Kays Translations

Chapter 12: A gift that arrived in good time.

“Why! Where are you going?”

Licia, growing impatient at Ren's reply, uttered in a panicked voice.

She rushed over to Ren, who was still holding the crate, grabbed his arm in a tight grip, and looked up at him with half-crying eyes, trying not to let him get away.

“That's because I’m always indebted to you.”

“I told you, you don't have to worry about that! So you don’t have to move, just continue staying in the guest room.”

“No. I won’t. I’m a member of the Ashton family, and I work for you and your family.”

“I don't care about that! Please go back to your room!”

Tears fell from Licia’s eyes.

“This is bad” Ren hurriedly thought.

Before he knew it, there were servants and knights coming out to ask what was the matter.

He thought it was no use, so he called out to a servant who was particularly close to him.

“Excuse me. Could you tell me how to get to the old building?”

The servant clapped her hands.

A pleased look appeared on her cheeks.

“I thought that was the case.”

“Huh? How did you know?"

“I guessed it by looking at Ren-dono’s age and his behavior up to today. I also knew that the master of the house was thinking of managing the old house.”

When you put it that way, it might have been easy to understand.

Licia wiped away tears and looked up at Ren, who smiled, stunned.

“What do you mean? Weren’t you trying to get back to your village?"

“No, actually...”

Ren explains to Licia the details of the move.

First, he talks about how he decided to live in Clausel, at least until the reconstruction of the village is finished, because of the problems he had in the beginning.

Then he told her that he had been given a job by Lessard.

Finally, he talked about how he couldn’t rent a house by himself because of various problems.

“This is the first I’m hearing of this."

Ren hadn’t lied from the beginning, but he was so surprised by Licia's situation that he was late in giving his answer.

“I'm sorry. I was still in an unstable situation, so I was going to wait a little longer before telling you.”

“Huh… I see.”

Licia, who was silent, pulled Ren's hand without saying a word.

Seeing this, the servant from earlier said.

“Ren-dono, I'll take this.”

“Um… How do I get to the old building?”

The servant said nothing as he asked, but smiled and waved her hand.

Ren, being led by Licia, walks down the corridor.

When the smiling knights and servants were out of sight, Ren found himself in a corridor he had never been in before.

Looking ahead, he saw an old door.

(I wonder if this could be it.)

She’s silent, but it seems that Licia is showing him the way.

As if to prove it, she pulled Ren's hand and opened the old door.

The two of them walked through the corridor, bathed in the morning sun.

“Licia, is that the old building at the end of the hall?”

“............"

Licia didn’t answer when I asked, but silently invited me to go on.

As I do this, I pass a place that I think was originally the main gate and reach the end of a long corridor.

There, the door to the old building sat.

When Licia put her hand on the door, it opened on its own. The door itself seems to be a magical tool.

(Oh… Amazing!)

The luxurious interior is magnificent, but as soon as the door is opened, the dustiness is extreme.

(This looks like it would be worth cleaning.)

After all, it would be better to move in only after it has been cleaned.

But the interior was as good as I had heard from Lessard.

“Sit here.”

Suddenly, Licia's hand left his and she pointed to a wooden chair in the entrance hall.

Licia brushed the dust off the other chair with her hand and sat down.

Ren put the crate on the floor and sat down in the chair, while Licia squinted at him.

The sunlight streaming down from the stained-glass windows covering the ceiling of the entrance hall illuminated his handsome face.

“All of it...”

Licia, who still had tear stains on her face, began to speak in frustration.

“I was kept in the dark. I know I'm just a little immature girl in Ren's eyes, but you should at least trust me a little.”

“I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to hide everything....!”

Licia didn’t want to be selfish.

She was pretty sad that Ren acted without her knowledge and didn’t consult her.

So she was also feeling sorry for herself for what she said and did.

He didn’t mean to be troublesome, nor did he want to cause trouble.

And yet, the fact that she was acting like that hurt her even more.

(What shall I do?)

Ren doesn't think so himself, but this matter shouldn’t be someone else's fault.

However, Ren wants Licia to get back to her usual self.

And he's wondering if he can somehow create that opportunity.

----Knock, knock.

The knock on the door of the old building was the same as the one that always knocks on the guest room.

Ren got up from his seat and went to the door to see who it was.

“I thought it would be better to bring it here. This is a delivery for Ren-dono.”

Standing outside the door was the servant from earlier.

She looked at Licia, who was sitting on a chair in the old building and looking very sad.

She then looked at Ren and gave him a cheering look.

“For me? Um, thank you.”

He didn't realize what she was talking about when she said she had a delivery for him.

But Ren took the package and returned to the table where Licia was waiting for him.

"Did you buy something at that store?"

Licia seemed to have noticed something when she saw the mark engraved on the wooden box.

Ren, on the other hand, also noticed when he heard the word "that store”.

“Yes."

He put his hand on the seal of the crate and quickly opened the lid.

Inside was a white dress, just as he had imagined.

It was a neat one-piece dress that he had purchased as a gift for Licia.

“If you don’t mind, please have it.”

“...... me?"

“As you can see, it's not the kind of dress I would wear.”

I don't know how many times, but Licia was dumbfounded again.

To Licia, Ren held out the white one-piece dress he had just received.

Licia spreads the dress and mutters “cute” in a small voice.

“I bought it on my way home from my first job.”

It was, so to speak, the first purchase I made with my first salary.

I forgot to buy the purse I was looking for that day, so it was my first purchase in both name and reality.

“Since Licia-sama got me some clothes, I thought I'd return the favor."

Hearing this, Licia shook her shoulders for a moment.

Then she squeezed the dress and buried the lower half of her face in it.

“If you don't like it, I'll send you another item ----."

"Oh no. I won't return it."

Licia peeks at him and speaks, this time looking up at him with her shimmering eyes.

Her hands which were holding the dress were filled with even more heat.

“That's unfair.”

“I'm sorry. You don’t have to forgive me.”

“No! That’s not right! It's all too hasty and I'm not prepared for it.....!"

The way she said it sounded somewhat dissatisfied, but the tone of her voice was anything but that.

On the contrary, she seemed to be in a good mood.

Noticing this, Ren stroked his chest in relief and loosened the corners of his lips.

“It’s not as though I’m in a better mood or anything.”

Licia's face was filled with a joyful expression that she couldn’t hide.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter