HSTYM 08

Chapter 8

He got down from his horse and looked at the two of them.

“This is boring.”

Even though someone had fallen off a horse, what mattered to Xenon was still the game. Isaac, who had gotten a poor result despite being given the first turn, scratched his head and answered.

“Haha, I guess it is. And I think I lost too, Young Master Lianeric.”

Xenon did not even listen to Isaac’s answer. He coldly walked past the two of them.

The servants who remained looked at each other nervously before one of them spoke.

“There are two doctors who are the Young Master’s personal physicians at the mansion. I will tell them to prepare right away.”

“I’m fine……”

“What do you mean, you’re fine? Let me see you.”

When Herace pushed his back and urged him, Isaac had no choice but to limp over and sit on a nearby chair with the help of a servant.

“Does it hurt a lot? You’re not badly hurt, are you?”

“I told you I’m fine. Don’t worry so much. I’m embarrassed.”

“What are you embarrassed about? I’m worried because you’re hurt.”

“Even Young Master Lianeric didn’t like it.”

When Isaac mentioned Xenon, who had left coldly, Herace answered in an annoyed tone.

“Do you have to worry about what other people think even when you’re hurt? Why are you worried about the Young Master when you’re the one who’s hurt? Even I, who have my father around, don’t do that.”

“The person I’m worried about isn’t the Young Master, but……”

“What?”

Isaac, who had been muttering quietly, soon lowered his head completely. His face turned red all the way to his neck as he shook his head.

“Nothing.”

“You’re so strange.”

“Anyway, these kinds of injuries happen often during knight training, so you really don’t need to worry.”

At Isaac’s answer, Herace suddenly wondered if she had hurt the pride of a sensitive teenage boy.

Well, boys around that age can be like that. It’s the age when they want to look strong for no reason in front of people their age.

Herace quickly understood and nodded.

“Then that’s a relief.”

“Still…… thank you for caring about me.”

Herace smiled without answering.

This was one of the reasons she had found Isaac cute and kept him by her side as her childhood friend for so long. He always had this kind of cute side at the end.

Anyway, knowing that the boy she had thought was badly hurt was actually fine made the tension leave her shoulders.

Feeling exhausted, she finally looked around. Only then did she notice the empty space left behind after Xenon had gone.

Just then, the personal physician of Lambert Mansion, whom a servant had gone to bring, arrived. He was an old man, and after hearing that someone had been injured, he seemed to have hurried over as fast as he could.

He must have thought Xenon was the one who had been hurt.

After being told what had happened, he visibly relaxed.

As Herace watched Isaac being treated under the parasol, she fell into thought for a moment.

What should I do about Xenon, who left because he was bored?

She did not even know where he had gone.

She wanted to find him, but she could not freely search through someone else’s mansion when it was not her own home. She also noticed that only a few servants remained while most of them had left.

In truth, today’s meeting was practically over.

She wondered how she should tell her parents, who must have been eagerly waiting to hear how things went today.

Just then, Isaac, who had finished his treatment, touched the neatly wrapped bandage and awkwardly stood up on both feet.

“Herace, I’m done with my treatment.”

“Mm.”

Herace answered absentmindedly because she was lost in thought, then quietly looked at Isaac.

He had a pure look on his face, as if he knew nothing.

“What are you thinking about? Let’s go back now.”

“Go back?”

“Yes. The Young Master left, so doesn’t that mean today’s meeting is over?”

“That’s true…… I guess it is……”

“I’m glad nothing serious happened to you.”

The boy said that with a bright smile, and his face looked lovely.

Herace scratched her cheek awkwardly.

She was worried about Xenon.

If she left him alone after he had walked away like that, she was afraid of what might happen later.

How annoyed will he be at their next meeting?!

She wanted to at least check what condition Xenon was in before going home.

But she also did not want to put any more burden on Isaac, who had already gotten hurt while competing with Xenon.

“Umm.”

“Should I tell them to prepare the carriage?”

“Ah, I……”

Herace closed her mouth for a moment and chose her words carefully.

“I think I left something behind.”

“Left something behind?”

“It’s my notebook…… I wrote some personal things in it. But I think I left it in the drawing room earlier.”

“Then let’s go together and get it.”

“No. You’re already hurt, so there’s no need. Leave first, and I’ll get it and go separately.”

Damn it. No matter how I say it, it sounds suspicious.

Isaac also seemed to sense something strange. He frowned in confusion, looking like he could not understand.

