A Butterfly Through the Mist - Chapter 30

The mocking reaction was clear in its meaning.

I can’t do it.

Only then did Tilia realize her actual skill level, and her mood dropped. She thought back on her efforts to learn during every break, but she hadn’t spoken aloud often. Today was her first chance to speak with someone fluent in the language.

Even though there hadn’t been many opportunities to practice speaking, she had thought that memorizing all the examples from the books would be enough.

It was all a delusion. Her Ontaroan was definitely terrible.

Tilia’s face grew increasingly gloomy, as if she had moved ten steps further away from the job she had thought was just around the corner.

“[No. You’re good.]”

Seeing Tilia’s dejected expression, Ilex barely suppressed his laughter and tried to console her.

“[Your pronunciation is accurate, and your sentences are perfect. You’re just… not used to having conversations.]”

No, it wasn’t consolation. If it was, he wouldn’t have covered his mouth with his hand to stifle the laughter that threatened to escape again.

The corners of Tilia’s eyes, which had drooped sullenly, rose sharply once more.

Who do you think you’re mocking right now?

Irritated, Tilia turned her back on him. She had no time for this. She needed to quickly get a proper book and fix her mistakes.

But just as Tilia quickly turned her body to leave, Ilex’s words caught her steps.

“[Shall I help you?]”

Tilia’s footsteps stopped at the perfect accent.

Half-turning her body, she glared at Ilex with eyes that told him not to mess around.

“[It’s not free. In return, you have to let one thing slide.]”

Matching her glare, Ilex quickly added a condition, “[That oath I made earlier—where I said I’d live celibate forever if I lied. I want one exception.]”

Ilex looked at Tilia with a slightly troubled expression, gauging her reaction.

“[Come to think of it, I realized I hadn’t really told no one.]”

“What?”

Without thinking, she switched to her native tongue in reaction to the sensitive topic.

“Why are you only saying that now? Who did you tell?”

With a sharp voice, Tilia questioned him, and Ilex answered quietly.

“My attendant.”

He shrugged, adding as if in explanation, “I had to tell the attendant, right? Otherwise, how would I get the medicine?”

“……”

In fact, she hadn’t even considered the attendant.

It was a natural thing, after all. She hadn’t imagined that he would have personally obtained the contraceptive and handled the aftermath all by himself.

Why was he even bringing up the attendant?

Seeing the suspicious look Tilia was giving him, Ilex smiled as if pleading for forgiveness.

“Cut me some slack.”

He added in a low voice, as if it were a truly serious matter, “How could I live as an eunuch forever?”

***

Tilia granted the earnest request of a man who desperately did not want to become a eunuch.

To be honest, she couldn’t exactly refuse.

What could she do? He had already told her he’d spoken about it.

Besides, the attendant was irrelevant, so it didn’t matter.

“Alright then, leave now.”

With that, Tilia turned her back on him and left the used bookstore.

However, what she thought was their last meeting was not the end.

Clack, clack. As Tilia walked on the sun-warmed pavement, she suddenly stopped.

She felt the footsteps behind her stop as well.

“……”

Turning her head slightly, Tilia looked behind her, sighed softly, and started walking again.

This time, she couldn’t hear the sound of footsteps following her.

But before long, the presence behind her made itself known once again.

Ah, seriously. Overwhelmed by her rising annoyance, Tilia turned her head with her irritation clearly visible.

Seeing that she had caught him following, one would think he’d at least pretend to avoid her gaze, but Ilex brazenly met her eyes.

His nonchalant expression only aggravated her further. With a cold face, Tilia snapped at him.

“Why are you following me?”

But there was no answer. He simply shrugged and glanced at the huge building beside them.

It was the first department store building in Arkansis, rumored to have been funded by the Davenport family.

Seeing his action, Tilia was reminded of the conversation they’d had in front of the new library construction site.

“This academy isn’t your property, is it? So why are you acting like you’re the only one allowed to use it?”

Remembering those childish words, more immature than even an eleven-year-old would say, Tilia made a bitter expression.

He seemed ready to ask if the street belonged to her too, so she simply turned her back on him.

‘Ignore, ignore, ignore…’

But no matter how many times she muttered it, her patience wore thin before they had even passed one block.

