Side Story 1 – Chapter 11

 

* * *

 

Naturally, Evan couldn’t focus on the meeting at all.

The imperial researchers asked him several questions, but he only stammered and mumbled incoherently, eventually clamping his lips shut.

In the end, he spent the entire meeting in a daze, stuck in a corner of the room, before returning to the Magic Tower.

He carelessly tossed aside his robe, which he had roughly dried with magic, and slumped onto the floor beneath a bookshelf.

He had no idea what to do now.

‘Beg.’

Echo, who happened to approach him, offered a short piece of advice.

“……B-beg?”

He asked back in surprise, but Echo didn’t offer any further explanation.

“I can’t do that! If I go see her without notice, it’ll be a burden on Miss!”

Besides, Loretta was now in a good mood, enjoying the company of a man who suited her well.

If Evan were to intrude so thoughtlessly….

“O-of course, I doubt Miss would even care about me.”

Evan hugged his knees tightly and hung his head low.

“I… wish Miss would care about me.”

Evan quickly shook his head, denying the honest words that had slipped out.

It had already been proven years ago that Evan was a useless existence to Loretta.

On top of that, he had even hurt her heart. Evan had committed an unforgivable sin that he would never be able to atone for.

And yet, he still wished for her attention, her gaze.

“I’m shameless…”

Echo, who had stepped onto his foot, licked his face gently and gave him the same advice again.

‘Beg.’

“…Miss might hate me even more.”

Echo wagged his tail, seemingly mocking him. As if saying, ‘She already hates you as much as she possibly can.’

“Well…”

Evan nodded slightly.

“But how can I beg? Miss won’t even see me now… Oh.”

He remembered Loretta’s gloves, which he had placed on his desk.

He had intended to return them at August’s wedding, but the situation hadn’t allowed it, so he still had them.

As he put the gloves in his pocket and hastily tried to put on his wrinkled robe, Echo cried out sharply and bit his sleeve.

It seemed he was scolding Evan for going to see the woman he liked dressed like that.

“…Then what should I wear?”

You idiot!

Echo sighed and walked towards the wardrobe. Thankfully, he seemed willing to pick out Evan’s clothes for him.

 

* * *

 

Even after dressing him up properly, Echo wasn’t satisfied and went to fetch some pretty flowers from a fellow magician’s room.

“I-isn’t this… too formal? Echo.”

Evan looked at himself in the mirror, embarrassed, and Echo retorted, ‘Think about the sin you committed!’

“You’re right. I’m sorry for complaining after you helped me.”

He soon got on the carriage, having asked the Magic Tower coachman for a ride.

Evan had hoped Echo might come with him, but the strict cat refused to accompany him.

It seemed he thought it would be pointless for Evan to meet Loretta even with his help.

Arriving at the Duke’s mansion, Evan apologized to the servant who greeted him for visiting without an appointment.

“I came to return Lady Loretta’s gloves. Would it be possible to see her, even for a moment?”

The servant led Evan to the reception room and excused himself, saying he would check with Loretta.

Evan couldn’t even sit down, pacing anxiously back and forth in the luxurious reception room, clutching the bouquet in his hand.

‘What should I say to Miss when she comes…?’

First, he planned to confess all his sins and beg for forgiveness, as Echo had suggested.

He wasn’t hoping for forgiveness.

But he couldn’t simply ignore his clear wrongdoing and move on.

Evan imagined Loretta’s reaction to his confession and realized one thing.

‘What do I do? I miss her so much.’

He was going crazy with the desire to see her again, now that he was actually here.

He would be happy even if she got angry at him, or told him she hated him. As long as he could see her face….

‘I want to hear her voice too.’

At this point, he wanted to grab his past self and beat him up for not taking the chance to hold her hand.

How could he have rejected such a lovely request?

Just as his desperation was reaching its peak, a welcome knock was heard.

Evan, knowing it wasn’t proper etiquette, rushed to the door and opened it himself.

“Miss…!”

He called out to Loretta in his haste, but immediately realized his mistake.

It was the servant who had escorted him earlier.

“Um… I apologize, Magician. The Lady has just returned from an outing, so she says it’s difficult to meet you at the moment.”

“I’ll wait. Even just for a moment after she rests…”

The servant looked troubled despite Evan’s earnest plea.

“I’d like to give her the gloves myself. Is there… no way I can do that?”

“I apologize, Magician.”

The servant bowed deeply.

“The Lady needs to rest.”

“I… was being a nuisance… I apologize.”

The servant didn’t answer “No, that’s not true” to Evan’s stammering apology.

Evan handed the gloves he had brought to the servant.

“I believe these are the gloves Mrs. Baldwin gifted to Lady Loretta. She cherishes them deeply, so please be sure to deliver them to her.”

The servant recognized the gloves and took them.

Evan had hoped to leave the flowers he had brought as well, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask for such a favor.

What if Loretta’s mood worsened after seeing the flowers he brought?

“Then… I apologize for the sudden visit. I’ll be on my way.”

Evan bowed his head, and the servant quickly escorted him out.

Arriving at the entrance hall, Evan saw the Magic Tower carriage waiting outside.

“Well then…”

As Evan was bidding farewell to the servant, he spotted a nearby portrait.

It was a painting of Loretta as a child, her pouty lips looking incredibly adorable.

“Seeing it for the first time?”

Evan was startled by the question and turned around.

Claude Baldwin was approaching him and began to admire the painting with him.

Evan stared at his profile, his face flushing slightly.

Claude and Loretta actually shared a few similar features, and looking at him like this naturally brought Loretta’s face to mind.

“It’s… my first time seeing this painting.”

“That’s strange, it’s always been here.”

Claude stroked his chin for a moment, then laughed, saying “Well, that’s true.”

“Loretta used to see Magician Evan off all the way to the entrance.”

“…”

“And Magician Evan never took his eyes off Loretta.”

It seemed Claude Baldwin had been closely observing them.

His words were all true.

Evan loved nothing more than watching Loretta chatting away next to him.

He was no longer allowed even that gaze, though.

“I used to admire you for that.”

“…Even though I harmed Miss?”

“I know. Actually, I harm my wife every day too. Melody is always glaring at me and calling me a devil.”

He chuckled softly for a moment.

“I-I will only ever harm Miss. So…”

“I shattered Melody’s dreams.”

“…”

“And I broke all the promises I made to her, even the ones that were meant to last a lifetime.”

He slumped his shoulders and let out a heavy sigh.

“Now Melody has to handle all the matters of the Duke’s family, as well as the Higgins family. Considering that, I wouldn’t have been a very attractive marriage prospect for her.”

“B-but Master Claude will become the Duke someday! You can’t possibly be an unattractive…”

“To turn that around, you will succeed Jeremiah. The day will come when everyone in this land, regardless of status, will respect you. Magician Evan. So let’s stop talking about our positions.”

Claude patted the shoulder of the young man who was staring at the floor.

“Why are you here today?”

“…”

“Despite saying you only bring harm, why did you bother to come?”

“It was because of the gloves…”

“Magician Evan is timid, so let me rephrase the question.”

Claude grinned and held out his hand to the servant standing nearby.

The servant carefully placed the gloves Evan had returned on Claude’s hand.

“Magician Evan.”

“…Yes?”

“If Loretta were to harm you, would you abandon all your feelings for her?”

“T-that’s absurd!”

Evan shouted unintentionally.

Loretta would never harm him, and even if she did, he could never abandon his feelings for her.

How could he?

From his childhood to now, she had been the one and only…

“…Ah.”

Evan stopped his train of thought and bit his lip.

Everything he had just recalled…

…was what he had been demanding from Loretta all along.