Beware of the Brothers - Chapter 2141773126
BOTB Side Story 2 (1) | Busy Men Today
Cabel’s POV
“What, where did everyone go?”
Cabel crumpled his face, feeling lost alone in a large hall.
He looked around hard, but he couldn’t find anyone I knew.
This masked radish with Erich, who accompanied him to the ball, but he disappeared before his eyes.
“Did he go over there?”
Cabel had been looking for his family from before. This is because he got the news that Hari and Louise of the Vastia family attended this masked ball.
It was thanks to a letter that Louise sent to Erich.
She’s going to go to a secret party with Hari from now on, so if they’re interested, please attend in time.
She even wrote down the location of the intestine in detail.
Unfortunately, today, Cabel was also in the mansion after leaving early, so the brothers went straight to the place in the letter without saying anything.
Of course it was to take Hari back from this masked ballroom.
It’s a secret social party! Isn’t there something unusual about it from that sense?
In addition, Cabel and Erich were also familiar with the night parties that popular among the nobles.
In the case of Cabel, a man of the Templar, there was a time when he heard the story of a hot meeting at a party.
But two women going to such a place! Absolutely not!
Such thoughts became more intense as soon as he arrived at the masked ballroom and entered the hall.
“What, this place. Are you sure we came to the right place?”
“It will be right. Go over there and find her.”
Because everyone is using the power of anonymity, people in the party are usually dressed up like beggars in action.
It wasn’t that he was free like them.
It is the first time that Cabel and Erich attended this secret party because they usually did not enjoy socializing very much.
Perhaps that’s why he was more amazed at the sight he saw for the first time in his life.
Erich disappeared while searching for Hari, and Cabel wandered in the noisy banquet hall for a while.
But when he blinked his eyes and looked, he couldn’t see anyone he knew. Among the noisy people, Cabel thought he was like a stranger.
Oh, is this the loneliness in the crowd?
For a moment, he became deeply absorbed in his thoughts and put his hand on his forehead to anguish.
Tuk!
“What, in the middle of the ballroom.”
“Is it performing art?”
Then he bumped into the people passing by.
Cabel became a little shuddered and blew his eyes at those who struck him for nothing.
Then, as soon as the excitement was transmitted, they murmured and fled, then it go beyond his mind.
Oh, it’s complicated here. Shall he go and get some air?
Cabel scratched his head and looked around the ball venue one more time, but only the spectacular scenery that was dazzlingly dazzling come to his sight.
He fed up and stepped towards the terrace.
Sneak.
It was annoying to move away, so Cabel pushed the door of the nearest terrace and flipped it.
“Shall we stop and going to the room?”
“Ah, I don’t know. Ah, wait, where are your hands going! Ugh….”
But without knowing who was coming in, a pair of tangled beets immediately poked into his eyes.
Oops, his eyes!
Cabel immediately slammed the door and exited the terrace.
Oh, damn it, his eyes are gone.
With his face crumpled, he approached the terrace next to him.
But there was a little bit accident awhile ago, perhaps because of this, he was pushing a more cautious hand than before.
“Don’t do this.”
“Why yeah, if anyone hears, you know they’re going to let it be. Just hang out with me.”
Ah, is this a cockroach too? Why do they have to be on every terrace like this?
This place was quiet if he avoided the intense couple he had just seen.
It seems that the people of the Knights Templar expressed it as pushing and pulling things on this atmosphere.
When Cabel tries to close the terrace door again with an annoying face, he heard,
“Well, I’m Eugene Ernst? My lady, if you catch me, you’re completely selling them off.”
At that moment, Cabel’s pace stopped.
Huh? What is this, is he about eating grass? Has he ever heard wrong?
He opened the door slightly wider, doubting his ears.
He couldn’t see the man’s face with his back on the terrace, but Cabel wasn’t a fool and he could know that he wasn’t his older brother.
“You, aren’t you, Daisy Temperto? Anyway, weren’t you trying to fix it by asking other guys to come out today?”
“Oh, no. I’m just having an informative party today, because I was introduced…”
Besides, it seemed that the two were not creating a strange atmosphere under the agreement of both sides.
Of course, even so, though, Cabel was going to put his game right now.
“If it’s profitable, it’s a profitable party. It’s a party with big players like me…”
“Hey, you, look at me for a second.”
He continued to pretend to be Eugene and sang a babbling to the woman.
A voice suddenly heard from behind her back, the man and woman standing at the end of the terrace railing trembled.
They didn’t seem to know that Cabel had entered the terrace.
“What else is this?”
The man in the noisy gold mask looked back at the Cabel. Then, the image of a woman caught between the railing and the man was revealed.
She had a mixed look of embarrassment and fear, but Cabel’s attention was directed only to the man who pretended to be his brother.
“You don’t know me?”
“Who are you?”
“You really don’t know?”
“What, this kid.”
A line of embarrassment flew into him, who suddenly shut up and made an unknown sound.
However, Cabel opened his mouth to that man whispering sound as if Cabel spit out.
“I’m Cabel Ernst.”
Ugh!
The sound of a hurried breath spread over the moonlit terrace.
Seeing the man hardened in astonishment, Cabel took off his mask.
Under the white moonlight, Cabel’s face was revealed. He smiled and said to the man in front of him.
“Brother, take off your mask when you go.”
But it was indeed a devilish smile.
The moment he see Cabel’s smiling face, The man who faced him trembled, feeling creepy goose bumps all over his body.
“If you wanna go, take it off?”
Cabel shook his pupils and hurried to the man who was struggling back.
His appearance was like a beast that drove his prey into a corner and slowly approached.
“Why can’t you take it off?”
“That, that….”
The woman still leaning on the terrace railing looked at the two alternately with a face saying that she did not know what’s going on.
“Ah, maybe it’s not my brother?”
Then, the words that Cabel passed by, screamed loudly like a man playing a game.
“Then, how are you going to pay me the price for listening to your voice on a topic that isn’t my brother, yeah, isn’t it?”
And finally, the moment Cabel’s blue eyes erupted with eerie eyes, the man screamed and ran away.
“Where is this rabbit going?”
“Oh ahhh! So, sorry! I’m wrong!”
However, the first thing Cabel’s hand going to do was to grab the man’s back.
“Isn’t it very simple to pop out of the boat? Do you dare pretend to be my brother? Do you want to be him? Uh, besides, this hair is also a wig?”
“Come on, wait!”
Cabel pulled the man’s hair back to his nose. Then, a bright blonde appeared in front of him.
“Let’s see, who is young lords with blonde and black eyes in Arlanta? What? Brother of the Copanis family? The second son of the Serizade family? Or is it the Lindel family’s sideline that came up to the capital some time ago? There’s also one in our Knights, but it wouldn’t be him.”
This time, Cabel’s hand touched the man’s golden mask.
“Wait, forcibly removing the mask is against the rules……!”
