novelWhos That Gold Thread
| ← Ch.009 | Ch.011 → |
Enoch gulped when he saw Leticia struggling to hold back her tears.
He couldn't take his eyes off her from the first time he saw her.
Leticia seemed heartbroken and her blue eyes drooped pitifully. Despite the impression that she was weaker than anyone else, she was infinitely kind to people and could not be left alone.
It's hard to resist the urge to protect her.
"Since Young Lady seems to be very anxious, I'll give you my lucky charm."
"What?"
Leticia wiped away the tears with her sleeves and looked up with curious eyes. As soon as their gazes intertwined, Enoch took out something from his pocket as if he had waited.
"Lord Achilles, this is......."
Enoch gave Leticia a handkerchief. It was just an ordinary white handkerchief, but it had a small four-leaf clover on the bottom.
As soon as she saw it, Leticia recognized it was the handkerchief which she gave Enoch on their first meeting.
When she opened her eyes in surprise, Enoch said with a gentle smile,
"This is my lucky charm."
"..."
"It means a lot to me, so please take good care of it."
The gray eyes that looked at her were warm and cozy like sunlight.
Leticia's face seemed to heat up as she faced him, and she squeezed the handkerchief Enoch tightly.
"It's something you cherish, I'll be sure to return it to you."
"It's okay."
"No!"
Leticia raised her head and looked straight at Enoch.
"I'll definitely give it back."
She looked more determined than ever.
He smiled and nodded lightly, thinking, 'I knew I won't win. '
"Okay."
Then she added, "And...."
After hesitating for a moment, Leticia spoke cautiously.
"I will definitely repay you for what you have done for me, Lord Achilles."
"What do you mean 'repay'?"
"I feel like I'm always getting things from you."
Enoch, who had been looking casually at Leticia, who held her handkerchief tightly like a lifeline, raised the corners of his mouth smoothly.
"I'd like you to come to the next test, if you don't mind."
"Me?"
"I thought it would cheer me up if Young Lady came."
Enoch's gray eyes sparkled especially today.
He pretended not to, but his expression already looked very expectant.
"If it's too much of a burden for you...."
"Not at all! I will definitely come!"
Leticia replied quickly, even though she was unsure if she should go.
"I want to go and support you."
She clasped her hands together with a serious expression on her face.
Enoch finally smiled brightly.
"I'll be waiting for you then."
The moment Letica faced Enoch's cheerful gray eyes, she felt a tingling sensation in her fingers.
'It's strange. '
Leticia, who was touching her hands, glanced at Enoch, and Enoch was looking at her with a smile that seemed like it was about to melt at any moment,
'It's very strange. '
What was even weirder was the incomprehensible feeling that she felt for the first time.
***
After having a good time for the first time since forever, Leticia's shoulders slumped as soon as she returned to the Leroy residence. ? She felt like she was living with a heavy rock in her chest as her position here was disappearing.
Leticia took a long breath to calm herself and entered the mansion.
However, after a few steps, she felt a strange sense of discomfort and naturally stopped walking.
She felt a gaze directed at her, so she turned her head towards the sense. There stood her siblings and Seos, staring at her from afar.
"What are you all doing here.... ?"
"Look! She's just walking around freely."
As soon as Leticia approached, Irene gave a high-pitched scream and pointed. Her finger pointed precisely at Leticia.
"Irene, calm down."
"How can I stay calm when she's walking around like that?"
Seos tried to soothe Irene, but it only antagonized her more.
"What's going on here...?"
"It's you, sister!"
There was something unusual about the atmosphere, and it was at that moment that Leticia was about to approach again. Xavier was startled and said,
"Stay where you are."
Leticia looked at them with a dumbfounded expression, but they all seemed to have one thing in mind, and they didn't seem to give her a free pass when she approached.
"Everyone, leave." Seos said.
"But, Master Seios........."
"I tell you to leave!"
Seios shouted loudly at her anxious siblings, and they all ran back to their rooms in a deadly rush.
Only Seos and Leticia remained in the hallway. After all the other family members were gone, Seios cautiously spoke.
"Leticia...."
"My family believes that my abilities make other people unhappy."
Leticia couldn't hide her bitterness as she spoke.
Seos, who was watching her, said with a serious expression.
"Leticia, the more this happens, the stronger you should be."
"But..."
"You are the only one who knows what your ability is."
Right now, at this moment, more than anything, Leticia's strong will was the most important thing. He wanted to be right there to help her if he could, but the time was not right.
Seos had to go back to the Magic Tower immediately after hearing that there was an unusual movement from the extinct Elevos.
"I'll go back to the Magic Tower and see what I can do, so cheer up."
Seos patted Leticia lightly on the shoulder, feeling pitiful.
"Thank you, Master Seos."
Leticia smiled and nodded.
