TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 53
[Shameless.]
Kraush, with an innocent face.
Upon seeing that, Crimson Garden briefly evaluated.
I’m sorry, but I also felt out of place.
Having to pretend to be strangers when we used to throw jokes at each other whenever we met long ago.
It was frustrating.
But there was nothing to be done.
Because they don’t know me at all.
Kraush knows well that the memories in his head no longer exist in reality.
So, even as he felt an uneasy feeling, at times he also felt relieved.
At least, considering his relationship with Lirina who stood before him, Kraush thought this was better.
‘Whether it was then or now, her face is the same.’
When he saw her in the shop, it was fine.
But now, facing her directly, he felt strangely unsettled.
There was nothing to be done.
Because he had many entanglements with her.
Lirina’s eyes closed and then opened after she was asked the question.
Then, she belatedly realized that she had suddenly appeared.
Her eyes, usually half-closed, belatedly showed a hint of embarrassment.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I am Lirina, who serves as a maid for the Igrit Family. I recently gave some food to Kami.”
At the mention of Kami, Kraush looked back at Crimson Garden.
His eyes seemed to say, ‘It’s Kami, huh? That suits her well.’, almost making Crimson Garden squint her eyes.
“I see. So that’s where Crim always goes. I didn’t know she was getting fed. It seemed like she was well taken care of, but was it not enough?”
“Since I gave it to her on my own, please don’t scold her.”
“She’s a smart one. If she thought she overate, she would have restrained herself, so it’s fine. Rather, I’m grateful for your care.”
Grrr-
At that moment, a sound rumbled from Kraush’s stomach.
Lirina, who heard the sound directly in front of her, covered her mouth slightly.
It was to hide the laughter that had unintentionally escaped.
When Kraush showed a flustered reaction, Lirina subtly lifted the basket.
“I haven’t touched the dessert at all. How about it? If you’re okay with it, would you like to have some?”
Food that would be thrown away anyway.
Today, Aslan didn’t touch the dessert at all, so it remained in the basket.
Seeing Lirina like that, Kraush gave a wry smile.
“Wouldn’t it be rude for me to eat after Crim?”
“Throwing away food is a sin against nature. It’s rather an act of charity. It’s charity to Kami, oh, to Crim, and to Crim’s owner.”
Her way of speaking was as smooth as ever.
Yet, Kraush smiled apologetically.
“Then, may I ask for some?”
Those who knew Kraush would have been shocked to see him now.
[Hmph, you’ve got quite the nerve. Seeing you starve yourself on purpose from morning, I thought you were planning to die of starvation before taking my immortality. Were you trying to woo a girl?]
And as expected, Crimson Garden’s taunts pricked at his mind.
Even though she clearly knew the situation, why was she so eager to pick a fight with him?
Kraush, deep in thought, soon realized.
It must be because he had been using the crow as a messenger these past few days.
But what could he do?
The reality was that Crimson Garden had to help Kraush get stronger.
“I’ll sit next to you.”
And being shameless was more Lirina’s forte than Kraush’s.
Even during their first meeting, Lirina sat next to him without much concern.
Her mood had been refreshed through her encounters with Crimson Garden over the past few days.
So naturally, she felt a fondness for Kraush, the owner of Crimson Garden, as a person.
There are no bad people among those whom animals follow well, right?
Lirina opened the basket and took out the remaining cheese cake and black tea for dessert.
“It’s food from Alina’s shop.”
And as soon as Kraush saw the food, he spoke as if he knew.
“Did you know the shop?”
“Yes, it’s a place I often visit.”
When Kraush added that it was a humble shop but the food was good, Lirina nodded in agreement.
“That’s why many students from the Magic Academy use it. It’s even better because it’s open late.”
There was a hint of bitterness on Lirina’s face as she said this.
As she seemed to recall someone, she quickly came to her senses and handed over the cake on a plate.
“If you know the taste, you’ll enjoy it. Here you go.”
“Thank you. I won’t hesitate to eat it.”
Kraush cut the cheese cake with the fork he received from Lirina and ate it.
Lirina, watching him, fell into thought.
He looked like a boy in his mid-teens.
Given that he knew about Alina’s shop, which only a few knew about, was he also a student at the Magic Academy?
The way he ate the cheese cake was graceful.