“X foot, I don’t know those rules?”
Eventually, Cabel mercilessly stripped the man’s mask.
“Are you pretending to be someone else’s older brother after getting something that looks like a chaff? Just check this!”
“Wait, save me, people!”
As soon as he raised his hand toward him, he screamed in terrified death.
“Ah, the Cubs have not worked yet, why not beat the sound screaming fuck….”
“Do you have any problems?”
After hearing the sound, someone entered the terrace. Cabel crouched and looked back at the disturber.
On the other hand, the man, who was caught by Cabel, faced at once as if he had met the old saver.
He became bright.
Cabel didn’t know, but he is the custodian of the Masquerade Town today.
“Help me! This guy is trying to kill me!”
As with today’s attendees, a manager who covered his face with a black mask looked at them for a moment.
“If you violate the rules, you will be sent off immediately. Please wear a mask and follow me.”
Of course, no matter where it looked, it was unfavorable to Cabel.
What kind of rules is he talking about?
Cabel didn’t know. It was because they entered today’s secret party without any information.
But anyway, he felt dirty because he felt like he was trying to get himself out of this party. Besides, he hasn’t hit a damn guy yet!
“Wait, he helped me!”
“Wait, he helped me!”
At that time, a thin voice broke through the night air.
She is a woman who he didn’t even know that she was still in the corner of the terrace. She seemed terribly embarrassed and nervous about this.
Although she was restless, she said, hunched over Cabel.
“I was in trouble because that man forced me and drag me to this terrace, but just in time, he helped me…”
At that, the manager looked at the three people in turn, as if trying to figure out the situation again, and then fixed his gaze on the mask that fell on the floor.
“Then, it turns out that the mask… He was the one who received two warnings earlier.”
“Ah, no….”
“Excuse me. We will take his step out of this party immediately.”
Eventually, it wasn’t Cabel who was kicked out, but the man in the golden mask.
Cabel looked at the man who he hadn’t hit yet, and tried to tell the manager to stay behind for a while, but for now he decided to quit.
He know the face anyway, so he could go find and hit him later.
Cabel blew his mouth at the man he met in his eye.
‘See you later, my chaff cubs.’
And Cabel even pretending to draw a neck with a hand, the man’s face turned pale at once. He struck a line on the terrace before the manager even came out.
After that, the officials left the terrace while leaving a message to call himself anytime if something else happened.
Mistress, he have to go out too. He seen as the decent guys today. Tomorrow, that guy will be thrown at him.
Oh no. Shall he dry his blood for about a week instead of looking for it tomorrow?
Cabel thought so evily and was about to step away from his place.
Dump!
At that time, the woman who had been with him on the terrace sat down as if her legs were relaxed.
“Sorry, I’m sorry. I’ve just been a little nervous.”
When Cabel’s gaze reached her, the woman said, squeezed out.
Either her appearance was very pitiful, or the spirit of a chivalry usually reminded him of her.
Cherish one’s honor, protect the weak…
All sorts of blasphemous rules.
Even so, the pitifulness of a woman who he did not know who she was did not move his heart, but anyway Cabel felt a little steaming and reached out his hand.
“Grab it and get up.”
Somehow, what happened a little while ago has inflicted a considerable amount of emotional damage to this woman.
He was wondering why she came to a party like this in the first place if she is going to tremble like this with only about this much of work.
Well, according to the conversation he heard earlier, it felt like she was tricked out of not knowing this was such a party.
Compared to the women that Cabel has seen, her behavior is modest.
Somehow this time, because Dice’s holy marriage, It seemed to be that she’s a local noble who came up the capital.
So, he guess, it seemed that this nobles of the society were caught playing badly in the streets without knowing it’s consequences.
But this was only his guess, so what, or not. In fact, it didn’t matter to Cabel.
The woman did not refuse the hand that Cabel had given her.
Finally, the woman’s hand, resting on the palm of Cabel, trembling so softly that he felt somewhat weird.
Yet, she turned to Cabel with a slightly silly face and looked like she’s smiling.
Her eyes that visible through the mask were bent when sprayed.
“Thank you, sir knight.”
Thank you, sir knight….
Knight….
He didn’t know why it came into Cabel’s chest for an instant.
Uh, huh? What? He just felt a little weird.
“It was my first time in such a situation, so it was a big deal a little while ago because my head turned white, but thanks to you, I lived.”
The woman was short, so even when she stood upright, she was only about the chest of Cabel.
“Oh, I’m Daisy Temperto. I… Isn’t it okay to say hello with a mask like this?”
She was extremely defenseless.
Even though that happened just a little while ago, he saw her taking off her mask in front of Cabel without any warning.
Of course, it looked like she was restless again.
“Thank you again, sir knight.”
The woman reveals her bare face and looked up at Cabel.
The woman’s hair is dark orange, resembling the sunset, and her eyes is warm brown like a tree lit by the sun.
Apparently, it seemed that she didn’t wear a wig to conceal her identity like the one who wore that golden mask.
The moment her eyes that looked up at him met him, a strange sensation as he felt a while ago ran through his chest.
“Oh, no….”
Cabel stumbled for a moment because he is speechless.
As he looked down at her clear brown eyes without a spot, his chest became a little tedious and weird beyond understanding.
But he couldn’t figure out why he felt this way, so he become more confused.
*****
After a while, Cabel is still walking through the hall feeling upset.
A woman named “Daisy Temperto” disappeared with a man named “Theo” who appeared as soon as they left the terrace.
It seemed that the two of them knew each other well, but did they attend this party together in the first place?
The moment the voice that was happily calling for a man came to his mind, suddenly his stomach became a little more bloated.
That’s weird. Did he pick up the wrong thing and eat it?
“What are you doing alone?”
Then, someone approached him and spoke. Cabel sweeps his stomach down with a puzzled face as he was surprised.
“Hey, why are you here?”
This time, it is the real Eugene, not the person who impersonated Eugene.
He covered his face with a mask, but there was no way Cabel couldn’t recognize his brother.
When he heard the story, it seemed that he also came here because of Hari.
“Is there anyone who pretends to be me with my name?”
Eugene showed interest in the sound of Cabel words that passing by. The cool black eyes slipped in the direction of the terrace.
“Did you see the face?”
“Uh, it’s Russell Lizard. There’s a guy who got caught by me from talking to Hari before. Now he’s kicked out and not at the party.”
“We’ll have something to meet him sooner or later.”
Of course, even if Cabel couldn’t identify the man before had been, there were plenty of ways to find out.
He pretended to be Eugene and not someone else, and he was discovered by Cabel. He was a man with no fear and no luck.
“Then I’ll go over there.”
“Yeah. You may not be able to see it again, so if you have a reasonable time, you know, go back.”
Anyway, the current priority is Hari, so the two decided to look inside the party and separated.
Oh, all of this because that woman.
