PMEVBO 42

It wasn’t just a tickle, it was pain, I realized too late. My lips tingled as if stung by a bee.

…But that too was fleeting. The moment my lips left Iser’s cheek, the pain vanished as if it had never been.

Iser froze, cupping the cheek my lips had touched with his gloved hand.

Trying to ease the awkwardness, I forced myself to speak casually.

“I just wanted to tell you how I feel. But I meant to say it with words… I never intended to convey it like this.”

I scratched my cheek awkwardly and smiled sheepishly. Iser closed his eyes.

His lashes, tinged lilac in the moonlight, trembled.

What am I to do? I guess it bothered him more than I thought…

It was clearly an accident and a mistake, but from the recipient’s perspective, it could have been upsetting. If that was the case, I shouldn’t brush it off lightly; I had to apologize properly. I gently patted Iser’s shoulder and offered my apology,

“Hey… I’m sorry.”

Then, Iser grabbed my wrist with the hand that had been covering his cheek. Suddenly, his bright blue eyes were fixed on me. With his eyes narrowed, he said.

“Why are you apologizing?”

“…Huh? Because my mistake upset you, so of course I should apologize…?”

Iser laughed, then shook my wrist lightly.

“Does it look like I’m upset to you?”

If I had to say, Iser looked angry. But it didn’t seem like he was angry because of my mistake.

…Then why is he angry?

It was then that the grip on my wrist from Iser’s hand slowly began to loosen.

“…Aren’t you the one who feels uncomfortable being touched by me?”

“What? What does that even…”

Iser pulled his hand away from me with a sulky expression. So, without thinking, I grabbed his hand.

“…No. Not that.”

If the one who made the mistake feels uncomfortable, that just shows a problem with their character. But even setting aside that moral reason, I didn’t feel the slightest bit uncomfortable being touched by Iser.

Who would feel uncomfortable just because their lips brushed against the cheek of a younger sibling they adore?

Iser, who had been holding out one hand to me while keeping his gaze lowered, finally spoke after a long pause.

“……Really? You’re not uncomfortable?”

It was a fragile voice, hard to believe it came from him.

“Yes.”

Only after hearing my firm answer did Iser meet my gaze.

“I feel the same way. So don’t apologize.”

Iser said with a radiant smile.

His eyes shone unusually bright under the moonlight. Perhaps because of that, his flower-like smile seemed strangely unfamiliar today. Like that of a sated beast…….

In the brief moment my mind drifted, Iser’s hand gripped mine tightly, as if binding each finger.

…Something felt wrong.

“Lucariel, you have hair on your face.”

Yet, as Iser handed me the mirror, his expression remained calm, unchanged from usual.

Did he seem different just because of my mood…?

While I looked into the hand mirror and brushed the hair off my face, Iser turned to my back. Tapping the strands off my back, he quietly spoke.

“…When I lived in this annex, my father always cut my hair himself.”

“What? Duke Hayut…?”

I couldn’t believe such a human past existed for him, who was worse than a demon, and had imprisoned and starved a child.

So, without thinking, I committed the mistake of turning around again. Must we repeat the same errors to be human?

Fortunately, this time Iser’s face was at a safe distance, preventing the same accident as before.

But I was thrown into confusion. The expression on Iser’s face as he brushed hair off his gloves was far too gentle for someone recalling their abuser.

Iser shook his head with a smile.

“No, not the Duke. My real father.”

“Your real father…?”

“The current Duke Hayut isn’t my or my sister’s biological father. I was adopted after my father passed away, so strictly speaking, he’s my adoptive father.”

“…What?”

That detail wasn’t in the original story, I thought.

But that wasn’t what mattered in this moment.

Thank goodness. Iser has a father he loves.

I’d always worried. What if the current Duke Hayut was Iser’s ‘beloved father’? Being abused by someone you love and want to love you back is more miserable than any other kind of suffering. Especially if that person was the first guardian you ever believed in.

But my relief didn’t last long.

“But he is blood-related. He was originally my uncle.”

“What? Your uncle…?”

For a moment, I was speechless. So that meant to the current duke, Iser was the son left behind by his dead brother. How could he do such a thing to that precious child…?

My brother never married, even at forty, but if he’d made a mistake back in the day, that child would probably be around Iser’s age now. 

From my position as someone with a brother like that, I couldn’t understand or forgive the current duke’s atrocity. Rage surged from my core.

“What kind of …!”

Before I could unleash a full torrent of curses, I met Iser’s wide, startled eyes. Only then did reason return, and I quickly covered my mouth in alarm.

…I nearly blurted out, “What kind of bastard does that?” in front of the kid. I wanted to punch my own mouth for letting such words slip. But there was something more urgent to do first.

“Sorry. I… got a little worked up…”

Overwhelmed by embarrassment, I buried my face in my hands and lowered my head.

But soon, weight pressed against my back. A sweet herbal scent wafted over me.

“Haha.”

Iser, burying his head in my shoulder, started laughing heartily. He held me the whole time, so my body swayed in rhythm with his laughter.

It took a while for his laughter to subside.

“This too. No need to apologize.”

Iser continued, wrapping his arms around my neck from behind.

“I told you. I like it when you get angry for me.”

He had said that this morning too. Yes, the water was already spilled anyway. Since the person involved said it like that, I figured it was fine.

But the embarrassment just wouldn’t fade. I absolutely must never swear in front of him again.

That aside, this kid… he’s been holding me for quite a while.

…Even though he always runs away saying he hates it when I hug him.

It was rare for Iser to initiate a hug with me. This was probably the monumental second hug.

The first was when I made a helmet out of a towel. Back then, Iser had also burst out laughing like just now. Did he have a habit of hugging the person next to him when he was doubled over laughing?

Cute.

If I acted like I knew it and he jumped back in fright, I’d be the one at a loss. Carrying Iser on my back, I smoothly changed the subject.

“……But why specifically at night? Is there a special reason?”

“Ah, that’s…… just a habit. My father liked cutting hair at night. He said it looked prettier that way.”

“Pretty…?”

So it cuts more beautifully at night?

Then Iser spoke in a voice tinged with laughter.

“You know what? Hair cut with a blade glitters white in the moonlight.”

“Ah, really? I didn’t know that.”

Ah, so what Iser’s father thought was beautiful was the gleam of his son’s hair ends in the moonlight when he cut it at night. That’s why he mainly cut his son’s hair at night. What a romantic man.

I immediately lifted my hand mirror to check my own hair ends. But sadly, Lucariel’s hair was naturally white.

“Is it because my hair is white that I can’t see it?”

“I suppose so.”

In the mirror, not only my own reflection appeared, but also Iser’s face, who was hugging my neck from behind. Fiddling with my hair, he said.

“But even if the ends sparkle, they’re not as pretty as your hair.”

The Iser in the mirror smiled sweetly and continued.

“Your whole head sparkles like starlight.”

Our gazes met in the mirror, unable to break free.

Iser was the first to look away.

“But if you want to see, I’ll show you.”

Iser released the arm wrapped around my neck and picked up the dagger. Then, without hesitation, he brought the dagger to his own loose ponytail.

“Hey, wait a minute…”

I grabbed Iser’s arm urgently.

“Why would you cut that? It’s such a waste.”