A Butterfly Through the Mist - Chapter 61

[…For that reason, I want to do my utmost in the duties assigned to me and establish myself as an excellent consulate employee.]

Tilia spoke her final sentence and, with a slightly nervous expression, slipped her hand into the large pocket of her jacket. Her fingertips brushed against a crinkling wrapper. It seemed to be the wrapper of the chocolate he had brought for her.

Feeling it, she recalled how embarrassing it had become to keep refusing the snacks he offered during their lessons. After she accepted one just once, he began bringing her sweet treats in his pockets every single day.

Sometimes it was candy, other times jelly, and even small bottled drinks on occasion. Today, it appeared to be chocolate.

Even without looking, she knew what kind it was—probably the brand from the department store she had once eaten and been so impressed by that she involuntarily examined the wrapper.

Considering how busy he seemed, it was remarkable how he never forgot to bring them. It was just baffling to her.

Tilia fiddled with the chocolate wrapper in her pocket as she sneaked a glance to the side. Ilex, who was ruminating on her response, didn’t seem to notice her sidelong gaze at all. Emboldened by this, she began to observe him more openly.

Over the past few months of walking together at night, Tilia had inevitably come to learn a great deal about Ilex Davenport, whether she wanted to or not. Among the newly updated pieces of information, there were plenty of unexpected traits.

For starters, he was less talkative than she had thought and surprisingly meticulous. Most of all, he was diligent—a quality she found particularly surprising. His diligence was evidenced by the fact that he had not been late to a single meeting in the past few months. Not only was he never late, but he would always arrive at their meeting spot before her and wait.

Curious about how early he arrived, she once went to the meeting place thirty minutes in advance—only to find him already there waiting for her.

“You’re early.”

The indifferent expression on his face as he said those words was so absurd that it remained vividly etched in her memory.

“…When exactly did you get here?” she asked, half-exasperated and half-annoyed.

“I slept here,” came the even more baffling response.

Not all of the updated information about him was surprising, however. As expected, Ilex Davenport was physically robust. What she hadn’t anticipated was just how wide the gap between them in that regard would be.

Tilia glanced at his sleek profile with a slightly sullen expression. Like her, he was juggling both graduation exam preparation and interview classes. Yet, unlike her pale and weary complexion, his skin looked smooth and radiant, as though he’d been on a luxurious vacation. Sometimes she even felt the illusion that his appearance improved with each passing day.

‘Some of us can’t even get proper sleep and end up with nosebleeds…,’ she thought bitterly, rubbing her dry cheek while casting a sideways glance at his hand.

Among the unexpected facts she learned about him was one more thing: the ever-diligent and physically robust Lord Davenport carried a white handkerchief in his school jacket pocket—and it was even scented with perfume.

“Bend down. Don’t swallow the blood; spit it out.”

The day she pushed herself too hard and ended up with a nosebleed, Ilex’s face had gone deathly pale as he hurriedly pulled a hand-embroidered handkerchief from his jacket’s inner pocket.

Amidst the metallic scent of blood, the faint lily fragrance from the handkerchief pressed against her nose left her inexplicably flustered. As she tried to turn her head away with an awkward expression, his hand firmly held her head in place.

“Stay still.”

With a tone almost scolding, he spoke and then sighed in frustration.

“If you’re overworking yourself to the point of getting nosebleeds, you should have said something. Reduce the lessons from now on. At this rate, you’ll collapse before the graduation exams.”

Although Tilia immediately protested that she was fine, her objections were to no avail. From that day forward, her Ontaroan language classes were limited to three times a week. Feeling unjustly treated, she tried pouting and acting distant for a few days, but there was nothing she could do in the face of his unwavering demeanor.

After all, these lessons were entirely reliant on his goodwill.

‘Now that I think about it, I think Ilex took that handkerchief with him that day.’

Did he throw it away? He must have. Bloodstains on such white fabric would be difficult to remove. And it wasn’t as though Ilex Davenport was the kind of person to scrimp on the cost of a handkerchief…

Tilia’s gaze, which had been stealing glances at the long fingers that had pressed against her nose, suddenly landed on his pinky. There, he wore an elegant ring adorned with amethyst in a vintage design. It was a butterfly-shaped ring that had, at some point, appeared on his hand.