After that, when he went around the ballroom for a while, the woman he met on the terrace came back to his eyes.
It seemed that she is leaving the party right now.
But it’s strange that the man named “Theo” who he saw before, he thought the crab was irritating.
Oh, what is it? He just got an urge to get in between them and take his arm off like a gum scab.
Is it because he see so many couples like cockroaches today? Yeah, he guess.
There are only damn couples wherever he go, and now that he is faced with eye terror, it is clear that his limit has come.
Kh, damn cockroaches!
Glup Glup!
Cabel took the prepared wine glass in the hall and poured it into his mouth. In the meantime, they approached him first expressing interest.
Numerous women who had left with an ambiguous face saying “I didn’t think of something” passed by.
Then, for nothing, Cabel began emptying the other glasses next to him.
Hah, he doesn’t need a girl either! He’s dating the sword!
But while he was thinking about that, he became sad again, so he drunk rapidly.
Meanwhile, this time Erich appeared next to him.
“Have you met big brother?”
“Uh, you too?”
“Yes, brother Johannes also came. He went back with Louise earlier. Uh, what. Why did you drink alone like this?”
While Cabel was shoveling alone, Erich seemed to have met with Louise and Eugene.
Then he stopped seeing the numerous empty glasses placed on the table in front of Cabel.
“I drank alcohol because it liked me so much! I’m so popular with alcohol, why is this? These liquors just begged me to drink some!”
“What a strange sound, suddenly. Are you drunk?”
“Oh, yeah. I know all your heart. Now, I’ll share my popularity with you. Let’s drink with me!”
“Oh, that’s okay. I don’t drink. Wait! I don’t like it!”
However, there was no excuse in front of Cabel’s power.
Erich was forced to drink together because of Cabel pushing a glass in his mouth.
Erich’s POV
“Oh, really. This is all because of you, Hari.”
The next day, Erich is struggling with a hangover. He didn’t even remember how he got home from the party the day before.
“Now, here’s honey tea. Brother Cabel and you, what kind of alcohol did you drink so much last night?”
The time was already a day when the sun is in the middle of the sky.
Fortunately, Cabel didn’t have to go to the Knights division today, as Cabel is in a troubled state, lying face down in his room.
He was reviving last night’s memories by touching his greasy forehead.
However, no matter how much he thought about it, he didn’t think of anything other than drinking with Cabel yesterday.
In front of Erich, Hari put down a honey tea that she brought by herself.
She stopped by Cabel’s room a little while ago and gave him honey tea like this one. The two people suffering from a hangover had a similar appearance.
Erich still wrestled with the headache and took the tea that Hari had given him to his mouth.
Then suddenly he remembered that her voice was a little strange and asked what’s going on.
“What is wrong with your voice? Do you have a cold?”
Damn.
At that moment, Hari, sitting across from Erich, drinking her own tea, coughed as if she couldn’t hear him for a moment.
She said after a while after clearing her voice.
“It must be because the daily temperature difference between the fortresses is high. I wore a little thin clothes yesterday.”
“Yeah, how did you get home? Did you meet brother Eugene?”
“Oh, we met and came together.”
“When? Did you come before brother Cabel and me?”
“Well, it’s probably similar. I’m not exactly…”
If he’s the ordinary Erich, he might have noticed that Hari’s appearance is a little more unnatural than other times.
But today, because he wasn’t in good condition, Erich didn’t realize the sense of incongruity and just passed it over.
Still, after drinking honey tea, it seemed that the rumbling inside him had subsided a little.
If he drink again like yesterday, he is a dog, not a human. Erich thought so, still touching his greasy forehead.
Hari looked at him and turned around.
“You said yesterday Louise went back with brother Johan?”
“That’s right, it looks like what brother Eugene said.”
“Have you met Louise too?”
“Awhile.”
The moment Louise’s name was spit out of Hari’s mouth, Erich flinched lightly.
If he thought of yesterday, he can see Louise’s appearance at the ballroom, it was because she passed by.
When she first appeared and grabbed his arm, he thought she was an unknown person, as the woman’s transformation was terrifying.
Anyway, she’s doing that and shooting a party.
Considering the face of Johannes that he saw last night, he’s sure she was quite freaked out by going back to Vastia.
Anyway, she’s still young, so she’s not mature, and she’s good at doing surprising things.
Of course, it was said that the tree that was to be called is known from the mochi leaves, although there was a corner of her that was violated since childhood.
Erich wondered as if he had forgotten that the brave Louise was only one year younger than himself.
In addition, it was certainly not a cruel thing to see that Hari was also taken hostage and called Erich as the secret party leader.
For Ernst’s three brothers, Hari was just like her.
Just yesterday, when he heard the news that Hari was in the masked ball venue, all three brothers were dispatched, and the answer came out very obviously.
Of course yesterday, because of Cabel, he forgot her and drink and ate, then his shape became ugly now.
“Erich, what happened?”
“Oh, brother.”
At that time, Eugene, who had stopped by the Imperial Palace for a while during lunch, returned.
If he remembered yesterday, it was the first time that Eugene and Erich met face to face like that at the dance venue.
“What about Cabel?”
“He’s still in his room.”
“Drink in moderation in the future.”
After all, because of drinking too much the day before, Eugene said that.
However, Erich thought it was a bit unfair because he was forced to drink because of Cabel.
After that, Eugene moved his gaze to Hari, who was sitting across from Erich.
“Were you resting well?”
“Yes.”
Erich placed an empty cup on the table and listened to the conversation between the two.
“Go into your room and relax.”
“No, I’m fine.”
Well? But maybe because of the mood, he felt something strange.
Erich’s gaze alternated between Eugene and Hari.
There was no different from usual in the conversation giving and receiving tenderly between them and Eugene’s gentle touch of her hair.
It is a completely public fact that the two are lovers, so it was a scene where the people who worked in the mansion were now thought insignificant.
Of course, as if they were considerate of the people around them, Eugene and Hari
also refraining from speaking and acting in their own way.
“If there’s anything bad, tell me.”
“Even if you say that, you have nothing to worry about.”
Is it because Eugene also knows that Hari has a cold?
He said over and over, as if he is very concerned about Hari’s condition. Then Hari frowned and laughed as if he had a lot of worries.
However, compared to usual, the atmosphere between the two seemed somewhat strange.
Erich tried to think more deeply about the cause of this discomfort, and immediately decided to quit because the pain across his head.
Oh, his head, maybe going into his room is a better choice. He thought he had to rest a little more.
“I’ll go back to my room.”
“Yes, take a break.”
Eugene and Hari saw him off while he’s touching his forehead.
Still, around 3 pm that day, Erich felt a little bit out of a drink.
“Woof woof!”
Erich takes Penny to the garden and went for a walk.
“Penny, go slowly.”
He was worried that Penny seems to have no energy these days because of her age, but it seemed like it was a useless worry.
