Each Other’s Inner Stories

That night, Kyle told Dvere the whole story and let Vermillion stay at the Lyarde family’s mansion.

However, it was difficult to reveal Vermillion’s identity right now, so he just made up an excuse that he was a benefactor who helped them when an incident occurred in the Imperial Palace, and that he was being chased by the Eyes of Dawn because of it, so he asked them to hide him for a while.

Fortunately, Dvere allowed it without much suspicion.

In the first place, he was the benefactor of his precious son and future daughter-in-law, so there was no reason not to allow it.

Rather, Dvere gave Vermillion the entire detached building, which he didn’t use much these days, and even helped to strengthen the security there so that his existence wouldn’t leak out to the outside as much as possible.

About a week passed like that.

,”You seem to be doing well.”

,”I came to visit because I thought you might be bored, Drake-gongja.”

,”It’s thanks to your consideration that I’m doing well.”

Kyle and Sylvia visited the detached building where Vermillion was staying alone.

Vermillion still looked like a middle-aged man in his 40s when he went out, just like when he visited Kaintreche Castle three days ago, but he could only undo this disguise when he was alone in his room.

There was almost a major disaster where his transformation magic was undone due to mana consumption and his identity was revealed, but Kyle heard about this and created an artifact that maintained the transformation magic and handed it over, which solved the problem.

The thing Vermillion is wearing around his neck like a pendant right now is that artifact.

,”Hehe, I’m sorry this morning, Drake-gongja.”

,”It’s alright. It can happen.”

,”Hmm? Did something happen this morning, Sylvia?”

Sylvia suddenly smiled and apologized, so Vermillion, the person involved, gave a bitter smile, and Kyle, who didn’t know the details, tilted his head.

,”Actually, I ran into Drake-gongja when I went for a walk in the garden this morning. But I almost called him ‘Drake-gongja’ without thinking. And there were gardeners around.”

,”That must have been quite a thrilling situation.”

Kyle, who heard the whole story, said with a bitter smile as if he was sweating bullets.

Currently, when the two people in the castle call Vermillion, they call him ‘Rian-ssi’, which is taken from his name.

When Kyle first heard this, he sneered, saying, ‘What kind of 40-year-old man has such an innocent name?’, but Vermillion said that it was the name he had been using while hiding for a month, so he couldn’t say anything more and decided to call him that.

In the first place, if he gave him a name that was difficult to remember and called him wrong, it would be a bigger disaster.

Anyway, while the three of them were chatting.

As if she was at an age where she was very interested in romance, Sylvia clapped her hands and brought up a topic she had recently heard from Kyle.

,”Come to think of it, Drake-gongja. I heard the story. You had a meeting with a nice woman this time?”

,”Yes? Who on earth is spreading such stories…? Ah.”

,”…Heh.”

Vermillion widened his eyes to guess the culprit, and a man with an annoying smile next to him caught his eye.

When he thought about it, he realized that there was no one else who would say such a thing except for that bastard, and he realized his mistake.

,”Well, Elenore-gongnyeo doesn’t have that much interest. She’s just a grateful benefactor to me.”

,”But Kyle told me that it seems like you have feelings for her?”

,”…Kyle, what the hell are you saying about me when I’m not around?”

,”Who knows?”

Kyle whistled and turned his head.

In the first place, he never made a promise to keep the story a secret, and he just told Sylvia exactly what Vermillion had been rambling on about while lost in his emotions.

So he was not guilty. That was his bizarre logic.

In fact, it’s not wrong.

Considering that he told the story expecting Sylvia to react like this, it can be said that he had a degree of willful negligence.

,”Then, putting aside Drake-gongja’s true feelings, can you tell me a little more about the details?”

,”Hmm, alright. It’s not a difficult task….”

Vermillion wanted to just remain silent, but he knew that the moment he said ‘No.’, Sylvia would be disappointed and depressed.

Of course, normally he wouldn’t care whether Sylvia did that or not, but the problem was Kyle, who was staring at him with his eyes wide open next to him.

