NOVEL NEXT If you wonder what happened with Wolfgang Eisenhut after the words spilled out of my mouth.
Well, his eyes only widened with bewilderment.
（H-huh? Somehow I was thinking of a different reaction）
For one, I was expecting the image of him transforming into a fire-breathing dragon. And naturally, a hate-filled glare along with it.
Having my hands in front of me in a complete stance had become a waste of effort
If I illustrated his current situation, it would be like encountering a cat as an unknown enemy. Rather than caution, it was surprise that was greatly bred.
Guessing from his reaction, it seems like the young boy has never experienced insults from anyone of the same age. Actually now that I think about it, even if the person was an adult he wouldn’t normally face any rebuttal from them.
His father is the duke; it won’t do to call his son short.
A cold sweat ran down my back.
Anyone who lives in modern day Japan would most likely agree with me when I say this. I certainly don’t want to be a victim, but I also don’t want to be a perpetrator.
Even if the other person was a yandere in the future. Right now, by answering back with a similar remark, it ended up becoming a breakdown of a mentally weak child. My earlier remark was not befitting an adult.
「Uhm, that was rude. I’ll apologize, that was inexcusable」
My words became an opportunity to melt the ice, Wolfgang’s face flared up with blood.
「D-don’t think I’ll forgive you!」
「Hah. Well, I’d be fine even if you don’t forgive me 」
「…tch!」
His white face became red like a ripened tomato. It might be because he is young, but it doesn’t seem likely to see any blood vessels popping from him.
Speaking of which, I wonder how much this young boy gets spoiled every day. To be so surprised by someone just answering him back.
Although Duke Ranuncula was a fine gentleman, I wonder if he’s the type of father that couldn’t scold his son. If I’m not mistaken, people in their later years tend to cherish their children more.
（…nh? Come to think of it）
I arrived at a certain possibility.
「Umm… about Duke Ranuncula, he usually lives in the imperial city right?」
「Are you planning to tell my father?!」
I wouldn’t have thought it’d be this cute that he got scared thinking I was planning on telling on him, I forced myself to give him a civil smile.
「No. I’m not planning on doing such a thing, so could you engage me in some idle talk?」
Glaring at my proposal, the young Wolfgang looked like a cautious cat with hair sticking out from its body. The smile aimed at softening him was downright fake.
I repeated my words to somehow ease his wariness.
「I’m interested in your relationship with your father… my father has to travel all over the country because of his work, so I don’t get to see him often. If you live apart for a long time, you end up not having anything to talk about. Since Duke Ranuncula is busy, wouldn’t he be staying at the capital all the time?」
When I revealed my intention, the other person’s interest was slightly piqued.
「It’s true, my father is usually at the capital. He only comes back a few times a month.
Talking about your problems with Duke Lilia was unexpected. You’re quite the talkative lady」
「Yes… however, the only thing we can talk about is our fathers – my father is eloquent at conversations, but he can’t follow any of the fun stories I give. In that situation, wouldn’t family conversations feel lonely then?」
That was supposed to ease his worries, but I ended up saying more than I expected.
However, it looked like it paid off. The young Wolfgang, who had an earnest expression, began opening his mouth.
「…I don’t think my relationship with my father should be used as reference. We don’t often communicate with each other as well. When I report the results of my studies, he would only give me a compliment to some extent. Although, a long time ago when mother was still alive, it wasn’t like this」
（This person… is he aware that he shifted from the first person pronoun『Ore』to 『watashi』?(1) I feel that his use of 『watashi』makes us feel closer.）
「What was your mother like? In my case, my mother died a long time ago, so I can’t really remember her」
Mumbling,「I see… That is…」, he tried to offer his heartfelt condolences. No matter how mature a child is, he wouldn’t know how to express his condolences in words. He would have no experience with it after all.
I lifted my skirt in a curtsey offering thanks, telling him that his feelings were conveyed. It seemed that he understood my action, as his expression loosened.
「…my mother – she passed away four years ago. She wasn’t a very talkative person, and she rarely rebuked or compliment. But no matter what, she would always watch over me. She was a beautiful, gentle person」
Inadvertently revealing that he yearned for a past that was long gone, he then added「It was just a common expression」embarrassedly. Hearing that child-like confession, I felt my heart breaking.
Even though I recalled yesterday’s facts, I did have a previous life. Although he was born as an innocent baby, he only had six years to spend with his mother.
For me, when I instinctively hear the question 「Are you lonely?」, I always reply that I have servants and tutor, so I don’t feel lonely.
「How about friends?」
「There’s no children I can associate with in the mansion」
「Same goes for me」
The two of us looked at each other and sighed.
『Our high social standing is really inconvenient, huh』, and so we began to sympathize with each other.
Although we had our differences as a boy and a girl, our circumstances were similar.
Both our mothers passed away. Our fathers were always busy, so we rarely saw them. Between servants and tutors, and the like – we were only surrounded by adults because of our circumstances, we didn’t have anyone of the same age to play with us.
I decided to switch the conversation about family to something else.
Starting from political science and history, we moved to recent books we found interesting, to even our horse-riding skills.
Having interest in those fields meant that he was an avid reader, so my conversation with him was quite interesting.
Because of our entertaining discussion, I eventually told him a secret I kept even from my own father.
It was about the time I went exploring the town alone.
Accurately put, there was a servant who accompanied me in my whim to go to town. But then, taking advantage of his enthusiasm in haggling with the merchants, I separated from him to take a walk in town for a while. That was pretty much it.
But for me it was a big adventure. Since I keep it a secret from the adults knowing they will get angry for my safety, I got tempted to tell a child my age about it.
Wolfgang answered my expectations. At first he was surprised, but then he gave me some words of admiration.
At that time, I wasn’t aware because I was a little bit gleeful.
Looking back on it, I think that at that time, my usual way of talking using the careful『watakushi』 turned into 『watashi』. Something I don’t use with anyone.
It might be an excuse, but the unrestraint conversation we had when we met was the first I had in this life.
Compared to my wet nurse, he was someone that I can consult with, as my nanny was above all, a servant whose duty was to take care of me. Although her existence was close to family, it was far from a friend.
Time flew by too quickly as we surprisingly had a fun time.
When the two of us came to our senses, both our fathers, who were unable to hold back the weird looks on their faces were, for some reason, smiling as they called us back for dinner.
At that time, we began calling each other, Wolf and Lycoris.
Hey me, what are you doing getting friendly with him for?
(1)In the previous chapter, he was using (ore) , now he switched to (watashi). (Watashi) does feel more intimate than the arrogant-sounding (ore) in my opinion.