"Get a clue!"
"Hup, no, I just asked...!"
"Shut your mouth!"
It didn't have to go that far. He could ask if they were lovers, so I answered nonchalantly.
"No, he's my brother."
Only then did the chilling atmosphere thaw. Orca opened his tightly shut eyes and smiled brightly, looking like he'd gotten rid of a decade-old indigestion.
Liam also smiled as if relieved and said,
"If we develop the menu that Shuian mentioned, we can invite your brother here too! Ah, but since he's also a Divine Beast, he might be uncomfortable around humans?"
My brother wasn't a Divine Beast but a human, but it was an unnecessary explanation. Either way, he couldn't come here since he was dead. Ah, even if he were alive, bringing him into the book would have been a problem.
"It's okay. Don't worry about it. He died a long time ago."
Even though I didn't mean to be insensitive, the atmosphere turned icy again. Feeling like I was unintentionally ruining the mood, I quickly waved my hand.
"It was a long time ago. Don't worry about it."
"I... I'm really sorry..."
"No, it's really okay."
Rayna, alternating glances between the flustered me and Liam, quickly brought out other dishes from the kitchen. Then, she tried to lighten the mood by telling us to try these too.
"Yeah, thanks. Theo and Orca, eat up quickly too."
Orca forced a smile and shoved salad into his mouth, looking like he was already getting indigestion even before he finished chewing, and Theo also looked displeased.
I pushed a plate towards Liam, who kept looking at me nervously. At least you should eat comfortably... No, maybe you're the most uncomfortable...
After talking for a long time and leaving the store, Theo, who had been carefully observing my face, asked.
"Shall I punish him?"
"Huh?"
"Liam. I can't kill him since Shuian gave him to me, but shall I punish him? He upset you, didn't he?"
Even though I said it was okay, Theo seemed to have been bothered by it the whole time.
"Liam didn't exactly upset me. It's really okay."
"Then, shall I avenge the one who killed your brother?"
It was clear that he wasn't just saying it to cheer me up but was genuinely sincere, and I burst out laughing.
Even though I had said several times that I wasn't angry, I must have been upset deep down, and something I didn't even realize melted away.
I answered with a much more relaxed heart.
"Um... in a country very far away from here, they ride around in very unique vehicles, you know? They're called cars. They're surrounded by thick iron and have wheels like carriages, but they're much faster than carriages and can go long distances quickly. Of course, not as fast as magic, though. Anyway, my brother was hit by one and died. It was an accident."
It wasn't anyone's fault, nor was it intentional. It was literally an unfortunate accident. That's why no one was punished, but I often thought that maybe the ones who were punished were the ones left behind.
Even so, I was really okay now. The life that I thought would never be okay had ended, and I was finally okay on the new time I had gained.
The man in front of me had made it that way. If I felt endlessly in love with the ruthlessness of the man who would willingly take up a sword for me at any time, I must be crazy.
"...Theo is in big trouble."
"What is?"
"Because I get lonely easily, I'm going to stick with you all the time and bother you. I won't care even if you regret spoiling me by only saying I'm pretty no matter what I do."
I said it in a tone that seemed to be giving a warning, but Theo smiled gently as he pressed his lips to my forehead.
"I'm already looking forward to that time."
I chuckled and listened to the conversation between Orca and Liam, who were following from a distance.
"Gasp, are you two in a romantic relationship?!"
"Well... not yet."
"...Then, did I make a mistake earlier? When I asked if you were lovers..."
"You're certainly not going to hear anything good from His Highness."
"I'm doomed..."
I burst out laughing again.
ê•¥
The next day, I woke up late and lazed around in bed for a long time as usual. I had lunch with Theo, who came to the bedroom around lunchtime.
Throughout the meal, Theo seemed to have something to say, but he didn't seem to want to tell me until the meal was over.
It didn't seem like bad news, so I pretended not to notice and waited quietly. Theo finally spoke after I had finished all the dessert.
"Shuian, do you have anything planned for today?"
"No, why?"
"The glass greenhouse is finished, and I was wondering if you would like to go for a walk with me?"
"Really?! I want to go! Now? Can we go now?"
As I got excited and fidgeted, Theo smiled and patted my back.
"Yes, now. Calm down first. You'll get hurt if you rush."
He waited until I finished eating because he thought I might get indigestion if he told me before eating. I grinned and got up from my seat, grabbing Theo's hand and pulling him along.
"Let's go quickly!"
"Alright."
Theo, who got up from his seat as if he couldn't resist my gentle touch, followed me willingly.
According to Theo's explanation, the glass greenhouse had been completed quite a while ago, but he had missed the opportunity to show it to me because of monster subjugation and several other things. Either way, I was happy that we had our own greenhouse.
"Now I have to take walks in the greenhouse every day."
"Hmm, can I be included in that schedule?"
"Theo is busy, though."
I didn't mean to blame him. I literally meant that he was busy, so he didn't have to worry about it, but Theo looked apologetic and kissed the back of my hand, drooping his eyebrows.
Ugh, I can't live with this. I thought he was a black panther, but he was completely a fox. He's really trying to seduce me!
"Well... I'll include you when you're not busy."
Theo smiled prettily only after seeing me answer as if I couldn't resist.
The greenhouse, which I was stepping into for the first time since its completion, resembled a forest more than a garden.
