Ever since they had that subtle conversation at the banquet, something that hadn’t existed before between Ray and Naro appeared—’awkwardness.’
“Ray, did you sleep well?”
“Yeah. Good morning to you too, Naro.”
“Ah, yeah.”
Silence settled between the conversation that seemed no different from usual. If this place were Rodelus Village instead of the inn they were staying at in the capital, Ray would have immediately pulled Naro into an embrace and brought his face close. Asking for a morning greeting.
“Should we… go down to eat?”
“Okay.”
But Ray didn’t reach out his hand or bring his face close, and Naro didn’t give him a morning greeting accordingly. They just exchanged trivial talk as they went down to the first floor where the cafeteria was.
The two sat facing each other familiarly and began eating the food they’d ordered. That’s when Naro’s mouth with soup on it caught Ray’s eye. Ray, who had been looking at it, naturally reached out his hand. But that hand stopped without reaching its desired destination.
“Naro.”
“Hm?”
Naro raised his head. Ray tapped his own mouth, letting him know food was there. Naro, fumbling around his mouth area, wiped off the food with a tissue.
The relationship between the two seemed no different from usual on the surface. But if you looked closely, there was a clearly established sense of distance.
“Naro, come this way.”
When a carriage approached from ahead, Ray pulled Naro’s arm. But only when pulling him. After the carriage passed, he quickly let go of the arm he was holding.
At the awkwardness felt from that action, Naro’s lips twisted bitterly. After the conversation they’d had at the banquet following Mellian, Ray was following too well the suggestion that it would be better to reestablish their distance. He didn’t engage in excessive skinship and didn’t act spoiled. Morning greetings were no longer mentioned, and like now, he didn’t touch him more than necessary.
Thanks to that, Naro’s heart, which had been turbulent, also became calm. He no longer wavered when looking at Ray, and there was no reason for his heart to pound madly. As expected, doing it this way was right. He should have done this from the beginning. It finally felt like everything had returned to its proper place.
“…”
“Naro, aren’t you getting on?”
Ray asked, pointing to the waiting carriage. Naro, not even realizing he had stopped walking, hurriedly boarded the carriage.
Today too, the carriage headed toward the ducal estate. Upon arriving at their destination, the two first met with Bern. He repeatedly conveyed his thanks for going to the banquet with his daughter before. Saying that Mellian seemed to have definitely changed since then.
The experience of confidently introducing herself at the banquet hall and reconnecting with Soret seemed to have had a good effect.
After being told to continue taking good care of her, Naro and Ray went up to Mellian’s room. Now Mellian greeted the two warmly when she saw them. Though of course she still acted bluntly toward Ray.
“How were the herbs I gave you last time?”
Naro familiarly took out his notebook and pen and sat facing Mellian. Ray headed toward where Pin was, as if finding his place on his own.
“It definitely felt more suited to my body than what I first took.”
Moreover, Mellian had been bedridden for about two days after returning from the banquet, the strain apparently too much for her body. Still, she added that thanks to taking the herbs Naro prescribed, her symptoms didn’t worsen and she recovered well.
“What about the coughing?”
“It’s definitely decreased. Ah! I tend to have cold hands and feet, but that seems to have improved too.”
Ever since using the herbs Naro had compounded, Mellian’s condition was definitely improving. Of course there weren’t immediate changes, but effects were gradually appearing at a slow pace. Naro wrote down Mellian’s condition in detail today as well. Before long, Ray, who had finished playing with Pin, was sitting beside Naro.
“Then I’ll try changing about two more ingredients.”
“Okay, use your judgment and take care of it.”
That was tantamount to saying she now completely trusted him. The image of Mellian throwing a pillow at them to leave at first had now completely disappeared.
“Hmm, and also. Soret came to visit the house. She asked me to go out to the plaza together later. So I accepted for now.”
“Really?”
When Naro smiled brightly as if pleased, Mellian let out a cough for no reason. Though still with a shy expression, anticipation and joy shone on her face, and the corners of her mouth wriggled pleasantly.
“That’s great. If you make more friends, it will definitely help improve your constitution too, my lady. Mental aspects also affect the body.”
Watching Naro, who was happy as if it were his own affair, Mellian thought. Though she hadn’t met many people, Naro was the first person who had such a gentle and warm power. As Mellian suppressed a pleased smile while watching Naro diligently organizing content in his notebook, Ray suddenly caught her eye.