As soon as Erich brought her out, Penny become excited and ran around the garden.
Erich watched her happily from behind.
Penny, whom he started raising with his twin sister Arina, after her death, is already like another family member.
It was almost because of the Penny that Erich wanted to graduate from the academic institution soon.
“Woof!”
“Yeah yeah, it’s pretty.”
Suddenly, the images of Eugene and Hari that he saw inside passed through his head.
In fact, Erich still used to feel a little bitter when he saw them. Of course, he had no intention of expressing that.
Hari was usually quick to notice, but he couldn’t even notice Erich’s heart. And he knew very well what was the reason.
Perhaps that’s because Erich couldn’t be such a subject to Hari in the first place.
So he had no intention of revealing his heart to Hari before and even now.
Still, seeing that it wasn’t that hard to see the faces of his brother and Hari as before, he didn’t know if he is getting a little more organized now.
“Brother Erich!”
So when Erich spends time in the garden with Penny, he heard a familiar voices in his eardrums.
It was Louise who he saw at the party last night.
Erich made a mysterious expression for a moment as he watched Louise running toward him.
Of course, she looked completely different from what he saw yesterday.
Today’s Louise, he couldn’t believe she was yesterday’s woman, wearing an unfamiliar blonde wig, wearing a dress that showed a lot of bare skin and dark makeup.
Louise doesn’t care about getting her blue hair messy and ran towards him.
Erich looked at her and thought she is really easygoing for a woman who made the four man worried last night.
“You were playing with Penny?”
Besides, not even tired, she even had a very vivid face. It was very different from Cabel and Erich, who became super dead overnight.
Of course, the reason they couldn’t get up today was because of the alcohol they poured out.
“What are you doing in my house?”
“What, didn’t I come because I could come?”
Even with Erich’s unfamiliar words, Louise snorted as if she wasn’t itchy.
“Penny, how are you?”
Then, she didn’t care about the grass getting on her hem of dress, and she sat next to Penny and patted her.
At this point, Erich couldn’t help but wonder.
“Why are you pretending to be so close to me these days?”
Of course, the two of them now are different from childhood. As it was, there was a relationship between them.
Moreover, Erich had spent some time at Vastia with Cabel and Hari.
Meanwhile, Erich is more talkative than he thought, and in fact, Erich was more friendly with Louise than Johannes.
However, Erich thought it was not enough to make Louise went to the Academy to meet him like last time, and to send such a letter like yesterday to bring him to the party.
Besides, even now, Louise decided to come to see him on purpose. She came to his circle and was raising a Penny too.
To Erich’s suspicious words, Louise replied without blinking an eye.
“Oh, you know that you should be grateful if a pretty girl like me pretends to be close to you. Is there anyone who can play with brother beside me?”
When he heard that, Erich crumpled his face.
He never asked to go out and play with her, and he wondered what kind of absurd sound this was.
However, the fact that Louise’s words have nothing to contradict strangely, It was annoying. It was because it is true that Erich had no friends.
But, again, he was a bit annoyed because he had never felt the need for a friend.
“I don’t need anything like friends.”
“Ah, what is it. Brother, do you have any real friends?”
“What if there is no.”
Erich bluntly said to Louise’s teasing words.
Louise put her chin on her knees, seated.
Then, for a moment, with her eyes, she glanced at Erich. With blue eyes facing himself, Erich had to feel strangely tickling these day.
“What do you look at?”
Despite Erich’s frowning and asking harshly, Louise laughed.
“Really, I can’t do it. I have to take it.”
Of course, Erich opened his mouth as he overwhelmed by what she said.
But it was faster for Louise to get up from her seat. After turning the caries-flavored hem, she reached out to Erich.
“Come on, then let’s go.”
“Where else are you going?”
“I’m going to buy a hat, go with me to choose.”
“What? Whoever wants… Oh, wait!”
Erich felt annoyed and tried to refuse, but Louise stubbornly grabbed his hand and dragged him.
Where in the world this power comes from that small body, her force of pulling his arm is enough to hit the cheeks of a man.
So, in the end, Erich was forced to get up on the grass by force.
Of course, however, there was a difference in strength between men and women, so if he wanted to get rid of Louise’s hand, he could do it.
If he think about it, it has been like that since before.
“I already told you that I’m going out with you. Brother, are you tired today? If so, I’ll let you go in.”
He’d rather not go out at all, she can do it by herself.
Those words ran to the end of his throat, but in the end only a small sigh actually spit out.
“It’s not you who will hear my opinion just because I don’t like it. If you’re going to go anyway, let’s go as close as possible.”
As if he had resigned, Erich started walking by Louise’s hand.
“By the way, aren’t you really brother Cabel’s hidden sister or something like that? How do you look like him as the days go by? No matter how much I look, you don’t look like brother Johannes’s sister.”
“You talk too badly. I don’t resemble brother Cabel at all!”
Erich laughed as he heard Louise screaming.
Penny barked from behind and chased the two. As she followed his steps, the smell of fresh grass passed over his nose.
It was a peaceful day like any other.
Hari’s POV
“Isn’t Louise interested in Erich anyway?”
Hari said, thinking of Louise, who had just greeted her shortly before and left the door immediately.
As soon as she came inside, she shouted out that she would borrow Erich with a so arousing voice.
Not long ago, she went to see Erich at the academic institution, and yesterday, she sent a letter to Erich to call him at the ball, and it was a bit strange.
It’s a combination of Erich and Louise…
On the other hand, while she was going to tilt her head somehow, she also thought it would sound well in her own way.
Of course, even now, it seemed that Erich was a little tired of Louise’s annoyance.
“Yeah. It’s a little unexpected.”
Eugene briefly agreed with Hari’s words.
However, he did not pay attention to this topic for a long time, and moved his gaze to Hari once again after staying at the door for a while.
Hari bowed her head to avoid the black eyes staring at herself.
“Hmm. The cake is good. Brother, look, you should also try eats it.”
Eugene is still looking at Hari’s eating.
Then, at one point, Eugene’s hand reached out to Hari, who sat face to face with the table in between them.
“I have.”
Well-groomed fingers rubbed her lips and passed. Hari flinched at the light touch, which can be said to be nothing in some way.
Suddenly, things up to this morning come to her mind again, her cheeks is hot.
Because of what happened all night, her voice was hurt as if she had a cold.
Eugene, who spent the night with her yesterday, and Eugene, who are now looking at her with a friendly face, were like different people.
When she thought of what driving her so tirelessly last night, she never knew how he had endured until now.
After that, he was belatedly asking her many times if she is okay, taking care of her body condition.
No, if that’s the case, would he do it moderately in the first place?
Hmm, damn.
Hari coughed again for no reason at the memories of last night that rose to the surface again.
Well, though, she thought it was fortunate that both Cabel and Erich were in poor condition.
No, of course, it’s a pity that the two suffer from hangovers.
