Chapter 13…
“Even so, shouldn’t you try to be a bit more… flexible?”
“…Flexible, you say?”
“Yes!”
Shufel stiffened, his eyes widening. The words had come from a girl barely half his age, yet they dragged his mind back to a not-so-distant past.
[Do you mean I should slow down the lesson?]
[Yes, I’m embarrassed to say it, but Aryan is a little slower than other children his age.]
[But Aryan’s comprehension…]
[Shufel, my dear.]
[After all, shouldn’t work be done with a bit of flexibility?]
Belisa’s red lips moved gently. Shufel held his breath, recalling the day five years ago when he first set foot in the Mathias household.
Through his blurred vision, Clarissa leaned her small head forward. Her face, framed by peach-colored cheeks, wore a shy smile that was pure and innocent.
“Someone might misunderstand and think there’s ‘some intention’ behind it, you know?”
Clarissa’s red tongue appeared and disappeared quickly.
“Like mine,” she added.
“Hic—” At Clarissa’s words, Shufel hiccuped and stepped back. Cold sweat spread across his hands.
Behind her flowing brown hair, he saw a large snake with golden eyes. Eyes that seemed to say, I already know everything you’re hiding.
“Let’s end today’s lesson… here.”
“Thank you for your consideration, Shufel.”
He retreated, no longer able to maintain his position. Clarissa, finding the sight of him curling his tail and running rather amusing, tilted only one side of her mouth in a small smirk as she saw him off.
“Goodbye.”
After the morning lesson ended somewhat abruptly, Clarissa took Aryan and began exploring the Mathias estate thoroughly.
“Aryan! What’s this?”
“Uh… maybe a wild plant?”
“And this one?”
“A wild…flower?”
“You really don’t miss a thing, do you!”
Even at Aryan’s clumsy answers, Clarissa chattered excitedly. Aryan, avoiding her intense gaze, silently shook his head.
Clarissa looked down at the back of his head and fell into deep thought.
Now he answers without tension, but he still won’t make eye contact.
What could be wrong? Clarissa prided herself on doing her best to treat him well.
But had they grown closer? The answer was: no.
Does he dislike me that much? Well… he blushes sometimes, so it’s not like he hates me completely. Maybe he blushes because I’m a little… pretty.
Clarissa’s cheeks puffed out in a pout. She began reflecting on what she might have done wrong.
Forcing a terrified child into an engagement? Sitting him down all day just to admire his face? Dragging him to a party and leaving him to play alone? Leaving him alone when he wouldn’t smile? Was it because I got bored that I suggested breaking the engagement?
“Milady…?”
Damn it, that’s too many things! Stupid Clarissa!
“Well…”
Clarissa buried her hands in her hair, pulling hard. She wanted to pull her brain out, not her innocent hair, but even the advanced medicine from her past life couldn’t make that possible.
It was Aryan, trembling like a young fawn, who stopped her from burying her face in the well she had dug.
“I…”
Aryan’s small but clear voice pierced through Clarissa’s distracted thoughts.
“Oh, sorry. I’ll just think for a moment…”
“What mistake did I make now?”
A mistake?
Clarissa’s lips parted in confusion. She was the one lost in thought, not Aryan.
If anyone asked whose fault it was, everyone would say it was Clarissa’s. She quickly grabbed Aryan’s hand and shouted:
“No!”
Aryan looked at the hand holding his, then hesitantly nodded. The gesture touched a corner of Clarissa’s heart.
Until now, Aryan’s life had probably been a constant repetition of being denied, just like in that cursed novel.
Of course, not all wounds heal overnight.
Clarissa finally realized something more important than how much Aryan hated her.
“Aryan.”
Right, not all wounds heal overnight.
She held his hand a little tighter. With her other hand, she carefully brushed his bangs back, which shimmered under the summer sun.
No need to rush.
Aryan’s blue eyes lifted slightly to meet hers, shadows of brown dancing in them. The sparkling smile of the boy she had once seen flickered before her eyes.
Slowly… slowly.
With a thought that was uncharacteristically “Clarissa-like,” she smiled very gently.
“Shall we go out together today?”
By the time the two left the Mathias estate, it was nearly noon. Clarissa first guided Aryan to a high-end restaurant near Lost Square.
After all, even the finest scenery is better on a full stomach.
Her lips curved in a pleased smile. This was her very first real outing with Aryan, and also because the food they had at the Mathias estate recently had been terrible.
One reason for Aryan’s slow growth was surely the poor nutrition from such inadequate meals.
The housekeeper had said that she forbade indulgence, so they didn’t pay attention to ingredients?
What a load of nonsense.
That woman ate well and looked oily in the face, didn’t she?
Clarissa, with a bitter taste in her mouth, addressed Aryan, who was shrinking into the unfamiliar surroundings.
“Are you hungry? What would you like to eat?”
“Ah…”
Hmm? Why that expression?
Aryan’s expression was odd. He let out a small sigh and looked troubled. Clarissa noticed him glancing down and wrapping his small arm around hers.
“Oh.”
Right, Aryan couldn’t taste. Asking someone who can’t taste what they want to eat was pointless—everything would taste the same.
Clarissa bit her tongue in frustration. She could have just ordered something balanced and nutritious. But regretting it now wouldn’t help.
Her lower lip trembled slightly. She decided to divert the conversation as best she could.
“It’s… not good to be picky…! Just eat whatever I recommend.”
…My vocabulary is a disaster.
Despite Clarissa’s harsh and cold tone, Aryan seemed relieved and nodded, though she had to suppress the urge to bite her tongue.
Why do I always blurt out nonsense in front of Aryan?
She could speak smoothly to anyone else, but not him. She was frustrated at herself for always saying something nearly mistaken whenever she was with Aryan.
With a long sigh-like laugh, Clarissa raised her hand to call a server. A neatly dressed young man approached promptly and politely.
“Are you ready to order?”
His gentle voice matched his handsome face. Clarissa didn’t bother looking at the menu he offered. She simply nodded resolutely and said:
“One of each.”
“Pardon?”
The man’s neat smile faltered. Clarissa didn’t correct his mistake but repeated firmly:
“Give me one of everything on the menu.”
The man froze, unsure if he heard correctly, then, under Clarissa’s sharp gaze, scurried off.
Aryan’s eyes flickered.
It’s not good to be picky.
Clarissa felt a warmth on her cheeks uncharacteristic for her, yet she smiled subtly.
“Right?”
