episode_0006

The beginning of a renewed relationship took place in the garden. It was because Renia almost forcibly dragged me here.

I felt a little awkward, but Renia didn’t notice.

Renia said with excitement, not paying attention to me.

“This is the first beautiful place in Ruberyeong!”

My head nodded.

When I first came here, it was a place that impressed me even though I had no interest in flowers.

It seems that Renia wanted to tell me about this place.

Renia paused for a moment and stood blankly. And then-.

“… right! I almost forgot!”

“You forgot, what?”

Renia looked at me with a serious expression. Then she bent down slightly and spread the hem of her dress.

“Hello! It’s Renia Louver!”

A self-introduction out of nowhere.

“I… Do you know my name? You know my name too, right?”

Renia and I already knew who each other were, so introducing ourselves was a random act.

Renia made a pouty expression.

“That doesn’t matter! When you first meet someone, you have to introduce yourself! But you and I couldn’t do it.”

Hmm… Is it that kind of company?

It made quite a bit of sense.

I cleared my throat once and introduced myself to Renia.

“This is Chris Fletcher.”

“Hmm… It’s a little dull, but I’ll take a look!”

He looked completely superior.

But this is just Renia’s personality, and she probably had no intention of ignoring me. When I thought about it that way, I found Renia a little cute.

“And again… yes! I’m ten years old!”

“I’m ten years old too.”

“You too… ?”

Renia looked a little embarrassed.

“Why are you doing that?”

Could it be that you didn’t know my age?

“No… , Of course I thought he was older than me. Because it seems a bit adult.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at Renia’s words.

“Hahaha, I wasn’t acting like an adult, I was just pretending to be an adult. And he seemed older, so why didn’t he say it with respect?”

“Do you have to be polite if you are older than me?”

“That’s it… ”

I tried to say that of course you should be respectful, but when I thought about it, it wasn’t obvious.

“That’s right… . There’s no need to be polite just because you’re older.”

“That’s right! Anyway, what should we play?”

What are we going to do to play?

It was Renia who brought me here, so it would be right for Renia to decide.

“… Since you brought me here, you have to decide.”

Renia made a pouty expression again. I had absolutely no idea why Renia had this expression on her face again.

“It’s not you, it’s Renia!”

“Ah… , sorry.”

“I like it best when people call my name!”

what… I also liked being called ‘Chris’ rather than ‘you’.

Renia added the reason with an excited expression.

“Because my name is the one my mother gave me!”

“Mother… ?”

“Yes. She died when she gave birth to me, but she was very pretty. Just like me!”

I recognized it in an instant.

The reason why Renia had a dark expression for a moment in the park.

The kids made that look because they mentioned their mom.

Rather than feeling sorry, I felt a sense of kinship.

“Actually, my mother also passed away.”

Because my mother also died while giving birth to me.

I guess it’s the same situation. So I felt a sense of kinship.

“Really… ? Somehow we look alike.”

“I guess that’s it… ?”

“Yes. ah… , Of course, the faces don’t look alike! I’m pretty, but you’re mean.”

“Uh… , yes.”

Renia laughs and says something that seems to be teasing me.

And then a moment of silence follows.

It was Renia who broke this silence. Renia started explaining to me about the flowers in the garden.

“This flower is Tyrrhenia, which only blooms in the Ruberyeong region, and my father said that my mother liked this flower the most.”

“It’s pretty.”

Pure white flowers.

The texture also seemed soft.

Was it because of the Ruber family’s skill, or was it just the beauty of the flower itself?

It was really pretty.

“You’re pretty like me, right? In fact, I heard that my name was taken from here!”

“… .”

“Huh? Why aren’t you answering?”

“Okay.”

Because it is true that Renia is pretty. I nodded quickly before it became even more annoying.

“Hehe, I’ll tell you a lot. I like flowers a lot, so I know everything about them.”

“Yes, yes. Thank you.”

Renia showed me each flower with an excited expression. I responded to Renia’s efforts and listened carefully to what she said.

***

Renia and Chris continued to wander around the garden for a while. And there was someone watching it from the upstairs window.

This is Count Ruber.

Count Ruber was watching Renia and Chris from the second floor where his office was located. And the butler, who was quietly watching the count, asked:

“Are you okay?”

He was Count Ruber, who had no relatives, let alone a wife.

Count Ruber’s only remaining family is Rhenia. There was only her. That’s why it was Count Ruber who always cared about Rhenia to the point of being overprotective.

Of course, Count Ruber would not be happy to see a boy playing with Renia.

“It’s not okay. Because you tried to hurt my sweet daughter.”

As the butler thought, Count Ruber’s mood was not very good.

“Was that so?”

Chris thought no one would be watching.

