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Chapter 17
You on a Rainy Day (1)
Elusiana tightly shut her eyes, unable to say anything in the face of the shocking sight. Just then, Simon’s personal aide approached and spoke to him.
“Viscount, shall we begin?”
“How many have gathered?”
The aide glanced briefly at Elusiana, cleared his throat, and replied.
“It seems… everyone is here.”
“I see.”
Nodding, Simon let out a quiet sigh.
“Looks like we’ll have to stay up all night today.”
“What should we do about Lady Elusiana?”
“Hmm. That’s the problem.”
Staring at the stunned Elusiana, Simon looked at his aide as if making a big decision.
“Staying up all night might be too much. Let’s just proceed for one more hour and do the rest tomorrow.”
“There will likely be backlash among the slum residents if we do that.”
“I’ll handle that part.”
Simon patted the aide on the shoulder and turned to Elusiana, who was still staring at the warehouse.
“I’ll be back shortly, Lucy. Sir Ron, please look after the children.”
“Will you be alright going alone?”
“Of course. I’ll be fine.”
With a light chuckle, Simon headed out of the shelter. A few moments later, Elusiana staggered and collapsed on the spot.
“Lucy!”
Startled, Astein caught her arm, but Elusiana shook off his hand roughly.
“Let go, As. We’re ruined. It’s all over. Hmph. What is this? How could this happen?”
She had thought that meeting a rich father meant she’d live in luxury for the rest of her life. But after witnessing this disastrous scene, the reality hit her much harder than expected.
“What are we going to do? What now? Waaaah.”
Astein watched her weep and lament while pounding the ground, then sat close beside her and comforted her.
“It’s okay, Lucy. Everything will be alright.”
“What’s okay? You don’t even understand anything.”
“Still… I’m here with you.”
“Sniff… Waaaaah.”
Astein pulled the sobbing Elusiana into his arms. As he gently patted her back, his gaze drifted toward the people outside the shelter.
“Should I just kill them all?”
“Hic… What did you say?”
“Mm, nothing. Don’t cry. Calm down, Lucy. Crying too much isn’t good for your health.”
With a gentle touch, he softly patted her back again. His expression was calm, but his eyes carried an unreadable depth.
And so, the two of them ended their emotional breakdown in an air of unease.
The next afternoon.
“Isn’t it kind of creepy? Those red eyes.”
“You think so too? Sometimes when I meet his gaze, it feels like my soul is getting sucked out.”
“For me, it was that foal that died recently.”
“You mean Milk? That white foal Lady almost fell off of when she tried riding it?”
“Yes. Actually, that evening… I saw Astein in the stables.”
“What? R-really?”
A startled maid stopped dead in the corridor. After checking their surroundings, she lowered her voice to a whisper.
“Are you saying Astein killed that white foal?”
“N-no. But… I don’t know. Something felt off. The next day, Milk ended up like that.”
The maid listening grabbed the speaker’s arm sharply.
“Shh! Watch what you say. Lady cares deeply for Astein. Do you really think he could do something that horrible?”
“I think so too. But still… He’s usually expressionless and silent, yet he turns into a completely different person around the Lady. As if he’s a whole other being. Isn’t that… weird?”
The maid shivered as goosebumps ran up her arms. She hadn’t realized it at the time, but now the memory chilled her to the bone.
Just then—
“Could you move aside?”
“…!”
“…!”
An eerie, emotionless voice. The maids turned and froze in place.
Astein was standing there.
Their eyes trembled like they’d seen a ghost.
How long had this demon been standing there?
“Is my request hard to understand?”
“N-no, not at all!”
“O-of course! We’ll move right away!”
Pale as death, the maids quickly stepped aside.
Astein swept a cold gaze over each of them.
“Be more careful in the future.”
“…!”
“…!”
After Astein disappeared, the maids collapsed on the spot, pale and trembling.
Their clenched fists were visibly shaking.
“D-does he mean we shouldn’t block the hallway?”
“Maybe… he meant we shouldn’t gossip about him?”
Swallowing nervously, the two maids embraced each other like survivors of heaven and hell.
They silently vowed never to speak Astein’s name again.
