He strikes at vital points at unexpected monts. To think the words "in the ga" would co from his mouth. Esperanza, who had lost her words, clenched her hands. Cider narrowed his eyes and lightly tapped the back of Esperanza's hand. Tap, tap. Slowly, rhythmically. Esperanza inhaled sharply and said.
"It's real. ......I've never lied about such things."
"Either way, it's not a lie, is it?"
Though he spoke sowhat mischievously, the smile on Cider's lips beca a bit more comfortable. Esperanza dropped her shoulders and hugged her knees with both arms. Her toes showed slightly beneath her skirt hem. Unlike her expressionless face, her thoughts seed visible in her curled toes.
"I've never deceived you with such things."
"I know."
Doesn't he believe ? But as always, Esperanza didn't have the superpower to guess what Cider was thinking. Cider Claiborne saw through others' emotions so well though.
So this ti too, there was no other way but to be honest.
"When I talked about myself, it was always really about . My experiences, my emotions. Wherever I was. It wasn't truthful, but it was never insincere."
Cider leaned slightly forward to et her eyes deeply. The corner of his mouth holding a smile twisted slightly.
Perhaps it was inappropriate to have such a conversation on the day they t again after so long, on a day that had passed frantically with monsters, blood, and sweat. But if they let it slide like this, it would get tangled up again and roughly buried. Because that would be easier.
But would they let the wound fester once more? That wouldn't be wise.
"Then instead of what you want to talk about, shall we talk about you."
"......I don't know what story to start with."
Cider knew the answer. He had chewed it over so many tis. While waiting for that soday when they would have such a conversation.
"We should start with the essence. Miss, what's your na?"
Her heart seed to drop with a thud. Esperanza's lips, which had hesitated, moved slowly. Cider silently followed the shape of her opening lips. It was unfamiliar, but didn't feel distant.
"'Esperanza' is a na taken from the aning of that na. I've never thought of it as fake. And...... I liked it when you called that na."
That was sincere. It had been from the beginning. Perhaps because she'd used it for 7 years, it sounded no different from her real na, not just a combination of sounds but simply 'my na'. But when Cider called it, rather than the fact that her na was called, she was captivated by that subtle tone, the slightly lowered voice, the smoothly falling ending.
How many people in one's life can make a na special just by calling it? Would there even be a next ti?
The scale tips. Creaking and swaying, then slowly.......
"Alright, 'Esperanza'."
Her shoulders stiffened a bit. Esperanza hurriedly erased the scale in her mind.
"Let's go with that for now. There's still a lot to ask."
"I feel like I'm being interrogated."
Cider didn't even blink. Instead, he extended one arm and said.
"I suppose so. Will you co here?"
"Why should I?"
Esperanza, who had sat deeper into the chair, shook her head.
"When my interrogation is over, I'll let you interrogate
as much as you want. You must have a lot you want to ask."
"Of course I do! What's this about being Duke Dunbarton's nephew?"
"Ah, starting with that?"
"Starting with that."
Cider frowned as if troubled. However, contrary to his serious face, laughter burst out from deep in his belly. Esperanza, startled, quickly got up.
"You're a patient right now! You'll tear your wounds like that!"
Eventually, Esperanza covered Cider's mouth with her palm. The warning given with her eyes wasn't threatening at all. He embraced Esperanza's waist with one arm and buried his cheek in her stomach, letting out the rest of his suppressed laughter.
"What's so amusing?"
"I'm happy to see you."
"......You're noisy."
Cider put strength into the arm embracing Esperanza and lay back. For a mont, Esperanza, who lost her balance, was led by his hand and almost fell, barely managing to support herself on the bed with both arms to avoid touching Cider. Goodness, she almost lay on top of a patient.
"Are you crazy?"
"If you promise to stay like this, I'll start with the story about Duke Dunbarton's nephew."
"What if I don't stay like this?"
"We'll finish your story first. If we're lucky, it'll be done before sunrise."
Esperanza hesitated for a mont. Whether to fall for this obvious trick or not.
"......It doesn't hurt, does it?"
"Do I look like I can't bear your weight?"
"You should be able to bear it. If there's no hole in your stomach."
"There isn't. You poured an entire bottle in, didn't you."
"If it had worked properly, that bandage wouldn't be necessary either. Rather than sothing going wrong......."
"It'll be fine as long as you don't move."
Cider gently pressed Esperanza's back of the head with his palm. Esperanza, who had been struggling without being able to lift her head buried in his shirt collar, sighed deeply and embraced Cider's neck.
"Just wait until you're fully healed."
There was no answer. Annoyingly.
Still, it wasn't bad. Cider Claiborne being annoying wasn't the problem. The problem was when he wasn't being annoying. For instance, when he said, 'I'll make you the spaceti machine.'