From that alone, Lirina sensed that he came from a respectable family.
As a maid working in a noble household, there was no way she would miss such a detail.
“Come to think of it, I forgot to introduce myself.”
Meanwhile, Kraush, who had taken a bite of the cheese cake, belatedly spoke.
Indeed, Lirina had introduced herself, but he had not.
“I am Kraush Balheim, a member of the Blue Sea Knight Order.”
But the moment she heard his next words, her body froze.
Balheim, that name was known even to her, who lived in Halgram, a magic city far from Starlon.
And so, the strange first meeting with the boy began.
* * *
After that, meeting Kraush in the park became part of Lirina’s routine.
Actually, it wouldn’t have mattered if she didn’t go.
But for some reason, Lirina kept finding herself heading to the park.
‘Why do I always end up going to the park?’
Lirina pondered this seriously as she headed to the park today.
First, it was because feeding the crow she had nicknamed had become part of her daily routine.
The crow called Crim was smart and charming enough for her to grow fond of it.
So, she found herself heading there unconsciously, hoping to meet Crim again.
Second, it was because she thought, ‘What’s the point of leaving the leftover food?’
Despite Kraush mentioning he was from Balheim, he ate well whenever she brought food.
She wondered if Balheim wasn’t as affluent as she thought, but Kraush told her that the training at the Blue Sea Knight Order was tough, making him hungry often.
However, he seemed to avoid talking about Balheim strangely.
So, Lirina casually asked the maids who always brought gossip from somewhere about Kraush.
The story of Balheim was quite famous even in Halgram.
As a result, Lirina learned one fact.
That the youngest of Balheim was called a Half-Penny.
He was shunned in Balheim for having no talent in magic.
As soon as she heard this news, Lirina realized some of Kraush’s actions.
She understood why someone from Balheim was in Halgram; he had been exiled to the Blue Sea Knight Order.
The reason he always seemed hungry must be because Balheim had cut off his support.
That’s why he always reacted as if he was avoiding talking about Balheim.
There is quite a distance between Halgram and Starlon.
Halgram is an independent city, not even within the confines of Starlon.
Thus, the recent changes in Kraush were not yet information accessible to mere maids.
Due to that, Lirina fell into misunderstanding because of the lack of information.
Lirina felt sympathy for him.
He was still a boy who hadn’t even reached adulthood.
The fact that he was abandoned by his family must have caused him great pain.
Perhaps because of Aslan, she had a particular weakness for boys who were hurt.
In fact, her current actions might be close to escapism.
Since there was no way to heal Aslan, she was finding solace by helping Kraush, who was in a somewhat similar situation.
‘Pathetic. Me.’
However, seeing Kraush eat well made her feel proud.
Even though Aslan only ate a bite of the food brought from a distant place every evening.
She was grateful to Kraush for eating the food that Aslan hadn’t touched, even if it meant discarding what he had.
“Thank you for the meal.”
“It’s nice to see you eating well. I think Mr. Kraush will grow tall soon.”
Recently, Lirina, who only brought food that Aslan hadn’t touched, let out her characteristic laugh.
Kraush, watching her, briefly touched the back of his head.
Lirina tilted her head, seeing him as if he had something to say.
“Do you have something to tell me?”
“Well, it’s awkward for me to say this as someone who’s always receiving food, but it seems like there’s a story behind the food that Lirina brings.”
This was certainly a situation that anyone would find strange at a glance.
The food Kraush ate was always from the same restaurant.
And upon closer inspection, it was leftover food.
Lirina works for the Igrit Family.
Bringing leftovers from the same restaurant every time was clearly abnormal.
Realizing this, Kraush looked at her, and Lirina rolled her eyes for a moment.
Frankly, it wasn’t a story to tell others.
However, she felt a sense of frustration inside.
It was hard for her, being next to her master who attempted suicide every time.
So, she chewed on her lips for a moment.
‘If I tell this story, I’ll be no different from the maids I scolded.’
As she pondered, recalling the maids she had reprimanded, Kraush spoke first.
“I asked too much as someone who’s always receiving food. I just asked because Lirina always looked troubled, so you don’t have to answer if you’re not comfortable.”
After hearing his words, Lirina covered her face.
“…My expression isn’t that strong, so I thought it wouldn’t be noticeable.”
