Chapter 23
Johannes, who had suddenly looked up at the cloud-filled sky, said that he could find his way by looking at the stars. Daphne replied that the stars showing the way sounded romantic, and Johannes said he would teach her the method on a cloudless day.
“Thank you.”
Daphne felt a sense of hope arise, and for a moment, she forgot her many worries.
After that, no particular conversation followed. The silence was as pleasant as the conversation, but a good idea suddenly flashed through Daphne’s mind.
“Shall I teach you Bellaresian?”
Since he had shared a lot of knowledge with her, Daphne also wanted to share anything she could.
“My Bellaresian is probably better than your Common tongue.”
But a mockingly playful refusal came back. It was a reaction she had half-expected, but she felt strangely vexed. Daphne glanced sideways at him and muttered.
“…Your pronunciation, though, seemed awful.”
“……”
When they first met in the forest, he had used Bellaresian for her sake. His competitive eyebrows twitched for a fraction of a second. Daphne gave a triumphant smile.
“Daphne Thessalia. Try it.”
He, having noticed her playfulness and trickery, scoffed. But she was by no means an easy opponent.
“Ah, I see it really is awful. It’s alright. How can a human be good at everything? You’re not a god, after all. Right?”
“……”
“……”
“…Thesaria.”
“…Pfft.”
Johannes glared at her with fierce eyes. But Daphne no longer batted an eye at such things.
“See? You can’t do it.”
“…What’s supposed to be so different.”
His pride wounded, he muttered under his breath, and Daphne burst out laughing again. Soon, she turned her body toward him, scooted her bottom closer, and peered at his face as if asking him to look at her. Johannes defiantly turned his head the other way.
“Watch my mouth carefully. The-si-e.”
He held out a little longer, but he realized he would only be able to escape her fixed gaze if he opened his mouth as she wished.
“Hmm?”
“Hah…”
Johannes finally turned his head to look at her with a long sigh. As if she had been waiting, Daphne said.
“Watch carefully. The-si-e.”
“…The-si-e.”
At that, she smiled as if she were the happiest person in the world, and Johannes, meeting that smile, somehow felt everything become easier after that.
“Li-a.”
“Li-a.”
『The-si-e-li-a.』
“…Thesaria.”
Repeating after her out of habit, Johannes couldn’t help but notice the clear difference in pronunciation. Discovering the subtle hardening of his expression, Daphne cackled and fell backward. And Johannes’s eyebrows crumpled fiercely.
Having found something to tease him about for practically the first time, Daphne was elated. She had him pronounce her name a few more times, watching him as he half-mimicked her and half-kept his mouth shut.
Exhausted from laughing, Daphne said she needed a short break and leaned her back and head against the tree. Then, she let out a snicker, recalling Johannes’s face, which had grown tired so quickly.
“…This won’t do. It seems there is something you’re not good at after all.”
It was a thoughtless mutter. It was around the time she had completely forgotten she had even mumbled it.
“Aren’t you giving up on me too easily? Try a little harder.”
At the unexpected response, Daphne didn’t know how to react for a moment. Still leaning her back against the tree, she turned just her head halfway to look back at him. He was expressionless as usual and wasn’t looking at her, but she knew he was waiting for her answer.
The corners of Daphne’s eyes and mouth curved into a wide smile. Feeling a ticklish sensation, she needlessly scratched her cheek and followed his gaze up to the patchwork-like leaves hanging over their heads as she spoke.
“Hmm. Then shall we start with something a bit easier? How about this….”
Daphne continued speaking as if humming, and at her voice, as ticklish as a gentle breeze, Johannes found himself stealing a glance at her.
Their bottoms, sitting side-by-side, were at some point only a handspan apart. They never touched, but they were undeniably close.
Without fail, signs of morning began to appear.
Johannes abruptly stood up, extended a hand to Daphne, and asked, “Tomorrow, can you come out a little earlier than today?” Without a thought of hiding her happy expression, Daphne quickly took his hand and nodded, and Johannes, pulling her arm, found the corners of his mouth turning up.