But that was wrong.

Because there was someone who was hiding and watching Chris’ actions. Therefore, Count Ruber knew everything about Lenia and Chris.

“I didn’t like him because he openly showed that he hated Renia, but he still helped Renia, so I guess he wasn’t a bad guy.”

Naturally, Count Ruber also knew what happened outside the mansion.

“But I’m glad we’re trying to get along now.”

I liked it because he seemed to get along well with his daughter without any grudges. Rather, the way he had initially pushed him away seemed better to Count Ruber.

I felt like I didn’t just approach him based on his appearance.

“Oh, come to think of it, I forgot. Heelston!”

“Yes.”

“From now on, keep security guards at that park and make sure the kids can play together well.”

“Okay.”

Count Ruber smiled softly.

“When Renia goes there again, we should allow her to play freely and safely.”

I don’t know if Lenia will go there again, but Count Ruber wanted her to play safely if she did go there again.

***

the next day.

As promised yesterday, I went to the garden, and like last time, Renia was waiting, dressed in clothes that looked like a commoner.

It was like that.

Today was the day we decided to play outside the mansion.

“It’s finally here! I almost got tired of waiting!”

“… Sorry, I usually sleep a lot in the morning.”

“It’s okay! Actually, I didn’t wait long either.”

After speaking, Renia immediately held my hand and headed toward the hole we had gone to before.

A hole in the wall of the mansion.

It still remained. Without any repairs.

First, Renia passed through the hole, and then I passed through it.

Renia, who got out of the hole first, pointed her index finger at me as I was passing through the hole. He put his index finger to his lips.

“You have to be quiet.”

Renia’s eyes are on the guard guarding the back gate of the mansion. was pointing at them. I nodded quietly and got out of the hole completely.

And I looked at the guards.

The two guards, like before, were not interested in this at all. We just talk to each other.

hmm… ?

‘uh? ‘I thought we just made eye contact?’

The gaze clearly crossed with a security guard. But the guards started talking again as if nothing had happened.

Just when I was feeling something strange…

“Let’s go before we get caught!”

Renia held my hand again and led me.

***

The back gate of the mansion.

Two guards were talking. But one security guard said while sweating a little.

“Uh… , Seniors… !”

“Why?”

“I… I think we made eye contact without knowing.”

“What… ?”

The senior guard sighed.

“So, don’t look in that direction at all.”

“What should I do…? ?”

“Well, there’s no need to worry. I won’t get caught thinking it’s just a coincidence.”

“Then I’m glad… .”

“Anyway, just pretend not to know.”

The junior guard sighed softly.

“Couldn’t you just be honest with Lady Renia?”

“… I want to do that too.”

Guards the back gate of the Ruber family mansion. They had a secret mission that was unknown to them. That was also an order from the earl.

I was going to pretend not to notice and ignore Renia, who was coming out through the back hole.

“Why do we have to do this?”

“In the first place, it is said that the most fun is to play secretly without being caught… I want to let Miss Renia enjoy that feeling to the fullest.”

“Is that so?”

“Well, what can I do? If you criticize me from above, I should criticize you. That was also an order given by the Count himself.”

The guards confirmed that Renia and Chris had disappeared. The two guards stopped talking, stood up straight, and began to look out for their surroundings.

***

Where Renia led me.

That was the park that Renia had been to before.

Standing at the entrance to the park, I was a little worried. It was because of what happened last time.

“Umm… , Is it okay to do this?”

It would be troublesome if there were more of them taking over the park like last time.

Renia smiled brightly at my worries.

“Don’t worry about that!”

“Why?”

“Hehe, my father told me yesterday. I guess I need to take better care of this park. He even set up security so the kids could play together.”

“What… ?”

As I looked inside the park, a soldier sitting on a bench came into view.

For a moment, I thought that what happened last time might have been discovered. Renia noticed my thoughts and spoke urgently.

“Don’t worry about that! I secretly overheard your father talking to himself!”

“Okay… ?”

Something feels unclear. There was a feeling of uneasiness.

‘I guess… It seems Count Ruber knew that Renia was hanging out outside the mansion.’

It was almost certain that the gaze of the soldier guarding the park was focused on Chuck Renia.

“So, what should we do now? ?”

“That… ”

It was annoying to see the soldier constantly looking in this direction.

I felt like I was being watched somehow. That’s why I didn’t feel very good. I feel like I’m doing something wrong for no reason.

That’s why I suggested to Renia that we change places.

“What about the place you went last time instead of here?”

“If it was last time… ?”

The hill I went to last time.

Obviously there…

“Was it called Lumia Hill?”

“Ah… ! Lumia Hill! Good!”

Renia agrees.

But – oddly enough, Renia seemed embarrassed.