ASDM 29

Chapter 29

Was I seeing things?

I just stood there blankly, and for some reason—maybe misunderstanding the situation—Levi quickly jumped down from Ignight.

“Are you hurt? Let me see.”
“You…”

He… sounded so human when he spoke.

No, wait. That wasn’t the important part right now.

I grabbed Levi’s cheeks with both hands as he approached. His warm cheeks grew even warmer in my palms.

My goodness—he was really here.

“W–why are you here?”

I hadn’t heard a word about him being on break.

Levi looked straight at me and mumbled an answer, letting me hold his cheeks without resistance.

“…Because I did.”
“What?”
“Because you said you wanted to see me.”

My brain creaked like an old millstone.

So, he was saying—

“You came because I said I wanted to see you? Even though it’s still the semester?”

Nod.

That small but firm nod made my heart feel warm.

It was like the feeling when a wolf came running into my arms after I whistled for it—but somehow different, too.

Hmm, still… I need to teach him that this isn’t okay. He could’ve just sent me a nice reply instead.

Suppressing a smile, I tried to collect myself.

Even if his body was young, as his mentally older wife, I had a duty to guide my little husband onto the right path.

“Hey, no matter what, you can’t just do this. Won’t you get in trouble next semester? Maybe even get disciplined?”
“Probably.”
“Wow, seriously… What do we do? Maybe you should just go back—”
“I’m not going.”

Levi cut me off and averted his gaze, like a puppy that didn’t want to get scolded after making a mess.

I stayed silent and expressionless, wondering what he’d do. He kept glancing at my eyes and then quickly looking away.

“…Pfft.”

I tried to hold it in, but a laugh slipped out.

Ugh, what a puppy. And he looked like a cat, too.

If Levi had ears and a tail, they would probably be drooping like wet laundry right now.

Ah, whatever. Is school really that important? A couple’s affection matters more!

Smiling brightly, I said,

“Fine, let’s just stay together!”

For as long as possible—until we could add “happy ending” to our list of keywords.

* * *

“Levi Bastion.”
“Yes.”

Levi replied calmly to Wolfgang’s unusually low voice.

By all rights, he was the one in trouble, but the only one looking anxious was Asha, sitting beside him.

“There are still ten days left in the semester, and yet you rushed here as soon as exams ended?”
“Oh, but he did finish his exams, right?”
“Don’t take his side.”

Asha, who had jumped in at the perfect moment, quickly pursed her lips shut.

Still, her round eyes were darting about nervously. She was clearly worried Levi might get scolded too much.

Meanwhile, Levi…

Giving him the side-eye while pretending not to.

Wolfgang let out a silent, bitter laugh.

Such raw emotion… He almost wished he could show it to his late wife, who had worried about their eldest son to the very end.

“You’re grounded for a week. Stay in your room and reflect.”

At that, Asha looked relieved. It was obvious she thought this was light punishment since Levi rarely left his room anyway.

Unfortunately, Wolfgang’s mischief didn’t end there.

“Of course, no visitors either.”

As soon as he added that, Levi’s brows furrowed deeply.

Wolfgang almost wanted to double over laughing.

“I object.”
“Overruled.”

With a satisfied grin, he ushered the kids out of his office.

Really, in these dull and dreary days without his wife, at least this fluffy white ball brought him some entertainment.

“Did you get scolded badly?”

Benjamin, waiting outside, asked cautiously.

Asha shook her head, but Levi’s mood told a different story.

Seeing him clearly down, Asha reached out and took his hand.

“Come on. I’ll walk you to your room, okay?”

Just that seemed to lessen the dark aura around him.

Leaving Benjamin murmuring in awe, Asha and Levi walked away.

“A week will pass quickly. Summer vacation is long—nine whole weeks. Still, it’s really lucky you managed to finish all your exams before coming…”

Asha glanced back at Levi trailing behind her.

Oh. No way.

“Was that because I told you to do well on your exams?”

Nod.

Asha fought to keep her lips from curling into a smile at Levi’s honest nod.

“Seriously, you listen so well—so why didn’t you send me a reply?”

She muttered grumpily. Levi almost answered but stopped.

The truth was, he had tried to write back every night. But the more he reread her letters, the less he could bring himself to write anything at all…

Words are dangerous, he had realized one day during his last composition exam.

He’d thought words were just things you strung together to fit the given prompt. But now he knew they had real weight and power.

“We’re here.”