***
From that day on, Leticia never stepped out of her room, but ran through the books she had brought from her study. To the rest of the world, she was a prisoner in a jail cell, but to Leticia, life was rather easier.
'The fuss will stop once I find evidence that my ability is not bad. '
Then her siblings will have no reason to be worried. At the same time, it would be much better if she found a way to find out what she was capable of.
"Young lady, have some more food."
Mary said with concern as she watched Leticia put down her fork and read the book again after fiddling with it a few times. But Leticia waved her hand contentedly.
"I have no appetite."
And then suddenly she realized that Mary was some distance away from her. Her heart was somehow soaring with bitterness. However, Leticia smiled and showed no concern.
"Mary, it's all right."
"What? I'm fine."
"I can stay by myself, so leave."
After saying that, Leticia walked slowly to the window and sat down.
It was only natural that Mary felt uneasy with her, because she was afraid she would have bad luck.
Leticia understood, but her heart had a hard time accepting it, or perhaps it was just a feeling that kept eating away at her.
Then she tried to read the books again, and strangely enough, she didn't hear the door close. Just as she was about to turn around with a curious look on her face, Mary tugged on my collar. Shortly after, a shaky voice sounded in her ears.
"It's not that."
"...."
"It's not that. I'm just...."
Mary paused for a moment, as if she was about to start crying, and then continued speaking again.
"There's nothing I can do...I...."
"Mary.......
"I'm sorry. It's because I can't help you with anything..."
Unable to raise her head, Mary just gripped her collar tightly. Tears streamed down her face.
At that moment, Mary felt a gentle touch on her head. And she heard a voice as warm as the spring sunshine.
"Thank you for thinking of me."
The last of the tears that Mary held back ran down her cheeks heavily.
The person who Mary wanted to comfort the most was Leticia, but in the end, Leticia comforted her warmly.
Unable to control her feelings, Mary finally cried out loud.
"I've always had good things since I met Young Lady."
"Is that true?"
"Yes, since you took me in from the street, I've never starved again, and I made enough money to pay for my brother's medicine......... Anyway, things have always been good. And the other day............."
Mary, who had stopped crying to some extent, said with a soft smile.
"I even picked up some gold coins."
"Huh?"
"Young Lady said it in a playful way before that I would pick up the money on the street."
Leticia, who could not understand what Mary meant, tilted her head with a curious expression. Then, a moment later, the conversation she had had with Mary began to come up one by one in her mind.
[It would be nice if money fell from the sky. ]
[It would be even nicer to pick up the money on the street. ]
[Yes, that's right. I'd like to pick up some money on the street. ]
[Mary, I hope you'll pick up money on the street]
Leticia was joking at that time, but Mary did really find the money on the street.
"I'm happy for you."
"From then on..................."
Smiling brightly, Mary cautiously held out something. As soon as she saw it, Leticia's eyes went wide.
"What is this?"
"It's not much, but I really wanted to give it to you."
Mary beckoned her to take it quickly, and Leticia took the small box without a second thought. She opened it gently and froze in place.
It was a string of green ribbon for tying hair. The color was inconspicuous to the aristocrats, but for the commoners, it would be unnecessary to buy because the price was too high.
Knowing the situation well, Leticia hesitated to accept it right away.
"I'm fine. You need money for my brother's medicine."
"No, my brother's illness is much better now and I don't have to pay for his medicine anymore, I want Young Lady to have it."
Mary always waited for the day when she could express her gratitude to Leticia.
Leticia always helped her a lot financially without her knowing. She once gave money to a doctor who was treating her brother without telling her. She used to give Mary clothes or jewelry when she saw Mary on the street.
Mary was grateful, but on the other hand she didn't know why Leticia was doing all that, so one day Mary asked Leticia.
[Why are you being so kind to a maid like me?]
[You are like my sister].
Mary was speechless at Leticia's reply.
Letisha was a kind person. She was kind to everyone, especially to the weak and the poor.
So when Mary had the chance, she wanted to return some of the kindness Leticia showed her.
"I actually wanted to buy it in blue, the same color as Young Lady's eyes. I'm sorry."
"..."
"Still, I hope you like it."
Leticia was nicer and sweeter than anyone else, but she was still a noblewoman. Mary was afraid Leticia didn't like the green hair tie so much.
Seeing that Leticia didn't say anything.......
"I will give you a better present next time."
Mary deliberately hid her complicated expression and tried to take the ribbon string from Leticia's hand. At that moment, however, Leticia looked up with her lips slightly parted.
"You can't give a person a present then take it back."
"Huh? You don't like it, do you?"
"Of course I like it! I just needed time to appreciate the present."
"Really.... ?"
"Yes. So give me time to enjoy it."
Leticia replied quickly, looking down at the string of green ribbon that Mary had given her, which was actually just a plain green string with no pattern.
