Episode 46

"Who? Me?"

"Yes. You. Sonnet."

Ute's massive hand clamped around my wrist. His silver brow furrowed in concern.

"It looks like something's going on."

Something... feels imminent?

'Should I hug him and let fate take its course?'

Being apprehended for embracing an angel would indeed be a noble demise.

"Nothing's wrong. Really."

"But you don't look well."

His compassionate eyes examined me meticulously. It would have been less embarrassing for me to take off all my clothes and dance naked in the town square.

"What's wrong with my face?"

I traced my fingertips over my cheekbones and around my eyes but didn't feel any difference.

Ute's naturally kind eyes drooped further.

"Something did happen, didn't it? Can’t you confide in me?"

"If I were to say..."

It's not like nothing happened.

'But it's not a big deal.'

Pondering it left an odd sense of discomfort, but that was it. Should I bother explaining something even I couldn't understand?

As I shook my head, Ute's expression grew even more sorrowful.

"A friend is someone who shares in both your joy and sorrow."

"If we share sorrow, there would only be two sad people."

Telling you won't resolve anything.

And there was nothing to resolve anyway.

What benefit would arise from revisiting the past?

I attempted a forced smile and raised my tone.

"I don't wish to dampen your spirits as well."

"See! I knew it, you're feeling down."

"Is it that obvious...?"

"Talking to someone else might alleviate your burden."

"But if the listener feels bad after, doesn't that nullify the effect?"

"Even a difficult journey can be eased with a companion."

What sort of nonsense is that?

I was on the brink of retorting when his face filled my vision, halting me.

"Perhaps it would give us something to laugh about later..."

Indeed, his visage lacked nothing essential for human sustenance.

Carbohydrates, protein, and Ute Velvet...

"Right? So, will you share with me?"

"Okay, okay! Just, move your face back a bit...!"

"Oh, sorry. I’ll give you some space."

Ute leaned back slightly, still smiling without the slightest hint of offense.

The chair in the examination room, where I had sat countless times, suddenly felt tingly.

"So, what happened was..."

After I tell him, Ute will surely realize he was overreacting.

I tried to explain quickly and wrap it up.

"So, um..."

Oddly, my mouth felt glued shut.

'Is this even worth mentioning?'

If it were just trivial chit-chat, this would have been easier.

Seeing me hesitate for an extended time, Ute cheerfully took the initiative.

"Then I'll start."

"Huh?"

"I've been very lonely since I came here."

His bright eyes still held mine.

Ute spoke calmly, without averting his gaze or stumbling over words unlike myself.

"It felt like walking on a thin frozen lake. Or more like my feet weren't touching the ground."

"..."

"It's partly a fundamental problem with me... but that's not all."

"..."

"Even when I said 'one,' no one took it as 'one.' I got angry and begged, but no one believed me."

I recalled the conversations I had lightly dismissed.

The time he desperately pleaded that he didn't want to date.

"But Sonnet, you always took my words at face value."

"..."

"You returned my friendship with friendship."

I bit the inside of my cheek.

For some reason, my throat felt rough, like I had swallowed sand.

"I was very lonely."

His warm hands covered the back of mine.

Ute stared at me, and I couldn't avoid his gaze.

"But since becoming friends with you, I feel less lonely."

How could he be so... honest?

It felt more sincere because he said 'less lonely' instead of 'not lonely.'

"That's why I want to be a source of strength for you too."

Ute Velvet didn't smile like he did when dealing with the aide, meeting other servants, or standing before his employer.

So I...

"Hey, did I just make you laugh?"

"Yeah, kind of."

I mulled over the words as I observed Ute laughing alongside me.

'I like you.'

I really like you.

After hearing Ute's honest feelings and sharing a laugh, I felt a weight lift from my chest.

My mouth still felt dry, and my heart was pounding.

Unknowingly, I pressed down my rising cheeks and opened my lips.

"It's really nothing much..."

Summarized, it was just a few lines.

Ute, who had been listening quietly, commented.

"Why should you care?"

It was an unusually sharp tone.

"You're living well on your own."

"Really?"

"You're a maid favored by the Countess. Your role is important and remarkable."

"She's not a difficult person to serve. I just had good timing, really, if it weren't me—"

"It had to be you."

His unwavering eyes did not allow for rebuttal.

"Only you could do it."

"..."

"And I need you too."

"You just chose me because I was suitable."

"The process is more important than the start, right? And don't worry too much. I used to hear those things all the time in the North, but I'm living well, aren't I?"

"Who said such nonsense to you?"

To an angel who contributes to world peace just by existing!

I nearly jumped out of my seat, but Ute held my hand, so I couldn't.

"Who else but the people closest by blood."

"Your family? Who?"

"There are four of us, excluding me, but we're not all close."

Listening to his indifferent explanation, I suddenly realized.

'So he isn't close with his family either, and I'm his only friend?'

How... heartbreaking.

Such a sociable and likable person only has one close companion.

'I must take good care of him.'

I resolved to not avoid his sincere and loyal eyes.

---

The bright sunlight cast its glow.

In the middle of winter, where even standing still made you shiver. The path to the capital's most beautiful lake was not easy.

'Why did the aide choose such a place!'

I readjusted the load on my shoulders.

A lake protected by the royal family.

This state-owned spot, famous as a tourist destination in the capital... was on a mountainside.

'I'm going to die!'

Count Edwell paid a large sum of money to rent the place for one day.

The Count offered monetary aid, but the pleading paperwork was written by Morpheon.

Thanks to that, there was no sign of people on the way up.

There were only four of us on this vast mountain.

"Ah...!"

"Careful."

The master, supporting the mistress's waist, spoke smoothly.

"I'm holding you. You might fall again."

"...Thank you."

I felt nauseated but didn't vomit.

When I turned my head, Ute Velvet was also rubbing his collarbone with dead eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"I took some antacid beforehand. Want a bottle?"

"Please."

But there was a problem.

With baskets of confession tools, food, emergency clothes, and makeup boxes, I couldn't grab or drink the bottle.

"Should I carry it for you?"

"How?"

Looking up, the Count's cloak, which he had taken off because he was hot, fluttered above Ute's silver hair.

Ute's sides were are filled with emergency supplies, board games for when words fail, and instruments for setting the mood.

"...Let's just go."

It was all the master's fault for deciding to go with just the two of us servants.

Of course, Ute wasn't brought as a doctor either.

The mistress wasn't aware that Ute Velvet was also there as an advisor in case of emergencies.

'What kind of male lead is this lacking in quick-wittedness?'

But this was better than misunderstandings piling up without any intermediate explanation.

Today, Carlyle Edwell was going to confess to Clara Edwell.

"Wow, that bird is very beautiful! Its feathers are so pretty."

"Catch that bird and give it to my wife as a hair ornament."

"...What?"

...He can confess, right?

---

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