There were several flowerbeds here and there, but there were more ankle-high grasses and tall trees, and a little deeper in, there was a pond that had been magically made to flow like a river.
Seeing a somewhat familiar landscape, I immediately thought of the forest where Theo and I had first met. The river flowing on one side, the place where Theo always sat, and even the tree not far away where I had climbed up and looked down at Theo.
I couldn't help but smile at the feeling of going back to the past.
"I like it very much, but I don't know if Shuian likes it too."
"Of course, I like it a lot."
I answered immediately and approached the pond. Below, fish that I had seen a lot in the forest river, as Theo had said before, were swimming. Oh my gosh. Did he even prepare the same fish? He didn't catch them directly from that forest, did he?
As I quietly watched the fish, I remembered the dark history of failing to hunt and only eating water. If it weren't for Theo, I would have never been able to eat it in my life. What a disgrace to the Divine Beast.
"Actually, I prepared something after hearing what Shuian said..."
I turned to Theo, who had been looking down at the fish for a long time. As I tilted my head, Theo rummaged through something in the grass and took it out. What he was holding in his hand was none other than a large bird's nest. What's with the bird's nest?
"It would be perfect if I even brought the crow's nest that you stole. Wouldn't it?"
Was he talking about that nest! My face quickly flushed at the clearly teasing tone. Apart from being embarrassed, it was also funny, so I laughed a lot with a reddened face, and Theo also burst into a refreshing laugh.
After laughing for a long time, I finally stopped and took the nest.
"I can't help it. I'll let it slide considering the effort you put in."
I tucked the nest under my arm and grabbed Theo's hand, striding forward confidently.
Of course, even if the greenhouse was decorated to resemble that forest, it wouldn't be perfectly the same, but I placed the nest roughly on a tree in a similar spot, recalling my memories.
Theo cast a spell on the nest to fix it firmly. Using magic for such a useless thing... isn't this a real waste of talent?
I looked quietly at the nest that didn't budge even when I pressed it with my hand, and suddenly became curious.
I transformed into an eagle and flew up, then sat on the nest. Strangely enough, the size was almost the same as the one in the forest, so it was a bit tight on my butt, but the feeling was still comfortable and stable.
"Screech- Screech Screech."
This is really funny! How did he know the size? I didn't tell him that. As I chuckled, Theo poked the flesh that was sticking out of the nest with his finger.
"Oh dear, the nest looks like it's having a hard time. Come down quickly."
"Screeech-! Screech!!"
Why is the nest having a hard time! Feeling wronged, I quickly came down to the ground and tried to argue in my own way.
"The nest won't break! It's never broken before! And it's not that I'm big, it's that the nest is small!"
"Yes, Shuian is a very small bird."
Even though it was actually a ridiculous sophistry, Theo kissed me all over my face and affirmed me as if he was appeasing me. I could clearly see his lips twitching, but I decided to let it go this time.
Leaving the nest behind, I looked around the greenhouse and suddenly had an idea, so I grabbed Theo's hand and moved my feet.
Come to think of it, there was definitely a place where blue flowers were blooming...
In the place where only one blue flower had been blooming when I came here before and gave it to Theo as a gift, the flowers had all grown and an entire area was now covered in blue. The color, which looked like the sky or the sea, was very pretty.
"I picked a flower from here when I came here before. But there are so many now."
On impulse, I picked two flowers and gave one to Theo, then held each other's empty hands and strolled through the blue flower field. As I hummed a song whose title I couldn't even remember, I suddenly asked.
"Theo, have you ever seen the sea?"
"Yes, I have."
"What does the sea look like here?"
"Well... I'm not good at explaining, so how about we go see it together next time instead? It would be nice to build a villa near the beach and go there whenever Shuian wants to."
Originally, I would have stopped him, saying that there was no need to go that far, but today I liked Theo's suggestion very much, so I quickly nodded.
"Okay. We have to go together next time and swim and play in the sand on the beach. Got it?"
"Sand play?"
"It's about making castles or houses out of sand and making toad houses. Not real toad houses, but it's like a game of giving an old house and getting a new house."
Theo's face hardened in shock at my explanation. He looked like he was doubting his ears, as if such a gangster-like game existed, so I couldn't help but burst out laughing. It does sound a bit strange when you hear it like this.
"I'll go and show you. And I'll make a castle that's more magnificent than the Imperial Palace."
"A castle more magnificent than the Imperial Palace. I'm looking forward to it."
We exchanged trivial conversations and passed through the flower field, returning to the place in the forest where we had always been together.
As we sat leaning against the large tree trunk, I suddenly remembered covering Theo's body with a lot of unknown grasses the first day I met him.
"Ah, that's right."
I placed the two sky-blue flowers that we had shared on Theo's body. It wasn't even close to being similar to that time, but I was trying to at least get the mood.
"It's not perfect until we do this. Do you remember me covering Theo with a grass blanket?"
"Of course, I remember. When I first opened my eyes, I thought someone had tied me up with grass."
We both burst out laughing at the words that were obviously a joke. I looked around and naturally leaned my head on Theo's shoulder, and Theo leaned on my head, and we fell asleep without either of us saying anything.
The peaceful nap continued until Orca came to look for us because we hadn't returned for a long time. It was a very peaceful time.
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