MTST 10

Chapter 10

Come to think of it, what she had done to him wasn’t actually all that significant.

She just hadn’t replied to a single letter.

They had met by pure coincidence, and without those coincidences aligning, they wouldn’t have even been able to cross paths in the first place. That was the extent of their relationship from the very beginning. The bond between that woman and him.

So then, does that mean I won’t ever get to see her again?

Theodore parted his lips slightly.

I want to see her.

The day he had last met her, the sky had been damnably bright and clear. Today was no different. He could still vividly picture her walking right beside him, following along with Betty, but she was the only one missing.

Theodore walked along in Betty’s footsteps, then roughly dragged a hand down his face.

Or maybe… was I just too much of a burden to her?

That might have been it.

A man she barely knew had suddenly forced letter-writing upon her out of the blue, and on top of that, demanded a reply. How burdensome must that have been for an unmarried young lady?

That’s probably why she cut ties with me entirely.

Since she had such a kind nature, she likely couldn’t even bring herself to say she wanted to stop writing.

Theodore’s strides came to a sudden, dead stop.

Come to think of it, what on earth did I write in that last letter?

A letter where he had poured out unnecessary words driven by a sense of helplessness.

The moment the contents of that letter flashed through his mind, a wave of sheer dread washed over him.

Damn it.

I need to take the gift and the letters back.

Tap—!

Just then, the familiar sound of footsteps echoed from somewhere nearby. Theodore turned his head in that direction before he could even process what he was doing.

………………It was her.

Laura, looking around anxiously as if she were searching for someone.

All the thoughts that had occupied his mind until just a moment ago vanished instantly, leaving his entire field of vision filled solely with her.

She didn’t look injured, and aside from a slightly tired look on her face, she was just like her usual self.

Along with a rush of overwhelming relief, his eyes locked with hers.

The exact microsecond those clear, translucent pupils met his.

Thump, thump.

The quiet, steady rhythm of his heartbeat gradually swelled into the sound of a giant war drum echoing inside his ears. It grew loud enough to deafen him.

Laura’s eyes widened in recognition. Then, without a second thought, she began running straight toward him.

Theodore stared at her, completely forgetting how to breathe.

Thump, thump.

As she drew closer step by step, the illusion grew that the entire world was shaking along with her movement.

He was sinking helplessly into a churning vortex of emotions. His chest felt tight, as if he were choking on the heavy humidity of a summer day. Yet, it didn’t feel unpleasant. It was intoxicating to a bizarre degree.

With every single step Laura took, color bloomed across a world that had previously been painted entirely in dull shades of gray.

“Noah!”

………………Even so, why wasn’t anyone else looking at this woman?

Why was he the only one standing completely frozen in place?

For the very first time in his life, Theodore found himself wondering about all of this.

I panted for breath as I came to a sudden halt right in front of Noah. “I-I’m so sorry. I had some business to take care of outside the capital.” This was what I hadn’t managed to say earlier.

“It’s not that I purposely chose not to reply to your letters.”

Even as I continued desperately explaining myself, he stared straight at me without blinking a single time.

“Noah?”

It was when I cautiously called out his name.

Perhaps the strength had finally given out in his legs, because Noah suddenly slumped down right onto the ground.

“A-Are you alright?”

Only then did he seem to snap back to reality, managing to force the words past his lips with effort.

………………I was worried.”

“I’m so sorry.”

Looking up at me with a soft, quiet gaze, Noah extended his hand toward me.

“It seems I really need Lady Laura’s help after all.”

A hand belonging to an utter stranger.

Noah’s eyes looking up at me.

It felt as though time was trickling forward at a bizarrely sluggish pace.

Just like Noah had once said, it felt as though we were under some kind of spell.

Had that mischievous wizard decided to mess with more than just the park’s weather, tampering with the flow of time itself?

Hesitating for a moment, I reached out and took his hand.

And the exact second our hands touched, Noah pulled me forward.

Before I could even react, I was helplessly drawn in, tumbling forward to land softly against his solid chest.

In the startled split second I tried to pull my body away, Noah buried his face right into my shoulder.

“……Just a second.”

His low, rumbling voice brushed against my ear, making my entire body freeze up.

“Just a very brief moment is fine.”

Stiff as a board, I managed to exhale a shaky breath, then slowly began to stroke his back.

“I’m not going anywhere without Betty, you know.”

“……I really mean it.”

Because Noah refused to let go, I ultimately ended up resting my chin on his shoulder as well.

“Did you wait a long time for my replies?”

“An eternity.”

The answer came back instantly without a moment’s hesitation.

“I wanted to read your letters so badly, too. Should we call it even and wipe the slate clean?”

A small, quiet chuckle brushed against my ear. In the meantime, Betty—who had tried desperately to squeeze between us and failed—began barking with an intensely grumpy expression on her face.

Noah let out a brief, self-deprecating laugh and finally released me. Seizing the opportunity, Betty proudly wedged herself right back between the two of us.

