“What about Chaperil?”

“She’s making paint in her room.”

“Is that so…”

You seem restless.

As Tambor chuckled and then fetched a container filled with frozen melon and milk from the freezer, Enfrise’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Did you freeze the milk?”

“Yes, along with the melon. It’s delicious when blended together. She asked for it again after enjoying it last time.”

Last time? When exactly was that?

Tambor, with a complicated look on her face, smiled and spoke to Enfrise, who was observing her.

“It’s great to see magical tools progressing. When I was younger, getting ice in the summer was a struggle.”

“If it was when you were young, that must be at least thirty years ago…”

“You don’t need to remind me, Your Grace.”

I wasn’t that she hated aging. It was just sad to lose something as one aged.

Though not as much as Chaperil, Tambor was also known for her beauty in her youth. She, too, was once someone’s blossom, someone’s light.

She was quite fond of her wrinkled face now. Those wrinkles carried the time and years she had lived. It was just sad to think about what she had lost, what was etched into her skin from her younger days, and knowing there was no returning to it.

Because he didn’t understand these subtle feelings.

“That’s why the Miss dislikes you.”

“…Ah.”

The past week, there was an oddly strained atmosphere between them.

Chaperil wasn’t very good at hiding things, making it easy to notice, and Enfrise couldn’t deceive Tambor’s eyes. There were a few days of sweet interactions before that. What did he do to make things go wrong again?

“Did you make another insensitive comment or act? The Miss is easy to read, and she must have shown it.”

“…I can’t deny it. But I’m not sure what went wrong.”

“What happened?”

“…After Chaperil lost her memory… I was scared of her.”

“Scared?”

“…Because she only said pleasant things. She only showed affectionate gestures.”

Enfrise wasn’t used to happiness. He wasn’t familiar with kindness.

Tambor couldn’t even begin to imagine what it was like to live as him. Perhaps the light that seeped into his life, filled with only darkness… was so intense it became frightening. Such thoughts crossed her mind.

“So… I tried to scare her a bit.”

“Excuse me?”

“Just to tell her not to act so, you know, affectionately.”

Seeing his ears turn red, it seemed he had done something. Maybe something embarrassing… Could it have been a kiss? No, while Enfrise’s feelings for Chaperil were partly romantic, they also bordered on reverence. Precious and sacred, not easily touched…

It was difficult to imagine him acting violently towards Chaperil. At most, perhaps a forced hug? If that was the case, it was indeed a reprehensible act.

“Did she not like what you did?”

“She, she said it was okay to do what I wanted… She wasn’t scared and said so…”

Could it really have been coercion….?! Tambor involuntarily covered her mouth with her hand.

“I told her I’m a man… and that it’s difficult to restrain myself if she’s too close…”

Enfrise’s voice was barely louder than a whispering ant. Tambor listened intently to the quiet voice, waiting for what would come next, and breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed he had only spoken those words, not taken any further action.

“And then she apologized and started to cry.”

“She cried…?”

Instead of getting angry? Given Chaperil’s bright and kind nature, that might be expected, but another woman might have slapped him. No lady would forgive unpermitted physical closeness.

But crying? Why…?

It was puzzling even for Tambor.

“Since then, it’s been like this. I’d rather she got angry so I could apologize, but acting as if nothing happened makes it all the more confusing.”

This situation seemed beyond her help. Yet, she could offer advice.

“Your Grace, if I finished blending this, would you bring it to the Miss?”

“Me?”

“I’ll be busy cleaning shortly. You can help with this much, can’t you?”

“Wouldn’t it be better if I helped with the cleaning instead?”

“What are you saying?! If I asked the head of the house to clean, I’d be ground to dust by the maids’ gossip.”

Regardless of what happened in this mansion, it never reached anyone’s ears. Even knowing that, Tambor playfully joked as she took out something resembling a planer and started to grate the ice. The ice made from milk easily crumbled, allowing it to be shaved thinly without much effort.

“Oh dear, I ended up grinding everything, even what I was going to eat. I need to clean now and can’t eat this. If it’s left like this, it will melt quickly and need to be eaten soon. What should I do now?”

Enfrise sighed deeply, then took the bowl Tembur was holding and placed it on a tray. He also arranged two spoons beside it.

“Enough with the act. Go ahead and start cleaning.”

“Then, I’m counting on you, Your Grace.”

Smiling broadly as she saw him off, he left with a low sigh.

