A Moth to the Flame (2)
The guest room assigned through Baron Raden's courtesy offered an indirect glimpse into her personal nature.
In lieu of rare luxury goods, various simple materials had been artfully crafted into charming decorations—a sight quite foreign to me. In particular, ornaments woven from straw rope into the shapes of blooming flowers left a deep impression. It laid bare in an instant how Baron Raden had accumulated her wealth. For an aristocrat, she was an austere woman who conscientiously avoided extravagance.
A wise philosophy on life, considering how commonplace it was for nobles to squander the bulk of their estate's revenues on frivolous dresses.
'Did she terminate our contract because our mercenary band's rates were too steep?'
While I could hardly fault the baroness for her prudence, I hoped she would take greater care in choosing whom she hired. Especially when such contracts were directly linked to her own personal safety.
Shaking the stray thoughts from my head, I slowly removed the mask that had been pressing against my face. The moment it came off, the world snapped into clear, unhindered focus, and a profound sense of liberation rushed through my chest with every breath. Sitting quietly in a chair, staring intently at the mask in my hands, Serin naturally drifted into my thoughts—specifically, her suspiciously intense obsession with it.
'What could she possibly be so curious about...?'
To this day, only two living souls knew the face concealed beneath this porcelain. One was Roderick, and the other was a young noble lady who had borne the burdens of military service. Excluding those two, I had hidden it from the world my entire life, yet hardly anyone had ever complained of discomfort over it.
Above all, Serin's true identity was that of an imperial princess. Stripped of this mask, I could never hope to maintain a normal relationship with her. Just as Roderick had worried, I was the Child of the Deposed Emperor, while Serin was an imperial princess of the reigning dynasty.
Though she might pout in frustration now, the moment she learned the truth, her eyes would surely freeze with contempt. Just like the crowds who had spat vile curses at me throughout my childhood.
'I don't want that...'
I wished to preserve our bond, even if it meant paying a Friendship Fee to keep it. Having finally received acknowledgment as someone close to her, I did not want to lose it over a single careless mistake. Even if I knew full well that this bond was built upon a lie.
'She's the very first person to approach me with pure goodwill.'
Roderick had started as an attempted kidnapper, and the members of our band were either syndicates I had dismantled or simple business hires. It was precisely because of my circumstances that Serin felt so remarkably special. Even while enduring persecution within the Imperial Palace, she approached me with such bright warmth. I found that truly magnificent.
Whatever the case, I ought to be content with what I had.
No one knew better than I that the hated Child of the Deposed Emperor was already drowning in undeserved kindness. Yet despite knowing my place so well, I could not understand why my chest felt so terribly unsettled.
"Am I simply tired? Tired of living like this?"
Perhaps that was the true answer.
I had spent my life enjoying a monochrome routine, untouched by great joy or profound sorrow. Then, out of nowhere, I was confronted with the crisis of Serin's abduction, experiencing genuine panic for the first time in years. In the days spent accompanying her afterward, a myriad of tender green sprouts of emotion had pushed through my parched soil.
For instance...
I felt pity for her lonely circumstances.
I was baffled by how natural she looked performing menial chores.
I was deeply moved when she declared that we had grown close.
And I was thoroughly embarrassed by the shameless poses she struck under the guise of exercise.
The days spent at Serin's side were so vivid and kinetic that it felt as though the entire world was being painted in vibrant colors. So much so that the thought of our impending parting filled me with regret...
"It seems I was... surprisingly greedy."
Setting the mask upon a nearby table, I walked toward the bed. Mounted beside it was a large mirror meant for checking one's appearance upon waking. Looking directly at my bare face for the first time in ages, it appeared somehow foreign to me. A rigid, hollow face, stripped of even a speck of emotion...
Yet no sooner had that self-deprecating thought crossed my mind than my stone-carved expression shattered into sheer horror in less than the span of a heartbeat.
Rattle!
"Rian, I'm here! Sure enough, this room is totally overflowing with aesthetic vib—"
"Uwaaaargh!!!"
