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chapter 38
Velita crouched near the bushes and carefully plucked a few white flowers.
“Isn’t this clover?”
“That’s right. Give me your hand.”
Silvester held out his left hand. Velita wove two clovers together and placed them on his middle finger.
“Ah.”
Silvester quickly withdrew his hand, realizing what she intended.
“That kind of thing goes on the ring finger.”
“You’re so picky.”
“Otherwise, what use is it on the middle finger? If you don’t use it, it’ll grow mold.”
Mold on a finger—what an exaggeration. Velita chuckled and tied the clover on his ring finger. Silvester looked down at his hand as if pleased.
“Now give me that. I’ll do yours.”
Nodding deliberately, Silvester gestured for the remaining clovers.
“Here.”
Velita handed them over and extended her right hand.
“Ah, don’t play around.”
“Why? I held it properly.”
“Left hand.”
Silvester said firmly. He quickly gestured for the opposite hand again, his expression serious.
“…Here.”
Finding it slightly amusing, Velita almost thought about running off, but instead, she gladly extended her left hand. Silvester bowed his head.
“You obey well.”
“What?”
Now he’s treating me like a puppy. Velita gently tugged at Silvester’s hair so it wouldn’t hurt.
“Ah, okay.”
Silvester feigned distress while meticulously tying the knot. His dense eyelashes cast a shadow downward.
“Hmph.”
Velita let go of his hair. Silvester snickered.
“If you lose that, I’ll make your night miserable.”
“Clovers break easily.”
“Exactly my point.”
Velita shook her head in disbelief. They strolled along, teasing and bickering.
“You’re not losing that clover ring, are you? Even a single flower from our memories is precious, isn’t it?”
Silvester replied sharply to every remark.
“When did he get so sly?” Velita thought.
Thinking back, he hadn’t been this proper at their first meeting, but over time, he seemed increasingly shameless.
…
How many meaningless conversations had they exchanged?
Walking while exchanging trivial remarks, they eventually reached the square. Passing the fountain, they entered the shopping street.
Some stores were familiar from Velita’s visits with Silvester or on her own, some she’d only seen the signs of, and others she hadn’t noticed at all.
“Don’t you want something like this?”
Silvester asked, stopping in front of one shop.
“What is it?”
“A necklace.”
Hidden by Silvester’s arm, it wasn’t easy to see what he was holding. Velita tilted her head.
Peeking slightly, she could see the object in his hand. Velita stared at it dully. It was a necklace, but…
“…Isn’t this a dog collar?”
“Don’t want it? Then never mind.”
Silvester placed the necklace back on the display.
“You’re avoiding the question.”
“Is it too crude?”
It’s not the crudity that’s the issue. Velita trailed behind, following Silvester.
“Do you think I, an old-fashioned person, wouldn’t recognize a dog collar?”
“Oh, I was just joking. And I never said I’d put it on you.”
“No dog even exists. Then who did you intend to put it on?”
“Me?”
Silvester pointed at himself and smiled. Velita was at her wit’s end. It wasn’t cute at all. What good would putting it around her neck do?
…But somehow, it didn’t feel bad.
“You just got tempted there.”
Snap. Silvester immediately noticed Velita’s expression and flicked his fingers.
“Nope. I wouldn’t treat anyone like a human rights-violating devil.”
“You are a devil.”
Velita looked at Silvester in mock shock.
“…You’re not going to hit me, are you?”
Her eyebrows raised.
“You deserve it.”
“Ah! Ah!”
Velita smacked his back, drawing glances from nearby pedestrians. Silvester flinched, regretting his words.
“You always regret what you said afterward.”
“…At least your arms got some exercise, thanks to me.”
“Tsk, again…”
Velita glared. Silvester quickened his pace, wary of more smacks.
‘What to do with that sharp tongue,’ Velita thought.
She watched his back with a sigh. Silvester—if only he’d keep his mouth shut. Always saying the wrong thing and getting called out.
‘Yet he takes it well when he’s hit,’ she thought.
Silvester glanced back as soon as Velita fell behind slightly. He stopped and waited in place. Velita glared openly at him.
Yet Silvester’s face held that carefree smile, infuriating her.
“….”
Velita turned her head. She walked toward Silvester but avoided eye contact, focusing on the lined-up stalls instead.
‘I actually felt my heart race for that guy earlier,’ she thought.
Tsk, the thrill is gone. Slightly bruised pride.
“Hurry up.”
Silvester urged as Velita’s steps lagged. She grumbled.
“I’m coming.”
‘He told me to hurry but he’s walking fast himself…’
Various items passed before her eyes—men’s belts, pottery, produce, and hardware.
