ITHTJ 33

Chapter : 33

A Relationship That Bothers You (8)

“Let’s say… hmm. Suppose I’m curious about Mr. Silbern’s family. Well then, Mr. Silbern, how many siblings do you have?”

“Huh? You mean me?”

Silbern, who had been quietly observing, answered in a dazed voice.

“Well, ahem… I have three younger siblings.”

“Wow, three? It must be hard to deal with so many younger siblings. Do they all behave well?”

“Yes. Fortunately, they’re all good kids, so they’ve never really given me trouble. Though my youngest sibling has just entered adolescence, so I am a little worried…”

“I see. Thank you for answering. Now it’s my turn.”

Curiosity flickered in Silbern’s eyes as he looked at Elsie.

“I don’t have any siblings. My parents are gone too. I grew up alone from a very young age, but at the time, I didn’t think it was particularly strange. There are a lot of kids like me in Windelton. I guess it was because everyone was in a similar situation.”

Though her answer was bright, the expressions of those listening were not.

“I-I see. Thank you for being so honest.”

Even as he spoke, Silbern looked genuinely shocked.

Eclipse quietly watched Elsie, who smiled nonchalantly. As she said, Windelton had an unusually high number of orphans.

‘Also a place with a lot of pickpockets and thieves.’

Windelton’s Seventh Street was a village adjacent to the city.

As a result, the wealthy and the poor naturally ended up living close together.

Without money, some people were tempted to covet others’ possessions.

If they were lucky, they could survive. If not, they could lose their lives.

Hundreds of children had lost their parents this way.

“Hehe, this is the first time I’ve talked about my past in front of so many people. It’s a little embarrassing.”

Though “so many” only referred to three people, Eclipse understood the meaning.

‘She means there haven’t been many meaningful connections in her life so far.’

It was the same for Eclipse. People on the streets disappeared before any attachment could form.

It was a world where a friend yesterday could starve to death today.

So most chose to survive alone, though most ended up dying that way.

“If we open up to each other like this, I’m sure we’ll find something in common somewhere.”

“Something in common…”

Linette seemed to have stopped crying. She listened closely to Elsie and smiled softly.

“I see. Then we can try to find that common ground between you and me too.”

“Yes. It just so happened that there wasn’t any between Silbern and me…”

“…I’m sorry.”

Silbern, who had been quietly listening, bowed his head and apologized. His expression was truly complex and delicate.

“Common ground between you and me, huh…”

Linette, deep in thought, turned her head to look at Eclipse.

“Come to think of it, back then we talked about the teacher. That counts as common ground too, right?”

“Huh? Me…?”

Elsie, still crouched, looked completely taken aback.

“Well, at least you talked about me, so that’s common… right?”

“I see. And since the teacher is here too, that works out even better.”

“Better…?”

Eclipse tilted his head, smiling faintly at Elsie’s puzzled expression. In the end, everything had circled back to this point.

He didn’t know how it had come to this shared connection with Linette—or why it had ended up being that witch.

“Yeah, that works.”

“I didn’t expect Your Highness to think that way…”

“There’s no helping it.”

Eclipse shrugged lightly in response to Elsie’s question. He intended to make sure this was clear once and for all.

At least, he thought he had.

“Honestly, I thought you didn’t care about Elsie at all. I even thought you disliked her.”

From Linette came an entirely unexpected statement.

“…What?”

Eclipse was unusually taken aback. What was Linette talking about? Could the reason she was angry back then really be…

‘Because I seemed uninterested in Bloomhayer…?’

He was utterly stunned at the answer he could never have imagined. Eclipse had no idea what to make of the situation.

“Now that I think about it, I was really immature back then. I got mad just because your answer wasn’t what I wanted… Everyone has their own reasons, but I unconsciously tried to impose my thoughts on you. I’m really sorry.”

“I… see.”

Even though she was clearly being sincere, Eclipse couldn’t shake the feeling of being caught in a labyrinth. He didn’t even know how to explain this strange emotion.

Linette had completely stopped crying. She grabbed Elsie’s hand and began chattering happily.

“Listen, teacher. Do you know how my brother described you?”

“Huh? How?”

“He said you’re really small, tiny, and round. Small and tiny mean the same thing anyway. Isn’t that funny?”

Linette looked extremely excited as she spoke.

“Oh, and back then I asked him what he thought of you, teacher. And he only said one thing.”

For some reason, Elsie’s eyes seemed to sparkle, as if she were eagerly waiting for Linette to say it.

‘What is she expecting?’

Her expression was openly expectant, her usually sparkling eyes even brighter.

“What did he say?”

“He said… a surprisingly capable person.”

“Ah…”

Elsie blinked, her mouth open in surprise. Her face felt warm and flushed.

Having someone else reveal her past behavior was extremely embarrassing, yet she couldn’t help looking at Eclipse.

‘How will he react?’

She had become quite concerned with this tiny witch. Perhaps he would think Linette’s words were cliché… but somehow, she felt that Eclipse would respond the same way.

“A capable person…”

Elsie muttered softly, lowering her head slightly and smiling gently. A bright smile blossomed on her soft cheek.

“I like that phrase the most in the world. It means he accepts me as I am, no matter what else.”

“…!”

At that moment, Eclipse felt something stir within him.

‘He really has an eye for talent.’

I felt warm inside and smiled faintly. Eclipse truly was someone who recognized my abilities.

‘I knew it the moment he gave me two drumsticks. Where else would you find such a kind employer?’

He paid wages, gave me a place to sleep, even delicious food. And he recognized my skills too?

‘This really is heaven.’

No matter how many times I thought about it, this was the only place I could dedicate myself to. I smiled at Eclipse with gratitude and respect.

But then…

‘Huh?’

Eclipse suddenly turned his head and covered his face with one hand. I tilted my head in confusion.

‘Huh, why is he avoiding me?’

It looked like he was deliberately avoiding me.

‘No way… why is he avoiding me? Is something over there?’

I followed his gaze, but…

‘Strange, there’s nothing.’

There was nothing unusual. I looked at his side profile with a questioning expression.

“Ah, ahem.”

He suddenly cleared his throat and spoke hurriedly.

“Of course. Bloomhayer is the teacher who instructs Linette.”

For some reason, his face looked slightly red, and he even stammered.

‘What’s going on?’

Just as I was puzzled…

“That Jade is an exceptional talent. It’s rare for him to be so proactive.”

“Oh, that mage tower guy.”

Linette’s previously calm expression darkened instantly.

“He showed up without a word, trying to take Elsie away.”

Linette, holding my hands tightly, muttered in a low voice. Her expression was resolute.

“Hmph, if it’s something good, I won’t let it go. Who would hand it over willingly? Never.”

“…Same here. Besides, Bloomhayer is already employed on our side.”

Even Eclipse…?

“By the way, recently, the servants have been talking about Mr. Bloomhayer. They say he’s the most talented teacher to pass through a grand duke’s household. That’s what they say, anyway.”

No way… even Silbern is joining in.

‘What’s happening? Why is everyone acting like this all of a sudden?’

Even though these words were spoken, I was actually…

‘Feeling really happy!’

I was extremely sensitive to compliments, especially sincere ones like these.