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Chapter : 38
“…Huh?”
“You’ve been hesitating for a while now. Am I wrong?”
It was Miela, as always, quick on the uptake at times like this. For Istin, it was actually a relief.
‘Might as well take this chance to give it to her.’
Even if she’s disappointed, it can’t be helped. He could make up for it next time with a better gift.
“Ah, you caught me. Yeah, you’re right. I’ve been hesitating because… I wanted to give you something.”
“Hmm? Wait, Titi, are you giving me a present too?”
Miela’s eyes widened. What day was it today? She only got a little praise during class, yet suddenly everyone in House Baluar was scrambling to do things for her!
“Well, you could say that. It’s not anything grand though, so don’t be too disappointed.”
Istin lowered expectations first. Miela quickly shook her head.
“I won’t be disappointed! I’d be grateful for even a rock if it came from you, Titi.”
“Yeah, right.”
Istin chuckled, certain it was just empty flattery.
‘Then again, knowing Miela… she might mean it.’
Come to think of it, he would probably treasure any gift she gave him too— even if it were a ring made of wildflowers.
He might even store it carefully in a magically sealed box that never let anything wither.
“Here. Take it.”
Istin fished something out from inside his coat and handed it over. The gift was a handkerchief. It was soft, snow-white, and faintly fragrant.
“Wow, it’s a handkerchief! I actually needed one. Thanks, Titi!”
Miela’s eyes sparkled. Truthfully, it was a welcome gift. She’d heard in etiquette class that every noble, regardless of age or gender, should always carry one.
‘Now I can also hand it to a crying person on the street and say, “Use this,” just like Istin and the duchess did for me!’
But the next second, she changed her mind.
‘Wait, no. This is a precious gift from Istin. If I lend it to someone else, Titi might be upset. I should keep it just for myself. Hehe.’
A selfish thought uncharacteristic of Miela, who usually shared even a single bean.
Then she noticed something. Despite the pretty embroidery around the edges, one corner of the handkerchief had a small, clumsy bit of needlework.
‘Can this even be called embroidery…?’
The knots weren’t properly hidden, and threads stuck out here and there. In short, it was clearly a beginner’s work. Like someone embroidering for the first time.
‘No way…?’
A suspicion popped into Miela’s mind. When she looked up at Istin, he seemed to sense her thoughts and started explaining before she could ask.
“…Yeah, I did that. It looked too plain, so I thought I’d decorate it a bit. But I’m terrible at it, so it didn’t turn out well.”
Honestly, he could’ve just given it plain. But he wanted the gift to be a little more meaningful—something with his own touch.
He remembered a conversation he’d had with a maid a few days ago.
‘Young master? You want thread and needle? What for?’
‘I was thinking of embroidering something on a handkerchief.’
‘In that case, I can do it for you. Or I could ask one of the seamstresses—’
‘No. I’ll do it myself. It has to be me.’
Despite the maid’s protests, he’d insisted and gotten the embroidery tools. Then practiced secretly in a corner of his room, ruining several handkerchiefs in the process.
This was the result of that effort. When he first finished, he thought it looked decent, but now he realized he had been very wrong.
“If you don’t like it, you can throw it away.”
“What? No way! It’s a precious gift from you, Titi.”
Afraid he might take it back, Miela clutched the handkerchief tightly.
Istin sighed in relief. Even though he said that, it would’ve hurt if she really did throw it away.
“But what is it supposed to be? A spider?”
Miela opened up the handkerchief and peered at the embroidery.
“A spider? Why would I stitch something that creepy? It’s… an acorn. Not that it looks like one, though.”
Waving his hands as he explained, Istin averted his eyes in embarrassment.
“Ah, I see! Hmm, now that you mention it and I look closely… it does kind of look like an acorn? But why an acorn?”
It was hard to see it as one no matter how much she tried, but she was obviously trying to be nice. Istin pushed down his bitter feelings and answered.
“Because squirrels like acorns.”
“Huh? Squirrels? What’s that got to do with anything?”
“It’s nothing. Just because.”
Istin dodged the question quickly.
‘Because you remind me of a squirrel, Miela.’
It was such a simple and silly reason, yet somehow difficult to say out loud. Feeling a bit awkward, Istin scratched his cheek.
“Wait, what happened to your hand? Did you get hurt embroidering?”
Miela’s attention shifted as she noticed the bandages on Istin’s fingers.
“It’s nothing. Just pricked myself. Once or twice.”
Actually, it had been more than ten times.
Since his curse was lifted, he no longer carried healing potions. Getting one now meant going to his mother or the family doctor, and that would only lead to nagging. So he just wrapped it up himself.
“Ouch, that must’ve hurt.”
Miela flinched as if she were the one who got hurt. No wonder he’d been hiding his left hand the whole teatime.
Realizing he had hidden it to give her a surprise gift made her heart ache a little. Imagining him pricking himself with every awkward stitch made her feel sorry for him.
‘I want to do something for him too. Is there something I could give in return?’
While thinking it over, a great idea popped into her head!
“Hey, Titi! Want me to teach you how to embroider?”
“…What?”
Istin blinked, caught off guard by the sudden offer. Miela, thinking he doubted her skills, rushed to explain.
“Actually, I’m really good at embroidery! I learned from my mom when I was little. Back in my village, even the adults sometimes gave me work to do!”
“Alright. I’ll give it a shot.”
After a short pause, Istin accepted.
‘Honestly, I was going to give up on embroidery after this.’
But if Miela was going to be his teacher, that changed things. Even though they already spent a lot of time together, Istin wanted even more time with her.
“Then let’s do this. Since we’ve got etiquette and culture classes on weekdays, I’ll teach you every weekend!”
As Miela chattered excitedly, Istin nodded with a smile.
“Sounds good to me.”
He was already looking forward to the weekend.
At the break of dawn, the Baluar training grounds were already bustling with knights, as usual.
Then one knight spotted a boy walking toward them and blinked in surprise.
“Oh? Isn’t that the young master?”
Since his curse was lifted, Istin had been diligently training in martial arts and fitness. But this was the earliest he’d ever come out.
“From now on, I’m going to train early like you knights. I’ve got things to do in the afternoon.”
He answered while doing light stretches, then blended naturally into the group of knights.
‘The young master used to wake up close to noon…’
The knights were shocked by the sleepyhead young master’s sudden resolve. No words were exchanged, but everyone was thinking the same thing.
This had to be Miela’s influence!
‘Don’t skip training. To make up for all the time I was bedridden, I have to work even harder.’
Determination filled Istin’s face as he ran laps around the training grounds.
‘I’ll grow into someone respectable—’
Someone worthy of the Baluar name.
But most of all, someone Miela wouldn’t be ashamed of.