But the moment Mary told her that she had prepared it for her, it became a special string.
"Mary."
"Yes, Miss."
"Can I use my present now?"
"Huh?"
"I'd like to tie my hair with this ribbon."
Leticia's blue eyes lit up as she held out the ribbon toward Mary.
"Of course, Young Lady."
Mary couldn't help but smile at the somewhat childlike excitement on Leticia's face. She began combing Leticia's gorgeous pink hair gently.
***
Before long, the knight entrance exam was approaching.
The examination hall was filled with candidates wearing gold thread bracelets for good luck. Through the sea of people, Leticia wandered around looking for Enoch to cheer him on to get a good score in the exam.
It was then that she spotted someone she recognized.
Leticia couldn't help but stop walking.
"Brother, I've prepared this for you to bring you luck."
"Thank you."
It was Diana and Levion.
Diana casually rolled up Levion's sleeve and put the gold thread bracelet on his wrist. As soon as it was tied in place, she looked up at Levion with a smile, more adorable than ever.
"..."
It was like a painting.
Diana shyly wrapped her cheeks with her hands, acting cute, as Levion looked at her lovingly.
The two of them looked so good together that Leticia didn't dare to approach them.
She quietly looked down at the gold thread bracelet in her hand.
As she turned away, not wanting to see any more of the two of them....
"Oh, I'm sorry........ ?"
Leticia was startled and immediately apologized as she bumped into someone. Then, when she looked up, her eyes widened at the familiar face.
The moment their eyes met, Leticia smiled brightly.
"Lord Achilles!"
"I thought you wouldn't come."
"I told you I would come to cheer you on."
As they were chatting, Leticia saw Enoch's wrist lonely.
"You don't have a gold thread bracelet."
Leticia knew that the fame of the Achilles family was not the same as before. But she felt uncomfortable seeing it with her own eyes.
"I...."
Leticia carefully held out the gold thread bracelet she was holding to Enoch.
"Would you like to have it, if you don't mind?"
Her fingers trembled finely, as she handed out the bracelet.
But Enoch only looked at it with a strange expression.
"Your bracelet doesn't have an owner?"
Normally, gold thread bracelets are prepared in advance to be given to someone. Knowing this fact well, Enoch seemed to be wondering if it was okay to receive this.
Leticia smiled at Enoch and said,
"I'd like to give it to Lord Achilles."
"..."
"So, if you would like, please take it."
She gestured for him to take it quickly and finally Enoch received the gold thread bracelet.
"Thank you."
However, it was hard to put on the bracelet alone. Leticia, who was watching him, took the gold thread bracelet in Enoch's hand and put it on his wrist.
"It looks good on you."
Leticia said with a bright smile towards Enoch.
"I hope you'll have good results."
***
*Few minutes earlier*
"Why doesn't she come?"
Leaning against the wall, Levion let out a low sigh and roughly ruffled his hair. He said and did some harsh things, but there was no way Leticia wouldn't come to his entrance exam.
Because, as usual, Leticia put away her emotions and cared for others first.
It was then that he felt someone approaching. As soon as he turned around, Levion couldn't hide his disappointed expression.
"What about Leticia?"
"Oh, that's......."
Diana was silent for a moment, then answered with a look of shame.
"She is not coming. She sent me instead."
"Right."
An empty chuckle came out of Levion's mouth. She didn't really expected her not to come, so he was disappointed.
The moment he had no choice but to step into the exam room, a small hand grabbed his wrist.
"What?"
"I have something for you."
And what Diana handed out was a gold thread bracelet.
Levion knew well about the gold thread bracelets. As a matter of fact, a noble Lady had tried to give it to him earlier. But he didn't want to receive it from anyone.
There was only one gold thread bracelet from one person that he wanted to receive.
"It's okay."
"Still, please accept it."
Levion tried to refuse nicely, but Diana kept following him. She wouldn't leave him alone if he wouldn't take it, so Levion had no choice but to stick out his wrist.
'I'll take care of you instead of my sister. '
Diana smiled contentedly as she slipped the gold thread bracelet onto Levion's wrist.
"Good luck."
"Thank you."
Levion patted Diana lightly on the head.
But he froze for a moment at the sight in front of him.
"Lover?"
Diana followed Levion's gaze with a curious expression at his unusual appearance. What they saw was Leticia with Enoch Achilles.
'She's with the unlucky Achilles. '
Diana made it clear last time that Leticia shouldn't hang out with the Achilles again, but here she was. Diana clicked her tongue. Meanwhile, Levion turned around with a whoosh.
Diana, who was immediately going after him, suddenly stopped and looked back at Leticia and Enoch again.
They looked so friendly with each other that even a stranger would think they were lovers.
"Hmmm..........."
Looking at the two with a strange expression, Diana's lips lifted gently.
| ← Ch. 009 | Ch. 011 → |