Meanwhile, Astein passed through the corridor and stepped into the garden. He stopped for a moment, puzzled by the wide spread of fabric laid out.
“…?”
“Oh? As! You’re here? Take off your shoes and come up!”
With a bright, sunny smile, Elusiana tossed aside the book she had been reading and sprang up.
Astein stood there for a while, as if he were seeing something strange.
“If you want to sleep, you should go to your bedroom, Lucy.”
“On days like this, sunbathing is the best.”
“Sunbathing?”
“It means soaking up sunlight like a shower. It relaxes your whole body and melts away all your stress.”
“…But it’s completely overcast. What sun?”
Frowning, Astein looked as if he’d just heard an alien language.
Elusiana crawled over on her knees and grabbed his wrist.
“Don’t be such a stickler. Just come on up. Dessert is coming soon. I asked for plenty of fruit and sandwiches. You’ll love it. Today is our picnic time!”
“Picnic? Like the one you mentioned before?”
“Yep. On a sunny day like this! You can’t skip a picnic!”
Astein glanced skeptically at the ominously dark sky.
‘It’s not sunny, it’s full of storm clouds.’
Ignoring his doubts, Elusiana cheerfully patted the mat like dusting off crumbs.
“Picnics are simple. You lay out a mat, eat delicious desserts, chat, and enjoy a peaceful time. Doesn’t that sound like happiness?”
“I don’t see how it’s any different from what you usually do over there.”
He looked at the white tea table nearby with a puzzled expression.
“It’s totally different!”
Elusiana crossed her arms with a pout.
“Over there, I have to act proper. But here—”
She cut herself off, then suddenly flopped backward. Though there was no sunshine, she squinted as if blinded by light and began to roll around.
“Here, I can roll around however I want. Doesn’t it look super comfy?”
Astein tilted his head slightly to the right.
‘I don’t recall her ever acting proper to begin with…’
Then, noticing Elusiana’s skirt riding up above her knees as she laughed, Astein made an awkward expression.
“Why don’t you just sit properly?”
“What do you mean? Come join me! I picked the biggest mat just for you. I grant you this freedom—enjoy it!”
“…You call this freedom?”
Astein blushed slightly and averted his gaze toward the sky.
The dark clouds suggested rain was imminent.
“Lucy, I think we should wrap this up.”
“What?”
“Clean up quickly.”
“……”
As he looked at the sky, Astein paused, sensing something off in the sudden silence. He slowly turned his head.
“…Lucy?”
“How could you… say that?”
“…?”
Elusiana, who had been smiling like sunshine, now looked up with teary eyes.
Astein stood frozen, at a loss for words.
“Do you seriously not know why I prepared all this today?”
He didn’t.
“…Why did you prepare it?”
“Ha! Unbelievable. I went through all that trouble from dawn for this idiot.”
“Elusiana?”
“Don’t even say my name! You’re more frustrating than a steamed bun!”
“…?”
Glaring sharply at him, Elusiana stormed out of the garden barefoot.
Astein stared, blinking at her retreating figure.
“What… just happened?”
Scratching his head in confusion, he barely had time to react before raindrops began to fall from the sky.
Swoooosh—
The rain that had started in the morning showed no sign of stopping by afternoon.
Elusiana stared blankly at the downpour, occasionally glancing at the door.
“Cold-hearted jerk.”
“Pardon, my lady? What did you say?”
“Mm, nothing.”
Trisha glanced at her briefly before returning to fixing the bedding.
With a sigh, Elusiana looked back out the window.
‘Is he mad?’
Since she blew up at him for no reason, Astein might be upset too.
“But I prepared all this because I felt bad about yesterday…”
Leaving the mansion without Simon’s permission, barging into the dangerous slums, and worst of all, interfering with Simon’s work after revealing her identity—it was all her fault.
Still, she thought he would accept it with his usual grumbling. If it hadn’t rained, they would probably be rolling around on the mat together by now.
“He always knows when it’s going to rain.”
Tsk. She glanced at the door again and rested her chin on her hand at the table.
Just then—
Knock knock.
Startled, Elusiana instinctively stood up, then calmly sat down again.
She cleared her throat and tidied up her disheveled clothes.
Meanwhile, Trisha opened the door and greeted the guest.
