TFJB 47

Chapter 47

“Ahem, hmm. Did I really say that?”

That was strange. I couldn’t remember saying it. When did I say that? Was I just really hungry?

“W-well, I guess I didn’t want to leave any food behind. I’m the type who dislikes leaving leftovers… I’ve always been frugal like that.”

I mumbled this clumsy excuse and used my handkerchief to cover Kin’s eyes. It was embarrassing to admit that I had stolen food from a boy who was weak and sick.

“And then, one day, you said this to me.”

Kin spoke slowly, as if recalling something from the distant past.

“Don’t… don’t waste our food so miserably, okay?”

Oh. For a child who used to steal Kin’s food every day, that was quite a provocative thing to say.

“You don’t even want it, but you act like you do! Stop whining like a baby!”

My teasing had finally drawn a response from Kin, who usually remained silent.

“Are you saying I was faking being sick? How do you even know enough to say something like that to me?”
“You can tell just by looking at someone. Your eyes show whether you want it or not. If you take it now, you’ll totally regret it.”
“How do you know?”
“Because you were angry, see?”
“…Angry? Why?”
“If you really wanted it, you’d be whining and wouldn’t even have the strength to be mad. You’d just take it. But you were angry. What a waste… If it were me, I’d have done something with the strength to be angry.”

Had it been so soon after coming back from the brink of death? Or was it the time when he really wanted to teach people a lesson?

“And then he said, if I was just going to keep squandering food like a worthless glutton, I should leave this place and die immediately.”

Ah, well… you can’t argue with generosity from the pantry.

“…But I didn’t want to leave.”
“Why?”
“Because the thought crossed my mind that I should repay what I’d been given before dying.”
“Oh…”

Was that why Kin—or rather, Hin—formally began taking meals and gradually started earning a little money on his own?

“Then our family really did save Kin. He regained his will to live in order to repay the favor.”

I was reflecting on the past when he added,

“…After all, I realized that pain must be returned in kind before I could close my eyes again.”
“Excuse me?”
“I had to drive a sword into their hearts to feel relief myself.”

…Oh. So the way I imagined “repaying” him in a warm-hearted sense wasn’t how he saw it at all.

Even at a young age, he had resolved to revenge with strong murderous intent, and built his will to live around it!

I let out a wry, amused laugh.

“Haha… so thanks to me, you awakened a murderous instinct… and resolved to become a revenge-driven person, gaining your will to live in the process?”

I wondered whether the greater sin was raising a potential killer, or the greater merit was saving a person.

“Let’s just say that’s the case for now.”

I clicked my tongue inwardly.

“He’s surprisingly delicate for a human.”

The more I got to know Kin, the more confusing he became.

He was cruel yet lenient to his own people, strict yet inwardly complicated.

“Your expression is… peculiar.”

A warm finger touched my cheek. Kin’s finger.

He reached out his arm and tapped my forehead with his index finger.

“What are you thinking? It’s impossible to read you. You always say the most unexpected things.”

Well, of course.

“Half of what I say to His Lordship is nonsense or lies…”

I couldn’t say that out loud, so I simply smiled.

“Haha.”

Perhaps because he was under the influence of medicine, Kin seemed different from his usual steel-like self.

“Do you dislike it when I show you kindness, Ash? Is it burdensome?”

I could see a hint of disappointment in his blue eyes. That made Kin seem much more human than usual.

I gathered my courage and answered honestly.

“To be honest… yes, it is.”
“Why?”
“If you ask why…”

Until just the other day, I’d been the type whose heart would pound painfully at just seeing him. Suddenly acting differently must make me look insane!

…I couldn’t say that, of course.

So I wrapped it nicely in words.

“It’s just… we’re meeting again after almost twenty years. We didn’t know each other’s true identity when we met again. And then, suddenly, you act like this… Of course, I’m grateful for your kindness, but it feels… awkward.”

I finished my overly detailed, fussy explanation. Kin muttered to himself.

“I see. Distance… the problem was the distance.”

He closed his eyes.

“You’re right. From your perspective, it must have been a burdensome approach. To me, it felt like a dead person had returned… I couldn’t adjust properly.”

Kin had a surprisingly reasonable side. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and promised:

“I’m sorry. I’ll make sure not to burden you in the future. Everything has its proper order.”
“Alright, that’s fine. You promised, so now close your eyes and rest. It hurts you.”

I placed a handkerchief over Kin’s eyes.

He lay down quietly and tapped the space beside him with his hand.

“You’ll stay with me, right?”
“…Excuse me?”
“I need your ability to fall asleep, so stay by my side.”

I couldn’t exactly say that all I’d sung for him was just a lullaby!

So, unwillingly, I started gently tapping his chest while humming softly.

Kin’s breathing gradually slowed. I saw his lips twitch slightly. I bent down and listened to his murmurs.

“When I hear the song… that quiet night… briefly… came back to me… now… I finally understand… why…”

Soon, his breath deepened and became steady. He had fallen asleep in an instant.

‘Is it because he’s in pain? He fell asleep much faster than usual.’

I exhaled quietly and tried to remove my hand from his chest.

But—

Thunk.

A large hand gripped my wrist.

“Wh-what’s this?!”

I looked at Kin in surprise, but he was still breathing steadily. He was asleep.

‘Is this a sleeping habit?’

I tried to pull my trapped hand free, but Kin’s grip was surprisingly strong.

Eventually, I gave up trying to get up and slumped down beside him.

“Ah, whatever. I guess I’ll just wait here until he wakes up.”

Sitting next to the sleeping Kin, I gradually drifted off to sleep myself.

“Ugh…”

I rolled around in the soft bedding for a while and realized one thing.

“…Huh? Why am I here?”

My last memory was definitely Kin’s office.

But this was my room.

The very room I had been told I couldn’t return to because it was “under construction.”

“Am I dreaming? No… the gold coin in my teeth feels real enough, so this must be reality.”

I wiped the bite-marked gold coin and put it in my pocket, muttering:

“What happened last night?”

I clearly remembered taking care of Kin while he was sick.

As I slowly pieced together the events afterward, the door suddenly burst open.

“Ashhhhh!”
“Miss Esmeralda!”
“Esmeralda!”

Three people—different in gender, age, build, and position—rolled into the room as if fused into one.

“Ricky, Bernardo, Chuck? How rude! Entering a lady’s room without knocking?”

Chuck clapped his large hands together and laughed.

“Oh my, oh my, oh my!”

Even adding inappropriate exclamations!

“Chuck! What is this? Coming here all of a sudden?”

Ricky ran over in a single step and put his arm around Chuck.

“Miss Ankalsigi! We came to hear about the incident.”
“What incident? You have to tell me what happened!”

Had another accident happened while I wasn’t paying attention?

I rolled my eyes in confusion. Bernardo asked, as if I truly didn’t know:

“Yesterday, you were carried back to the manor while asleep. Could it be… yesterday as well…?”