Chapter 29

𝕾𝖔𝖓𝖌 𝖙𝖔 𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖓 𝖙𝖔: 𝕷𝖔𝖛𝖊 𝕾𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖞 𝖇𝖞 𝕿𝖆𝖞𝖑𝖔𝖗 𝕾𝖜𝖎𝖋𝖙

***

"So stop crying will, you? It's not like I've died or something, Vestia... And right now, I am already breaking my promise to you..." Henry's deep, husky, and yet the softest nostalgic voice I've ever heard, resonated within my ears.

However, my hands got stuck on his back, never letting him go. Not when I fully wet his clothes.

From the background, I could even see how Claudius was smiling with his chuckles. Right now, we were supposed to enjoy the morning tea, and everything to catch up with the past.

But when Henry brought up his current role as a senior knight and left out everything we witnessed that day, I didn't even notice that my hands were already tugging his shirt.

I've been enveloped by this warmth, a familiar sensation that I couldn't forget, not when I lost this for five freaking years.

I heard Henry sigh for a moment before finally letting me fully wet his clothes. When I had enough, I even wiped my wet nose on his clothes so that all he could muster was to make a face and act like it was disgusting for a lady.

But little did he know that I intended to do that because of his punishment for leaving me those years.

I didn't even have the time to send his coat to his household, not when he wasn't around.

"You're acting like a child, Vestia. Goodness, act like a fine lady, will you?"

"What if I don't want to? Besides, that's your punishment, Henry..."

"What did I do?"

"Takes you an additional five years to understand," Instead of speaking those words I had in mind, Claudius responded on my behalf. Henry looked at him with his eyebrows almost creasing and an open mouth with eyes searching Claudius' words.

However, the silence that once filled the garden was engulfed with humorous laughter after Claudius smacked Henry's head again.

"Besides, this is my punishment for you as well..."

"What?" Was the only words he could say before making a face once more. But after a few more seconds, Claudius broke down and I know that kind of expression.

It felt like he lost a friend for a moment before finally getting him back.

"So don't keep secrets to yourself, dummy..."

"Dummy? When did I become a dummy, Claudius?"

"For those five years in the past!!!" Then Claudius ran to me from behind, like the first time I saw him act as if he was making me a shield for himself and I chuckled.

We heard Henry sigh and when we looked at him, he crossed his legs, and looked at his tea, before finally drinking it. I can see how he reacted to the bitterness of it, but he once admitted to me that he didn't like the green tea flavored with lemon until he tasted it in our afternoon tea.

After putting his tea down, he looked at the large tree from behind him, and we saw a different outlook from his perspective.

As the wind swayed his raven hair, a glimpse of loneliness shone in his eyes, and a façade that we weren't able to see in the past.

It's as if Claudius and I had seen him feel indifferent for a second before looking back at us, and then he smiled, a kind of smile that never reached his ears.

"It's a long story and I don't want to spoil the mood, so at the right time, I will tell you. I promise that..."

In the blink of an eye, Henry grabbed my pinky finger and intertwined with his same with Claudius in his other hand. Then as if he had become the old himself, he smiled at us as if nothing ever happened in his household, and as if we never witnessed him get tortured in that dangerous basement of his household.

The smile he had shown us now was his usual smile, with his teeth fully showing on the mark. Then comes a refreshing laughter.

Just like the very first time I met him, he sounded like a calm night but right now, he shone like a new spring.

Claudius and I looked at each other and shook our heads, but one thing was for sure, the corners of our lips stayed upward for the longest time.

That morning, I had caught up with Henry on how he became a senior knight and left the rest about the darkness of his shelter.

"So I passed the knight's test within those four years while I was in our countryside estate..." he finished while drinking up the tea that Anna refilled.

He made a face again as if he didn't like tea enough but when he saw me his eyes widened and he almost choked.

"You know Vestia, I'm trying to like this new tea, that has honey and milk. It seems like it's too sweet for my taste"

"Good to know because as long as you're here, Henry you have to try everything that I give you..." I say with narrowed eyes and finally, he laughs again.

God, I missed his laughter and I miss this kind of scenery where the three of us reunite after long years of becoming incomplete.

"Well, did you write in your letter that you had met a female knight in your team?" I asked.

I looked at Henry and he only shook his head. Claudius seemed to sneer and when I turned my attention to him, I could see him controlling his laughter.

"Trust me, Vestia. It wouldn't be a good story for now"

"Why?"

"Just because..."

"Just because what?"

"That female knight is my hater, everything that I do, she would always disagree, right Claudius?"

I looked at Claudius and there, he burst out laughing. Did I miss something again? I narrowed my eyes to the two only to wait for Claudius to wipe his tears from his eyes while removing his hands from his stomach.

"Yeah, right. It was when you wrote me that letter where she hit you in the face and stomach after a heated argument"

"It's because she's in the wrong!"

"And that no one even took your side, that's harsh..." Claudius laughed once more before looking at Henry.

"You two, are you telling me something I don't know?" I asked then Henry sighed.

"I left this part out because I thought you would be worried, but I guess the cat got out of the basket because of Claudius..."

I only clicked my tongue until I sighed.

"So did you have a crush on this female knight? What is her name then?" That's when Claudius and Henry choked from their teas and looked at me with wide eyes.

"Are you serious?"

"Are you kidding him, Vestia?"

Both said at the same time while leaning toward my place.

"What?" I asked.

"That female knight is an amazon. She nearly killed me, you understand Vestia?"

"Besides, this female knight is Count Lutherfore's daughter and she has a reputation from her household. It's not a good one..." Claudius said and I widened my eyes when I looked at him.

"How did you know?"

"Well, I know because I researched noble households, my dearest lady..." Then he took his tea...

I sighed.

"Okay, if you two want to leave it at that then be it, but you two don't have to worry, Cain and Celna will return a week later, so we will have a lot of time getting to know each other better, right?"

"So they are from those from the Greviore and Devinseil household?" I nodded when Henry asked those words but I got to glimpse new emotions from his eyes, and then a dangerous thought came to mind.

I shook my head and then took my tea again. I felt the warmth of it and the sweetness it gave. Then after looking at my reflection from it ripples continued to move the current and I was reminded of the silver hue of the hair strands.

Weird because I knew that silver hair was only from the empress, did I mistake that kid's hair to be silver that night from the auction?

"...right, Vestia?"

"Pardon?" I asked Henry again. I see him pout and cross his arms before repeating his words.

"For the time being, I would disguise myself as your distant cousin. For now, the Vellitas household is looking for me and when that happens they would make excuses why I a senior knight wasn't in the imperial academy"

It makes sense because people of fifteen years old would be able to enter the imperial academy but Henry was already in the academy a year ago.

So this would only make him a transferee under our household.

"Then I have to talk with my parents first..." I see Henry nod and his expression turns serious the same with Claudius.

I sighed... It's only the reality of time.

"A friend of mine suggested the upcoming festival two weeks from now..."

But before I could even see their faces, Anna spoke from behind me.

"Milady, his Highness the crown prince had given you a letter of reminder again with your dance lesson..."

"Dance lesson?"

"Oh, did I forget to tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

I looked at Claudius and he sighed as he nodded in my stead.

"Vestia is getting an official engagement with his highness the crown prince Caliere Mezor by the end of this month..."

"What?!"