Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: A Clumsy Consolation
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This time, however, the sharpness that felt like an interrogation was gone, replaced by a faint hint of genuine curiosity.
At this, Lucillea averted her gaze, her small lips moving hesitantly.
“……Because I shouldn’t.”
“What?”
“……”
Glancing cautiously at Elbadin, Lucillea spoke again.
“Because I shouldn’t take up Your Highness’s precious time!”
“……”
A brief silence fell. Elbadin tilted his head, his eyes narrowing as he asked.
“So, you avoided me for such a trivial reason?”
At that, Lucillea snapped her head up and said.
“Trivial?”
Lucillea clenched her fists, her eyes serious.
“My grandmother used to say that time is more precious than gold! And for someone in a high position like you, Your Highness, every minute, every second could change the fate of many people!”
Lucillea’s expression grew even more solemn.
“If I hang around and waste your time, I could end up ruining the fates of all those people, couldn’t I?!”
“……”
*Hmm.* Elbadin fell silent for a moment.
Seeing her break out in a cold sweat and cautiously watch his reaction, it was highly likely that her reason was a lie.
And yet, he couldn’t bring himself to scold her for the bad habit of telling lies.
For some reason, he didn’t want to.
It seemed like an audacious and absurd excuse, but in a way, it wasn’t entirely wrong, and it was strangely persuasive.
Elbadin let out a dry laugh and looked down at Lucillea.
“Were you about to leave the glass garden for the same reason?”
This time, however, she surprisingly shook her head.
“No.”
At the unexpected answer, Elbadin raised an eyebrow.
“Then?”
“I thought you came here to rest, so I didn’t want to disturb you.”
Lucillea said, glancing at the blue flower she had just replanted.
“It’s like that for me. When I come into this glass garden, I feel at ease for some reason. Looking at the flowers here makes me feel good.”
Then she looked up at Elbadin and grinned.
“It’s the same for you, isn’t it, Your Highness? That’s why you came here to rest, right?”
“……”
“You must be tired from being so busy every day.”
Taking his silence as affirmation, Lucillea took a step closer and continued.
“You came here because you wanted to rest in a place like this glass garden—one that’s pleasing to the eye, soothing to the soul, and smells wonderful, right? But I thought I’d be a bother if I showed up. I know. I can be quite talkative.”
Elbadin slowly nodded.
If nothing else, it was a complete agreement on the part about her being talkative.
Besides, this excuse was also plausible.
It even aligned with her previous excuse about not wanting to ‘waste his time’.
A playful mood suddenly striking him, Elbadin lifted his chin slightly and said.
“Did I seem like the kind of person who would get tired over such trivial matters—the head of the Grand Ducal family?”
At that, Lucillea’s eyes widened, and she spoke as if lecturing him.
“Everyone gets tired if they overwork themselves. And if fatigue builds up, you eventually break down.”
“……I suppose that’s another thing your late grandmother said.”
When Elbadin brought up Briola first, Lucillea’s eyebrows twitched.
*Hehe.* Lucillea, who had been chuckling softly, answered with a slightly somber expression.
“Well, yes. My grandmother also went through a lot of unnecessary hardship because of me, you know? I think that might be why she passed away early.”
“……”
Lucillea spoke in a nonchalant, calm voice, but her words were laced with a resignation unbefitting a child.
Elbadin gazed down silently at her.
He could see the shadow of guilt on the small child’s shoulders, a child who had lost her grandmother.
It was a little heartbreaking. That she was feeling an emotion she shouldn’t have to at such a young age.
Was that why?
A clumsy, rough-hewn comfort escaped Elbadin’s lips.
“It’s not your fault.”
“……Pardon?”
At the unexpected reply, Lucillea raised her gaze.
Elbadin met her gaze directly. The arrogant air that usually clung to his eyes like a second skin was, for now, gone.
“Someone’s death can never be the fault of those left behind. That is the domain of the gods.”
