* * *
As the voice that no longer held him back faded, Sia slowly walked away.
Behind his slender figure, the wind rustled through the trees, filling the air with the sound of shaking branches.
“Vivi might just be a friend I imagined into existence. Otherwise, why would he be in a place like that… and why would he be so kind to me?”
Glancing over his shoulder, Sia had a thought that was both childlike and bittersweet.
Then, shaking it off, he continued toward the castle.
“I should apply some ointment later and clean the wound with a towel… No, maybe I should just see a doctor.”
Was it because he hadn’t been at the castle for long?
He thought of Yuti, who had shown no particular displeasure toward him.
Normally, Sia would have just gone to sleep, worrying about who might scold him if they found out he sought medical attention.
But Vivi had told him to get better soon.
That was reason enough.
With that thought, Sia’s usually solemn expression was ever so slightly brighter than usual.
“I can go again tomorrow, right?”
As he approached the servant quarters, that was the question on his mind.
After finishing up the endless chores as always, Sia went to find Yuti before it got too late.
As expected, she greeted him with a calm expression, pausing her report writing to treat him.
When she heard he was almost out of ointment, she handed him an unopened new one.
Watching Sia awkwardly glance at his bandaged leg, Yuti spoke as she organized the drawers.
“Hey. The butler hit you, didn’t he?”
Sia didn’t answer right away. Instead, he simply stared at her warily.
Yuti let out a quiet chuckle, her laughter carrying a strange sting.
The sharpness in it made Sia’s already large eyes widen further.
Looking into them, Yuti spoke in a surprisingly gentle tone.
“It’s okay to tell the truth. I won’t go around spreading it.”
“…Yes.”
“I see… Well, something needs to be done about that. I’ll say something.”
“About what?”
Sia’s voice came out sharper than he intended.
Yuti, however, didn’t scold him for his attitude or show any sign of displeasure.
She simply shrugged.
“Something along the lines of ‘hitting a kid is absurd and unacceptable,’ maybe?”
“…Why?”
“I told you. Because you’re a kid.”
No one should live with violence, and a child even less so.
Her tone was firm, a stark contrast to her usual indecisiveness.
“I’ve told you before, but I don’t think you really listened. Still, if I say it again, maybe something will change. I’ll try one more time.”
“Do you pity me?”
“No. You just remind me of someone I knew. It’s cheap sympathy, but it’s not bad for you, so just accept it.”
Sia opened his mouth to speak, then simply nodded and took the medicine and bandages she had given him.
Before leaving, he asked offhandedly,
“Yuti, is there anyone who stays near the prison behind the castle?”
“Near the prison? It would have to be either a guard or a prisoner.”
But as far as she knew, there were no guards or prisoners in the castle’s dungeon.
Sia left, now even more lost in thought about Vivi’s true identity.
That night, unlike the one before, Vivi did not appear in his dreams.
Instead, Sia fell asleep much later than usual, preoccupied with thoughts of who he might be.
✽ ✽ ✽
Whether Yuti had really given him a scolding or not, the steward hadn’t resorted to violence since that day.
The problem was, whatever he had been saying behind his back, the other employees had started looking at Sia with disdain.
Even Sia, who was used to people’s malice, found it unsettling.
A few days ago, he had found a dead rat placed in front of his door.
As he walked, he recalled the hostile stares that had followed him while he cleaned it up.
“A damn rat running its mouth behind my back.”
Still, they were human.
Wasn’t it a bit much to call them rats?
He tried to brush it off with lighthearted thoughts, but they didn’t do much to lift his mood.
“…What if I just end up taking my frustration out on Vivi?”
Sia was well aware that he didn’t have the best personality.
And now, it seemed like it was getting even worse.
He muttered gloomily to himself, worried about it—but worry was one thing, and wanting to see Vivi was another.
Vivi was the only one Sia had.
The only person he could talk to, the only one who would listen to him quietly, the only one who was kind to him.
Yuti was there too, but for some reason, she never felt as close as Vivi.
Maybe it was because, deep down, he knew she saw him as someone to pity.
Feeling the short strands of his hair tickle his nape, Sia pushed his way through the overgrown path.