She couldn’t pinpoint exactly when it had first shown up, but one thing was certain: it had appeared quite suddenly.

The sophisticated butterfly ring, which looked as though it belonged to a noblewoman, was not on his hand before they had started their secret lessons.

The ring, which hid itself during their study sessions but made an appearance at night, might have been slightly old-fashioned, but its radiant color was proof of its undoubtedly high value.

It was only natural that, upon seeing the clearly feminine amethyst ring, Tilia’s thoughts turned to the woman he was rumored to be preparing to marry. It must belong to Cecilia Clayton.

The day she first saw the fiancée’s ring on his hand, Tilia couldn’t fall asleep for some reason and spent the night tossing and turning. Despite being utterly exhausted, her eyes stubbornly refused to close, as if they had forgotten what it meant to be tired.

All she could picture in her head, as it lay on her pillow, was Cecilia placing the ring on her fiancé’s hand. And Ilex Davenport’s face, smiling as he kissed Cecilia’s forehead.

“…Great.”

Lost in her thoughts, Tilia belatedly raised her head at the sound of a voice beside her.

“What?”

“I said it’s great, Tilia.”

Her heart unexpectedly sank at the nonchalant words from the man looking at her. Blinking in confusion, Tilia stared at Ilex, who tilted his head slightly in curiosity at her reaction.

“What? Don’t you like it?”

“……”

“You’re acting strange. You were so fixated on feedback before.”

He chuckled softly as if amused by her behavior and took a step closer.

“What? Is just saying it’s great not enough? Do you need me to praise you more?”

It was only then that Tilia realized what Ilex’s words referred to: her interview answer. Embarrassed, she quickly composed her expression and took a step back.

“No, it’s fine.”

“Then why are you acting like this?”

“…I’m just not used to compliments. It surprised me.”

“Is it really that surprising? Even if I don’t say it often, you’re good. People wouldn’t believe you started learning Ontaroan so late.”

Placing a hand over her irregularly beating heart, Tilia glanced sideways. Ilex’s face, now devoid of the playful smile, didn’t look like someone who was lying.

“Congratulations. Now all that’s left is to pass.”

At his calm praise, Tilia’s expression began to relax.

Passing… The joy of hearing his first compliment and positive prediction began to sink in belatedly.

If Ilex, of all people, said such a thing, it must be true. He was a much stricter teacher than she had imagined.

Passing… Passing…

As Tilia started to picture her future in detail, her steps grew lighter and lighter.

It felt as though she were walking on soft clouds rather than the cold ground. In her mind, she could already see the consulate building for Ontaroa’s foreign affairs. Through its windows, she could picture herself eating her favorite ice cream.

Her long-coveted dream now seemed so close she could almost reach out and grab it. Just imagining her future warmed her entire body, filling her with the courage to face it head-on.

If she could really go to Ontaroa… If she could finally leave this tiresome, fake life behind…

Before she knew it, her lips twitched upwards, much like they did when she was hiding under her blankets.

“You’re that happy?”

Ilex’s voice, tinged with laughter, came from her right, where he walked beside the lakeside.

“It’s the happiest expression I’ve seen you wear in class so far.”

“Oh, I’m happy,” Tilia replied quickly, rubbing her flushed cheeks reddened by the cold, oblivious to the teasing tone in his voice.

“I’m so happy my heart’s practically racing with excitement.”

Without realizing it, she began voicing the feelings she had never been able to share with anyone before.

“Do you think they’ll give me the certificate immediately once I pass? If so, I’ll frame it so it doesn’t get damaged and look at it every day. I’ll make sure to display it in my house too…”

For the first time in her life, Tilia spoke to someone about her dreams. Uncontrollably excited, she chattered away without realizing it. She sounded like a child boasting to their mother about their first field trip.

It wasn’t until some time had passed that Tilia noticed she wasn’t hearing any response from beside her. Turning her head slightly, she saw his calm gray-blue eyes quietly watching her in the soft darkness.