TVWD 30

Chapter 30

“Hah!”

My father, who had come into my room with Lexian, let out a bitter laugh as if he couldn’t believe it.

“I never imagined this. That my children would completely deceive me like this!”

He paced back and forth through my bedroom with disordered steps.

“What? You teamed up with Calvin to fight off an assassin? And then what? Rosia, you went off alone to look for the silver fox? That Calvin brat sent you by yourself?”

I told my parents, after persuading Calvin, that he and I had traveled together and only separated at the last moment.

Lexian had also filed a report that considered my situation and described it as if Calvin and I had been companions all along.

Thanks to that, the Blue Bird who ambushed me was portrayed as “a strong villain who was difficult even for the promising Calvin to handle,” and my father didn’t know the real details.

Although he held a high position and could read the report Lexian filed, the report itself was false.

But today—unexpectedly—Lexian had gone and told my father the truth.

“Rosia, you are forbidden from going out. Even if the wound on your neck heals, you must not go out! If you insist on going, take the family’s knights with you.”

“Father.”

“Understand? Absolutely no going out until my permission is given!”

My father sounded stronger than usual, as if he truly believed I could have died.

“Duke, speak with Roa. And thank you for being honest with me.”

With a single sentence to Lexian, managing to keep his agitation under control, my father left the room. I worried he might go out and cry.

For a while the room lay silent.

Either my father had forgotten that a lady and an unrelated man shouldn’t be alone together, or his trust in Lexian had deepened—either way, he didn’t even send Cassy into my room.

Lexian’s chest seemed unusually broad today, which made me curious, but I asked a different question.

“…Why did you tell my father the truth?”

“Because I thought you might do something dangerous again.”

I couldn’t argue with Lexian’s observation; it was correct.

“More importantly, what is that medicine? The one you took then, Rosia.”

“Should I tell Lexian about it?”

“If you don’t tell me, I’ll go tell the Marquis right now.”

“…Are you threatening me?”

“So it was a medicine Marquis didn’t know.”

He was probing. I had walked right into a ridiculous trap, but since I was caught I had no choice but to answer.

Lexian seemed ready to march off to my father at any moment, so I surrendered and told him.

“It’s a few nutritional supplements and a medicine that activates the body.”

“No wonder. You don’t look like you have any muscles at all—how could you shoot arrows and ride so freely?”

I avoided Lexian’s sharp gaze.

“I understand it was to win the hunting competition. But those supplements only stress the body and can’t provide a fundamental improvement.”

I knew that. I knew.

“So Rosia, come to the duke’s manor every weekend. I will personally help you become stronger.”

“…Huh?”

“Come to the manor on weekends and do strength-building exercises under my supervision. I’ll teach you swordsmanship too. Calvin seems to be too busy to have time for you, Rosia.”

“Does Lexian have a lot of free time?”

“I’m already at a high level; I don’t need more training.”

Lexian shrugged his shoulder boastfully.

The usually serious man looked cute for a moment like that.

My mouth almost relaxed into a smile, but I quickly hardened my expression and shook my head.

“Thanks for the offer, but I’ll pass. I only need basic conditioning and strength training; I can be trained by my family’s knights.”

“It’s better to learn from someone certain than from an average knight.”

“I don’t intend to learn full-fledged swordsmanship.”

From the way Lexian behaved, it seemed he had feelings for me, and I couldn’t allow myself to get closer to him.

Just like the emotion he accumulated from previous cycles, his awareness of his feelings for me deepened with each repetition—so I had to push it away.

“If it’s just strength training, wouldn’t it be more efficient to do it within my family? Traveling to and from the duke’s manor feels like a waste of time.”

“That’s true. Then have me check on you periodically.”

“Why should I do that?”

“Why, indeed. Aren’t you like my sister, Rosia?”

Lexian used the excuse I used on others—a convenient lie—neatly. Even though it came from him first.

He glanced at me with annoyance that I wasn’t pleased, then took something out of his coat.

Surprisingly, it was alive.

“A baby silver fox.”

A tiny silver fox, small enough to fit in Lexian’s right hand, blinked up at me with red eyes like mine. It wagged its tail cutely.

It showed no intention of escaping from Lexian’s palm—maybe it wasn’t wary of people yet.

“The mother was killed, but fortunately the baby seems to have survived. I found it while searching.”

“That’s… a relief.”

I closed and opened my eyes slowly as the image of the silver fox that had been cruelly killed before me came to mind.

“I’d like to entrust it to you.”

“To me? Why?”

“Silver foxes are valuable creatures; even the royal family wanted one. But since you were the one who found it, I thought it was only right to give it to you.”

“I….”

If I failed to twist the original story later on, I’d die—so could I be entrusted with anything?

Before I could make a decision, Lexian set the silver fox onto my hand. The fox wrapped its tail gently around my finger and rolled over.

“I hear silver foxes are spirit beasts. If kept close from a young age, they repay their owner’s kindness. I hope it will help you, Rosia.”

The fox rubbed its small head against my palm. Its fur felt very soft, different from silk, but extremely gentle.

“And I’ll come by from time to time to check whether you’ve been keeping up with your training. If you came to the duke’s manor often, it might harm your reputation as a lady.”

Having placed his right hand over his left breast in a gesture, Lexian left my room—determined not to accept my refusal.

I stared blankly at the closed door for a while.

“How selfish.”

“Kyu?”

“Already you’re getting into the habit of not listening and only doing what you want.”

In most cases Lexian’s selfish actions were for my sake—standing up to the crown prince or running away to save me.

No matter how many times I told him to stop, to say goodbye, Lexian did not spare himself to prevent me from being in danger.

If I asked him to leave me so he wouldn’t die for me, would he distance himself? No—when I said something like that before, he wrapped his arms around me and whispered gently.

Even if such an ending came, I would stay by your side.

Plop. Drip.

“Ah….”

Bottled-up feelings turned into liquid and leaked out.

Everyone stands in the same assigned place like a predetermined role, but Lexian alone shows different sides with each repetition.

As if to prove that my returning at the same time every cycle was not in vain.

How could I not love you…?

“Kyu!”

The silver fox, little enough to fit in my palm, suddenly jumped onto the bed and stood on its hind legs. With a front paw it clutched at my nightgown and stretched the other leg out.

It seemed as if it was trying to wipe away my tears.

When I picked it up carefully, it lightly tapped my cheek with its tiny paw and then began rubbing its head against me.

It was a way of comforting I’d never received before.

My tears stopped from surprise, and an involuntary smile slipped out.

“Are you saying ‘don’t cry’? Thank you.”

I stroked the little head gently; the fox began to purr and shiver. Thinking it might be frightened, I stopped, but it grabbed my finger as if to say ‘do more.’

When I resumed stroking, the baby silver fox started to growl softly—contentedly.

A fragile life that could be killed so easily was leaning on me; the feeling was very strange.

“Can I keep you…?”

If something happened to me, you’d die before you grew up.

Yet if I let you go, the baby would be too small and weak.

“What should I do…?”