“There are people around me with stronger expressions, so I’m confident in reading them.”
In reality, it was because they knew each other well enough to read Lirina’s expressions, but he glossed over it with a smile.
Kraush smiled as he brushed it off.
“You always seem lost in thought. It’s bound to show.”
Lirina removed her hand from her face.
“I thought you could read Crim’s mind, but it seems you can read mine too.”
Lirina let out a small laugh, having seen Kraush occasionally act as if he were really talking to his crow.
At the same time, she wondered how harshly he must have been raised in his family to become so perceptive.
“…I see. My troubles. Since Mr. Kraush is an outsider, maybe I can vent a little without getting scolded by the Head Maid.”
She said this while looking at the sky with a thoughtful expression.
“Lirina.”
Then, Kraush called out to her.
“It’s hard for me to go into detail about my situation, but I have no one to talk to about it.”
He was called the Half-Penny of Balheim.
Lirina felt sorry for him but agreed.
“They say if you keep stories locked in your heart, they become too heavy to move. Don’t you sometimes need to unload?”
“…You’re more eloquent than I thought.”
Lirina briefly touched her side hair.
It was a gesture she made when she was thinking.
Soon after, she turned back to Kraush.
“Yes, I think Mr. Kraush might have heard about it recently.”
“…Are you talking about the direct line of the Igrit Family attempting suicide?”
Lirina nodded up and down.
It was a story that couldn’t be unknown if you lived in Halgram.
“I am Lord Aslan’s maid. The food I brought to Mr. Kraush was the food that Lord Aslan didn’t touch. But he does eat well from this restaurant because it holds memories for him.”
Lirina slowly caressed the basket.
She missed Aslan, who used to enjoy this place’s food with someone.
“I see.”
“I’m sorry for telling you such a gloomy story.”
“No. But I heard that Lord Aslan wasn’t always like that.”
For a moment, Kraush almost added ‘sir’ to Aslan’s name, feeling a prick like a thorn in his mouth, but managed to speak.
“Yes, he used to be a cheerful person. He was someone who could endure and overcome difficulties.”
Once she started talking, Lirina found it hard to control her lips.
It seemed the stories she had kept inside were heavier than she thought, just as Kraush had said.
“…But after one of Lord Aslan’s friends stopped coming, he fell apart.”
After the disappearance of what might have been his only friend.
“Stopped coming, you mean.”
“…She went missing. I tried searching here and there, and even told the Vice Matriarch, but she told me not to bother looking. So…”
She blurted out everything, then came to her senses and looked up.
She had spilled the beans, both the important and the trivial.
“Please pretend you didn’t hear that.”
It wasn’t a story to tell outsiders.
So when she said that, Kraush shrugged his shoulders.
“I told you I have no one to tell.”
Seeing Kraush’s nonchalant reaction, Lirina gave a bitter smile.
“Strangely, I talk a lot when I’m with Mr. Kraush. I’m usually a quiet person.”
“Really? I never thought of Lirina as a quiet person.”
In reality, Lirina was always talkative in Kraush’s memory.
‘Well, I did that on purpose this time.’
Kraush had his own way of speaking, but Lirina knew him.
So every time they met, he talked about various things to help her become familiar with him quickly.
That’s why she felt at ease with him without realizing it.
Now it’s all done.
Kraush lightly got up from his chair.
“Then let’s solve your problem.”
“What?”
When Lirina looked at him with a puzzled expression, Kraush smiled.
“If we find Lord Aslan’s friend, your problem will be solved too, right?”
“…But I’ve already searched quite a bit.”
“I’m from Balheim.”
As Kraush declared this, Lirina flinched.
As he said, he was called the Half-Penny, but he was from Balheim.
He might have access to much more information than Lirina, a mere maid of the Igrit Family.
“…But I’m not sure I can trust someone who’s always hungry and begging for food, even if he’s from Balheim.”
“That’s a big deal. How do we build trust?”
“It’s a joke. Trust me.”
Since he had already blurted everything out unintentionally, he figured he had nothing to lose.
Feeling somewhat relieved, Lirina smiled.
“Then, I have a favor to ask, Mr. Kraush.”
So, she clasped her hands together and made a polite request to Kraush.
“Please make it worth the meal you’ve had.”
And, true to her nature, she mixed in a little jest as well.