Chapter 41
The warm, cozy mood suddenly turned cold.
“Sorry… it’s just so pretty that I couldn’t help it. You really treasure it, don’t you?”
I carefully asked, watching Cassio’s reaction.
But unlike I expected, Cassio slowly shook his head. His words and actions didn’t match at all…
He passed by me and quietly put the marble back in its original place.
He had held it so carefully a moment ago… yet now, his gaze toward the marble was cold and distant.
For a while, he silently stared at it, then slowly opened his lips.
“Is this pretty?”
“Huh? Uh… yeah. Really pretty.”
Cassio’s dark eyes slowly met mine.
“Pretty enough to want it?”
“Uh…?”
“I mean, do you want this?”
When he asked again, I hesitated and shook my head.
Somehow, I felt like I shouldn’t say I wanted it. Of course, the marble was beautiful enough to catch anyone’s eye, but nodding enthusiastically felt a little awkward.
Could he see my hesitation on my face?
Cassio closed the velvet box with the marble inside.
Then he motioned for me to leave.
I walked slowly but didn’t take my eyes off him.
“You’re… not angry, right?”
“I’m not angry.”
“Really? You’re not mad that I touched it freely? Or that I said it was pretty but didn’t want it? But I wasn’t lying about it being pretty. I just… maybe you treasure it so much because you don’t want anyone to have it…”
I mumbled, my lips barely forming words by the end.
“I wasn’t angry. I just asked because I was curious.”
His calm tone seemed genuine…
I stared at him, full of doubt, and Cassio sighed deeply. Then he looked toward the window and spoke again.
“I really am not angry, so just go. It’s going to get dark soon.”
Looking outside, the sky had already turned dim.
“That won’t do. Let’s ask Dave to take me there.”
“Huh? No! I want to go alone.”
Better to go alone than walk in the dark with Dave.
“…So, I have to run there?”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
Finally, the long-awaited picnic morning arrived.
I was excitedly preparing things.
“Miss, it might be chilly, so it’s better to wear a slightly thicker cloak.”
“This feels too thick…”
“By the lake, it’s pretty cold.”
“Alright.”
I spread my arms obediently. Elly quickly draped the cloak over me and tied the ribbon neatly.
“Elly, I want to bring a book too.”
“Which one should we bring?”
“Hmm…”
I scanned the bookshelf.
Since it’s a picnic, it shouldn’t be too big or heavy. But I didn’t want a boring book either…
“Ah, I’ll bring this one.”
I pointed at The Sugar Princess and the Five Dwarfs, a story about a dwarf and a princess’s tearful friendship.
It reminded me of Snow White, a kind of knock-off version.
Anyway, the book was about friendship, so I thought reading it with Cassio would strengthen our friendship.
As Elly picked the book, someone knocked on the door.
“Miss, the young master from the annex is here to pick you up.”
“Okay!”
The servants called Cassio “the young master from the annex” to hide his identity.
Because Herald had strictly kept it secret.
Hearing that Cassio was here, Elly and I hurried outside.
There, at the front door, stood Dave all dressed neatly, and Cassio, back in his straw-colored hair look.
“Ca…!”
I started to call out to Cassio but stopped. I looked around.
The Erayton staff filled the doorway.
I couldn’t call out his real name while hiding his identity.
“Ca… Ca… Dushik! Dushik!”
Whatever.
That was the only name I could think of.
I could feel Cassio and Dave’s shock, but I had to go along with it for now.
“Let’s go, Dushik. You’ve been waiting long, right?”
“Du…shik?”
The moment I said the awkward name, Cassio’s eyes widened in shock.
“Why is our master… no, young master… called Dushik?”
I heard Dave whisper angrily, but I ignored it and grabbed Cassio’s hand.
We had to get away from prying eyes first.
The picnic spot was close to the annex, so we arrived quickly.
No one was around, so Cassio removed the necklace that changed his appearance.
I admired the pink petals swirling in the gentle wind.
“Wow, the petals are flying. Look, Dushik—no, Cassio…”
I briefly called him Dushik by mistake.
Our eyes met sharply for a moment.
“Ah, I… I made a mistake.”