Ray was also smiling while looking at Naro, who was excited not much differently from Mellian. But only up to that point. His hand, raised in the air as if to pat Naro’s hair, stopped as if brakes had been applied. In the end, Ray slowly withdrew his hand without touching his hair.
Mellian, who had been putting down her teacup, tilted her head. The two people Mellian was watching were supposedly cousins, but they had definitely seemed to have deep affection. She could clearly feel them relying on each other.
But somehow. Strangely, the relationship between the two didn’t seem the same as before. Though not visible to the eye, it definitely felt like a wall had formed blocking the space between them.
She had received a similar feeling when returning to the mansion from the banquet hall, so she had even asked then if they’d fought. But both Naro and Ray said no.
“Then I’ll just go report to the Duke and come back.”
“Okay.”
After conversing with Mellian, Naro reported to Bern whenever there were changes in the herbal compound she would take. In any case, Bern was the one who had entrusted this work, and since these were herbs to be used directly on his daughter’s body, he thought that Bern as her father should also know clearly.
“Hey.”
After Naro left, Mellian immediately called Ray.
“Did you fight with your cousin hyung or something?”
“Why do you keep asking that since last time?”
“Just. Because it seems that way. There’s one thing I gained from my constitution, you know? It’s the ability to sense other people’s moods.”
Because Mellian received so much attention, she unconsciously came to naturally observe others’ gazes and moods.
“So I can see that the relationship between you two has strangely changed.”
It was probably a change that Bern or Hayla wouldn’t have noticed, but Mellian could tell.
“Nothing’s changed. And it won’t happen in the future either.”
“Do you really think so?”
“…”
Ray shut his mouth tight. His face, which somehow also looked sullen, represented his complicated state of mind.
“I’m someone who thinks nothing is eternal. I’ll apologize in advance if this is meddling.”
“I’m always looking straight at Naro.”
“And yet?”
“And yet… lately I don’t really know. What’s what.”
Silence briefly hung in the room. Mellian lightly spun her teacup once and took a sip of tea.
“That saying about looking straight, can you really be certain of it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Humans are quite complex creatures, you see. Even if I think I’m going the right way, that I’m seeing clearly, that might just be that person’s thought. In reality, they’re neither going the right way nor seeing clearly, but they just believe that they are.”
Ray hesitated. The words ‘I’m not human, I’m a dragon’ almost popped out automatically.
“You just said it with your own mouth, didn’t you? That nothing will change. Isn’t that just what you want to believe? I’m wondering if you might not be realizing what’s truly important with just that one certainty.”
“What you’re saying is difficult.”
“Well, I guess it would be rather hard for you to understand what someone like me, who never lost top rank at the academy until I quit, is saying?”
At Mellian’s words spoken with a slight smile, Ray furrowed his brow. Though he didn’t really know what top rank at the academy meant, he could very clearly feel that she was mocking him.
Just then, the sound of knocking on the door was heard and Naro entered. As if his conversation with Bern had gone well, a smile was still deeply set on his face.
As soon as Naro entered, the gaze that had been fixed on Mellian all along immediately turned toward Naro. Watching him emit an energy of having waited with his whole body while fixing his gaze, Mellian looked at the air for a moment.
“Naro.”
“Yes?”
“Do you have any plans this evening?”
“No. I don’t.”
“Then have dinner at our mansion before you go. With me and Father. You too, black giant.”
Mellian gave an order, not a suggestion. Because of that, without room to refuse, Naro and Ray had no choice but to have a meal at the mansion.
“I was just thinking I definitely wanted to treat you two to a wonderful meal, so this worked out well.”
Naro’s mouth fell open. He was first shocked by the size of the dining room inside the mansion, and second shocked by the enormous amount of food placed on the long, wide rectangular table.
Bern even served Naro and Ray various foods, telling them to eat a lot. Though it was an unexpected dinner, this was the first time in Naro’s life eating such delicious food. Ray also, perhaps finding it to his taste, emptied his plate without rest.
“Thank you for treating us. It was really delicious.”
After finishing the meal like that, Naro naturally prepared to return with Ray.
“Wait.”
Then Mellian stopped the two who were about to leave.
“I haven’t told you two that you can leave yet.”
“…What?”
Naro and Ray naturally looked at each other and tilted their heads.
