A Butterfly Through the Mist - Chapter 33

Opposite her, Ilex kept his head bowed low so his face wouldn’t be seen, forcing ice cream into his rigid mouth.

‘Why the hell am I eating this?’

It was overwhelmingly sweet. Ilex had hated desserts since childhood, and this was far too much sugar for him. But even as he frowned, he used his hand to cover his expression and continued to shove the dessert into his mouth.

With a bitter expression, Ilex swallowed the meaningless lump of sugar and glanced across from him. Tilia Ambrose, who had been sitting still for quite a while, was finally eating her ice cream.

Ilex watched her carefully, pretending he wasn’t interested. She acted indifferent, but the amount of dessert on her spoon was steadily increasing. The speed at which she scooped the ice cream, as well as how quickly she chewed, was getting faster and faster.

‘Looks like she likes it.’

All that disgraceful acting seemed to have paid off.

Stabbing the ice cream with his spoon, Ilex subtly lifted the corners of his mouth. Now that he thought about it, this was the first time.

The first time seeing Tilia receive her ‘reward’ face-to-face.

Whenever he watched her eat sweets, he was usually behind her. Occasionally above, and if he was really lucky, beside her. But no matter how fortunate he was, he always had to watch her from a distance.

So it was inevitable. No matter how much he tried to restrain himself, his gaze kept wandering toward her.

This was his first time seeing Tilia’s face relax up close.

After stealing glances at her for a while, Ilex struggled to lower his head. He swallowed the half-melted ice cream in his mouth.

The ice cream, which he disliked, was still so sweet that it numbed his tongue.

Maybe it was because that saccharine lump of sugar had gone down his throat, but his chest felt like it was sinking into a vat of honey, leaving a sticky feeling behind.

After a moment.

“I’m going to have another one.”

Seeing Tilia’s plate was completely empty, as if it had been washed clean, Ilex decided to be brave.

“Should I order one for you too?”

Of course, he kept his face impassive, just as he’d practiced.

“……”

Tilia, holding a bunny-shaped spoon, hesitated for a moment.

This is the moment.

“I’ll just order it. It’s obvious we both came in here, so it’d be weird if we only ordered one.”

In those hesitant moments, a dismissive comment like that would pull Tilia along, even if she seemed reluctant.

“…Fine, go ahead.”

Just as expected, she nodded as if it were no big deal.

Ilex kept his expression in check as he calmly asked, “What should I get? Vanilla?”

“…No. Strawberry.”

“Alright.”

Ilex responded calmly, drawing back the curtain and stepping into the hallway. As he walked toward the counter, which was quite a distance away, his expression looked indifferent, even cold.

But exactly fifteen steps away from where Tilia was sitting…

“……”

Ilex’s strides came to an abrupt stop. He bent over as if he were about to collapse.

His desperate effort to maintain his composure had only lasted fifteen steps.

‘Strawberry. Seriously?’

Resting his hands on his knees, Ilex recalled Tilia’s prim face as she spoke just moments ago.

‘Damn… she actually likes something like that.’

After catching his breath, his face slightly flushed, Ilex straightened his clothes. He cleared his throat and walked up to the counter.

He couldn’t keep her waiting too long. She had a surprisingly impatient side to her.

As he approached the counter, the shopkeeper greeted him warmly.

“Oh, I would’ve come right over if you’d called…!”

“One strawberry and one vanilla. Oh, add extra toppings on the strawberry.”

“Of course! Absolutely, sir!”

Trying to please the emotionless landlord, the shopkeeper smiled so broadly his lips almost split, rubbing his hands together.

“I’ll add toppings to the vanilla for free too! You’ve let us use the shop for a few hours without any rent for months, after all…”

“Young master.”

But the shopkeeper’s flattery was cut short.

Knights, who had clearly been searching for him for quite some time, arrived with fierce expressions. The shopkeeper looked flustered, staring at the large men in silver armor.

One of the knights, looking the angriest, strode right up to Ilex.

“This is as far as you can act out. You must leave now.”

Ilex gave a brief glance to the threatening knight before turning back to the shopkeeper, speaking calmly, “Forget about the toppings for the vanilla. And keep the quantity minimal.”