“Dushik? What kind of weird name is that?”
Dave scolded me immediately.
He seemed deeply offended that his young master was called “Dushik.”
What could I do? That’s the only name I could think of at the time.
“But I couldn’t call him by his real name here.”
“There are so many good names, why that one…! I’ve never heard it before, but it sounds so country.”
“…….”
Even in this world, Dushik was a silly name.
“Sorry, Cassio.”
I sincerely apologized to Cassio, who must have been upset at the name.
“Fine, don’t ever… say that again.”
He didn’t even want to say it himself?
“Yeah, I won’t call you that again.”
So, we brushed off the name “Dushik” and started our picnic.
The first highlight, of course, was the picnic lunch.
“Cassio, try this croissant with sausage and veggies. It’s so good!”
“It’s too big…”
“Just open your mouth wide. Here, ahh…”
Cassio hesitated at the croissant hotdog I made but obediently opened his mouth.
Elly and Dave watched us with disapproving eyes.
Dave didn’t like me much, and Elly didn’t like Cassio either.
But that didn’t matter—I needed to grow closer to Cassio.
I took out the walnut pie in a pretty box. My mom had made it to apologize to Cassio for the previous incident.
“Cassio, this is walnut pie. My mom made it for you. She’s sorry you saw something strange that day. She hopes we can stay friends.”
I emphasized the word “friends.”
Even though I handed him the nicely wrapped pie, I couldn’t read his expression.
But I didn’t give up and kept talking.
“It tastes much better eating it like this, right?”
“After we finish this, let’s go play by the lake. Okay?”
“I brought a book too, we can read together. Got it?”
I was used to not needing a reply anymore.
The picnic went very peacefully. Cassio and I threw stones at the lake, picked wildflowers, and made rings with them.
The warm sunlight and the gentle breeze brought a pleasant scent to my nose.
After playing for a while, we moved under the shade of a tree.
I had the fairy tale book I brought with me.
“Which one do you want to read?”
“…I’ll read my own book.”
“Huh?”
No! We needed to read the knock-off Snow White to talk deeply about our friendship…
But Cassio had already chosen a spot under the tree and opened the thick book he brought.
It looked far too difficult for a six-year-old.
I nervously watched him flip the pages.
Ugh… if he focuses like that, we won’t be able to talk properly.
“Haah…”
I gave up and plopped down next to him.
I thought his shoulder twitched when I sat down, but he kept flipping pages with a blank expression, so I must have imagined it.
For a while, all we could hear was the sound of pages turning.
“Chloe.”
“Uh, huh?”
Cassio called me first, which surprised me, so my voice jumped.
“Do you really not like me?”
He was doing this again. My excited eyes went cold instantly.
I thought we had finally settled that topic, and now he brought it up again?
“Haah… you’re asking again?”
“You really don’t like me, right?”
“……”
Cassio asked seriously, as if seeking confirmation.
I wondered why he obsessed over this so much.
“Are you asking because you don’t like that I like you?”
“…Yeah.”
“Huh?”
His voice was so soft I barely heard it. I moved closer to his ear.
Startled, Cassio pulled back, then covered his mouth and whispered in my ear.
“I’m someone who shouldn’t be loved.”
“…What?”
I blinked, completely surprised.
I stared at him, not knowing what to say.
“What do you mean? Why shouldn’t you be loved?”
“Someone like me… can’t be loved…”
He sighed, almost in despair, but kept a calm expression.
That made me feel even more frustrated inside.
“You!”
I grabbed Cassio’s face to make him look at me.
His eyes were clear, like he was saying something trivial.
“Tch!”
“……?”
“A six-year-old shouldn’t be saying something like that.”
My scolding shook his eyes.
“You can be loved. Dave cares about you, and so do I… Ah, of course, as a friend! Anyway! Don’t say that. Imagine how sad someone who loves you would feel hearing that.”
I slowly let go of the soft hand that was holding his cheek.
Cassio, defeated by my determination, nodded reluctantly.
Phew, that was a shock.
I looked at the sun reflecting off the lake to cool my flushed face.
I didn’t even notice how Cassio was watching me.