Caught completely off guard by Serin throwing the door open, every nerve in my body flared, desperately trying to assess the situation. Before my mind could weigh any of the countless options, I dove headfirst into the adjacent bed and yanked the heavy duvet completely over myself.
"Rian? Did you just scream? Holy crap, that's insanely cool!"
An instant later, Serin's voice rang out, laden with wide-eyed admiration.
"Good grief, diving under the covers like a little kid... What on earth are you doing? Rian... wait, huh?"
Serin was far too sharp to miss the reality of the scene. Her gaze drifted toward the mask resting openly on the table, and a distinctly suggestive chuckle began to purr from her lips.
"Oh my~ Oh my goodness~ Truly, whatever could be the matter? My, oh my! I'm just so terribly worried about you, Rian, I simply must check on your condition, don't you think?"
Seeing her blithely feign ignorance of the glaring truth struck genuine terror into my heart.
My heart pounded against my ribs. I shut my eyes tight. My hands and feet trembled uncontrollably. Rolled tightly inside the blanket like a spiky burr, I began backing myself deeper into the corner of the mattress.
"P-Please, don't do this, Serin."
"What if you've caught a cold? I'd have to place a damp towel on your forehead, wouldn't I? There's simply no helping it!"
"I am... I am in perfectly pristine health."
"That happens to be the favorite line of every sick patient. Look at you, your whole body is shivering!"
"Urgh..."
Her presence drew suffocatingly close. If it had ended there, it might have been manageable, but the sensation of the mattress dipping deeply beside me triggered an acute sense of dread.
"Hehe, I'll take wonderful care of you with all my heart, so just surrender the blanket nicely."
"I cannot. Absolutely not. I refuse. Please stop this, Serin."
"Excuse me? Are you treating me like some kind of criminal?"
"I... I will scream...!"
"Well, that would be pretty adorable in its own way... wait, no, aren't our roles usually reversed for that line?!"
When even my desperate threats fell flat, I felt as though my cognitive faculties were coming entirely undone. Like a tigress stalking her prey, Serin crept forward on all fours, steadily closing the distance.
"Enough playing around... Just be good and hand over that blanket!!!"
Swish!
She pounced.
The bed rocked violently, throwing off my center of balance. A chilling draft swept up my spine to the nape of my neck, sending goosebumps rippling across every inch of my skin.
Flump!
The heavy weight that crashed down upon me immediately set off shrieking alarm bells inside my head, warning of mortal peril.
"Come on, Rian! It'll be so much easier if you just trust me and leave everything in my hands! We're close friends, aren't we?!"
Squeeze!
"It turns out we might not actually be intimate enough to have built sufficient trust...!!!"
Rip, tear.
"Then we can just build that trust face-to-face starting right now!"
"We are actually very close!"
"If we're so close, you shouldn't have any secrets from me!"
"How could this be...!"
It was a despairingly flawless piece of logic. Once again, I found myself marveling at Serin's sheer intellect. Instinct told me that there was no conceivable way I could defeat her in a battle of words.
As the two of us pulled back and forth with all our might, the blanket groaned under the strain. If this continued any longer, cotton stuffing was bound to burst through the seams.
"Just give in, Rian. I promise I'll treat you so well."
"Treat me to what, exactly?"
"Good things, obviously! Really, really good things! Argh, how am I supposed to explain this?!"
"Then go enjoy those good things yourself, Serin! I respectfully decline!"
"Ha! You actually know how to talk back like that?!"
"This is my very first time! Kgh...!"
Unable to shake her off, I pushed myself upright in a burst of sheer desperation. Draped in the duvet like a child pretending to be a ghost, I scrambled off the bed in a frantic rush.
Behind me came Serin's deflated, exasperated groan, but I had no spare composure to show her consideration.
For some reason, breathing felt agonizingly difficult. Even after securing the mask back onto my face and casting the blanket aside, my breath came in ragged, violent gasps.
'I see... So this is exhaustion. This is what it means to be tired.'
Neither when I was banished from the imperial capital at the age of five, nor when I tore through crime syndicates alongside Roderick, had I ever experienced such physical depletion. It served as a stark reminder of just how formidable a person Serin truly was.
