I saw Seniel’s neatly tied long hair. Except for breakfast, it looked clean as usual. When our eyes met, he averted his gaze clumsily, not knowing what to do. Then, he glanced at me again and smiled shyly, unlike in the morning.

“Good evening. Have you waited long, Vivi?”

It was the first time I’d seen him smile defenselessly, so I was embarrassed inside. Did something pleasant happen or did the words I told him this morning comforted him?

“… Not too long.”

“That’s a relief.”

Then he smiled again. My mind, which had been complicated all day, became confused in a different way this time.

The harmless grin on his face was incomparable to any expression he had ever made. I thought I was not one to be taken in by beauty, but this sudden change truly puzzled me. He had been strange a few times before, but that was because he had become gloomy and looked like he was about to crumbled.

Seniel sat across from me. Seeing him grinning, I was suddenly frightened. I had heard that when people suddenly change, it was because someone was about to die.

Seniel, noticing my stare, erased his smile slightly. 

“Is there something on my face?”

“… No.”

I couldn’t ask directly, so I said no. Seniel didn’t smile anymore, probably embarrassed by my gaze. But he still didn’t show his usual unstable appearance.

There was a moment of silence as the table was set. I was thirsty for some reason and was about to drink water first, but Seniel spoke to me. 

“I heard that your friend visited today. The drawing room hasn’t been used in a long time, so it must’ve been in very bad condition. I’m sorry I didn’t take care of it in advance. Did you have a good time with your friend?”

What? Why hadn’t you stuttered? How had you made such perfect sentences? His attitude of speaking in a low voice was the same, but he did not have the usual timid face. I stopped drinking and put down the glass.

“The room was in good condition, so you don’t have to worry about it. And yes, I had a good time with my… friend.”

After speaking, I immediately looked at Seniel’s reaction. Perhaps not knowing that I was looking at him with vigilance, Seniel remained docile. He still looked at me excessively at times, and I couldn’t let go of my hesitation.

Even though the deliciously prepared food was cooling down, I couldn’t touch the food. I was nervous that Seniel would be included in today’s upheaval. I tried to be as calm as possible, thinking of the wisest way to respond.

Did I have to tell Seniel that there was still hope in life and at the same time that I would die if he fools around?

However, Seniel was the first to open his mouth.

“I’ve been thinking. Until now, I thought you would be distressed if you saw me, so I thought it was right to avoid you.” My heart tightened as I didn’t know if this would be my will or Seniel’s will. I gradually leaned towards Seniel. If anything, it was to stop him. Seniel lowered his gaze and spoke again. “But I have no choice but to look at you in the evening or morning, and you always took care of me whenever that happened. I can’t do anything because I’m weak…”

… So what’s the conclusion? I was afraid that Seniel would say nonsense, so I couldn’t ask any questions. I just stayed silent and waited for Seniel’s next words.

“I will try. At least so that you can feel comfortable when you see me… I won’t show any more embarassment. I will do my best to be of any help to you.”

I let out a deep sigh of relief. Oh, good boy. I thought Good Boy had turned the whole house upside down, but apparently he just brought his favorite toy.

I was so busy relaxing that I didn’t respond to him. Then, Seniel withdrew his calm smile and looked at me with an anxious expression.

“… Do you not like it…?”

“No! N-No, I mean, yes. Yes, that’s very good.”

His eyes, which had hardened, softened. It seemed that I, too, had the same expression. As the tension eased, hunger set in. Hee hee, he lifted his fork with a nervous smile.

“It’s nice to see you smiling like that. I like that kind of attitude. Let’s continue to work together and live well.”

I took the cooled food with a fork. I had lost my strength, but I shove the food into my mouth. It was delicious even cold.

Something suddenly appeared on the table and caught my attention.

‘A letter?’

After carefully following the envelope and the hand that was connected to it, there was, of course, Seniel at the end.

“Vivi… I want you to accept this.”

“What’s this?”

I picked up the letter, but did not check the contents. I couldn’t guess what was in it. Was there money in it? A blank check perhaps?

When I looked at Seniel, asking him to explain more, Seniel looked embarrassed, but also afraid that I would reject him.

“This is a ticket for Largo’s piano recital. I don’t know what you like, but I want to give you something…”

“…”

“If you don’t like this, I’ll get you something else that you like.”

It was an unexpected gift. Seniel looked at my expression with his cheeks blushing lightly. When I didn’t respond, he couldn’t hide his nervousness.

I didn’t react not because I was offended by the unexpected gift. It just felt odd. There was no mention of the pianist Largo in the novel, but I knew from Vivi’s memory that Largo was the most famous pianist of this era.

So, as soon as I heard that it was a ticket for Largo’s piano recital, I had a strong desire to go, so there was no way I would dislike the gift. It was rather good, and that was exactly why it was more subtle. I had a hard time all day, but now it felt like I was comforted by the cause that made me suffer the most. The more I thought about this contradictory feeling, the more confused I became.

Without a word, I opened the envelope and checked the ticket. There was only one ticket for the recital. The date was this week.

‘The blackmailer told me not to leave.’

It was still scary to go out, but funny enough, I really wanted to go. I just wanted to put this reality aside and avoid it.

It wasn’t that there was no way to get out without being suspected.

I lifted my head and made direct eye contact with him watching my reaction.

“Seniel, come with me.”

The only way to avoid the danger for a while was to drag the eye of the typhoon of this terrible reality to the recital.

The letter from the blackmailer said strangely that I didn’t fit with Seniel, but they didn’t threaten my relationship with Seniel. It didn’t seem to matter.

Seniel’s eyes fluttered rapidly.

“I-I’m busy, so-”

“Can’t we go together?”

When I said it with regret without even realizing it, Seniel hesitated and pursed his lips.

“… … I’ll get another ticket.”

How long had it been since he lived in a culture? I put the ticket back in the envelope and placed it neatly on the table with a slight smile. When I confirmed that his words that he would do well were not empty words, I felt something for him for the first time. However, it was only something like compassion.

‘Crazy. I can’t believe I’m interested in him.’

It seemed that my mind was very exhausted right now, and yet I was sure that what I felt was not deep fondness, and judged that this feeling wasn’t very dangerous.

I smiled at Seniel.

“Thank you.”

It was short, but there wouldn’t be another word with this sincerity. Seniel blushed as if relieved.

Near the end of the meal, I was horrified to realize that I hadn’t brought flowers. But after a while, I regained my composure.

‘I received a ticket, and he decided to go with me. Wouldn’t this be a better harvest than flowers?’

In negotiations with Kid, the main purpose was to improve the relationship, not to give flowers. Although it was a bit uncomfortable.

As I took a bath, changed my clothes, and crawled into my bed, my anxiety welled up because the time to meet Kid gradually approached as the night deepened.

‘Don’t tell me the blackmailer told Kid everything because of my meeting with Ronan.’

If so, let us just die together.

***

I couldn’t sleep deeply because of my sensitive nerves, and I was awakened right away by the sound of the door opening. I carelessly lifted my torso to scan for the intruder.

The moonlight streamed in and I caught a glimpse of the intruder, but it was not clear. The intruder just brushed past the lamp and came across to my bed.

‘W-Why aren’t the lights on?’

I checked the status of lamp over and over again because it seemed like a lie. The lamp was dark without functioning properly.

‘Looks like he’s not going to kill me!’

My heart beat fast as a very faint hope welled up. After a while, my chin was grabbed and my head turned to the side.

“What are you looking at?”

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