Only then seeming to realize he had just pulled me into a tight embrace, Noah offered an apology with a thoroughly mortified expression.

“I’m sorry.”

“If I had found it unpleasant, your cheek would already be bruised black and blue by now.”

“……I suppose I must have completely lost my mind.”

“We haven’t seen each other in ages, and you expect me to just sit here and listen to apologies?”

Hoping to steer the conversation elsewhere, I bent down and scooped Betty into my arms. Catching onto my intent, he smoothly followed suit and shifted the topic.

“Betty missed you terribly, too.”

If that were true, I certainly saw plenty of her back at the imperial palace.

I studied Noah’s face closely.

A distinguished guest visiting the Empire.

In other words, Noah was a visitor from a foreign land.

If I ever ran into him again, I had intended to demand answers about that specific truth.

Yet……………….

Now that I’m actually meeting him face-to-face, none of that matters.

Right now, all I really cared about was trivial small talk.

Whether he had been taking good care of himself, or if not that, what he had eaten for lunch today.

And I wanted to tell him that I adored the hair-pin, and that next time, I wanted to give a gift to him in return.

Emotions had completely overridden reason.

Even while knowing it wasn’t like me at all, I didn’t want to shatter the current atmosphere.

………………No, perhaps it really didn’t matter.

No matter what kind of person Noah was, or whatever hidden identity he might be keeping secret—

The version of this man that I know and understand hasn’t changed at all.

“You mentioned earlier that you were curious about me.” At my words, Noah readily admitted to it.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“What on earth are you so curious about?”

“Quite a lot of things, actually.”

“I’ll answer anything you want.”

Noah tilted his head to the side.

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Even tricky questions?”

I was about to nod readily when I suddenly hesitated.

“Wh-What kind of tricky questions are we talking about here?”

As I asked with a slightly nervous expression on my face, Noah suddenly burst out laughing.

“I’m just teasing. I’d rather slowly take my time getting to know you, piece by piece.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I’m afraid you might run away once you figure everything out.”

As if I would actually go anywhere.

“If I’m going to run away, I’m taking Betty with me.”

“Don’t you remember what I told you before? I said I’d hunt you down and catch you no matter where you went.”

“W-Well then, I’ll just go by myself.”

“Oh, so you do have plans to run away, then?”

Noah tilted his head at a jaunty, mocking angle.

“I was just speaking hypothetically.”

I flashed a sheepish, bright smile as I looked up at him.

The moment our eyes met, Noah quickly looked away, clearing his throat.

For some reason, the tips of his ears had turned bright red.

“Noah, I love summer.”

“I love going for walks, too. I love cats, and I adore cute little creatures just like Betty.”

I started counting off the points on my fingers before casually showing them to Noah.

“You already knew all of that, though. Since you already know so much about who I am, why is it that you still can’t answer the question of what kind of person I really am?”

“……I read your letters very, very thoroughly.”

Noah let out a short sigh. I let out a soft laugh and continued speaking.

“The Noah I know can be a bit mischievous, but he’s fundamentally a kind person. The fact that he cherishes Betty so much shows he has a strong sense of responsibility. On top of that, he’s a deeply romantic soul—the kind who actually sits around waiting for someone’s reply.”

“That’s the Noah I know. What are your thoughts?”

By this point, Noah’s neck had flushed entirely red.

He awkwardly fidgeted with the lobe of his ear and muttered under his breath.

“I think the spell cast over this park is finally wearing off.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s hot.”

At his words, I pressed the back of my hand against my own cheek.

M-Maybe it was a little hot.

Right, that had to be it.

Just looking at Noah’s flushed face made me feel like heat was rushing straight to my own face, too.

As I frantically tried to cool the burning temperature of my cheeks, Noah’s gaze suddenly locked onto a single spot.

Right at the hair-pin I was currently wearing.

The very first gift he had ever given me.

Hesitantly, I reached up and tucked the pin securely into my hair.

“How does it look? Does it suit me?”

Noah’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. He hesitated for a brief moment before reaching a hand out toward me.

Carefully and tenderly, as if he were handling a fragile porcelain doll that might shatter at the slightest touch, he smoothed down a stray lock of my hair.

“……More than I ever imagined.”

My eyes wavered at the quiet, struggling words he managed to force out.

There it was again.

Time was once again flowing by at a bizarrely sluggish crawl.

T-This must be Betty’s fault.

Desperately blaming Betty to cover up the turbulent fluttering in my chest, I quickly averted my gaze.

“Actually, I was so anxious while I wasn’t getting any replies from Lady Laura.”

As Noah lowered himself to match Betty’s eye level and extended a hand, Betty trotted right over to him.

That action naturally pulled my wandering gaze back toward Noah once more.

“But it doesn’t matter anymore.”

Our eyes locked together once again before I even realized it.

“Doesn’t matter?”

“Because the blank spaces in those letters have finally been filled.”

Under the gentle, glowing sunlight, he wore a smile that looked as though it had captured the very essence of summer.

“Turns out, meeting you directly is the best thing of all after all.”