ODFEN 13

Chapter 13…

 Heart Polka Dot Blanket

Thak—. I closed the lesson log I had been writing for about a week and looked toward the bed. Rubelin was asleep, her breathing soft and rhythmic.

“You’re sleeping well.”

Rubelin had gone to bed earlier than usual, likely due to fatigue after the afternoon class in Mevern. I approached the bed and brushed back the hair covering her forehead. Then I gently kissed her round forehead with a soft chok sound. Smiling contentedly, I covered her with the blanket she had kicked off, then picked up the yellow stationery lying alone on the bedside table. I read one of the wishes written in Rubelin’s messy handwriting that particularly stood out.

“Eating a meal with Mom.”

She had even misspelled “meal” as “bar.” I recalled Mevern boasting during a history class not long ago that Rubelin was a genius born once in a million years. No matter how much of a genius she was, seeing these gaps made her clearly still a child. I smiled faintly at the letters, then slowly let the smile fade. I wasn’t sure if this wish could even be fulfilled.

“I was planning to grant her wish when Calix came.”

My assumption that he might have affection for Rubelin seemed to have been wrong, as he hadn’t visited the training room for a week since the formal contract. I had added conditions like “at least show up to class whenever possible” and “act like a harmonious family in front of Rubelin,” and signed the contract… but perhaps it would have been better to explicitly require “mandatory attendance in class.” I had seriously pondered how to portray a harmonious marital relationship and waited… Even when I went to report the results after the morning class at twelve every day, he remained indifferent.

“Haah…”

I let out a deep sigh, then, feeling suffocated, set the letter down on the bedside table and walked toward the window. It was a gloomy day with a steady drizzle. Listening to the rough patter of raindrops hitting the window, I looked out into the back garden through the misted glass.

“Maybe I’ll take a walk in the back garden with Rubelin tomorrow.”

As I absentmindedly scanned the garden, I suddenly spotted a familiar figure and widened my eyes.

“Why is he…?”

Under a single tree, Calix stood soaked in the rain, wearing a robe that exposed his chest.

“Isn’t he going to catch a cold like that?”

Should I bring him a blanket? But I soon shook my head.

“Nah, surely not. Would a descendant of a dragon catch a cold?”

He’ll manage on his own. I headed back toward the bed where Rubelin was. She had already kicked off the blanket I had covered her with.

“No way.”

I carefully covered her again and patted her chest.

“No way.”

I picked up the pajamas draped over the sofa and headed to the dressing room.

“…No way.”

Tak—. I entered the dressing room and closed the door.

“No way.”

Bang—!

“Ugh, why is he standing there like an abandoned puppy! It’s so distracting!”

In the end, I sprang out of the dressing room like a coiled spring. I threw the pajamas onto the sofa and grabbed the heart polka dot blanket beside it, then left the bedroom. As I opened the door, the heavy, damp air rushed onto my face. The smell of wet rain felt as if it seeped into my brain. I walked through the dim corridor lit by lanterns. After passing through the long hallway, I paused where marble met wet weeds. Come to think of it, I was lightly dressed too. Maybe I should have put something on.

“I’ll just deliver the blanket and come back.”

But I soon dismissed the thought and ran through the rain. I quickly reached where Calix was and shook off the water from my clothes. At least the tree’s thick foliage shielded him somewhat from the rain. I brushed my soaked hair with my hand and glanced at Calix. Despite making quite a bit of noise, he didn’t even look my way. I quickly tidied my hair and held out the blanket.

“Your Majesty, you’ll catch a cold. Please at least wear this.”

“……”

Was it drowned out by the sound of rain? I stepped closer.

“Your Majesty, at least take the bla—.”

At that moment, Calix turned his head, and through his wet hair, his dark crimson eyes glowed ominously. The oppressive aura sent a chill down my spine, and I instinctively stepped back.

“I—I thought you might catch a cold…”

Calix’s dark red eyes slid downward. His gaze fell on the heart polka dot blanket in my hand, and he frowned. Did he not like the design?

“This is the only blanket I have.”