Still, if they were in normal state, they might have noticed something.
In particular, Erich may have sensed suspiciousness from Hari or Eugene at the same time as he has good eyes.
Oh, by the way, she felt so embarrassed to face Eugene’s face like this that she feel she could die.
From a while ago, whenever she saw Eugene, it was very difficult to not remember last night’s events.
No, in fact, it’s still the same even when she was alone. Still, as she is facing Eugene’s gaze, she didn’t know what to do.
Whether he knew Hari’s heart or not, Eugene opened his mouth without taking his eyes off her.
“I heard that the La Sousse Flower Festival will be held during next week. You said you wanted to go before?”
Fortunately, it wasn’t about last night’s work. Hari replied, welcoming the changed topic.
“Yes, are you free then?”
“It’s okay because I’m going to be free next week.”
He have been working non stop because of Dice for a while and was busy, but for next week, it seemed that he could afford it.
“Then I should ask brother Cabel and Erich.”
She felt so good that she could go on a spring outing together after a long time, and a smile appeared on Hari’s face.
However, for some reason, Eugene did not accept her words and leaned his head at an angle.
“I was talking about the two of us going.”
“Ah, us two?”
Of course, Hari was a little surprised because she thought he meant to go together.
But when she think about it, it wasn’t surprising. Besides, she didn’t hate going to cherry blossoms alone with Eugene.
No, rather, after listening to the story from Eugene, she thought it would be better to go out alone with him.
“I haven’t had time to be with you for a while except yesterday.”
Then the words from Eugene’s mouth reminded Hari and make her cheek hot.
The air flowing between the two became a little more muddy than before.
“Then the two of us at this flower festival….”
“Are you going to the flower festival?”
But when Hari just opened her mouth up again, someone interrupted her words. It was Cabel.
“Oh, I’m hungry. I’m a little drunk now.”
He approached Eugene and Hari, scratching his head with a bustling sound.
He’s been lying in bed all the time since this morning and groaning over a hangover as he was in shape.
“Cabel, are you okay in the inside?”
“You said you’ve been hungry all morning. If you’re hungry, why don’t you go to the dining hall and eat anything?”
When Hari and Eugene in turn asked about his condition, Cabel certainly said with a more vivid face than in the morning.
“Oh, I think it’s okay now. I’m going to go to the dining hall to fill my stomach.”
Then he shouted, “Ah,” as if suddenly remembered.
“But are you going to the flower festival? La Sousse, Is the flower festival next week? I will be off duty at that time, that’s good.”
As always, Cabel didn’t notice.
He expressed his willingness to participate in the flower festival very naturally and casually.
Eugene and Hari stopped at the same time listening to Cabel’s words, but Cabel didn’t even notice them and kept talking about next week’s plans.
“Erich seems to be taking a day off next week because it was just the anniversary of the opening of the academic institute. Wow. Do you think it’s gonna work?”
For a moment, Eugene’s and Hari’s eyes met in the air.
Perhaps what the two are thinking now is similar.
Well, they can’t help it. Cabel says so far, and they can’t said that they were planning to go to this flower festival alone, and besides, he has such an excited face.
“Yeah, let’s ask Erich later.”
“I’ll just ask him now. Is he in his room?”
“He went out with Louise.”
“Oh, really? When did he come again?”
In the end, Eugene and Hari decided to postpone their going out for the next opportunity.
It was a little regretful, but it doesn’t had expiration date, and at first Hari was thinking of going to the flower festival with other family members.
Well, of course, it seemed like there was a lot more time to act with everyone than to spend time alone….
They think they have to figure out a way for this part in the future.
Thinking similarly, Eugene and Hari looked at each other.
Eugene’s POV
“The Duke is a really vicious employer.”
On the other hand, unlike what Eugene said to Hari, there was actually no room in Eugene’s schedule.
Still, trying to create a time that wasn’t there, it is his aide, Rowengreen, who eventually died.
“The jobs that came in today are so many, how do we finish this in this week?”
“I don’t remember having such a weak-minded aide.”
Rowaengreen, who had darkened pouch under his eyes, lamented, but Eugene didn’t budge.
There is also a point in saying,
‘Do it, not work’!
Isn’t this almost a level of tyranny to create something out of nothing?
Moreover, the reason for this crazy schedule is to go to the flower festival with his fiancee.
Of course only two days, and he said he will going to take the time and go out with his whole family, not to play, but that was it for Rowengreen.
“I think you’re having too much fun with Lady Hari these days? Your face have become brighter than before. His highness the crown prince said that he’s getting married soon..”
But his mouth got caught.
As he was complaining like that, he really thought it wouldn’t work.
So Rowengreen said half-heartedly.
“It seems that the time has come to me to marry me too. Looks like, shall I see the confrontation today?”
“It’s not bad. It’s about time I can go home today.”
“The Duke is a really vicious employer….”
The conversation came back to the beginning, as if taking a turned ticket.
However, it is Rowengreen’s competence that he did not rest his hand even in the midst of such regrets.
He will earn like a dog until this year, and next year, he will surely have a lot of money.
Rowengreen is firmly committed again.
He looked at the documents and wet with tears.
However, only God knew whether he could really get out of this hard work scene next year.
Johannes’s POV
On the other hand, there is one more man here who heard the story of the confrontation.
“Miss April, the famous daughter of Count Osud, said about Johan, and she is very interested in you. Why don’t you talk to her at this garden party?”
In fact, rather than a confrontation, it was an innocent recommendation after a broken heart from the people around him to help so he would be able to forget the pain with another meeting.
It wasn’t forced to the end, but it was quite difficult to pass it lightly every time from a standpoint of listening to the same sound several times.
Still, Johannes had a quiet, firm corner, and as usual, he passed the invitation with a smile.
“I am not going to attend this garden party, so maybe there will be a chance next time.”
His parents didn’t even talk about it anymore because of his rejection with laughter.
But, after a while, it is clear that they would give a word about another young lady and gently recommend him if he could meet them at least once.
“Aren’t you just rejecting it? If you meet once, there may be someone you like unexpectedly.”
As he got up and headed back to his room, Johannes encountered Louise.
In the hallway, she noticed the conversation he just had.
“Well, I don’t really want to meet someone that way right now. I don’t even feel the need for that.”
Johannes knew well why his family is doing this.
The whole family knew that Johannes had Hari in mind, so they were considerate of him in his their way, but Johannes didn’t need it now.
Some of them thought that if they pushed ahead further, it would be Johannes, not Eugene, who is next to Hari by now….
Johannes, who was the one who feel it, didn’t think so.
There is always a strange bond that had been formed between Hari and Eugene since the beginning.
Johannes still did not know what to define it as.
However, he seemed to know that what existed between them is so solid and sticky that no one else could slip through them.
So, from the beginning, Johannes couldn’t be the replacement of Eugene to Hari.
