Escape (8)
Escape (8)
A fair stretch of time had passed since that business with Serepina.
I couldn't say exactly how long.
I still seemed to be in love with her.
On occasion. Very rarely.
When I looked out at the back garden, or sat in the drawing room with a cup of tea.
Her face would surface without warning.
The melancholy never fully lifted, but it no longer crowded out everything else.
Today, too, I found myself staring blankly at the back garden.
A bird I couldn't name perched on a branch, preening its throat.
"Young Master, good morning!"
Rineta's voice came from behind me.
At the sound, the afterimage of Serepina that had been drifting through my head washed away.
I turned, a faint smile on my face.
"You're energetic for this early."
"It's quite late to be calling it early, though!"
At any rate, each day when I opened my eyes, a new day layered itself over the previous one like a sheet of thin paper.
Nothing out of the ordinary happened, and that was its own kind of happiness.
Rineta and I settled back into our routine: walking into the village every morning, eating lunch, and returning.
Serepina's name never came up.
As if she'd never existed at all.
Rineta didn't bring her up, and neither did I.
We walked the forest path barefoot.
The feel of the soil against the soles of my feet was pleasant.
At some point, after we'd eaten lunch at Rineta's house and come back to the annex, she started brewing tea from flower petals I couldn't identify.
Tiny petals in violet, yellow, and white swayed inside the cup as though dancing.
The fragrance was lovely. The taste was thin.
Sometimes a little astringent, sometimes like nothing at all.
Occasionally I caught a faint, peppery sharpness.
"What kind of flower is this?"
"I'm not sure of the name. The label just said flower petal tea."
Rineta flinched slightly, then shrugged.
It wasn't particularly good, but I drank it without comment.
Because she'd made it for me.
Whenever she watched me drink, an unreadable expression flickered across her face.
"Anyway, Young Master, your face these days—it's like a completely different person from when we first met."
Rineta set her cup down.
"Is it?"
"Of course! When I first saw you, you had these hollow eyes like someone who'd lost everything, like you were about to die.
Nightmares every night, screaming, drenched in cold sweat from head to toe...
Now, well, you just look like some neighborhood uncle loafing around with nothing to do."
"Who's an uncle."
"Come on, you are.
You're older than me, and you spend every day wandering around idle!"
She giggled.
"Anyway, it's probably all thanks to me being by your side, right?
I'm someone you need, aren't I?"
She asked it playfully, her voice slightly buoyant, but her eyes were serious.
I answered with a smile and flicked her lightly on the forehead.
"Ow! Why do you keep hitting me!"
"You're noisy."
My tongue tingled, inexplicably.
Standing there backlit by the sun, Rineta looked luminous, and whenever I tried to say something, that tingling sensation always seemed to seal my mouth shut.
It was one of those ordinary afternoons.
I was drinking the flower petal tea Rineta had brewed when I spotted a black carriage rolling in through the window.
The family carriage.
Before long, the annex door opened and Levina walked in.
She wore a fitted navy jacket and trousers, the sort of thing that looked fashionable in the capital.
She stepped into the drawing room with practiced ease and jerked her chin at Rineta.
"Bring drinks to the drawing room. Whatever's suitable."
Then she looked at me, signaled with her eyes that she wanted to talk, and headed for the sofa.
I followed her.
A moment later, Rineta carried in tea and refreshments.
But it wasn't the usual flower petal tea—just ordinary black tea.
"How have you been managing?"
Levina sat on the sofa across from me.
Her gaze rested on the teacup for a moment.
"Well enough, considering."
I answered.
And I meant it.
Compared to life at the Academy, or the moment I burned alive, this felt like heaven.
"Glad to hear it. You've got better color in your face."
Levina smiled faintly.
Then she glanced at the head butler.
"Bring that in."
The head butler and the other servants carried two large boxes into the drawing room.
"I was worried the broken engagement might be wearing on you.
That you might start having those strange thoughts again."
The heavy thud of the boxes settling onto the table echoed through the room.
"...Don't bring up Serepina."
When I said it quietly, Levina nodded with a smile that looked oddly pleased.
