103 – 25. Without hesitation (4)
The day began like no other.
Wake up, face a new day, deal with new things.
The position of family head is not something you can just enjoy.
In order to enjoy it, you have to take on so many duties, you have to always wrap your head around it.
The paperwork that came in every time couldn’t be that painful.
From trivial issues to very important parts that determine the future of Yeongji
Once you decide, everything in Lichtenau will change at once.
So, work hours were a moment in which Shien could not laugh.
“… .”
But today, a smile kept spreading across Shien’s lips.
Even while doing paperwork, while taking a break, even while drinking tea.
I couldn’t stop laughing when I saw Adele standing still next to me.
“Adele.”
“yes.”
“Adele.”
“Yes, Shien.”
No matter how many times I called, Adele answered right away.
It looks like he’s curious about what he’s calling himself to say.
However, he does not rush Shien or ask first.
Adele just waited patiently for her to say the next thing.
“Would you like to come over here for a second?”
As a bonus, no matter what Shien said, he didn’t question it.
Just when she called, Adele came right next to her.
I don’t know what else to do to make her happy.
Adele thought it was best to do this.
“Shall we go for a walk? I roughly finished my work in the morning, but I still have some time left until lunch.”
“I see.”
Cien stood up from his seat holding Adele’s hand and went to the garden.
It is the same scenery, the same sunlight, and the same wind.
Nothing has changed. At least he hadn’t taken a walk with Adele before.
But something was different from before. Even if it was different, it was so distinctly different.
Without moving my steps, I quietly turn my head and look at Adele.
Then Adele stared at Xien as if there was something wrong.
“Why is that?”
“I like it.”
“yes?”
“I like it.”
Seeing Adele blinking, I want to play pranks all the time.
I feel like a man I don’t really know.
Sometimes, even when he unexpectedly strikes at me and comes in.
Also, like now, there are parts where I don’t know what to do.
“uh… I am Shien.”
“Yes, Adele.”
“me too… Should I tell Shien-nim that I should like him?”
“If you want to do that, can you?”
Where else would anyone ask such a direct question like that?
Anyway, Shien giggled inwardly, saying that he was a man he didn’t even know.
Seen’s answer, Adele seemed to be thinking hard about something.
He seems to be thinking about what to say to make her like it.
Seeing that clearly, Shien ended up bursting into laughter.
“Ahahahahaha!! ha… .”
You’re not the only one who’s felt this way all this time.
This man, as well as I, was thinking about what to do.
When I think about it, my heart keeps beating fast.
Hearing the princess’s words, he also thought that it was really fortunate that he went first.
Shien made a promise to herself that if she went to the imperial palace again someday, she would definitely say thank you.
“Shall I sit down?”
Sien sits on a chair on the side of the garden and holds Adele’s hand.
“Adele sits too.”
“I’m fine, but… .”
“Don’t do that, sit down.”
Adele pondered for a moment at Sean’s words, then sat down next to Sean.
At the same time, it seemed that he was worried that someone would come by taking a quick look around.
“why? Wouldn’t it be nice if other people found out?”
“no. Shien-sama, not me, might be in trouble.”
“Am I? Why am I in trouble?”
“That’s it… .”
Don’t you think you and I don’t get along, Adele was about to say.
But his instincts told him never to say that.
“It shows on your face. what were you trying to say Don’t you think other people will think that the two of us don’t go well together as lovers?”
“… How did you know?”
“I also use mind reading.”
Of course it was a joke. You can tell just by looking at Adele’s expression.
But Adele seems to have taken Sien’s words seriously.
“really… Do you read people’s minds?”
“Can you read it? It’s a joke.”
“Ahh.”
The more I look at it, the more I think it’s really like a puppy.
Do not miss any jokes or small actions of yours and respond seriously.
Approaching them will startle them slightly, but they will not run away.
On the contrary, it goes deeper than Sien and even clings to it.
“Adele. Whom did you fight beside?”
“I was next to His Majesty the Emperor.”
“How are the Imperial Knights who were at the side of His Majesty the Emperor treated?”
“… On Sir Derry’s part, it seems like he’s being treated very generously.”
“that’s right. So maybe you will too? He was the one who led the Empire to victory during the Great War.”
“But people don’t know about me. Of course, I have no desire to inform you.”
“I know. So I have to convince others.”
After saying that, Shien cautiously rested her head on Adele’s shoulder.
Adele’s body trembles slightly, but it soon subsides.
“I will do everything I can. So, you do what you can.”
“If it’s something I can do.”
“Just like now, stay by my side. The words you said you like me I will protect you.”
At Sean’s words, Adele sat still and then opened her mouth.
“At that level, I am confident.”
“Are you really confident? Can I continue to like you until the end?”
“yes.”
“Even if I hear strange things because I am weaker than you, and because I am of half demon race?”
“In that sense, I am dead in the first place. I’ve heard that it’s a monster.”
It’s a mixed race demon and a monster, isn’t it a really good relationship?
Of course, now it’s just one woman and one man. That’s all.
Shien giggled and dug into Adele’s arms a little longer.
“Adele, can I ask you a little weird question?”
Adele was worried about what to do with Cien, who kept digging into her arms.
Instead of answering Shien’s question, he nodded his head slightly.
“Why does Adele like me?”
“… yes?”
Why is it good? is a very obvious question, but one I never thought of.
Adele couldn’t help but stare blankly at Xien, like a fool.
“Why do you like me? Can you tell me?”
“That’s it… .”
“Not that it shines. You already explained why you were by my side. something else I’d love to hear other reasons as well. Can you tell me?”
“… .”
If it was another man, could you tell me first?
Or, he would have given a suitable reason or given a general answer and walked away.
But Adele had no idea how. I hadn’t even thought of that.
Just because Xian asked why, because he was asking why he likes me.
He just thought and thought over and over again to fulfill his true feelings.
“… It is because it is different.”
It was a question that even Shien asked without much meaning.
Adele was alone in the world answering the question with a serious expression.
“Siennim is different from me. A person who is more human than I, a human being. Someone who can empathize with someone’s pain. The one who puts all his energy into saving, not killing. So, because you are different from me. I want to be by your side To the extent that it makes me want to keep an eye on something precious that I don’t have.”
“… Wow, that’s a really cool answer.”
I just thought of a joke answer.
Thinking that to herself, Shien touched Adele’s hand.
Now that I’m seeing it properly, Adele’s hands are full of scars.
There are calluses on the palms and all sorts of scars on the backs of the hands.
Things you can see at a glance how fierce and cruel he lived.
Adele said she liked the way she looked when hugging others.
But Shien, Adele also really wanted to hug her.
This man with nowhere else to go, this man whose only blood and fights were everything.
I wanted to be a person, not a monster, not a wolf.
“When this fight is over. When the day comes when there are no demons in the world again.”
So, Shien parted his lips involuntarily.
“Then Adele, what do you want to do?”
It’s something I’ve never thought about.
It is a world where demons no longer appear. I wonder if that will ever come.
Even though they won the Great War, the Demonic Realm is still appearing.
Recently, a number of disturbing movements have even been captured.
However, Adele did not bother to mention the possibility of that part.
Right now, Cien is asking himself what he wants to do then.
“… .”
Adele looked at her hand. And, I looked at Shien’s hand holding mine.
The moment everything was taken away by the witches, I thought that there would be no more human hearts left.
But that heart, the nature of pursuing happiness as a human being.
It seemed to have remained in this chest for much longer than expected.
“I am.”
I couldn’t figure out what to do.
However, it was clear that he wanted to be with someone.
“I just want to be with Shien-nim.”