Chapter 41 – Again, Reunion (2)
Mason sat down at the table and tinkered with the teacup Lucia had brewed. The warmth of the cup warmed by the heated tea water felt at the tip of her hand. Mason unknowingly covered the cup with both hands. The warmth seemed to have been there for a very long time.
Horok-
I stare blankly at Lucia, who sits across from me and takes a sip of tea. Even as a child, she was always told that they looked alike, but she was so different that the fully grown Lucia could be considered her twin. She has warm brown hair and brown eyes that she inherited from each other.
“Really… You really are my brother.”
A slightly cracked voice came out involuntarily.
Mason felt so many emotions that it’s difficult to describe in terms of complexity.
She was, of course, very glad to see her brother again. Her guilt for not being able to share many things with her blood relatives, who had to be apart for more than ten years, was also enormous.
But at the same time, she couldn’t stop feeling great fear. For more than ten years, the two only exchanged news through letters. Even though they stayed in close contact, Mason still had concerns that she couldn’t quite get out of her mouth.
What if Lucia rejects me?
She was a fear deep in Mason’s heart that he hadn’t told anyone.
Although Mason had left her hometown to support her household, it was clear that she had left much of Lucia’s life alone, against her will.
Now, within Lucia who has become such a grown-up lady, what kind of place will she occupy?
Up until now she had been somewhat oblivious to the uneasiness, but when she was reunited with her again, her impending fear was unavoidable.
‘It may be home to you, but I am just a stranger there. What’s different about going there?’
When she persuades Sianna to return to her own hometown with her, her words, which Sianna stings at her, become daggers again and she turns inside out.
She didn’t even know herself at the time, and convinced her that it would be okay to cover her up, but her Mason had similar thoughts to her Shiana.
Even though it was her own home, Mason felt more at home in her dormitory with the knights of her order than in her bed at home.
There were Uncle Reggie who greeted her warmly and the little ones she had seen when she was young, but it was only natural that her fellow knights whom she trained with came to mind first rather than her neighbors and cousins whom she had not known about for ten years. It happened.
I don’t know what her villagers think of her now, but Mason felt no different from her Shiana.
Ten years was such a long time.
Just as Sianna used herself as her focal point and adjusted to her village, and she began to become friendly with Isabella and Becky, she was the only reason and hope for Lucia to be in this village for her.
Mason glanced at Lucia again. She hadn’t even taken off her coat yet. She felt ashamed and sorry as she looked at the shawl still wrapped around her shoulders.
Maybe she felt her gaze, Lucia gave her a little smile. Mason unknowingly averted her gaze.
She wanted to approach her sister, her sister, without hesitation, but her mind kept blocking her.
I wonder if that eye smile is just a formal smile, or that I am just a distant relative.
“… There is?”
“Yes? Sorry, what did you say… Uh?”
Respond to Lucia’s words that he did not hear properly. She was barely able to stop what seemed to be an honorific at the end. Mason looked at Lucia with a sense of dismay. The awkward way she just said might prove that she hesitated because she didn’t know how to approach Lucia.
“No, I was wondering why you didn’t turn on a light in the house. I know her sister was a knight, but what if she catches a cold?”
She looked at Lucia’s expression, but luckily he didn’t seem to be paying as much attention to her as she did. Said Mason, trying to feign her serenity.
“Ah, yes. Not a big deal. Wouldn’t it be a waste to leave the fire alone when I’m alone?”
Thank god. The way you just talked was a bit natural.
While Mason secretly strokes her breasts, Lucia’s mysterious voice shakes Mason again.
“Alone? Where did Miss Siana go?”
“Yes? Oh, that’s…”
Mason didn’t know how to answer Lucia’s surprise question. She also had no idea where Ciana was or what she was doing.
“… Maybe she stays with Isabella.”
“With Isabelle? At your dog’s house? Or not…”
Lucia’s voice gradually faded away. She was so anxious that she could feel her heart pounding. Her chest tightened, as if she couldn’t breathe.
With the appearance of her Lucia, Ciana’s vacancy, which she had barely forgotten, haunted her again.
Lucia said something, and she put on a worried expression. There was only one thought in Mason’s mind as she leaned over to him over her table.
The seat where Lucia is sitting now, was originally the seat where Ciana used to sit.
“Is your sister okay?”
“… Uh, huh?”