In some ways, it seemed to be his rationalization. But still, thinking so, he didn’t feel like it used to be.
“Well, if you can’t, you won’t do it, but if you change your mind, tell me. There are a lot of young kids around me who ask me to introduce them to you. Shouldn’t I feel the rewarding that you did well?”
Like his parents, Louise seemed to be easy, but in the end, she didn’t force him, but she said playfully.
It was only a few days ago that Johannes and his parents were scolding her for secretly going to a secret party in the middle of the night, but Louise took it to heart.
She still bright as if not put it out.
If he think about it, she went out alone and visited Ernst on the day after the masquerade ball as if nothing had happened the day before.
Still, for a while, his family only daughter’s unstoppable moves, who knew how to be self-sufficient, obviously lost sight from their parents.
His parents said that they were worried because he wasn’t strict with such Louise, and Johannes thought this is the advantage of Louise.
“If there is anything you need, tell me anytime. There is a part of me where my brother unintentionally gave help this time.”
“Help you?”
“Yeah, It almost got a little annoying when it became double money, right?”
“What?”
Johannes questioned Louise’s words and questioned his ears.
He wondered if he couldn’t hear it well, so he stared at the faces he faced, but Louise was still in a quiet day.
“Have I heard the wrong thing right now? I think you said it was double buying money.”
“You heard it right, so what?”
“Have you know and ever expressed that kind of expression?”
“Isn’t it that you don’t know when and what will happen between men and women?”
He asked herself, but he lost only words to say to Louise’s return.
“Well, it’s not right now anyway.”
While Johannes is speechless, Louise spoke naturally, leaving the room first. She seemed to have no idea what influence her words had on her brother.
While standing alone in the hallway, all sorts of storms raged in Johannes’ head.
After a while, a hard self-talk buzzed in his mouth.
“…..No way, it’s not Cabel.”
Of course, when he think of Louise’s usual dealings with Cabel, he thought it wouldn’t be possible.
However, no matter who sees, the two people were strangely similar in their free-spirited atmosphere and behavior, and it was the same as Erich and Cabel that they did not see such a feeling until now.
‘Isn’t it that you don’t know when and what will happen to the original relationship between men and women?’
Besides, aren’t the words Louise said a while ago really meaningful?
Johannes’ face was dismissed.
As this is about Louise, whom he didn’t know where she was going from when she was young, once he started to think about it, his doubts didn’t fade.
Johannes gazed at the place where Louise had disappeared, and finally decided something to do with his impaled pace.
He seemed to be a little busy from now on.
Ethan’s POV
On a spring day a week after a sunny day, Ernst’s family is busy preparing to go out.
“Brother Cabel, wait a minute! That’s a lunch box to eat later. Don’t take it out secretly!”
“I only ate one!”
“Erich, are you going to take Penny?”
“Yes, it’s been a while, so we’re going to go together.”
It was because they all decided to go on an outing together at the Flower Festival in La Sousse this year.
Ethan looked at people moving busily since the morning.
Ernst’s three brothers, Hari, and the people of the mansion all busy preparing for an outing, while only Ethan is at leisure.
Seeing him like that, Hari asked.
“Are you ready, Sir Ethan?”
“Yes.”
In fact, Ethan had nothing to say of preparation. As usual, he is to accompany them for the purpose of escort.
“I was worried because it rained a few days ago, but I am glad the weather is sunny today.”
Hari laughed with a red hat for going out.
Ethan opened his mouth unintentionally toward her, but other people’s words is ahead of him.
“What, are you taking that person too?”
Erich, grabbing Penny, asked, narrowing his eyebrows.
“Yeah, of course we go together.”
“What is he doing until this day? Just ask him to rest at home.”
He grumbled as if he didn’t quite like that Ethan going to a flower festival with them.
It wasn’t a day or two that Erich disliked Ethan, and there was no reason to say anything to this. So now everyone didn’t listen closely to him.
“If you are ready, let’s go.”
However, when the older brother Eugene approached, Erich also stopped groaning.
“Because there is Penny, it would be impossible for everyone to ride in one carriage. I think we should split in two.”
“Woof woof!”
Penny, who is next to him, barked as if he had understood Erich’s words.
Erich has been surprisingly friendly to his dog since long ago, so he walked around, patting her fur like a child on such Penny.
“I think we can split it in two.”
Eugene and Hari naturally stood side by side and walked toward the front door. Just before they turned away, Eugene’s gaze once reached Ethan.
Ethan looked down a little and then stepped back, as always. Eugene turned his head back without saying anything.
Cabel and Erich are right in front of Ethan, so he could unintentionally hear the conversation between the two in detail.
“I guess you should ride the carriage with me and not with brother.”
“What? What kind of fun are you and us two riding in the same carriage? I’m going to ride with Hari.”
“Hah. I know you didn’t notice, but be patient today. We’re going out as a member, but why did brother want to ride a carriage with Hari and older brother?”
“Huh? Didn’t I just notice? No, but what’s wrong with me riding a carriage with Hari?!”
Erich’s voice, emphasizing pathetic, and Cabel’s voice, confused because he could not understand the words of his brother, rang alternately.
“Then, please go and have a good time, Duke, the masters and the lady.”
The butler, Hubert, followed them as they left the mansion and saw them off.
Ethan stood and greets Hubert with a glance and then leaves the door.
From the past, Ethan was sometimes afraid that his existence was hurting Hari.
It was because of his past.
Ethan knew very well how people looked at him because of the past that would never disappear.
Nevertheless, Hari accepted him, and what other people were saying, she told him that she doesn’t care.
So Ethan stayed by her side, knowing that he had no mind, but there was a moment when even he couldn’t forgive himself.
It was the moment when he learned that Hari was kidnapped during the last hunt.
‘Ethan Bishop. Hari was kidnapped, so why are you standing right in front of my eyes?’
At that time, Ethan was given probation because it was a punishment for failing to protect Hari, but it was also because his desperation is in a very bad condition to see in front of Hari.
However, Ethan never thought that Eugene’s treatment had been overlooked.
The reason that the escort target was stupidly letting go of his hand and being kidnapped was something that couldn’t be tolerated, whatever the reason.
So Ethan thought that it was incomprehensible that he had returned to Hari’s escort again.
If Eugene and Hari told him no more, even he judged that he could not assume the role and excommunicated like this, he was able to fully agree.
The day of Lavender Cordis was decided and the last day Hari wanted to see her, Ethan realized what he had to do.
After that, it was Lavender Cordis that make Ethan went for a week on vacation.
‘What, what, you?’
Lavender Cordis was unmanaged for a while around the villa where she’s being quarantined and confined.
There is a dense forest.
Ethan met Lavender alone there. As soon as she secured the blinded view, she was very embarrassed by the appearance of him that caught her eyes.
‘I wonder if that girl sent you here? To kill me?’
Soon Lavender glared at Ethan with a poisonous glance, as if realizing something.
