear. Étienne looked down at his sleeping master’s face, hiding his own confused expression.
When spring came the next year, small wildflowers began to bloom on the wasteland.
‘A sunburned lady will never find a good match. Stay inside quietly and do your embroidery.’
Eli was always strict, but Sioana, cooped up indoors all winter, simply could not obey him. Sneaking out behind Eli’s back, she ran all over the place.
“Étienne, come quick. I think I just saw a rabbit over there.”
Sioana, hurrying ahead, stopped and looked back.
Standing on the border between girl and woman, her face was filled with the sunlight of Legbel. Beneath her carelessly tousled brown hair, her fresh smile was dazzling.
“What’s with that dumb look? Hurry up.”
As she started running again, Étienne quickly followed behind her.
He thought she might want to hunt rabbits, but it turned out she simply wanted to look at a rabbit’s burrow. In moments like this, she was utterly like a child, and Étienne barely suppressed a laugh.
“It went into that hole, I’m sure of it. It was a gray rabbit, and its feet were this big.”
Excited, Sioana described the rabbit’s appearance to him, and he silently nodded. Just then, dark clouds that had covered the wide field rushed in quickly. Looking up at the sky, Étienne reached out and caught her wrist.
“Étienne! What’s wrong?”
Dragged along by him, Sioana found herself at the entrance of a shallow cave. A moment later, heavy rain began to lash the field.
“What’s this all of a sudden?”
Watching the downpour, Sioana looked crestfallen. If the rain didn’t stop soon, she might be in trouble.
“Étienne, it won’t last long, will it?”
Standing a little apart from her, Étienne looked up at the sky and shrugged. Reading his expression, Sioana looked despairing.
“So it’s not going to stop anytime soon.”
This afternoon, the tutor hired by Eli to teach Sioana etiquette was supposed to visit the manor.
“I thought there’d be plenty of time to get back before the lesson.”
Dejected, her shoulders slumped.
Brother Eli, who already disliked Sioana, would not let this slide. Lately, he had been nagging her more and more about her behavior and appearance.
Just then, Étienne draped a white cloth over her shoulders.
“When did you get this ready?”
The thin fabric carried Étienne’s distinctive scent.
The smell carried the warmth of spring sunshine, and Sioana’s mood calmed a little.
