TMLLT 23

Chapter 23

“So, It Really Wasn’t”

“They said to avoid Serdin Vivi if you ran into her.”

“What? Me?”

He said I said something like that at the masquerade party?

Roitz was still playing with my hair as he replied.

“Yeah. At the time, I didn’t know that Serdin Vivi was you.”

“Why would I have said that…”

As I listened to Roitz, a memory of what I thought was our first meeting suddenly surfaced.

That day during the knight survival training—the very day he finally showed up and brought me nothing but rage.

The first thing Roitz had said to me that day was:

‘You’re Serdin Vivi?’

And then he burst out laughing.

Back then, I wondered why that jerk acted like he knew me.

Turns out, he did know my name.

‘Still, why would I tell people to avoid me?’

I thought about it for a moment.

“Why do you think I said that?”

“Do you remember saying it?”

“No…”

I didn’t remember it, but… I could guess why I might’ve said that.

Considering what things were like back then, it made sense.

At that time, I saw Roitz as the absolute worst kind of senior—someone who freeloaded off others and did nothing.

My anger toward Roitz had been building up more and more.

‘I actually thought I might punch him if I ever ran into him on the street.’

Maybe even while drunk that night, I still wanted to hit him. So telling him to avoid me was probably just me saying: “If you don’t want to get hit, stay out of my way.”

Anyway, that was that. But I also had a question of my own for Roitz.

“Senior, I’ve been wondering something too.”

“Yeah?”

“Why did you think I liked you? I really never did.”

Even if Roitz had thought I was just another fish in his pond, there had to be some reason for it.

We had always gotten along as friends—so for him to suddenly say something like that…

“……”

Roitz froze at my question.

He slowly unwound my hair from around his fingers.

His eyes lingered on me for a long time before he gave a faint, lonely smile.

“Yeah… good question.”

Some of the others started approaching us.

The place turned noisy again.

And during all that, Roitz just kept drinking in silence, not saying another word.

The night grew deeper.

The people who had surrounded us earlier had disappeared again.

Now it was just Roitz and me, talking alone.

Noticing that Roitz didn’t seem to be in a good mood, I deliberately started telling him some funny stories I knew.

As the conversation went on, he gradually began to respond like usual and even smiled now and then.

“That restaurant we ate at on the day of the charity event.”

“The charity event?”

“The day before my birthday—when you got donation confirmations from 2,222 people.”

“…Confirmation?”

“…?”

Even during those brief pauses, I noticed that something sad occasionally flickered behind his smile.

We were chatting away when Roitz suddenly seemed to remember something and asked:

“Why did you say that back then?”

“Say what?”

“That you felt like you were going to die.”

It was something I had once said to Roitz.

Back when I first realized I was inside a novel—and that I would die at the hands of Roitz’s curse.

‘I was so overwhelmed that day, I just blurted it out…’

But I couldn’t exactly explain that to him.

“You pressed the bump on my forehead so hard, I thought I was going to die.”

“That’s not what you said that day.”

And now suddenly he’s bringing that up again?

Well, our conversation had taken on a stream-of-consciousness flow by this point, so it wasn’t too odd.

“Ahh, I almost died because you were so annoying, Senior.”

“…Ha. I see. That’s what it was.”

Roitz let out a deep sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

He really had been sighing a lot today.

I thought about why he might be acting this way.

‘Could it be… he feels humiliated because he misunderstood that I liked him?’

Well, it was possible.

Roitz was always confident—practically overflowing with self-esteem.

Learning that something he’d been so sure about was wrong must’ve hit him hard.

“What’s the name of this drink? It’s really good.”

“Forest of Burning Firewood.”

“So, is the drink the burning firewood?”

“No. I think it’s my insides that are burning.”

Roitz tilted his head back and downed another mouthful of liquor.

He had an impressive tolerance, but at this point, it felt like he’d emptied an entire brewery.

As I started pouring myself another glass, Roitz reached for my cup and called my name.

“Serdin.”

“Yes, Senior?”

He looked at my face for a while, then asked again:

“So… is it true? You really don’t like me?”

“Yes. I told you, why would you think that?”

“…Then those things you said…”

“What things?”

I widened my eyes and looked straight at him.

It felt like he was finally going to tell me the reason behind his misunderstanding.

I was ready to listen carefully.

But he swallowed his words.

“…Never mind.”

“…?”

“I see… really…”

Suddenly, Roitz’s eyes turned red.

“Senior, your eyes…”

Without warning, Roitz grabbed a glass of water and poured it over his face.

“…?”

“Something got in my eyes.”

“Ah. Yeah, I’m sure it’s out now.”

By the time the moon was high in the sky, the after-party had come to an end.

Senior knight Lizzie gave one last farewell.