‘Ha, I trembled in front of other people, but in the end…..’
‘I did not come under the order of Lady Hari.’
Lavender eyes was the color of suspicion of Ethan’s words, but after a while, her eyes lit up with a facial expression to see what she thought.
‘Then, is it Eugene who sent you here? Yeah, originally you were Eugene’s man.’
She seemed to rather sweeten the murderous intentions that Eugene may have. Thinking that she is exerting that much influence on him.
But it was a perfect illusion.
‘Miss Lavender Cordis. Sorry, but he doesn’t even care about you. It has been and will be be, that fact will not change.’
Of course, he thought that there would be nothing in the future for Eugene’s anger toward Lavender Cordis to cool down.
Ethan couldn’t forgive the person in front of him right now, as Eugene couldn’t have done that.
In that sense, she might have succeeded in becoming an unforgettable existence to Eugene as she wished, but he didn’t have to tell her that.
‘You are nothing but meaningless existence to the Duke. The reason I came here today is that It’s not because you received a separate statement about you from them.’
Rather, it would be better to remind himself of his worthlessness.
Lavender Cordis still didn’t know that the reason she still alive to this day was entirely because of Hari. Or is it just something she doesn’t want to admit.
Ethan recalled the atmosphere of Ernst, which gradually began to change several years ago.
Ernst’s mansion is now obvious like spring has come.
In line with that, Eugene’s atmosphere became somewhat gentler from some time, just like the melted ice.
Ethan knew that all of this was because Eugene respected and valued Hari that much, even though he would never have saved the person who harmed Ernst alive.
‘Do not be ridiculous! Then why did you find me? Are you here to make that word? Are you trying to upset me upside down?’
But that did not mean to forgive Lavender Cordis as it is.
However, Eugene’s anger would not be resolved by directly killing her.
And perhaps it will be done secretly in a direction that Hari did not know, Ethan guessed.
‘Lady Hari said she doesn’t want you to die, so I’m going to respect her opinion.’
Hari suffered more than Lavender Cordis, she said she wants her to suffered more than death. She think it’s more terrible than death.
But everyone knew it was her kindness.
‘By the way, it seems that you, whom I met today, still do not reflect on or regret what you have done.’
‘Reflection, why am I doing that….’
Srang.
Lavender stopped talking when she saw Ethan pulling a sword out of the sword he was wearing in his waist.
‘What, what? Go, don’t come close.’
‘I think a person has to go through the exact same thing to understand someone else’s pain.’
Lavender Cordis, who was sitting on the floor, hesitated to avoid Ethan as he approaching her and stepped back.
Her hands and feet were rubbed by the grass and her clothes were covered with dirt, but she wasn’t in the mood to care about that, but soon after, a tree trunk touched her back and she had to stop moving.
The moment the sharp blade moves, Lavender screamed and closed her eyes.
Left jaw.
However, it was his left arm, not Lavender, that Ethan moved his sword to cut.
Lavender fell for a moment at his incomprehensible behavior, and soon shrugged her neck in the arms extending over her head.
Patter.
‘What….’
Red drops of blood fell over her head. Her pale cheeks and the burning red liquid looked like blood and tears for an instant.
Then the expression of Lavender Cordis suddenly changed.
‘Do you think it’s a familiar situation somewhere?’
Ethan’s quiet voice ran across the fresh air of the forest.
A terrifyingly quiet forest.
The smell of fishy blood on the tip of the nose.
A woman in the middle of the forest defenselessly without the least tools to protect her body.
‘Ahhh…’
Crumbling, the sound of the low, harsh throat of a beast heard somewhere in the ear.
Lavender only realized what Ethan was trying to do to bring her here. And what was the meaning of what he said a while ago.
Ethan quietly whispered to Lavender Cordis, whose face seemed to suffocate in fear.
‘Don’t worry. I won’t let you die.’
That’s how his vacation is over, and Ethan is returned to Ernst’s mansion.
On the way to find Hari, he accidentally ran into Eugene. Two men stood face to face in a hallway with a red sunset.
‘Duke.’
When Ethan said hello first, Eugene’s cool gaze reached him.
‘Hm. Are you coming back from today?’
‘That’s right.’
Eugene quietly stared at Ethan with an unknown face, and then glanced to his left arm. He knocked it down.
‘I think you hurt your arm.’
Ethan paused for a moment when Eugene discovered his injury.
He deliberately cut his arm, to Lavender Cordis, because he didn’t want to use animal blood, but it also meant punishing himself.
Perhaps Ethan would not continue to forgive his stupidity that endangered Hari.
‘It’s not a big wound to care about.’
And perhaps it was because he knew that fact that Eugene decided to tolerate Ethan.
But it wasn’t simply because he trusted his authenticity.
Probably because, as long as Ethan couldn’t forgive himself, this time he knew he would even give up his life when the same thing happened again in the future.
Ethan didn’t tell anyone about his move, but he didn’t think he could hide the facts from Eugene.
Probably, Eugene who let Ethan going to do during his vacation, should already know everything he did.
Eugene was the most regretful of his mistakes when Hari was in danger a while ago.
It is said that because he was vigilant, soaked in unfamiliar clothing, there was a man who dared to reach out through the loose gap.
So, since the last day, he has been protecting Hari’s surroundings without a single needle.
So, moreover, Eugene may know the accident that happened to Lavender Cordis a while ago.
There was no reason to not to.
Of course, even at this moment, she was still alive anyway, so it wasn’t a great thing to say of a mishap.
He dare think of it, Ethan and Eugene had some resemblance.
Probably in the future, they will live with a lot of blood on their hands, and that will happen where the person they want to protect will not know.
Uh, and unlike in the past, Ethan would not regret it anymore, so in a sense, he became more like Eugene.
‘Actually, I’m don’t like that you are next to Hari.’
Ethan bowed his head even deeper to Eugene’s cold voice falling overhead.
‘But I decided to leave it alone because I judged that no one was as suitable as you yet, and there is no more reason.’
‘I know.’
Ethan thanked Eugene for allowing himself to be with Hari again. So he answered with sincerity as if to express such a heart.
‘One mistake is enough, neither you nor me.’
Eugene looked at Ethan in silence for a moment and then opened his mouth again.
‘But don’t cross the line. You know what I mean.’
Ethan raised his head at the sound. With his back at the red sunset, Eugene was sending him a cool glance.
Ethan said it wasn’t unfamiliar. In the past, he had seen Eugene, who gave himself the same gaze as he is now.
It was the day when Ethan handed a violet anemone flower to Hari in the Imperial Palace.
As if to say that approaching her more than this was unacceptable, Eugene’s gaze contained a clear warning.
Ethan responded firmly to Eugene.
‘I swear it won’t happen.’
However, Ethan’s heart toward Hari was a little different from what Eugene thought.
Even though Eugene didn’t warn him like he is now, Ethan had no intention of getting close to Hari this strangely.
