* * *
“What is he thinking?”
Muttering to myself, I reached for the drawer without realizing it.
The crisp rustling of paper filled the air as I pulled out the stack of notes.
I carefully unfolded them, taking care not to crease the edges.
[Hello, Isa.
The sunlight is warm today.
The sky looks clear—I don’t think it will rain.
How about going for a walk?]
Rustle.
[I saw summer roses today.
They were beautiful.
I thought you might like them, so I bought one.
Isn’t it lovely?]
Rustle.
[Isa.
Strangely, I haven’t been dreaming lately.
Everything feels peaceful.
Maybe it’s because of you.]
Rustle.
[I read a book yesterday, and there was a passage I really liked.
Hmm… I was going to write it down, but I forgot.
I’ll tell you about it next time.
It’s a really good book.]
Rustle.
[I made a quick trip to the capital.
It’s changed a lot since last time.
I bet it looks different from when you were there, too.
I want to go back to Luther with you someday.
The tomato soup was delicious.]
Rustle.
[I miss you.]
“……”
After reading through them out of habit, I barely stopped myself from sighing.
I had distanced myself from Kaindel to reflect on our relationship, but there wasn’t a single day I didn’t think about him.
Even without the notes or flowers, I knew I would’ve ended up thinking about him anyway.
“You’re clever.”
He was infuriating.
Or maybe just too smart for his own good.
Thanks to him, he was in my thoughts all day—no, all week.
And knowing that he wasn’t doing this out of pure, innocent goodwill only made it more frustrating.
I stared at the stack of notes before finally placing them back into the drawer.
Thunk.
The drawer shut with a dull sound, cutting off my endless stream of thoughts.
Whatever Kaindel was thinking, at least I had spoken to the Pope.
He wouldn’t be in danger.
Probably.
“I should just focus on what I need to do.”
Glancing at the sunlight filtering in through the window, I rubbed my knees and stood up.
I had things to take care of today, and I intended to finish them.
After deciding to take some time to figure things out, I left the place Kaindel and I had shared and found a home of my own.
It cost nearly all the money I had saved, but I didn’t regret it.
I needed my own space.
The village I settled in was a small one, right next to the temple.
I wasn’t sure of its exact name—was it Eris?
Or Eriz?
I had simply wandered until I found a place and bought it.
Then, I started living my life.
I made money now and then by gathering the village children and teaching them how to read and write.
Honestly, since I had only recently settled in, it wasn’t like I needed to earn money right away.
Has it been about two weeks?
I guessed at how much time had passed and chuckled to myself.
It hadn’t been long, yet it felt like an eternity.
Maybe because so much had happened.
I had many things I liked, but nothing I was particularly good at.
Doing nothing felt like a waste of time, so I spent my free hours teaching the village children.
It was fun, too.
I never told Kaindel where I had gone.
After our last conversation, we hadn’t spoken again.
There was no need.
I told him I needed time to think, and he respected that.
Yet somehow, he found me.
And from a distance, he watched.
Sometimes for a few minutes before leaving, sometimes hesitating for hours.
Some days, he appeared every three days.
Other times, every two.
And yet, he never crossed the line.
He never approached me.
It was almost impressive—like he was trying to keep his promise.
Traveling back and forth from the capital wasn’t easy.
The Kaindel of the past would have done whatever he wanted.
But now…
This was new.
I couldn’t say for sure if he had truly changed, but he was certainly trying.
“Well, I got the food….”
Now what?
I stared blankly at the ceiling.
My body, sprawled across the bed, slowly lost its strength.
I was exhausted.
I had just finished cleaning the house and returned from a brief outing.
And yet, it was still too early to sleep.
Back at the temple, I had tasks to keep me occupied—tending to the flower beds or transcribing scriptures.
Maybe that was why this silence felt so unfamiliar.
Even when I stayed in Aiden Village, my mind had always been too noisy for me to truly experience quiet.
They say a calm environment brings a calm heart.
Perhaps that was true.
Sitting in a room where only the ticking of the clock could be heard, my mind naturally settled.
Maybe I should read a book.
Just as the thought crossed my mind and I began to lift my upper body, a faint noise reached me from downstairs.
“…Hm?”
The sound was brief, making it difficult to guess its source.
My brows furrowed slightly.
What was that just now?
The moment doubt shot through me and I slipped out of bed, the same noise rang out again—this time, a little louder.
Knock, knock.
“…Ah.”
It was only then that I realized someone had come to visit.
Hastily, I straightened out my disheveled clothes.
I had no idea who the guest was, but I couldn’t exactly greet them looking like I had just rolled out of bed.
Buttoning up my shirt and smoothing out the creases in my pants, I managed to make myself look at least somewhat presentable.
After a quick glance at my reflection in the window, I stepped out of the room.
No one was supposed to be coming by today.
Who could it be?
Had I forgotten an appointment?
I racked my brain, carefully retracing my memory.
But nothing came to mind.
If I had made plans, I wouldn’t have forgotten them.
It wasn’t like I had a particularly busy schedule.
“Hmm…”
I hesitated in front of the firmly shut door for a moment before finally reaching for the handle.
I didn’t want to keep whoever was outside waiting for too long.
I felt bad. It might be someone from the village.
With that thought, I pulled the door open.
“You take forever to do anything, you know that? I was about to start thinking you wouldn’t open the door until after sunset.”
“…Ruen?”
I blinked at the all-too-familiar voice that practically pierced my eardrums.
There was no mistaking the owner of that sharp, impatient tone.
I didn’t even need to see his face to know who it was.
“Keep your voice down, Ruen. You’ve startled Isa.”
“What are you talking about? Does that look like the face of someone who’s surprised? He looks like he just rolled out of bed.”
“Even so. There are a lot of people watching.”
“Let them watch. It’s not like we’re doing anything bad. We just came to visit a friend.”
“If I spend any more time with you, I’ll end up dying before my time.”
“Now that’s something I don’t mind hearing.”
Behind Ruen’s snarky voice, another followed—calm but unmistakably cold.
This, too, was a voice I knew all too well.
I slowly blinked, finally snapping back to my senses.
It felt like my scattered grasp on reality had been yanked back into place.
A chill ran down my spine, as if someone had poured cold water over my head.
My lips parted.
“Owen?”
“Yes, Isa. It’s me.”
Owen smiled at me, his expression warm.
It had been a long time since I’d seen his face without a mask.
His pale blonde hair swayed slightly in the wind.
The moment I acknowledged Owen, an exaggerated sigh of dissatisfaction came from the side.
When I turned my gaze, the first thing that filled my vision was a head of deep red hair.
It was Ruen, looking exactly as I remembered him.
As soon as our eyes met, he took a step closer, leveling his gaze with mine before scrunching his brows in irritation, practically radiating playful annoyance.
“Do I not exist to you?”
“…Ruen.”
I felt dazed, my mind swimming in a haze.
I couldn’t tell if what I was seeing was truly real.
Just as I was about to pinch my cheek to check—
“It’s real, so don’t bother pinching yourself. It’ll only hurt.”
A gentle hand wrapped around my wrist.
* * *