“Anything you like?”
Finally beside her, Silvester asked, gazing at Velita subtly.
“Not really.”
Velita shook her head. Silvester directly asked about preferences.
“Jewelry, shoes, clothes, even food… nothing catches your eye?”
Velita shook her head again. Did he want to buy me something unnecessarily?
“….”
Her gaze shifted from the stall to Silvester.
“You…”
She studied his expression.
“Did I come out to buy something for you?”
Ouch. He avoided her gaze.
“…If there’s something you want, though.”
For Silvester, the market visit was just a tool to learn Velita’s tastes. The real goal was to deliver the promised gift from Count Kilves.
“Ahem.”
Silvester pretended to browse other shops. Velita grabbed his finger to make him look at her.
“I really don’t have any particular wants, Silvester.”
Between their intertwined fingers, a flower brushed lightly. Silvester reluctantly looked down at her.
“…Really?”
Though inexperienced with women’s tastes, Velita seemed lacking compared to ordinary people.
“Yeah.”
Thin spots like earlobes, neck, wrists, fingers…
‘Even commoners these days wear something small.’
Velita shone even without accessories, but Silvester felt vaguely something was missing. A person like her… next to him.
“…Still, you might not know about some things. If something seems fun or interesting, you can get it.”
Silvester gripped her hand more firmly as they walked through various shops. Yet Velita seemed utterly uninterested in ownership.
‘They say devils are greedy creatures… maybe not entirely,’ he thought.
Strangely, Velita was less greedy than a human.
In the end, Silvester gained nothing significant. They returned home after browsing the market thoroughly.
“Ah, got plenty of sunlight…”
Velita flopped onto the bed, her voice slightly drowsy.
“Tired?”
“No. Perfect for digestion.”
Silvester, having nothing else to do, sat beside her on the bed, turning to look at her.
His mind filled with thoughts. Had Velita truly nothing she wanted, or did she not realize it herself?
He recalled Velita in the past.
“…Silvester, are you… happy?”
Silvester, who had never shed a tear despite hardships, had grown strong through misfortune. Yet on the day Velita confessed her past, he cried.
The reason was unclear. Even without that day, seeing Velita in pain alone brought him to tears.
Her past had nothing to do with him, yet his emotions were stirred as if someone controlled them deep inside.
“….”
He remembered Velita’s face when she couldn’t answer who she truly was. He asked simply to understand her past and personality.
Yet Velita was deeply confused.
If she had clear preferences, memories, and life, she wouldn’t have wandered so. A person’s driving force usually comes from memories of their past—small joys, a laugh, a treasured moment. Leaning on such scraps of the past, people move forward.
“….”
Lost in thought, Velita softly asked,
“Still thinking?”
Silvester’s previously absent gaze focused. He blinked and looked at the bedsheet.
“About what?”
“About what I like.”
He must have appeared down. Even then, the devil was quick to notice…
“Well… a little.”
Velita turned over, lying on her stomach, looking at Silvester.
“Honestly, I’ve never been very interested in luxury items.”
She spoke to comfort him.
“Once, I may have liked them… but in the end, what devils like me need to live are human memories and souls. Everything else is secondary.”
Acorns or pretty stones treasured by children are useless to adults.
“Now that you say it, it’s even less exciting…”
“What can I do? I’m a devil.”
Velita shrugged.
Silvester, habitually staring down, lifted his gaze slightly to meet hers.
“If I’ve been bothersome, I’m sorry. They say you’ve lived long, but around you, I feel like a child no matter what I do.”
He inhaled deeply, then exhaled with a laugh, adding a feeble excuse.
“You promised to make me happy.”
“Yeah.”
“So I also…”
Silvester trailed off. Velita rested her chin on her hands atop his knees.
“Me too?”
“…I wanted to give you something that would make you smile. I said it before… I just like seeing you happy.”
That’s a gift for me too. He scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed.
Always awkward, Silvester let out a weak laugh.
Velita watched him, slightly flustered.
‘He can say cute things well…’
He was the most incomprehensible man she had ever seen.
Not embarrassed when he should be, embarrassed when he shouldn’t.
The devil’s instincts wagged their tail. Velita watched his flushed face for a while.
Then, when his expression softened a bit, she whispered:
“…Then I’ll tell you one thing I like.”
Silvester visibly brightened.
“What?”
She smiled. Perhaps she should’ve asked for the dog collar after all.
She curled her fingers and gently tickled his knees, whispering:
“…I like bathing.”
Silvester jolted upright.
“With you.”
