TMLLT 79

Chapter 79

“You Must Really Like Her”

“What did you just say?”

“You heard me. Why ask again?”

“…No, I thought maybe I misheard.”

“I know exactly who’s in your heart, so do you think I’d let you meet someone else?”

“….”

Roitz stood there blankly for a while, then grabbed me just as I tried to walk away.

“You… you really knew, Serdin?”

“I do.”

“…You do?”

I nodded. I had known long ago that Roitz would end up liking Lucike.

And from the moment he first saw her, he already had that intense, obsessive look in his eyes.

Maybe he thought it didn’t show.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

He kept asking again and again, as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Haa… I see.”

Only after I answered “yes” several times did he seem to accept it, murmuring to himself for a while.

Then he suddenly changed the question.

“Then… what are you going to do?”

“…What?”

“I mean exactly that.”

“You’re asking what I am going to do now?”

“Yes.”

Why was he asking me this?

“So… you’re saying I should do something for your feelings?”

I asked, wondering if he was asking me to help with his love life.

Sure, I had been thinking about it myself… but he was assuming far too easily that I’d help.

My position as adjutant was for official duties, not this kind of personal matter.

Maybe he realized that too, because he looked flustered and backtracked.

“No, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to. I was just curious what you thought. Now that you know how I feel…”

He sounded almost like he was rambling.

“I didn’t just ‘find out.’ I’ve known from the start.”

“From when?”

“You probably won’t believe me, but from the first time we met, I knew it would turn out like this.”

Roitz looked a little shocked that his feelings were so easy for me to read.

But it was because it was me—no one else would know.

“Yeah… you’re right. It was from the start…”

His ears were turning red.

He really must like Lucike.

Or maybe he was just embarrassed I’d caught on.

“You haven’t decided what you’re going to do yet, right, Serdin?”

“What am I supposed to do? It’s your heart.”

His eyes wavered, darkening like a wolf in the rain.

I wondered if I’d spoken too indifferently. He did rely on me, after all.

But still—it was his love life. It’d be odd for me to make decisions about it.

“I mean…”

“No, you’re right. Just act how you want. If you don’t want to decide anything, then don’t.”

“Are you sure?”

“Just… tell me how you think I should act. I’ll keep it in mind.”

Judging from how fast he’d finished dinner with Lucike today, it was clear he wasn’t skilled in this area.

He probably did want some advice.

“At least… you should make some effort.”

“…Is that okay?”

“…?”

Well, if he overthinks things, it’ll just make him awkward.

“Just act normal. Like you usually do.”

“Like I usually do?”

“Yes. Don’t go too far forward, and don’t be too stiff. Just be your usual self—only, try a bit harder.”

“Try harder… but like usual…”

He muttered my words to himself.

I wasn’t even sure what I meant. But it was up to him to interpret it.

“Anyway, let’s go. We still have to visit Delzers Village today, right?”

I walked ahead quickly, feeling strangely unsettled.

Behind me, Roitz followed, his ears still red, looking deep in thought.

The next evening, after finishing three bowls of food in the knights’ dining hall, I went for a walk in the corridor to digest.

“How do you think I should act?”

I remembered the look on his slightly flushed face when he’d asked me that, like it was the most important question.

‘It probably is important to him.’

It was important to me too—because the sooner Roitz and Lucike became close and he dropped his work obsession, the easier my life would be.

‘Still…’

Then I saw a golden-haired woman walking slowly in the garden beyond the corridor.

‘Lucike?’

Hearing my steps on the grass, she turned.

Her lightly braided blonde hair shone under the moonlight. Loose strands swayed, catching the light.

‘Even now…’

She’s the protagonist.

Even if she hadn’t been lying on that road like in the original story, I would’ve recognized her.

Her eyes looked delicate but held a firm will. Her whole figure looked like light given human form.

“Sir Vivi?”

She walked over softly.

“I was just about to look for you.”

“For me?”

She smiled and pulled me closer.

“Yes. Here, it’s nothing big…”

She handed me a pressed flower bookmark made of grass.

“What’s this?”

“I heard you were the one who found me. It’s a thank you.”

“You don’t need to. I didn’t do anything.”

“This isn’t all. I’ll treat you to a meal soon. Thank you.”

I blinked slowly at the bookmark in my hand.

Her clear, pure smile made my face feel warm.

Suddenly, my plan to get her and Roitz together felt a little embarrassing.

I’d only been thinking of my own peaceful life, treating her as nothing more than the one who’d take away Roitz’s work obsession.

Maybe it was because I’d only thought of her as “the heroine from the original story.”

But here she was—real, and deserving of her own happiness.

‘Lucike’s happiness…’

I remembered a line she’d said to Roitz in the original:

“Because I met you, I’ve come to like my life.”

If they fell in love, she’d be happier.

‘And Roitz too.’

Yes… it was the best path not just for me, but for them both.

If everyone’s happiness lined up, there was no reason to just watch from the sidelines.

“Bishop Lucike, is there something you like?”

I’d remember and subtly tell Roitz.

While chatting and collecting information, I suddenly felt a sharp gaze on my back.

‘What…?’

I turned to see Roitz standing between the corridor pillars, face stiff, giving off an oddly intimidating aura.

“Still here, Bishop Lucike?”

“The weather’s nice.”

Lucike smiled like sunshine, but Roitz kept staring—at me, specifically.

While I looked back at him, she said goodbye with a gentle smile and walked away like an angel.

“Serdin.”

I turned to him. His eyes looked indifferent, but there was clear possessiveness there.

And even a hint of jealousy.

‘What the…’

It was obvious who those feelings were for.

“What were you talking about?”

The jealousy in his voice was unmistakable.

He’d done the same thing at the carriage before, and now again—like he was warning me not to get involved.

‘And yet you asked me for advice.’

I hadn’t planned on meddling, but being told not to made me want to.

“I was asking Bishop Lucike what she likes.”

Instead of keeping it subtle, I just said it.

“…Why would you want to know that?”

“Can’t I? You told me to act how I want.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

His possessiveness grew stronger.

Seeing it, I felt the same odd, unsettled feeling I’d had yesterday watching them smile together.

If he was going to get this worked up, he could at least quit working so much.

“…What does it matter if I’m curious about her?”

I turned away, but he grabbed me and blocked my path.

“Don’t go. Where are you going?”

“What’s it to you?”

“It is my business. I have you—!”

He stopped.

“You… are my…”

He looked like he’d made up his mind to say something important.

Then finally said:

“…adjutant. We have work to do.”

“….”

For crying out loud, stop with the work already!