◆ Lumine Marries into Our Family
I’D been bedridden for only a few days, but it seemed like I still lost quite a bit of my stamina. I felt tired simply walking through the long corridors of Puerta Research Center as Mr. Julius and I made our way to Helios.
I couldn’t move for a while after what Mr. Julius had done to me in the corridor. He patiently waited for me to regain my cool, but as I simply couldn’t settle down, he picked me up and brought me to my room once. After catching my breath, we finally decided to head over to Helios. I wanted to see our precious dragon as soon as I could, but it was all Mr. Julius’s fault that it didn’t happen sooner.
After I visited Ms. Eliza, Mr. Julius was finally satisfied and accepted that I felt better now. There was no need for me to wear the hospital gown anymore, and while I wasn’t wearing a headkerchief, I donned my usual apron dress. This outfit made me feel the most at ease, as though I was back at home.
Is my place in Astria doing okay? I wondered. I hoped that Ms. Gazey wasn’t lonely. I knew that she didn’t have feelings, but I was still worried about her.
“I yearn for Ms. Roxy’s cooking,” I said. “Don’t you, Mr. Julius?”
Though I was finally able to step outside of my room, it was on the condition that Mr. Julius was always by my side. I was grateful to see him so worried about me. Puerta Research Center was so large that it was easy to get lost in, as Jahala had warned before. It was quite a long way until we reached the garden-like hall where Helios was from the hospital ward. Mr. Julius slowly walked by my side, matching my pace.
He always had longer strides and was much quicker than me, but ever since I ran out of magic and fainted, he has been nice to me just like how he is with his dragon. I was used to him tugging on my ear and dragging me along, so I wasn’t too familiar with his kind side and it delighted me to experience it. These things can change at the drop of a hat, so I decided to savor his kindness for now. When he becomes fully convinced that I’m back to full strength, he might revert to his usual, crass self.
“Let’s go meet Ms. Roxy once we return to Astria,” I said. “We should bring back a few souvenirs too. I wonder what Rasheed is known for. Do they have any local specialties? Do you think a cookbook from Rasheed would be a suitable gift? Ah, but Astria doesn’t have any sand lizard meat, so it might not be a useful present.”
I chattered away as usual while we walked down the long, white corridors, feeling myself run out of breath. I felt a bit pathetic that I was getting tired from simply walking and talking.
“Is this conversation worth pushing yourself?” Mr. Julius asked wearily at my side.
He kindly matched my stride, but I was oddly happy to hear his usual biting tone and breathed a sigh of relief. It made me uneasy to see him constantly worried about me. I was the strongest alchemist and a young, beautiful maiden—I wanted to protect Mr. Julius. Or at least, I hoped I could.
“But I haven’t been able to talk this much in a while,” I reasoned. “And you don’t talk much, so if I don’t fill the void, we’ll just have silence settle in between us.”
“Do you not like silence?” he asked.
“Well, I don’t hate it but…”
I stopped talking and started thinking. I didn’t particularly dislike silence or quiet spaces. When I first started living with Mr. Julius, he talked so little that I felt like I needed to force a conversation with him somehow. I may have wanted to build a good relationship with him, but I also was probably afraid that he’d realize my empty words. I kept calling myself an alchemist and a young maiden of rare beauty. If he noticed that I was only putting on a tough front and was actually quite vulnerable inside, he could’ve underestimated me—I didn’t want that.
But things were different now. I like him very much, and my trust in him was probably greater than my feelings of affection. The silence that settled in between us didn’t feel suffocating or awkward. Every now and then, my heart would skip a beat, and I’d become embarrassed or feel my chest grow tight, but that was a separate issue entirely.
Then why do I want to talk with him so much? What compels me to open my mouth? I think…
“Yeah,” I finally said. “I think…it’s because it’d be a waste if I didn’t talk.”
“A waste?” Mr. Julius asked.
“For a long time now, I had no one to talk to. As far as I can remember, I could only feel at ease and speak my true thoughts with my mother. Once she passed, I had no one to have a real heart-to-heart conversation with.”
My mother’s face and voice, along with Ms. Natalia’s, flashed across my mind. I respected and trusted my master very much, but she left me suddenly, and she wasn’t someone I could speak so casually with. I was very fond of Ms. Roxy, but we didn’t have a relationship where I could tell her everything.
“You listen to everything I say, so I guess I feel like I want to tell you everything,” I confessed. “You act weary and tell me to shut up often, but you give me a response every now and then, and you entertain my thoughts too.”
Above all, he stayed by my side. That alone made it feel like I’d be okay no matter what.
“…But you’re out of breath,” Mr. Julius pointed out.
“I need to exercise a bit to regain my stamina,” I replied. “In a few days, I’ll be back to full strength!”
“Yeah. I don’t get tired of hearing your voice. Your perkiness helps me remember that we’re not in a war zone.”
He took my hand and interlaced his fingers with mine. He brushed his lips on the back of my hand like he was saying a prayer. My face grew beet red. I was certain that something just exploded in my mind. I feel like he’s been touching me more too. Mr. Julius stared right at me, his lips still on the back of my hand.
“There are other ways of exercising than talking, you know,” he murmured, his breath tickling my skin.
“H-Helios is waiting for us!” I hastily cried. “Let’s go!”
I didn’t quite understand his words, but they seemed to hide a deeper meaning that scared me. He was probably teasing me as he let out a throaty chuckle.
“I want to eat the food that you make,” he said, answering my initial question.
🐲 🐲 🐲