"You're so cruel, Rian. Look at my hair, it's completely disheveled, and the first thing you do is grab that mask..."
"If you wish, I can comb it for you."
"Wait, really? What a stroke of luck—talk about free rice cakes!"
The contemplation of what rice cakes had to do with this could wait. For now, I needed to soothe the feelings of Serin, who looked inconsolably wounded just glancing at me.
Yet in that very moment, her eyes flashed with the predatory sharpness of a raptor.
"Hold on just a minute, Rian."
"Yes?"
"That rolled off your tongue an awful lot too easily... Have you ever combed another woman's hair before?"
A chilling aura radiated from her. Merely listening to her voice was enough to make the hair on my arms stand on end. Since I did not know what the 'correct' answer was supposed to be, I answered with complete honesty.
"Never. Absolutely not."
"Truly? You offered so readily, I thought you were accustomed to it."
"I am not accustomed to it at all. I merely thought... that one simply had to draw the comb straight down..."
To make myself clearly understood, I gestured by moving my hand up and down repeatedly in demonstration.
Serin seemed to comprehend instantly, and her bright, sunny smile returned to her face.
"Oh, well then, that's fine."
"That is... a relief."
As I cautiously read her expression, Serin stepped closer with an immensely satisfied look and took my hands in hers.
"You know, Rian. Make me just one promise."
"I will listen first."
Evidently pleased with my response, Serin gave a casual nod.
"You might not know this, Rian, but touching a woman's hair isn't something allowed with just ordinary closeness, you know?"
"I understand."
"But with me, it's totally fine. Why? Because we're close enough that you felt comfortable shrieking at the top of your lungs at me! You agree, right?"
"I... suppose so?"
"In short, it's only permitted between people who share a bond strong enough to raise their voices to that exact decibel... I mean, volume."
"Yes. I have committed that to memory."
At my prompt affirmation, Serin rewarded me with an eye-smile.
Meanwhile, my heart swelled with quiet pride at the feeling of steadily learning the right answers.
"Still, you're such a gentleman, Rian, and you never shout at people without good reason... so meeting those conditions won't be easy with anyone else. Oh, but naturally, I'm the sole exception."
"Uhm, that is correct...?"
"Are you ever going to scream at other women in the future?"
"That will absolutely never happen."
"Wonderful!"
Having cheerily graded my performance, Serin led me by the hand. Still somewhat dazed, I let myself be guided until we stopped before a large vanity. She promptly selected a comb and pressed it into my grip.
"Now then, let's comb my hair. I'll teach you how."
"Understood."
"Keep everything I just told you in mind, okay?"
"Of course."
In essence, the guiding principle was simple: I was only ever to touch Serin's hair. There was nothing particularly difficult about it.
As expected, she possessed an extraordinary talent for imparting common sense.
Following the demonstration of my teacher for the day, I diligently smoothed and brushed through her soft, flowing strands. However, combing someone's hair proved far more delicate a task than I had anticipated, leaving me slightly anxious.
"Am I combing it properly, Serin?"
"Ah, so this is the life of a successful fan..."
"Pardon?"
"You're doing wonderfully. It's honestly touching, Rian."
"I believe I learned quickly because my teacher is so wonderful."
When I shared my candid thoughts, Serin's reflection in the mirror met my gaze with an curiously mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Do you like me?"
"Yes. Very much."
A reply spoken from the depths of my heart. Yet Serin seemed somewhat skeptical, seeking further certainty.
"Can you swear to it?"
"That is not difficult."
"Is it a promise?"
"It is a promise."
"Fufu..."
Her meaningful chuckle drifted through the air before quietly evaporating.
For some reason, the sound left a strange, lingering resonance in my chest.
Regardless, if Serin was satisfied, then I was satisfied as well. Roderick had been wrong to ever be wary of someone like her.
Knock, knock.
Just as our conversation settled into a warm harmony, a polite knock broke the quiet from outside the room.
Upon receiving permission, a maid stepped inside and relayed her master's message with practiced decorum.
"The baroness cordially invites the two of you to join her for dinner."
At the unexpected invitation, a competitive spark ignited in Serin's eyes.