* * *

“Frii, do you want some shaved ice when it arrives?”

“Ppi?”

“But is it okay for you to eat?”

“Ppi—!”

Asking Enfrise… might be a bit much. I missed the times when we could talk about anything comfortably. But then again, if something is always good for me, it might not be the same for someone else.

“I’ll eat and then study letters again. I think I’m starting to get the hang of the consonants, though I’m not quite sure. I’ll have to ask Jaha when he comes.”

As I was thinking this, someone knocked on the door. Tembur, perhaps?

Finally, the shaved ice…!

“May I come in? Is it all right for me to enter?”

I was about to rush towards the shaved ice from my lying position, which left me awkwardly propped up, and then I froze. Was that Enfrise’s voice just now?

“Why is he here now?”

“…Lady Rivette?”

Though I had said not to call me by name, hearing ‘Lady Rivette’ so formally made me feel somewhat offended. I didn’t even understand my own feelings. Was I getting emotional again?

…Is this what it’s like to start liking someone?

As Enfrise did, as I do.

“Is there something wrong? Lady Rivette?”

“Oh, no! Sorry! Just a moment.”

I quickly corrected my posture. I couldn’t afford any misunderstandings. I checked my appearance and pushed my hair back.

After making sure there was nothing odd about me in the mirror, I finally opened the door.

“Sorry for opening it late.”

“…No, it’s all right. Tembur told me to bring this to you.”

“Ah.”

Shaved ice!

Well, technically, it was different from the finely shaved ice from a machine, but what did it matter? As long as it tasted good.

I brightly smiled as I took the tray.

…Huh? Why were there two spoons?

“Why are there two spoons…?”

“…She said she grated too much, so I should eat with you.”

Tambor…! I didn’t need that kind of consideration!

Uung. Eating together might make it hard to tell if it was going into my mouth or my nose. Still, strictly speaking, Enfrise was the owner of this mansion, so I couldn’t just send him away. This was all bought with his money, after all.

If I said I wanted to eat it alone, he’d probably just quietly leave, but then he might think I was rejecting him and get hurt again.

“Please… come in.”

…Wait. Did I organize the picture cards?

In my previous life, I was almost annoyingly obsessed with organization. My sibling was such a mess, so if I didn’t tidy up right away, the house would turn into a disaster. Now, I wasn’t as bad as my sibling, but I still tend to procrastinate with cleaning.

That meant…

“Gasp…!”

Just as I thought!

The picture cards sprawled out on the table were in plain sight. Enfrise, who was about to enter the room, gave me a puzzled look since I hadn’t opened the door for him.

“Uh, Your Grace.”

“Yes?”

“Can you give me just five seconds?”

“Yes?”

“Uh, I just found something on my cheek. Let me wipe it off, and I’ll open the door again.”

“On your cheek? I don’t see anything.”

Ah, nooo!

Guess it was true what they said that only those who had lied before could lie well. When I was a reader, I used to scoff at characters for getting caught in their lies, but now here I was doing the same! D*mn it!

“Anyway! Just wait five, five seconds, please!”

I slammed the door shut before he could even answer. While I waited a moment, worried he might just open it, there was no indication he would. Given Enfrise’s character, he wouldn’t barge in after I asked him to wait.

Now, where to hide these?

After a moment’s hesitation, without much time to think, I shoved the picture cards into the drawer. I couldn’t leave them near the bed, where Frii recently took to snatching my stuff for fun.

After double-checking to make sure no cards had fallen, I rushed back and reopened the door.

“….”

He looked at me with an unmistakably upset expression. Had he been standing there in that pose since I had closed the door earlier?

“I’m sorry. You can come in now.”

After opening the door and stepping aside, Enfrise silently entered the room. I could feel his golden eyes sharply scanning the room. Perhaps sensing something from him, Frii, who had recently been acting distant, slightly became wary and then scurried under the bed.

“Why, why are you acting like that? The ice will melt. Let’s eat it quickly.”

As I spoke, I sneakily checked the drawer. Yep, it was properly closed, and there was no evidence visible. Let’s not panic.

“…Yes.”

Enfrise, still not shedding his suspicion, sat down and placed the tray on the table. Maybe because it was made from milk, the ice had already slightly melted.

But that was what made it delicious.

“…But what is that?”

Del…i..cio…

….

I tried to maintain my composure as I turned my gaze to where Enfrise was looking. And there was…

__