Lyse didn’t foresee any danger in Seren getting close to the Light of Origin. The Light could withstand both large monsters and Donan stones being hurled into it, and it had always stood strong.
Its effects reach all across the empire and bless her with fertile soil. Nothing could sabotage something so immensely and magically powerful.
If anything, Lyse was curious to see what would happen if she brought Seren close to it. That should definitely get him talking, she thought. And if anything were to happen, she and Sidis would be there to step in.
Not to mention, Seren seems rather frail...
Perhaps it was because he’d been housebound his entire childhood or perhaps it was because he’d never had the chance to be athletic even as an adult, but Seren was scrawny for a man. It wasn’t fair to compare him to well-trained imperial officials who knew their way around a blade, but Seren seemed even weaker than an Olwenian civil servant to Lyse.
“Why don’t we head to the garden over that way, Sir Seren? There’s a nice place for you to sit and rest there,” she suggested, deliberately pointing toward the Light and the imperial villa.
“Woof?!” Sidis barked. He looked up at Lyse in surprise, but she responded with a gentle smile as if to say that everything was all right. Sidis didn’t look convinced, yet he could tell that Lyse had something planned, so he didn’t press the matter any further.
Meanwhile, Seren smiled when he saw where Lyse was pointing. “Sure, that sounds wonderful,” he said.
Lyse had the feeling that he really wanted to see the Light, so she guided them toward the garden. A few chairs were scattered around a small pond there, and Seren quietly took a seat in one of them. He longingly, unwaveringly gazed upon the Light. No longer did he look like a hopeless womanizer.
“I didn’t realize you admired the Light of Origin so much,” Lyse commented from where she sat beside him.
“Yeah. No matter where you’re from, everyone can see the Light faintly glow in the distant night sky. It’s no wonder people exalt it as a vestige of the gods.”
“Does that include you, Sir Seren?”
“Do I exalt it? No...” He hesitated, at a loss for the right words.
Lyse held her breath in anticipation of what he’d say next. Yet minutes passed and he remained silent. Lyse was contemplating taking him back to regroup with the other matchmaking participants when he finally spoke up again.
“I have this vague memory from a long time ago of a warm, comforting light. I was a wee one in a well-lit room, basking in my parents’ love. It’s a fuzzy feeling in my head that just won’t go away...” He paused, feeling bashful. “It pops up every time I see the Light of Origin, so I thought that seeing it up close might help make that fuzzy memory feel more concrete. I thought maybe I could convince myself that I used to be happy.”
“Convince yourself...that you used to be happy?” Lyse questioned.
“Ah, how totally uncool of me. Forget I said that. Something so brilliant... You just have to go see it for yourself, you know what I mean? Much like how dazzling you are, it simply makes me want to get closer to you,” he said, reaching for Lyse’s right hand.
This displeased her, so she tried to shake him. “Again with your japes, Sir Seren. Might I remind you that I am betrothed?” she asked in an attempt to stymie his flirting.
“I can’t even hold your hand? How prim and proper of you. It’s delightful. Even though you always come to chat me up, the moment I turn things back onto you, you act all shy and blush bright red. You’re adorable, you know?”
Lyse was astounded by the realization of her own behavior. “Aren’t you the one always trying to woo the other ladies? Why don’t you turn your attentions on one of them? My charms are finite, so I’m sure you’d grow bored of me quite quickly anyway.”
Even if I could participate in the matchmaking, I doubt I’d be able to find a kindred spirit...
An ideal day indoors for Lyse would be full of push-ups—likely a turnoff for Seren. His slender arms indicated zero interest in strength training. He didn’t seem to be the active type in the first place. Matchmaking certainly wouldn’t be easy for someone like that.
Hmm?
A dark purple bruise somewhat hidden beneath the cuff of Seren’s sleeve caught Lyse’s eye, and she impulsively grabbed his wrist.
“Whuhn?!” Sidis let out a noise rather uncharacteristic of a dog at this development.
“Oh, how bold of you, Miss Lyse...” Seren’s eyes shot wide open.
Lyse proceeded to roll up his sleeve and inspect the bruise. Realizing what she was doing, Seren smiled and tried to brush it off.
“Oh, that? That’s just a birth— Ouch!” The pain, however, betrayed him.
“Birthmarks don’t hurt from the slightest touch, as I’m sure you know. What happened to you?” Lyse decided to press the attack. “Yesterday, I saw— Er, I heard someone say that they saw you being attacked from afar and that you protected my dog. Is that how you were injured so?”
Seren was embarrassed by her frankness. “Oh, bother. There go my chances of you ever finding me charming.”
“You saved my dog, Sir Seren. What isn’t charming about that?” she said, shaking her head.
He blinked blankly. “You really do love dogs too, huh? People have always told me that I shouldn’t risk my neck just to protect a dog, or that I should put myself first.”
Though she found such notions absurd, Lyse understood where they came from. From the aristocracy to the common folk, there were people who had no qualms about treating dogs as lesser beings. But for Seren, who loved them, protecting them was only natural.
So he is a good person...
That confirmed it for Lyse. Someone so kind to animals almost certainly couldn’t be wicked in the heart.