The smile was stiff around the edges.
"All right. You won't have any reason to see her again anyway.
In any case, I brought a few things from the capital I thought you'd like."
The servants opened the boxes, revealing bottles of fine liquor.
Even the labels made it clear how expensive they were.
The other box was piled high with cigarettes.
Rare, costly brands I'd struggled to get my hands on at the Academy—the kind Estelle and I used to smoke.
"The liquor... I'll gladly accept."
I said.
"But I don't need the cigarettes. I quit."
In that instant, the expression vanished from Levina's face.
She'd always been stoic, but this was something else.
As if she couldn't parse what I'd just said, she asked again.
"...What?"
"The cigarettes. I quit. I barely drink anymore, either."
Levina was at a loss for words for a moment.
In her mind, a Ravin who didn't drink or smoke couldn't exist.
Because the me she knew was a man who always trailed a haze of smoke.
"...Since when?"
When she finally spoke, her voice had the slightest tremor.
"Since the day I came here."
Levina said nothing else.
She just stared at me blankly.
Her eyes wavered in confusion.
"Is that really such a serious thing to take in?"
I said it like a joke, and Levina jolted, collecting herself.
"Ah, no. It's just... caught me off guard."
She laughed awkwardly, stumbling over her words.
"This place must really agree with you, if it's enough to make you quit smoking."
A long silence stretched out.
Levina sipped her stone-cold tea without purpose.
Then she spoke again.
Her voice was calm as always, but the energy had drained out of it.
"By the way... have you had any trouble lately? Anything suspicious?"
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing. I'm just asking if any strange people have shown up, or if anyone's come looking for you."
Levina fidgeted with her fingers, avoiding my eyes.
"It's because of Mother. I was worried she might show up here. If nothing's happened, then good."
"It's a relief you seem to be doing well. Anyway, there is one person who's been saying he wants to see you."
"Who?"
"Kyle."
Levina said.
"That commoner."
Even hearing the name, my face stayed neutral.
"Why does he want to see me?"
"I don't know. He just heard the news about you and begged to meet. If you'd rather not, I'll pass along your refusal. It's no concern of mine either way."
Whether Ravin met the commoner or not, Levina didn't care.
And Kyle was no Serepina, which made it even less relevant.
"No, I'll meet him."
Levina's eyebrows rose slightly at the answer.
She got to her feet.
"All right. I'll bring him on the weekend. Be well till then."
Before leaving, she paused by the door.
"Is there anything you want? Anything you'd like me to get?"
I thought for a moment.
I remembered Rineta mentioning once that she wanted to try the famous desserts in the capital.
"Desserts. Pick up a few of the ones the capital's known for."
Levina's face brightened at the fact that I'd actually asked for something.
She nodded that she would, and her footsteps leaving the room were noticeably lighter than when she'd arrived.
With Levina gone, Rineta and I were alone.
"Um, Young Master. The person the Heir Apparent mentioned... is it really that Kyle? The one from the Academy...?"
Rineta asked carefully, though the surprise on her face was plain to see.
"Yeah."
I answered shortly, offering no further detail.
I didn't ask if she knew him, or if they were close.
None of that mattered.
"Wow... I sent a letter not long ago, too. It'll really be nice to see him after so long."
Rineta kept chattering, clearly excited.
Before I knew what I was doing, I'd grabbed her wrist.
Her words stopped.
I spoke to her in a low voice.
"Rineta. I'm not trash, or a brute. Am I?"
Her eyes went round for a moment.
Then she shook her head firmly.
Her voice was resolute.
"You're not! The people who say those things about you are the ones in the wrong! I've never met anyone like you, Young Master... someone of your standing! And yet you're kind even to someone like me."
She flushed as she got the last words out.
"Did you bring this up because I mentioned the Academy? I've heard you muttering at night. About what happened there..."
"No. It's nothing like that."
I cut her off.
"I was just a little anxious. And... thank you."
Rineta's cheeks colored with embarrassment, but then she squared her shoulders confidently.
"You're a good person, Young Master. I can vouch for that!"
I smiled faintly at the sight of her.