“Young master!”

At the knight’s sudden outburst, Ilex shot him a chilling glare.

“Quiet, Nick.”

“……”

“I’ll let myself be dragged off after I eat this ice cream, so don’t cause a scene.”

His fierce gaze was enough to quell the furious knights, and then, almost as if joking, he added with one corner of his mouth turned up.

“And keep some distance from the entrance. How do you expect customers to come in if they’re scared?”

Returning to his usual impassive demeanor, he turned back to the shopkeeper with an expectant expression, as if to say, ‘Well? Hurry up.’

“Yes, right away! I’ll bring it right out!”

The shopkeeper, clearly terrified, jumped and ran into the kitchen.

Nick, the knight, sighed and rubbed his eyebrows at his lord’s overbearing attitude.

“Young master, how long are you going to keep avoiding your duties and running away like this?”

Seeing that anger didn’t work, Nick had now switched to a pitiful tone, which Ilex ignored as he flipped over a small panel on the counter.

It was a cute little sign that read, ‘Grand Opening: Complimentary Gifts.’

***

Having satisfied his craving for dessert, Ilex made a clean exit.

“Should I take you home?”

“No, thanks.”

“That’s what I thought you’d say. That’s why I asked.”

As if he had only asked out of courtesy, Ilex turned and left without another word.

Tilia watched his back as he walked away, then turned herself, heading toward the station where the stagecoaches stopped.

The books she held in both hands were heavy, but her heart felt light.

Since he hadn’t asked her again, it seemed Ilex truly just wanted the ice cream. Otherwise, he would’ve used the excuse of it being late to try to take her home.

She got to eat ice cream. She got the books.

She felt she had made the right decision in accepting his offer. After all, the money he spent on those books was nothing compared to what it was to her.

‘What a stroke of luck.’

No matter what anyone said, it had been a lucky day.

Even the unpleasant feeling from almost running into George faded away when she thought about how good the ice cream had tasted.

‘It really was delicious.’

I wonder if there’s a place like that in Ontaroa. By then, I’d be earning my own money, so I could treat myself to something like that once a month.

Tilia imagined her future as she walked down the road bathed in the setting sun.

By the time she reached the stagecoach station, she was already humming softly.

***

In the dark basement of the Count of Myers’ estate, a dim light flickered. The place had never been open to those who weren’t direct family.

“Father, it wasn’t me!”

The faint light wasn’t enough to illuminate the entire basement. But even in the dim silhouettes, it was easy to tell how desperate Gregory Myers looked.

“I really didn’t commit heresy. You know, Father. I hate books, I barely read my coursework! Someone must be framing me…”

“Shut up!”

The Count of Myers’ face was beyond cold as he stared at his son. His face was cast in shadow, and he looked at his son—the one who had brought ruin upon the family—with utter contempt.

“Fine. I don’t think an idiot like you read those forbidden books.”

“Then we should appeal to the temple…!”

“But what was found in your room wasn’t just forbidden texts—it was a defaced drawing of the Holy Virgin from the scriptures!”

The Count shouted at Gregory, his voice like fire.

“Our family has lived off the temple’s grace, and you went and drew that obscene garbage on the Virgin’s body? And then you even got caught!”

“Father, I swear I didn’t do it, someone framed me…!”

“I said shut up!”

Smack! Unable to contain his rage, the Count struck his eldest son.

Gregory, struck by his father for the first time in his life, looked at him, tears brimming in his eyes. Even seeing those tears, the Count’s gaze remained fierce.

“I barely managed to prevent the title from being revoked by gathering every bit of money. But we’ve lost countless other things. The Myers family will never be able to enter central politics again. The temple… won’t support us anymore.”

“……”

“I regret using underhanded means to send you to the academy. I shouldn’t have invested in a fool like you.”

The Count of Myers brushed past his son, who had collapsed to the floor.

“Today is the last day I can protect you. Tomorrow, the Holy Knights will search this place.”

“F-Father…!”

“Turning yourself in is the only advice I can give you.”

“Father, Father!”

The Count ignored his son, who clung to him pitifully, and left the basement without hesitation.

Thud. The sound of the door closing echoed.