“Let’s definitely meet again at Elche, everyone.”

One by one, people scattered and boarded the hired carriages Elche had prepared in advance.

I got on the same carriage as Roitz.

That was because the Yudeln dormitory was along the road from the gathering spot to the Velkirente estate.

In the deep of the night, the carriage swayed gently as it moved forward.

I dozed off a little during the ride.

Each time I blinked open my eyes, Roitz was just staring at me—not sleeping at all.

“We’ll be at Yudeln soon.”

“I wish this carriage were my room.”

Just as I yawned, the carriage suddenly jolted hard.

My body tilted forward toward Roitz, who was sitting across from me.

“…!”

Startled, Roitz reached out with both arms to catch me.

But I didn’t fall.

I held my balance with the strength of my trained core.

‘I’m not that weak anymore.’

I gave a smug little smile, proud of myself for not toppling over.

Roitz, however, just stared at me with an unreadable expression.

Even though I hadn’t fallen, Roitz still reached out and grabbed my arm.

“Serdin. Serdin.”

Roitz softly called my name.

I stayed in a slightly awkward, braced posture as I looked at him.

Then the carriage jolted again.

“…!”

Instead of steadying me, Roitz actually pulled my arm toward him.

This time, I really couldn’t resist it.

I fell forward—straight into Roitz’s solid chest.

‘Wait—weren’t you trying to catch me?’

Just as I was about to get up and say that, I heard Roitz’s low voice near my ear.

“Serdin, one last time. Let me ask just once more.”

His words mixed with the sound of the night wind.

“Are you really sure? That you don’t like me? That it was all… really nothing?”

I placed a hand on his shoulder and lifted my head.

Roitz looked straight into my eyes, waiting for my answer.

“Senior.”

“Yeah.”

At first, I’d thought he saw me as just another fish in his pond.

But as time went on… there was something more between us.

Some kind of shared bond that couldn’t be dismissed so easily.

It had been almost a year since I started getting to know Roitz.

In that time, his presence in my life had changed a lot.

Back then, he was just a capable upperclassman. Now, he was a truly irreplaceable friend.

Maybe it had been the same for Roitz.

Maybe I wasn’t just some junior he wanted to mentor—but a real, close friend he could trust and open up to.

‘And maybe that’s why he keeps asking me this…’

‘Because he’s afraid that if I did like him, it would ruin everything between us.’

Like he wanted reassurance that things were still safe between us.

So I smiled, trying to show there was nothing to worry about, and answered:

“Yes. Not at all.”

“So… really… it wasn’t.”

“I’ve never even thought about something like that.”

“And I never will.”

“Yes. There’s absolutely no way I would ever like you, Senior.”

“……”

I did my very best to reassure Roitz.

That night, the Velkirente estate’s butler, Eschlé, entered Roitz’s room to tidy up.

While the young master was away taking a bath, he planned to change the bedding as well.

‘Hm?’

There was a strangely shaped water stain on the pillowcase.

‘Did he sweat a lot?’

The twin water stains were oddly shaped, sitting side by side… but they looked like sweat.

Maybe the room had been too hot.

Eschlé replaced the bedding and was about to leave the room when he ran into Roitz.

“Young master, I’ve changed your sheets.”

“Okay.”

Roitz answered with a stiff expression, and something about his eyes… looked swollen.

“Young master, your eyes… did something get in them?”

Eschlé asked, surprised.

Thinking back over the ten-plus years he’d served the young master…

Swollen eyes could only mean one thing—an eye infection.

“No.”

Roitz waved him off and went into the room.

He gulped down water in large swallows.

His body burned like fire, despite not having a fever.

Taking deep breaths, Roitz thought back to that party night.

The Bennet family’s masquerade party.

The one Serdin Vivi didn’t even seem to remember.

“Where are you going, Roitz?”

“Just going out for some fresh air.”

The Bennet family’s masquerade party, filled with the warm energy of spring, was famous even in the capital.

The spring banquet hall was crowded with people, and the surroundings overflowed with conversation and music.

Brushing off his companions who tried to stop him, Roitz stood up from his seat.

He was exhausted from all the noise.

Even with his mask on, people passing by turned to look at him at least once.

With a glass of wine in hand, Roitz exited the party hall.

He walked through a long corridor and entered an empty room.

The unlit room was quiet.

‘I’ll rest here for a bit.’

He collapsed onto a sofa covered with fabric and leaned back.

He brought the wine glass to his lips.

“Ugh…”

That’s when he heard a faint mumbling sound from somewhere.

Roitz looked around, but saw no one.

“Uuh…”

The sound seemed to be coming from behind the sofa facing him.

After a brief hesitation, he stood up.

Behind the sofa, lying haphazardly on the carpet, was someone.

A woman—with soft, cotton candy-pink hair.