He was looking at him with eyes that seemed to say, ‘Wait and see what happens if you disappoint Sylvia.’, so how could he not care about that?

In the end, Vermillion, who was attacked by the two, decided to quietly tell the story of what happened at that time in detail.

＊＊＊

When Vermillion regained consciousness, the wind hole that had been pierced in his body had already disappeared.

He couldn’t figure out how that strange phenomenon happened.

And the name of the girl who treated him was Lucy.

Whether she didn’t have a last name or just didn’t want to reveal it, she mentioned that she should just be called Lucy.

She seemed like a girl living alone in a small, shabby house that was almost like a hut, so she was quite a tough woman.

Kung! Jjeoeok….

,”You chop firewood yourself.”

,”Yes. In the first place, there’s no one else to do it but me.”

,”Can I help you a little?”

,”I’d appreciate it if you would.”

Vermillion, who was watching her chop firewood with a thin arm holding an ax, rolled up his sleeves, and she readily handed over the ax without even refusing.

Rather, he liked that about her.

He was already worried about whether there was anything he could do to help since he was just a burden, so he took the ax with the intention of at least paying for his meals.

Kung! Pagak.

,”That’s not it. Rather than swinging with your arms, put strength in your waist and chop down.”

,”Le, let’s try again.”

But how could he, who had lived as a member of the Count’s family, have ever chopped firewood in his life?

The first attempt failed miserably, and he was about to lift the ax again when he felt his face getting hot as he was even getting advice from her.

,”Here, hold it like this. Stick your waist out a little more.”

,”Lu, Lucy-yang…?”

Lucy, who couldn’t stand it, stepped in and stuck to his back, and Vermillion’s face became even hotter as she began to manually correct his overall posture.

It’s not something to be proud of, but unlike what people see from the outside, he doesn’t have much immunity to women.

In the first place, he had never been in a relationship, and he didn’t even remember holding a woman’s hand other than his family.

People say that he’s a gigolo and that he’s probably slapped women in the back of the head at least five times, but this was his reality.

,”Good. Chop down like that. Aim for the center.”

,”Ye, yep…!”

He couldn’t just push away her who was teaching him seriously, so he somehow received the instructions and chopped down with the ax.

Kung! Jjeoeok….

Then, the tree split in half with a crack, just like when Lucy did it a little while ago, and joy filled his face.

,”Did you see that? Lucy-yang. I succeeded in one try this time…!”

,”……”

Lucy didn’t say anything as she watched him, but in her heart, she felt that Vermillion was a little cute, thinking, ‘He has a childish side too.’

At first, she was worried that he might be a criminal or a bad person when she saw a man with a hole in his stomach floating down the river, but fortunately, he didn’t seem like such a person.

The two of them suddenly started living together for about 3 weeks.

Vermillion knew that he should quickly tell Kyle this news, but he somehow felt uneasy about leaving Lucy alone.

Especially since he didn’t think he had repaid her enough for saving his life yet.

,”Rian-ssi, you’ve become quite accustomed to this life. You used to tremble even when a cockroach came out.”

,”Rather, I think it’s strange that Lucy-yang is so calm even when she sees a cockroach.”

,”Well, if you live this kind of life, you’ll see cockroaches and rats as everyday occurrences.”

By the time he got used to the cockroaches and rats that suddenly appeared in the house and was able to kill them with his bare hands.

Vermillion suddenly became curious about Lucy’s situation.

It was strange for anyone to see a woman who wasn’t even an adult living alone in this shabby, isolated house by the river, where there weren’t even any houses nearby.

,”Come to think of it, Lucy-yang, how did you end up living alone in a place like this?”

,”My mother evacuated me alone and passed away. This was the only place to hide as much as possible.”

,”Evacuated? Excuse me, but was there some kind of misfortune…?”

Vermillion carefully asked again as he saw her face darken for the first time, and Lucy hesitated for a moment, pursing her lips.

She seemed to think that there was no point in hiding it any further since she had revealed this much, so she soon opened her mouth.

,”…Do you know the Eyes of Dawn?”

,”……!”

The moment he heard those words, Vermillion’s heart sank for a moment.