"The story about Duke Dunbarton's nephew is really nothing much. It seems Alastair Renfrew didn't prove my innocence. That matter......."
Cider, who had been deliberately drawing out a boringly trivial story, touched Esperanza's nose bridge with his fingertip.
"Are you sleepy?"
"A little?"
"Then will you talk this ti? Is this pretty face yours?"
There was no room to let her guard down. Realizing she had unknowingly been letting her guard down a bit, Esperanza buried her head in Cider's nape as if venting her frustration.
"Not everything is real. There are, personal information issues."
There was no need to go into detailed stories. That wasn't what was important.
"Still, it's not very different. Changing things well requires talent too......."
"Actually, it doesn't really matter."
"Ah, yes."
Then why did you ask? Esperanza looked up with a face barely swallowing her complaint. He had been smiling until just a mont ago. The eyes that had held light quickly filled with cynicism and tilted.
"Na doesn't matter, face doesn't matter....... nothing would be a problem. That's the biggest problem."
Cider, who had wrapped soft hair around his fingertip, sighed. The sound of his heartbeat could be heard raw. Though it was just a sound, Esperanza could feel anxiety in it.
"From less than a day after it was revealed that you had been deceiving , I found myself looking for reasons why it would be okay to forgive you without realizing it. Isn't that terrible?"
The cynicism was directed not at Esperanza but at himself.
"Should I forgive everything, forget it all, and play at romance while holding you close until you leave with a generous heart? That's not even funny. What would be left after that? Your ridiculous future plans?"
"Is that why you ca here?"
There was no answer, but she could guess the response. Esperanza asked with a trembling voice.
"Did you succeed?"
"No."
No words were exchanged after that. Esperanza watched Cider's closed eyelids trembling, then exhaled deeply.
'So that's why he said he'd make the machine.'
She had been waiting for this answer, surely she had, but she wasn't happy at all. Rather, only an uncomfortable feeling like having a rock placed in her stomach had increased.
??????°??☆????°??????
A bright morning as if there had been no disaster that turned the harbor area to powder. Annie tied Esperanza's hair with a ribbon while gauging the mood.
"It would be better not to go to the dining table."
"I do feel like I might get indigestion. Still, when so many guests have co and not a single one appears at the dining table, it's a bit awkward."
Esperanza slowly went down to the first-floor dining room. In the dining room gorgeous enough to be demoralizing, the Duke and Alastair were seated. Esperanza sat in the guided seat.
"Is the lady Miss Hunter? I've heard many stories from my son."
Esperanza, who had started forcing simple breakfast into her mouth, glanced at Alastair. Seeing him desperately shaking his head, it seed to be just ceremonial words. Of course, the Duke would have finished basic investigation about Hunter Esperanza.
So he would have attached his nephew.
The corner of her lips twisted.
'Even if there's nothing I can do after I return, at least while I'm here, he's mine.'
"I'm sure you have."
It was familiar to reign over noble lords who patted their bellies and stroked their beards. Thinking about it now that she roughly knew the inside story, it wasn't a very proud past. Esperanza's tone was listless as she gave short answers that cut off conversation. The Duke's facial muscles stiffened a bit.
"You said you were born in Paolun? By any chance, is there mixed blood from there?"
It was a rude but predictable question. There was no need to bring up their old settings to explain here.
"If I said yes, would you kick
out from the dining table? Tell
to lick a dog bowl downstairs?"
The sound of a knife scraping a plate rang out sharply. From the Duke to the servants, more than ten pairs of eyes turned toward Esperanza. Alastair hurriedly opened his mouth.
"......Father, Miss Hunter is a lady who has had an audience with His Majesty and been recognized."
"You seem to know well."
"She's a friend Lady Cordelia particularly cherishes. She's also the savior of Lady Cordelia's and my lives."
The Duke, who had been aninglessly turning his glass, frowned at Alastair.
"Savior of lives....... this is quite rude of ."
He didn't seem to believe it much. The Duke was a faithful lord who would launch his private airship upon news of a disaster in his territory, but his way of thinking was stubbornly old-fashioned. The fact that he considered marriage alliances in this era was proof of that.
Alastair sighed deeply and looked at the Duke resentfully. Tomorrow morning's breakfast would inevitably be just him and his father alone. With three guests, two of them refusing als because they didn't want to see the host's behavior—it was utterly embarrassing, and now he was about to chase away the only guest who had co down.
"You rember the Mabelwood affair."
When he deliberately drove in the wedge, the Duke's eyes narrowed.
"Mabelwood."
The Duke eventually burst into an exclamation as if he had figured sothing out. However, he didn't reveal what he had figured out and naturally changed the subject.
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