“Feeling any better?” Felyn asked as he noticed the pale look on Viloti’s face slowly return to its usual soft pink glow.
“Much better,” she replied, still clinging tightly to his jacket, as if afraid he might take it back.
“It’s pretty cold out here. Want to head back?” Felyn suggested.
“Back?” Viloti looked toward the bustling concert hall. Felyn might want to return and watch the rest of Zervanie’s performance.
She clenched her hand tighter, nails digging faint marks into her palm, betraying her inner conflict.
“O-Okay…” she nodded, but Felyn could easily see the hesitation written all over her face.
“It’s fine. If you don’t feel like going back, we can just sit here a while longer.”
Viloti lowered her head, gripping the jacket on her lap even tighter. Her expression was hidden, unreadable.
“Felyn… I’m sorry.”
“Don’t say that. I’m the one who interrupted you out of nowhere—I should be the one apologizing.” He paused briefly before asking, “You came here to challenge yourself a bit, didn’t you? To push your comfort zone?”
Viloti nodded shyly, her pink bangs falling over her eyes to hide her embarrassment.
“What made you suddenly want to do that? Did someone say something to you? Did someone bully you?” Felyn asked, a frown tugging at his brow.
“No one bullied me. I just… I just want to be able to go out with friends one day.”
“You made friends?” Felyn was genuinely surprised. The idea of this socially anxious young lady managing to befriend someone felt almost unbelievable.
“Mhm. His name is Felyn.”
“…That’s me!”
Viloti curled up a little tighter, nervously looking into Felyn’s eyes, hoping he wouldn't laugh at her.
Thankfully, he didn’t.
“Besides me, do you have any other friends?”
“Nope.”
So basically, still none! Felyn couldn’t help but complain inwardly.
“Don’t change yourself for anyone. It’s not worth it. And I think the way you are now is just fine. Everyone already knows you’re quiet—it saves you from a lot of social drama. Honestly, I kind of envy that.”
Felyn thought. Looking back, he regretted not branding himself as a cold, aloof type when he first entered this line of work. A ton of noble ladies would’ve eaten that up. All he’d have to do was keep a straight face and throw out lines like ‘Woman, you’ve gone too far’ and they’d swoon. That would’ve been so much easier than constantly smiling and playing the part.
If only I could start over, I’d definitely do things that way!
“Really?” Viloti asked.
“Really. You don’t believe me?”
“I do.” Viloti placed a hand on her chest and looked at him earnestly with her amber eyes. “You’ve never lied to me, Felyn. I believe you.”
Felyn froze.
In those amber eyes, he saw a reflection of himself. His lips parted, but no words came out.
It wasn’t true.
He’d been lying to her since the very first time they met.
Lying about liking her. Lying about being someone she could always depend on.
And even now, he couldn’t bring himself to tell her the truth.
“…Are you unhappy, Felyn?” Viloti tilted her head, confused by the expression on his face. She hesitated for a moment, then gently placed her hand on his shoulder, trying to cheer him up.
“No. Someone believes in me—how could I be unhappy?”
The green grass surrounding them seemed to bow down to listen as the boy and girl sat together on the steps.
There were few stars in the sky tonight, the clouds were thick, and the lights from the concert painted the darkness a pale sky blue.
They sat together in silence.
But for them, this kind of silence was the most comfortable way to be.
Time slipped by. Zervanie’s singing had lost the fiery energy of the opening act and turned softer.
In front of Felyn, the steps were now littered with small pebbles he had picked up absentmindedly. He began arranging them into the shape of a sword.
Viloti watched quietly beside him. No matter what Felyn did, she always found it interesting.
“Have you been adjusting well since moving to the capital?” Felyn asked, finally breaking the long silence.
“It’s been better than I expected,” Viloti replied, toying with the dark blue butterfly earring on her ear and glancing at her feet.
Socializing was always a challenge for her, especially when it came to meetings and events.
“Miss Adeline has taken good care of me,” she added. “She doesn’t make me attend every meeting, just the important ones.”
If not for Adeline’s consideration, Viloti would’ve had to face a flood of people trying to cozy up to her every single day. That kind of life would’ve been unbearable.
Adeline truly did pay attention to everyone around her.
Felyn continued arranging the pebbles, forming the outline of a small sword.
Even if Adeline had always resented Viloti for that failure in their childhood, she never actually treated her badly.
The most she did was hire someone to recreate that childhood failure each day, letting her relive the moment and win in a false victory over and over again.
It was almost childishly naive. Innocently endearing.
Finally, the stone sword was complete. Felyn had nothing else to do now.
And when boredom hit, the mind wandered.
He thought of Adeline’s kiss.
There was no doubt—she had fallen for him.
Adeline was a good person. That was the only way Felyn could describe her.
But he’d never once considered falling in love with any of his clients.
They hired him to soothe their emotions, not to be their lover.
So he had no intention of becoming Adeline’s.
There were two months left in their contract.
How should he end things?
Should he simply disappear when the contract was up? Or should he find the right time to tell her:
“I don’t like you, Adeline.”
In the past, he would’ve just vanished quietly.
But now… he wasn’t so sure that was the right approach anymore.
Maybe constantly reminding his clients that he would never fall in love with them was the better way to go.
Bzzz—Bzzz—
His communication seal buzzed in his pocket.
It was a message from Daiyi.
[Felyn, are you free right now? My father’s arrived. If possible, I’d like us to meet him together.]
Felyn tucked the seal away, clearing his thoughts. First, he needed to deal with what was in front of him.
“Viloti, I need to head back to the venue and take care of something. It’s cold here—go home soon, okay?” He stood up and brushed the dust off his pants.
“Okay. I’ll sit a little longer,” she said softly.
She still wanted to try going back inside on her own.
Seeing Felyn stand up, she rose as well and handed him his jacket.
“You’re still staying, right? Keep the jacket for now. It’s cold.”
Felyn gave her a quick glance and a wave, then turned and walked back toward the concert hall.
As his figure disappeared into the distance, Viloti looked up at the streetlamp. It suddenly seemed dimmer.
She sat back down on the steps, eyes falling on the stone sword Felyn had left behind.
She reached out and touched it. The stones were cold—his warmth was already gone.
Viloti drew her hand back and rested it on his jacket.
At least now, she had an excuse to see him again tomorrow.
And that made her happy.
She gently stroked the jacket and finally let a small smile spread across her lips.
Just as she was about to gather her courage and return to the venue, she heard a familiar girl’s voice from behind.
“Viloti? Why are you sitting out here all alone?”
At some point, the girl’s shadow had already arrived at her side.
“Miss Adeline?”
(End of Chapter)