North x Northwest

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Side story 3 – Liloa’s Chapter 1: The Fruit

But after that, Liloa was unable to visit the boy for a while. Malus, an island full of resorts, became busier as the weather warmed up. The number of appearances that Liloa had to make increased as well. Ann and Charlotte had to accompany her on such chores the majority of the time, so meeting the boy while avoiding people’s gazes was difficult. While Liloa attended evening banquets throughout Malus, she craned her neck to look for the boy, wondering if he had come to the same banquet as her. But the boy was nowhere to be seen, nor a hint of his presence could be felt. In retrospect, it was absurd for a boy who had yet to make his social debut to attend a feast without the presence of an adult, such as a relative or a guardian. And, since there didn’t appear to be any adults in the estate to accompany him, Liloa gave up on looking for him at those gatherings.

Moreover, as summer deepened, a letter arrived from Obernyu. When Henrietta suggested that Liloa should spend the summer in Obernyu until autumn, she was overjoyed and replied that she would. While Liloa found it exciting that Henrietta wanted to spend time with her, she soon remembered the boy and her shoulders slumped.

‘Even though I won’t be able to see him for a few months, I want to convey my desire to visit him again at some point. Regardless if he still finds me annoying or not…’

Liloa, who had been agonizing for a few days, finally called for Louisa. She then briefly explained her story and in the end, decided to entrust her with the letter she wrote to him without anyone knowing. Of course, Liloa left out the part about him being a doctor as she was afraid her friend would be reluctant to visit him again. So, she only told Louisa that he helped her find her bag.

While leaving Malus, Liloa caught sight of the blue-grey villa that they were passing by from the carriage’s window. She then recalled the letter she wrote and sent to the boy.

‘Before I left, I really wanted to visit him and see how the medical herbs have grown… It would also have been interesting to see how he made that disinfectant from the juices of the red fruit…’

***

Upon her return to Malus during autumn, Louisa, whom she met in the patronage of the lord’s house, unexpectedly said.

“Liloa! Did you hear? The murderer is gone.”

The news left Liloa heartbroken, but she tried her hardest to conceal it. She adjusted her parasol for no reason and was cautious enough to not break her gait while they walked.

“He’s not a murderer. How many times do I have to tell you that he was just planting seeds? He helped me back then, so I’m grateful to him.”

“…Well, anyway. We haven’t seen him. It’s been about… maybe a month now? Maybe that’s why Charles is now bragging that he’s going to look for your hairpin there.”

“…”

Louisa flipped open her parasol and exclaimed strongly.

“What a cowardly coward!”

Liloa nodded her head half-heartedly and looked in the direction of the boy’s villa.

‘But… That doesn’t have to stop me from seeing the herbs myself, right?’

Her unknown impatience kept her on her toes. Liloa increased her pace without realizing it and ended her garden walk with Louisa. Liloa then gave Ann and Charlotte the excuse that she was going to the beach with Louisa and at the same time, told Louisa that she had some errands to run to escape from the latter’s arms.

As the villas were clustered together along the beach, it didn’t take long for Liloa to reach the blue-grey mansion. Liloa slipped her body through the fence and easily passed through the main gate, just like before. She thought about going through the front door, but when she sensed some noise coming from the garden, she immediately turned around.

‘What, I thought she said he disappeared a month ago?’

A feeling of optimism passed through her heart. Unfortunately, that feeling didn’t last long, as there was no boy behind the main building. It was only an ordinary gardener, wearing a wide straw hat, standing at a distance and blankly looking at Liloa. Liloa changed the excited look on her face and approached the middle-aged gardener with a sun-burned face, who eventually opened his mouth when she came close enough.

“Um, who are you…”

“I’m Philly. I’m here to see the doctor.”

“If you say ‘doctor’, then are you looking for our master?”

“If your master is a boy about fourteen years old with brown hair and green eyes, then yes.”

“The young master has returned to his home…”

It was a fact she had intuited from the moment she saw the gardener instead of the boy, yet hearing it for herself made her feel a little sick. Liloa clenched her fists through the hem of her skirt in a way that it prevented the person right across her from seeing it.

‘So that’s how it goes? He just leaves?’

She hesitated to ask anything before she would take her leave, but when she remembered the letter she had left through Louisa, she asked the gardener.

“Was there perhaps anything he had left for me?”

The gardener tilted his head and answered.

“I don’t think so? I didn’t see anything like that.”

Liloa bowed her head in such indescribable disappointment that it was hard to hide. She was on the verge of tears, wondering about the difference between her and him and why the boy had left nothing behind. Based on her reaction, the gardener got a rough idea of ​​what had happened between his young master and the girl, and tried to comfort her.

“Oh my, Miss Philly, I know, our master isn’t a very thoughtful person… I’m really sorry about this.”

“…Why are you apologizing?”

Gazing at the gardener, Liloa’s eyes were a bit distorted as she tried to fight back her tears.

“From what I’ve heard, he’s going on a big adventure this time. That’s why he was probably too preoccupied and distracted. He even entrusted me with taking care of the garden. Knowing he’s the type of person who normally handles everything on his own…”

“Where is he going?”

“I can’t tell you that…”

“You’re not going to tell me his name either, are you?”

“I can’t. I’m sorry. If the master finds out that I told you things behind his back, he’ll be furious at me. He’s someone who absolutely hates troublesome things…”contemporary romance

“Does that mean I’m annoying your young master?”

“What? Oh! No! That’s not what I…”

“It’s fine!”

Liloa, who shouted bitterly, turned around and quickly left the garden. As if running away, she ran around the main house’s facade and towards the main gate. She was so angry that her face flushed, but the wind that beat her run made zero contribution in cooling her.

Then suddenly, Liloa stopped in shock. She realized that her anger was directed at a boy who made no promises nor gave any hints. Rather, he kept telling her that she was annoying and even told her not to come back. Inhaling her breath, Liloa raised her hand and covered her mouth. She felt so stupid that she couldn’t stand it. Ashamed that she had given meaning to something on her own and then, filled with unfounded expectations, waited for the day when they would meet again…

From the other side of the villa, the gardener, Igor, gloomily looked at the hem of the child’s skirt as it quickly disappeared. There was a rumour going around among the servants. Their master, who was known to be cold and indifferent to others, was claimed to have exhibited compassion and kindness to a girl on an incredibly rare occasion. Long-serving family servants suspected it was because he had lost his sibling when he was young.

However, Igor pondered whether that generous act was genuine.

‘It did seem like he became nice to the girl named Philly, but then he left without saying a word.’

Igor, pitting the child’s expression that had been unable to conceal her disappointment, clicked his tongue.

‘Even though he’s the master I serve, he truly has a very nasty temper.’

Igor gathered all the tools he used to maintain the garden and put them in a large basket. After walking around the mansion, he put the basket down on the front steps with the intention of tidying up the lawn in front of the main building, when suddenly he thought he saw the front door shaking in the wind. The rest of the servants didn’t normally enter or leave through the front door, so they didn’t pay much attention to it.

“Hmm? Why is the front door open?”

Climbing the stairs in front of the main house’s entrance, Igor gently pushed the door open and found a glass bottle on the floor right in front of the door. It was a glass bottle as small as the palm of his hand, containing a red liquid. A small piece of paper was tied to the bottle with twine. Igor went outside with the glass bottle and looked at the piece of paper under the sunlight.

[ Philly. ]

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