He paused for a moment before continuing in a low voice.
“Trying to bear that weight is arrogance. The duty of the living is not guilt… but to remember them.”
“……”
*Remembering them…*
Lucillea mumbled his words under her breath.
Elbadin continued.
“What the departed truly wish for is not for the living to crumble in sorrow. It is to remember their lives, to carry those memories, and to live on even more fiercely. That is the sole duty of those left behind, and the greatest courtesy to the departed.”
And in that moment.
Elbadin realized. The words he was speaking now were also directed at himself—the man who had spent the last eight years blaming himself for Radia’s death.
“……”
“……”
An awkward air flowed between them.
*Ahem.*
Elbadin awkwardly raised his hand over Lucillea’s head, then quickly retracted it and said gruffly.
“Anyway, don’t think like that. You’re already tiny, and worrying about useless things like that is just going to stunt your growth.”
“……”
*Hmph.* Lucillea sniffled, then shot Elbadin a sharp glare.
“Yes, yes, Your Highness. Make sure you get plenty of rest and take care of your health so you can grow up big and strong!”
*Hmph!* she scoffed.
At her bold defiance, Elbadin finally let out a chuckle.
Elbadin nodded.
“I appreciate the well-wishes.”
*Eek!* Her dirt-stained fists, clenched tightly, trembled with indignation.
“They weren’t well-wishes!”
“Alright. Then I’ll give you one. From now on, grow up to be a child who eats her carrots and isn’t a picky eater. That way, you’ll at least grow up to my solar plexus.”
*Waaah!* Lucillea, on the verge of tears, protested.
“How is that a well-wish?! That’s a curse!”
Lucillea jumped up and down on the spot, insisting she would grow taller than his solar plexus.
At the sight, Elbadin’s laughter grew louder.
It was the first time in eight years that such cheerful laughter had echoed through the otherwise silent glass garden.
He finally managed to stop laughing and held out a hand to the child, who was still fuming indignantly.
“Alright. Not to my solar plexus, but taller than my head. Is that better?”
“……”
“So, stop being angry. Kiddo.”
Seeing his large hand, Lucillea hesitated for a moment.
“Um, my hands are dirty…”
Lucillea mumbled, looking down at her soil-covered hands.
At that, Elbadin took a handkerchief from his pocket. He knelt on one knee, bringing himself to Lucillea’s eye level.
Then he began to wipe Lucillea’s hands himself.
At his touch, Lucillea flinched, her shoulders tensing.
Her expression showed she couldn’t comprehend the situation at all.
Finding her reaction amusing, Elbadin smiled again.
“Why? Is it so strange for me to wipe a pair of dirty hands?”
“……Yes. Very.”
Lucillea answered honestly.
“I thought Your Highness… wouldn’t do things like this.”
“Things like this?”
“Umm… being kind?”
“……”
At her words, Elbadin’s hand paused for a moment before he resumed carefully wiping the child’s hands.
Only then did he realize he was doing something he normally wouldn’t.
After Radia was gone, he couldn’t remember laughing like he had today, nor had he ever reached out to someone first.
As Elbadin fell silent, Lucillea also said nothing.
She simply felt his large hand enveloping hers, and his clumsy yet careful touch.
Once the dirt was all gone, Elbadin folded the handkerchief and put it back in his pocket.
He stood up and once again offered his hand to Lucillea.
This time, Lucillea hesitated again, but eventually, she carefully took the tips of his fingers.
Then, to hide her embarrassment, she averted her gaze and grumbled.
“……And I’m not a kiddo. Master Noa, and now you, Your Highness. I don’t know why you both call me that.”
Elbadin led Lucillea to a bench by the fountain, smiling faintly.
“What should I call you then?”
“You should call me Lucillea, of course.”
At that, Elbadin’s gaze briefly flickered down to Lucillea and then back up.
He gave a faint smile and replied obediently.
“Alright… Lucillea.”