Iâve often seen Leon train, but it was the first time Iâve seen him compete with others.
âYouâre working hard. I think youâre much better than last timeâ
With my chin in hand, I looked at Leon with a pleased look.
âYoung ladyâ¦â
Diria came running from afar when she found me.
âYou canât stay here.â
âWhy? Everyone said it was okay.â
I was sitting still.
I didnât want to miss this moment.
Look at that. The men in uniform holding swords.
âBeautiful, itâs beautifulâ¦â¦.â
There is nothing more beautiful than the appearance of a sweaty man.
âDiria, sit next to me and watch together. Itâs hard to see this kind of thingsâ
Diria sighed deeply at my words.
Yeah, I know. I sometimes look like a pervert.
However, everyone would understand if they saw Leon showing off his presence with his black hair fluttering.
âYou can go with me after Leonâs training is over.â¦.â
âYou left it in his room, right?â
âYes, Iâll prepare tea with you.â
âAs expected, Diria has a good sense.â
I thumbed up and laughed.
In the end, Diria, who was defeated by my shamelessness, also sat down.
* * *
I took my tiptoe and headed to the room with Leonâs eyes covered.
âElle, do I have to go like this?â
âYes, itâs a surprise giftâ
âThen if I fall, youâre in danger.â¦.â
âItâs all right, itâs all right. Leonâs strong legs wonât plummet to the floor.â
Leonâs waist was awkwardly bent due to the height difference.
I approached the door carefully, taking one step at a time.
âNow open your eyes!â
It wasnât anything grand, but it was a surprise.
The cookie set wasnât the size of this world.
âWas it to buy cookies that you went out today?â
ââ¦â¦Well, well. I have to be alone at the banquet tomorrow. Iâm afraid I will be bored.â
Leon looked at me with a big smile.
âThank you. Itâs my favorite cookie.â
âItâs a bit muchâ¦â¦?â
âElle, I eat well these days. It was pretty big.â
I nodded at Leonâs height, which has one more face than me.
Yes, grow up well.
âBecause this is the only thing you likeâ¦â¦ Hahaha.â
Was it a bit too much? It was embarrassing to see the piled-up cookies.
The scent of the tea that Diria prepared just right crossed the tip of my nose.
âCome on, sit down! Iâll try it.â
âYes, letâs eat together.â
I sat opposite Leon at the table.
Leon stared at the tea that poured into the teacup.
Diria said she would do it, but he didnât want to be disturbed, so I couldnât help it.
âI donât know if I can make you do this.â
Heâs going to be a great wizard. Well, whoâs gonna try the tea that Leon pours?
It is possible now.
Then I should enjoy it while I can.
I looked at Leon with bright eyes.
âDid you give a gift to the count, too?â
âWell, should I give him a giftâ¦.â
It was a little vague, but I nodded.
âYouâre quite close.â
Leon sat down and snapped at the cookie.
âIs that soâ¦? I donât know.â
Edgar and I didnât roar like before, but I didnât feel particularly close.
Maybe itâs because we donât have to bump into each other.
âHow is it? Is it good?â
âYes, itâs delicious.â
Looking at Leon who was satisfied, I drew a proud smile on my face.
I guess he really likes to eat it crunchy.
âHowâs your training these days?â
âItâs fun. Above all, Elle, you like to train.â
âHuhâ¦??â
âNext time, come see me only when Iâm training alone.â
âWhy?â
I tilted my head as I put the cookie in my mouth.
Itâs pretty fun to race, but why do you ask me to come when Iâm alone?
Did I get in the way of the training?!
I was just looking at youâ¦
âOh⦠Iâm sorry. Was it disturbing?â
âThereâs no way youâre disturbing me.â
Leon reached out and wiped the cookie crumbs off my mouth.
âI just want to see you myself.â
âWhatâ¦?â
âYou look at me with those eyes.â
âWhatâs wrong with my eyes?â
I blinked.
âThe cookies are good. Elle, is it because you bought it?â
Leon naturally changed the subject and put a cookie in my mouth.
âYes, itâs delicious.â
As expected, this bakery is good at cookies.
Leon took a sip of tea with red eyes that he only showed me.
âItâs the banquet tomorrow. I think time flies already.â
âWow, it feels good that Elle thinks of me.â
Iâm serious and Leon looked fine.
âIâm glad I canât goâ
âReally? Why?â
âYeah. Elle thinks about me like this, and the two of us drink tea and you come to see me like this.â
âUh⦠well, thatâs.â
In fact, I avoided Leon for a moment. I thought I had to.
âDid it show?â
âVery much.â
âOh, it was so obviousâ¦â¦.â
I rolled my eyes with another cookie in my mouth.
I guess my face shows more than I thought.
I thought I was pretty good at acting, but this is also a bummer
What on earth do you have to live on?
I was a little depressed, but when I saw Leon in front of me, I quickly felt better.
âElle, what are you afraid of?â
The fear. My death.
That I donât know what the end of my life will be.
I was most afraid of this.
And I was scared that Leon would be at the end.
âYou know, Leonâ¦â¦. You know you canât forget the grace of a man or an animal, right?â
So you have to go and help me if I get dangerous later.
All I believed in was Leon.
Leonâs eyebrows flinched.
His eyes seemed to calm down for a moment, and then his lips moved.
âItâs just like that! Hahaha. Do you want more cookies? Shall I ask them to bring me more tea?â
I spoke in an over-the-top voice to quell the hastily awkward atmosphere.
The two of us had already had several cups of tea, but we spat out whatever came to mind to break the awkward atmosphere.
âElle, Iâm fine. So donât overdo it. You have to go to the banquet tomorrow.â
âUh-huhâ¦â
Leon spoke in a calm manner as if he had already penetrated my mind.
Eventually I had no choice but to leave his room.
Edgar put the teddy bear down on the aideâs words.
Did he think I liked bears?
âYou seem to like it.â
It was infinitely small even if I put it on my palm. The little thing looked just like the kid.
I thought you were only saying that you were going to buy a gift, but I didnât know you really brought something.
âI mean, itâs really weird.â
âBut isnât it pretty cute? Imagine that she chose this small one for the count.â
âI donât like how ugly it looked.â
Edgar slapped the bear down again.
Isnât it funny that it is holding a red heart?
âShe gave me this without even liking me.â
Itâs a bit big to see you shamelessly telling obvious lies.
I thought she was bold since she was young, but isnât it getting worse day by day?
âIt doesnât go well with the Count. She really bought it as a gift, right?â
âYou must have drank less water than you believe.â
Edgar shook his head and turned to the papers.
âWhatâs he doing?â
âI heard heâs having tea with Lady Elle.â
âAre you saying theyâre still together after coming back?â
âThatâs not true. She went to a place where the knights were training. Well, wouldnât she have gone back to her room by now?â
You bought some cookies. I guess you really ate it together.
Well, thatâs not like a kid.â¦.
âWhat do you think? If you look at the snacks and this.â
âWhat are you askingâ¦â¦â
âDoesnât this look more sincere?â
One corner of Edgarâs mouth went up. The aide took a step back with a look of uneasiness.