Asha stopped in front of his door, sounding reluctant.

“Go on in.”
“…”
“Hurry. What if you get in more trouble?”

She looked at him helplessly when he stood still, gripping her hand tightly instead of letting go.

Sure, she didn’t want to be apart for a week either, but…

“Think about it—we’re only apart because you can’t leave your room and I can’t go in, right?”

The little girl who wielded the greatest power over Levi grinned.

“Don’t worry. There are lots of ways to have a date.”

* * *

“Now! Let’s eat madeleines! Ah, say ah!”
“…”
“How is it? Delicious, right? Feed me, too!”
“…”
“No, don’t actually throw it!”

I quickly waved my hands in alarm, remembering his previous attempts to “feed” me by lobbing snacks across the lawn.

Thankfully, Levi lowered the madeleine he had lifted to head height.

Guess we still needed more training before we could do the whole “feed each other sweetly” thing.

With a sigh, I popped the madeleine from my plate into my own mouth and rested my chin in my hands, looking up as sweetly as I could—at my fiancé on the second-floor balcony.

Ever heard of a remote date?

Levi sat on his balcony, I sat in the garden below.

Each of us had an identical tea table, and we chatted leisurely from our separate spots.

Sometimes I’d read a fairy tale or work on homework, while Levi quietly watched me.

It was actually pretty fun. Even with the distance, it felt like we were facing each other.

Wolfgang would sometimes stroll by and throw in a jab, but we had nothing to be ashamed of.

“…Do you even know what self-reflection means?”
“Does self-reflection mean you can’t drink tea? I didn’t break any of Father’s rules.”

See? He didn’t leave his room, and I didn’t enter. We were following the rules perfectly.

When I shrugged shamelessly, Wolfgang just shook his head and walked away.

He didn’t really seem intent on punishing Levi too harshly anyway—more like he found us amusing.

Of course, there were others who barged in without hesitation.

“Can’t a lonely old man have a madeleine too?”

Taylor appeared under my table, mouth open wide.

I reluctantly fed him one, but then I heard a faint crack from above.

“Wow, this is heavenly. I thought I’d never taste something like this again in my life.”

Really? It was just an ordinary madeleine.

Taylor cackled like a witch, clearly enjoying himself.

Then Hugo and Winston appeared and dragged him away by the collar, like they were shooing away a bug from the table.

They’ve been friends for ages, I recalled.

Maybe that’s why watching them interact felt so comfortable.

“What are you thinking about?” Levi asked, brushing something from his hands.

Hmm, just…

“I was thinking it’d be nice if we could grow old like that too.”

I answered without hesitation and sipped my now-cold tea before looking back up.

“Levi, just now—”

Did you… smile?

He tilted his head like he didn’t know what I meant. His face looked as calm and expressionless as usual.

But I was sure I’d seen it—the slight curve of his eyes and lips.

“What about you?”
“Huh?”
“What were you thinking?”

Levi thought for a moment before answering slowly.

“I used to hate it here. But now I don’t.”

Here. This townhouse. The place where he had lost his only mother.

After a pause, I looked straight into his eyes and spoke clearly.

“You’ll keep feeling that way from now on.”
“…”
“I’ll make sure to fill your life with only good things.”

I grinned as I said it.

I wondered if Levi realized—his lips and deep red eyes were imitating me exactly in that moment.

“Inmate No. 282, released.”

Creak—

Finally, a week later, the door swung open and Levi walked out.

Wiping away tears of joy, I handed him a square of ricotta cheese.

“Here, eat this.”
“Why…?”
“Just because.”

Since there was no tofu here, this would have to do—eat it and don’t commit any more crimes.

I was just about to break off a piece to feed him when Benjamin appeared.

“Oh, here you are. The academy has decided on his punishment.”
“What’d they say?”
“They’ll reflect the number of unexcused absences in his grades and give him some school service next semester.”

Pretty much what I’d expected.

“Our Levi Bastion must have lost his top rank.”
“Yes. He’s second this time.”

So cool!

“Ugh, so annoying!”

Oops, wrong line.

But seriously—who else could skip ten days of school and still place second? The new top student was probably feeling pretty conflicted about it.

“Ahem, anyway, good job. Should we go out now?”
“First, you’ll have to see His Excellency.”

Oh, come on—why? His grounding was over!

When both Levi and I looked up at him, Benjamin’s expression turned strange.

“Something… unpleasant has happened.”