No, calling it a path was generous—it was more like he was making his own way through the thick grass.
He ignored the small scratches forming on his delicate skin, moving forward without hesitation. Before long, he emerged into a wide clearing.
Though weeds still grew in patches, it was in better shape than when he had first started coming here. Still, the eerie atmosphere of the place hadn’t completely disappeared.
Not that Sia seemed bothered. His expression remained indifferent.
Instead of sitting down like usual, he wandered in circles around the clearing, trying to clear his cluttered thoughts.
By the time his footsteps had left a mess on the dirt floor, a familiar, gentle voice called out.
“Sia, you’re here?”
“Oh, yeah.”
At the sound of his name spoken so kindly, he almost blurted out his complaints.
Swallowing them down, he kept his response short.
Noticing how uncharacteristically quiet he was—since he normally launched into all sorts of chatter the moment he arrived—Vivi muttered, “Hmm?” but didn’t press him for an explanation.
Instead, he simply continued their conversation from yesterday, waiting for Sia to speak when he was ready.
He had been talking about a book he had read a long time ago when Sia suddenly spoke up.
“Vivi, I’ve been thinking about this really hard, and no matter how I look at it, that steward is a fucking bastard.”
“…Use nicer words.”
“Fine, let’s go with son of a bitch.”
“That’s not nicer.”
“Whatever. Then let’s call him trash.”
“…Yeah, that works. So, what happened? Did the steward do something again?”
The gentle way Vivi asked, as if soothing a child, made something well up inside Sia.
He muttered under his breath, telling him not to treat him like a kid, then fidgeted with his clothes before finally speaking.
“The truth is… The reason I got hurt before was because of the steward. So I told the doctor that, and the doctor said he was going to confront him about it. I guess he really did, because since then, the steward hasn’t… hit me anymore. But he must’ve told the other employees something, because now they keep harassing me.”
Once he started talking, the words came pouring out.
His voice carried the weight of his frustration, a childish grumble that wouldn’t stop.
But even after he finished, Vivi remained silent for a long time.
Sia started to feel self-conscious, wondering if he had been too whiny.
He was about to add that he wasn’t expecting Vivi to fix anything—so he shouldn’t worry too much—when Vivi finally spoke.
“…The steward really is a fucking bastard. You were right.”
The contrast between his usual gentle voice and the harsh words was strangely funny.
Even though it wasn’t the right time to laugh, Sia couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.
His bright laughter spread through the desolate clearing.
“What’s so funny?” Vivi mumbled, but in the end, he ended up laughing too.
It was that kind of contagious laughter.
It took them a while to stop.
Sia, still catching his breath, suddenly blurted out, “Vivi, I didn’t know you could swear! This is the first time I’ve heard you curse.”
“I don’t do it in front of kids.”
“Well, this kid swears all the time.”
“…And you’re not a kid, huh?”
Feeling lighter, Sia grumbled at the teasing remark, but Vivi only smiled.
“If you’re swearing, then the adult next to you should make sure not to.”
That sounded like something a real adult would say.
Sia plopped onto the ground. His clothes were already dusty and worn, so a bit of dirt didn’t make much of a difference.
He glanced down at himself before looking up and murmuring.
“But I only swear at bad people. I don’t swear at good people.”
“Bad people.”
“Bad bastards.”
“You’re so stubborn.”
“Well, you’re just as stubborn, always correcting me.”
“You never let things go, either.”
“You told me not to lose. You said that when you fight, you should always aim to win.”
As he said that, Sia clenched his fist firmly.
Realizing he had done it without thinking, he glanced at his own hand, then slowly loosened it.
“I’m not telling you to pick fights.”
“It’s just a saying.”
Sia muttered absently as he plucked at a stray blade of grass beside him.
“…Hey, Vivi.”
“Yeah?”
“Does it annoy you when I talk like this? It’s not exactly a fun conversation.”
“Is it something that should annoy me?”
“What? What kind of answer is that? If I knew, would I even be asking?”
“I was asking because I don’t know either.”
Sia made a face like Vivi was messing with him, but the reply he got was just as straightforward as his own question.
He scowled, tossed away the grass he had been holding, and dusted the dirt off his hands.
* * *