At the sound of footsteps that seemed to be getting closer, Tilia finally couldn’t hold back her irritation and turned her body around.

“Ilex Davenport.”

“I have nowhere to go.”

But before Tilia could get angry, Ilex spoke first.

“I got kicked out of the house.”

Tilia lifted one corner of her mouth as she looked at him speaking so pitifully.

“So what?”

What do you want me to do?

Despite her cold response, Ilex didn’t seem discouraged as he looked at her.

“So I just wanted to follow you around.”

“Why follow me, of all people?” Tilia snorted and crossed her arms. “Go to the girls you’re involved with. Plenty would offer you a room right away.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I guarantee it.”

Ilex smiled with his characteristic laziness in response to her sarcastic words.

“Well, I doubt they’d give me a bed.”

His gaze swept lightly over Tilia and then back up.

“Not every woman who’s involved with me actually likes me.”

Hearing the remark clearly aimed at her, Tilia realized something for the first time.

When you get extremely annoyed, you feel warmth at the back of your head.

‘Hold it in, Tilia.’

Barely managing to hold herself back, Tilia took a deep breath. Only after repeating to herself countless times that she wouldn’t be able to cross the border if she committed murder did she manage to turn around and take a step forward.

Now that she’d caught him following, Ilex boldly approached her and spoke, “Where are we going?”

…We?

For a moment, Tilia imagined herself in prison, but the thought quickly faded.

Steeling herself, she clenched her teeth and walked faster.

‘I’ll never look back.’

If she didn’t react, he’d give up soon enough.

But he easily shattered that resolve.

“That new bookstore by the bridge in the old town, right?”

…How did he know?

Tilia’s eyes narrowed slightly, her expression sharpening as he accurately pinpointed the exact bookstore she was heading to.

But she quickly wiped the expression away and focused on her destination, marching ahead.

Ilex kept up with Tilia’s pace, his long legs striding easily, as he muttered in Ontaroan.

“[You were only looking at Ontaroan books at the used bookstore, and you didn’t buy anything there, meaning the book you were looking for wasn’t available.]”

His foreign language skills, courtesy of his Ontaroan mother, were irritatingly fluent and smooth.

“[If you’re heading to a different bookstore after not finding the book in a used bookstore of that size, then it makes sense to go to the largest and most up-to-date bookstore. Oh, no, I’ve got it wrong.]”

Ilex easily caught up with Tilia, who had tried to walk as fast as possible to shake him off, and continued talking.

“[It wasn’t that the used bookstore didn’t have the book you were looking for, but rather, the book you were looking for had changed because you identified your own weakness.]”

That’s why perceptive people are the worst. Especially if they are men from the upper class of society.

Ilex matched his steps to Tilia’s as she gave up on shaking him off and resumed her normal pace. He turned his head slightly towards her.

“I’ll help. We agreed earlier, didn’t we?”

At that moment, Tilia realized why he had brought up the attendant, who they had implicitly agreed would be an exception.

From the beginning, it had all been an excuse to help her.

“Hey.”

Tilia’s face hardened even more than before, understanding his planned ploy.

“What are you doing?”

The look in Tilia’s eyes as she stared at Ilex now held not just irritation, but hostility.

She expressed her intent not to tolerate it any longer, her entire body conveying the message as she spoke, “Go your own way. I’ll go mine. Wasn’t that what we agreed?”

Bringing up their past agreement, Ilex’s previously relaxed expression changed.

Watching Tilia, who was openly displaying her displeasure, Ilex let out a small laugh.

He’s laughing?

“Tilia.”

In a low voice, Ilex called out to Tilia, who was brimming with hostility.

“Do you really think I like you or something?”

“……”

“I have no interest in you. Just as you have none in me.”

With both hands shoved into his perfectly pressed pants pockets, Ilex continued, “That’s why I want to follow you. Unlike those women who’d give me a room if I showed up, you have no interest in me.”

Perhaps it was because of how blatantly he showed his indifference. The feeling of pressure crept up to her toes.

“Unlike those women, you won’t bother me, right? So…”

His indifferent gaze brushed over Tilia.

“So make use of me however you want. You do want to learn Ontaroan properly, don’t you?”

With a hollow look, he smiled faintly and spoke in a low voice, “I just want to forget my boredom for a while, too.”