He didn’t dare to think about it was right.
However, even if he didn’t make such excuses, Ethan’s mind for Hari was different from the passionate passion.
It was good enough for Ethan if he could just see her smiling from a distance.
Eugene stared at Ethan’s face for a while, as if trying to gauge Ethan’s insides, and then moved to from his place first.
‘Hari is waiting, so stop watching.’
‘Yes, Duke.’
The memory of that day was settled there.
Hari’s POV
“Kwak! There are flowers everywhere!”
“It seems that spring is really spring. I can feel it when I come here.”
“Woof!”
La Sousse in the spring, where the flower festival is held, is Arlanta’s most famous tourist destination.
So, when the time comes, naturally, many people visit this place.
Seeing the flowers in full bloom all over the field of view, Penny and Cabel first expressed their excitement loudly.
Even though it’s with Penny, it was Cabel that he was not hiding a girl’s sensibility in secret from his livelihood.
Seeing such Cabel, Erich looked weird.
“What, brother Cabel, why do you like this, so that it doesn’t suit you?”
“Hah, the knight is sweating every day, Look only in Ethan. I will look completely in heaven here now!”
Somehow, everyone was silent for a moment at Cabel’s words oozing out.
“Yeah. It’s a long-awaited holiday, so I’m going to enjoy spring!”
“Of course! I’ll go and take the seat first! Let’s go, Penny!”
“Woof!”
Cavel is so excited, took a penny and ran first. Erich didn’t like the fact that he had taken Penny from him, but he just watch it because Penny is so happy.
The order was surrendered to Erich.
Looking at that, it seemed that Penny is the priority over Cabel for Erich.
“Brother Cabel, seeing you run like that makes you feel like a kid.”
“He’s just an old kid, well.”
Hari laughed at the back of Cabel running and running. Then Eugene also sympathized with him and laughed lightly with Hari.
“If you look still, I think brother Cabel is the youngest among us.”
Erich muttered his tongue.
“And you’re like the oldest of us.”
“What? Where do you look at, am i old?”
Then Erich jumped straight to Hari’s playful words. As always, the two began to ramble.
“What are everyone doing? Come on!”
As if he had a good seat, they could hear Cabel waving his hand from afar. It was then that they too took a step toward the place where Cabel and Penny were.
“Uh, here….”
When she reached the destination, Hari stopped without knowing.
“There’s a seat over there too, but it looks better here!”
However, Cabel, who took the seat, was not aware of any other thoughts.
Somehow, it seemed that he could not remember this place because all of these areas were full of similar flowers and radishes.
However, at a glance, Hari realized that where they are standing is ripe from that day.
When she looked around, it seemed that Eugene noticed the same thing as her.
But neither of them came up with a story about it.
“I’m hungry, let’s eat first!”
At Cabel’s torch, they decided to sit down under a large flower bud and start with a simple picnic with food in a basket.
Erich is looking around for a while, feeling a strange feeling of awe. But surprisingly, it was Cabel who first spoke out of what Hari was thinking.
“Oh, then I thought it was a bit familiar, but when we were young It was here now that we watched the flowers while sitting. Am I right?”
When he heard that, Erich also screamed, “Ah,” as if asking for the answer to the question that made his head tilted.
“I guess you’re right? I remember sitting there and playing with balloons.”
“Isn’t it? It’s been a long time since then and I was confused, but now I remember clearly.”
The last time they came here was the spring just before their parents, the Ernsts, passed away.
And now they sit down in the same place where they spent time with their family at that time.
Cabel and Erich were looking around with eyes that seemed to recall old memories. Following them, Eugene and Hari also moved their eyes.
The fascinating pale pink blossoms, the sweet and soft air around, and the laughter of people flowing from a little far away have little changed from the memories of the past.
So it’s as if at this moment, time has stopped from the days of childhood when they were all in peace. It felt like it.
“At that time, it was great.”
She couldn’t figure out which of them was muttering those words. Because all four of them felt the same longing and were looking back at times in the past.
“It’s been a long time, so it’s good. Right?”
Then Hari said with a smile.
The flowers smeared in her sight and that soft smile matched well as if it were a picture.
“Yes, I think we did well to come.”
Eugene also shouts with a dim smile. Following that, Cabel and Erich opened their mouths.
“Shall we come again next year?”
“Brother Cabel, do you think you can be lucky back then?”
“You can’t do it!”
In fact, the reason they did not come here so far was not because they feared that their memories with their parents would be revived.
It has only been a long time since everyone came together to come to the Flower Festival for their own circumstances.
As usual, the conversation continued in a noisy atmosphere.
So after they having a peaceful lunch, they decided to take a walk in the flower path.
“Sir Ethan, it’s a gift.”
Then, all of a sudden, Hari approached Ethan, who was walking behind her. A small cherry branch was held in her hand.
“It wasn’t broken, as it was separated, but I wanted to give it to you because it was pretty.”
Ethan’s eyes widened slightly, as if her gift was unexpected.
He pins Hari’s smile towards himself as he watched her face silently for a moment, then slowly raised his hand.
The branch of flowers from Hari’s hand was carried to Ethan’s hand.
“Thank you.”
At Ethan’s words, Hari smiled brighter than before. She soon turned back and he watched Hari running towards Eugene.
Eugene and Ethan, who were waiting for Hari and watch her actions, Ethan met his eyes for an instant, but instead of showing a cool glance like the last time, Eugene’s gazes moved toward Hari as if he had no weight on the previous events.
Cabel and Erich are already walking in front of them.
“Oh, my brother has petals on his head.”
“Where?”
“Wait a minute. I’ll do it.”
Hari’s touch gently swept Eugene’s hair.
Eugene looked closer and lowered his head to make it easier for Hari to move her hand.
“It’s done now.”
At that moment, a soft wind passed them by. Again above his head, pale pink petals began to scatter from the flower trees.
Seeing that, Hari shouted,
‘Oh’.
“I guess I just left it now. The petals keep blowing anyway…”
It was then that warmth, warmer than the spring breeze, touched her lips.
Of course, Hari couldn’t finish what she was trying to say.
After a while, Eugene, who once stole Hari’s lips and raised his head, and grabbed her hand.
“I think your hands are a little cold. If it’s cold, tell me.”
Eugene very naturally took Hari’s hand and walked the path under the flower tree. Hari walked, led by him, quickly whispered with a silent voice.
“What are you doing now? There are so many people here….”
“I’m sorry. You are so pretty that I didn’t even know.”
However, in response to Eugene’s unconventional answer that soon followed, she only lost her words.
Like the color of the petals scattered in the wind, the soft water heard on Hari’s cheeks. Eventually, she couldn’t say anything to Eugene anymore.
The two held hands and walked together along the path of the petals scattering.
It was an endlessly sweet and warm time as if only the spring days like today will last forever.