“Should I ask a servant to get it?”

Actually, that was the easiest way.

There were servants everywhere nearby, and their ears were even wide open. In other words, they were already ready to go to the drawing room for Herace as soon as she asked.

But Herace quickly shook her head.

“No. It’s something really important to me, so I want to check for myself. Go back first, Isaac.”

“……Really?”

“Yes. I’m sorry I can’t go back with you. I’ll come visit you next time.”

“Why would you visit me for something like this? Still, I feel uneasy about leaving without seeing you get back safely.”

Isaac seemed to realize right after saying it that he had made a mistake, so he quickly stopped talking.

The word safely made Lambert Mansion sound almost like a den of danger.

The ears and eyes of the servants were practically the same as Xenon’s.

Everything he had just said would surely reach Xenon.

Even if Xenon became angry after hearing it, the words had already been spoken.

Herace quickly changed the subject, trying to cover for Isaac’s mistake.

“I’m sturdy unlike you, so I’ll be fine. I’ll find my notebook and come right back, so go home and rest.”

“Okay……”

This time, Isaac had no choice.

Even though he sensed something strange, he could not find anything more to argue about and obediently nodded.

His uneasy expression remained.

Herace glanced at a nearby servant.

The servant met her eyes and nodded on his own.

It was his answer that he would take care of Isaac and escort him.

As soon as she got her answer, Herace turned around and left.

Of course, two maids followed her. They were the two who had been holding the parasol and fanning her.

When they heard that Herace had lost something, they asked with very worried expressions.

“Did you say it was a notebook?”

“Do you know what color it is, or what kind of leather the cover is? We would like to help you find it.”

“There is no notebook. More importantly, can you tell me where the Young Master went?”

“What?”

Herace walked quickly while looking straight ahead.

She could see the wide garden of Lambert Mansion and the main entrance of the main building.

The mansion she had to search through from this point suddenly looked even bigger than before.

“I mean Young Master Xenon. I have something to tell him.”

“Well, I’m not sure. We didn’t see where the Young Master went either, so there’s nothing we can tell you……”

The maids lowered their heads, looking very apologetic.

They realized that the notebook was only an excuse.

Then, with the attitude expected from servants of Lambert Mansion, where Young Master Xenon always came first, they composed their expressions and spoke.

“But when he is feeling down…… he sometimes goes to the maze in the central garden.”

One of the two maids looked around very carefully before lowering her voice even more.

“The maze?”

“There is a small maze in the central garden that the gardener made. It is a place the Young Master often visits.”

“Where is it?”

“If you turn right from the path straight ahead, you will see the entrance. It is easy to spot because of the rose vines.”

Herace nodded and waved her hand, telling them to go.

The maids looked at her with concern for a moment before bowing their heads and disappearing.

As soon as they were gone, Herace started walking without hesitation.

She could not leave like this.

She had to check on Xenon before going home.

Following the path the maids had told her about, she soon saw the entrance to the maze, covered in thick, tangled rose vines.

Red roses climbed over the rather old-looking iron decorations and gave off a captivating scent.

It was a very showy place, with a strong fragrance that made her wrinkle her nose the moment she smelled it, just like its owner.

“He should be here?”

Unlike a labyrinth, the maze was not complicated and tangled.

A single circular path always led toward the center.

So it was more likely made for beauty than for the purpose of making someone lose their way.

Then is he inside, pulling roses and calming his anger?

The thought did not suit him at all.

Still, they had one thing in common.

They were both beautiful.

The thought of pretty-looking Xenon doing something like that somehow seemed funny, as if it would make a nice picture.

Finding her own thoughts ridiculous, Herace let out a small laugh and stepped into the maze.

At the same time, her eyes met those of a transparent blue fish floating in the air.

One blue fish floated among the blooming red roses.

It was an unreal scene.

It was magic.

There was no other way to explain it.

It was a trace of Xenon.

Herace reached out toward the fish.

As expected, the fish passed right through her outstretched hand like a shadow.

The blue fish shook its pretty tail as if teasing her and moved farther away.

Without being surprised or questioning it, Herace continued following the fish.

As she slowly walked along the outer edge of the round maze, the center gradually came into view.

She felt as if she could smell an even stronger scent of roses coming from the center.

Because a boy with black hair and white skin was leaning against the fountain in the center.

The boy with black hair and white skin was standing at the center of the maze, leaning against the fountain.