By now, his smiles were too common to count one by one.
At that same moment, a warm wind blew. All the scents of that moment seeped deep into her lungs. Time was passing at a frighteningly fast pace. The green foliage grew lush, and at last, it was the peak of summer.
💎
Daphne suddenly let out a laugh and slid down in the bathtub. She submerged herself until her eyebrows were no longer visible, then popped up a short while later and rubbed her wet face with her palms as if washing it. The eyes of the servant attending her bath grew wide.
Leah, who entered the bathroom late holding a box of scented oils, sensed something was off and tilted her head. As she was laying out the oils, she suddenly spoke to Daphne.
『You seem to be in a very good mood these days.』
『Ah, it’s because I’m looking forward to the coming-of-age ceremony.』
Daphne answered slyly. It was a very plausible answer, so Leah didn’t harbor any particular suspicion.
『My, are you that excited?』
『Of course, I am. There’s nothing I’m looking forward to more. I wish time would pass quickly….』
I wish the sun would set quickly and night would come. It seemed she was completely addicted to the time she spent with him in the forest. This time, Daphne let out a small sigh and closed her eyes. Just then, a sweet and sour scent stimulated her nose.
Daphne opened her eyes and looked toward the source of the scent. Leah, noticing Daphne’s gaze, asked.
『Is something the matter?』
『Not that one today… Yes, could you bring me the one in that bottle?』
After that, Daphne opened two more bottles of scented oil. Leah waited for Daphne with a bewildered face. It wasn’t particularly special for royals or nobles to choose scented oils according to their mood, but it felt unfamiliar for Daphne to do so. It was because, until now, Daphne had never had any particular preference.
Just then, Daphne opened a green bottle of scented oil and smiled brightly.
『I like this one.』
『That one is…. Ah, sandalwood.』
『This is sandalwood?』
『Yes, but this is usually used by men….』
『I like sandalwood. Use this one for me.』
It was the scent that came from Johannes.
From around that time, Daphne could feel that she was changing a little. She still felt helpless when she thought of the mountain range, but a vague courage was welling up. The approaching tomorrow no longer felt suffocating and despairing.
His way of speaking, the sound of his laugh, his gait, every single trivial habit—she liked them all, they all seemed good to her. She found herself unconsciously mimicking Johannes.
💎
In the middle of the night, Günter swept a hand through the back of his hair, looking troubled as he surveyed Johannes’s empty tent.
“He’s disappeared again….”
What on earth is he doing, wandering around? Günter, having come out of Johannes’s tent, stroked his chin and pondered.
Johannes had been leaving his tent empty at night more and more often. It had gotten to the point where he was disappearing every single night recently.
Johannes was still under threat of assassination from his home country, Itium. Getting minimal sleep, and often leaving his tent without a word, were not sudden developments.
‘It’s not strange in and of itself….’
The problem was that he seemed to be frequenting the forbidden oak forest, and that it felt as if his mind was somewhere else entirely.
Somehow, he had a bad feeling. Should I interfere or not? Just as Günter was lost in thought for a moment.
“Günter? What are you doing there?”
“…Leo? Why are you wandering around at this hour?”
The sensitive boy, going through puberty, seemed to feel he was being treated like a child again and preemptively frowned. Leopold asked in a gruff voice.
“Where’s Johannes?”
“Ah… He’s not in his tent.”
“Not here?”
Leopold, asking back as if puzzled, unconsciously glanced in the direction of the oak forest. At that reflexive action, Günter’s eyes narrowed.
“Did you know Johannes goes to the oak forest?”
“…He sometimes disappears on his own, so I secretly followed him just once…”
“…You must have gotten an earful.”
Although Leopold had indeed been thoroughly scolded by Johannes as soon as he returned to the barracks, he first denied it with a shout, “No, I didn’t!”
“Anyway, he probably doesn’t go to the forest anymore. He even told me never to go near the forest again.”
And at that moment, Günter felt his ominous premonition become a little clearer.