As Lucia continued to stop, Mason brought her back to her senses. Lucia, who had come to her side before she knew it, was holding her head anxiously.
“Are you sick? Your complexion is pale… Actually, there is no heating in the house and you are alone and you do not get sick?”
Lucia’s nagging continued, but Mason felt that she was getting more and more comfortable without realizing it. Her nagging, her worried expression, her concern gradually calmed Mason.
I felt her guilt for making her worry, but she felt her attention was towards herself.
She felt her relief that she was still part of her family, that she hadn’t been abandoned by her.
After thinking that, her throbbing head calmed down a bit. Breathing also felt easier.
Mason said she was fine again, that she was only dizzy for a second, she tried to tell her. She carefully removed her hand from her forehead, she thought she had to reassure her one and only brother.
But, somewhere in her heart.
She thought it would be nice if she continued to worry about her.
Still unsure if she really thought of her as her family, she felt reassured if Lucia continued to show closeness to her.
Even if she was as confused as he was, maybe, really, maybe, while she was with her, she might think of her family again.
And above all else, Mason also wanted to lean on someone.
In the meantime, she has always been a support that supports someone. When she was young, she was the head of the family, and a few years ago she was the guardian of a woman who had lost everything. When she started to live a stable life for the first time, who always had to give her back to someone and take everything in front of her,
She felt that, like herself, she wished someone would take care of her.
… A little bit. I want to fool around a little bit.
Can I be a little bit like that?
So Mason strained her right hand as she tried to climb up. She said, smiling her weak smile at Lucia, who anxiously stroked her own forehead and her Mason’s forehead alternately.
“… Sorry. Like you said, I guess I was a little overzealous. Sorry. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.”
“What are you talking about, sister? Sister, what do you have to be sorry for?”
Lucia said with a frustrated expression.
“Since she was little, she cared so much for me, and now I’m the one paying her back.”
Lucia’s words made Mason feel relieved.
Soon Lucia offered to escort her Mason to her room, and Mason did not refuse her assistance. Step by step, she headed for this floor, she headed for Mason’s room.
Lucia helped her into her bed and then changed her clothes. Mason did not reject her touch. Normally, she would have tried to do it herself anyway. While she was conscious of the change in her mind that she had begun to feel herself, Lucia was pulling her blanket up to her chin.
“… I’m sorry, Lucia. There were a lot of things I wanted to talk about after seeing you for the first time in a long time…”
As Mason trailed off her words, Lucia smiled.
“So do i. But health comes first.”
She said and ran a hand through her Mason’s hair. She thought she was very good at brushing her hair, but her thoughts quickly vanished as a series of friendly touches followed.
“Then, get a good night’s sleep tonight, sister. See you tomorrow morning.”
Tomorrow morning?
Mason suddenly felt uneasy. She wanted to be with her brother a little longer. This family bond that she hadn’t felt in a long time, she didn’t want to get out of the safe fence that someone’s existence brought about.
If Lucia left her room, her loneliness in her room again would strike like the darkness that dyed the silence, so Mason held Lucia’s hand as she stood up involuntarily.
“Ah!”
At the moment, a slightly painful sound spread through the room, and Mason untied her hand, unable to hide her embarrassment. Cold air fills between Lucia and Mason, who are holding their wrists with a frowning expression.
Could it be because she couldn’t overcome the fear of leaving her and couldn’t control her strength due to her urgency?
“… Mi sorry even I did not know… Don’t be sad, because of your heart…”
Her hair turns white and cold sweat breaks out. She can’t properly explain what she wears against her heart. The more she becomes aware of her inability to explain, the more complicated her mind becomes.
“Oh no sister. I was a bit surprised too. I’m sorry for yelling at you.”
Lucia spoke in a soft voice and smiled a little, but Mason was not relieved, her long rubbing of her wrist and the reassuring smile on her face only stirred her uneasy images.
“… Get some rest, sister. See you tomorrow morning.”
“… Huh.”
This time I can’t catch Lucia’s back as she hurries out of her room. Mason blames herself and closes her eyes.
Again, the darkness and regret that surrounds the room are heavy.
“Why did I do that?”
I’m just afraid that her wrong choice will ruin everything.
She shouldn’t have done that. Why am I so stupid
Mason tosses and turns over her while she tries to get a little comfortable bed. She recalls Lucia’s touch, which brought her a little comfort, suppressing her feelings of guilt and worry, and allowing her body to fade into her consciousness.