At my hesitant explanation, his gaze moved from the blanket up to my face. He stared at me silently without any visible reaction. Ah! Was he telling me to use it? I waved my hands to decline.

“I’m fine. I’ve been studying herbs and eating various things good for the body, so I’m healthy. So Your Majesty— achoo!”

“……”

“I’m really fine! I’m healthy— achoo!”

…Maybe because I’ve grown accustomed to the climate of Heington, but it was a bit cold. Goosebumps rose across my entire body.

“I really am fin— achoo!”

Just like in a comic, my nose started running. I hurriedly unfolded the blanket and draped it over my shoulders.

“If you insist, I suppose I have no choice.”

“Ha.”

Calix let out a short laugh and shook his head.

“You certainly take care of yourself well.”

His subtly mocking tone made me press my lips together. …So it wasn’t that he was yielding—it was just that he didn’t like the design.

Sniff.

I swallowed my runny nose and watched his expression. I had just come to deliver a blanket, yet I seemed to be earning his displeasure. Fortunately, after a while, his gaze shifted away. Sniffing again, I looked at his back. Calix stood with his hands behind him, gazing out at the garden without moving. I followed his line of sight and looked around. The imperial palace garden was modest, with a small fountain, a single tree, and vines of climbing roses along the wall. What was he looking at here? Was he reminiscing about the past? This place was where he had first played freely—and also where he had harmed his younger brother. I glanced sideways at the contemplative man.

Time passed.

“How long do you intend to stay there?”

His even voice cut through the sound of rain. It was practically telling me to leave, yet my feet wouldn’t move easily. Perhaps because, unlike before, I thought I understood what he was looking at.

Silence fell again. Seeing Calix stand completely still made me worry he might turn into stone like that. I slowly approached him to check on him. Standing beside him, I stretched my neck to look at him—and met his dark red eyes, startling me.

“Ah!”

As I fell backward, the blanket slipped from my shoulders.

No! Before it could get soaked in the muddy water, I hurriedly picked it up and draped it back over my shoulders. Calix’s gaze moved seamlessly from me to the blanket. His lack of reaction made my earlier commotion feel awkward. I fidgeted as I stood up, then noticed something in his hand and widened my eyes.

“A rose…?”

Calix’s hand trembled slightly. What he held was a dried rose petal, withered like a fallen leaf. Looking more closely at his hand, I noticed that the ring he had worn since our first meeting—and the dark thorn-like tattoo that had adorned his knuckles—were gone. Why would he be holding a flower…? I wondered, but soon my thoughts grew heavy.

In the original story, on Rubelin’s birthday, there had been a brief mention of Calix’s past birthday. As a child, on his birthday, he had made a wish to his father.

“Please give me a flower.”

His father granted his wish, placing a fresh flower in his hand. For a brief moment, Calix smiled with joy—but from the stem where he touched it to the petals, the flower withered instantly. Only then did his father smile with satisfaction.

“Everything that comes into contact with your hand will perish like this.”

The young Calix could only watch the petals fall at his feet in silence. To use a child’s long-awaited birthday gift to crush his spirit like that… No matter how I looked at it, the end of the world was because of that father. Grinding my teeth, I slowly lifted my head and saw Calix’s back as he gazed out into the garden. Behind his broad adult frame, the faint image of a small boy with his head bowed seemed to flicker.

It couldn’t be helped.

I removed the blanket from my shoulders, rolled it up, and handed it to Calix. He sensed my presence and turned toward me.

“I’ll be heading back now, so please use this, Your Majesty.”

Calix looked down at the blanket and frowned. Ah—right, I had dropped it earlier. I grabbed both ends of the blanket and shook it vigorously like laundry, making a crisp pa-pak sound. Once it was fluffy again, I offered it to him, but he only tilted his head slightly, observing it. His expression clearly said, “So what do you expect me to do?”

Annoyed, I grabbed the edge of the blanket and placed it over his shoulder.

“Your Majesty…?”

I tried to—until Calix flinched and stepped back.

“What are you doing?”

Calix, rarely flustered, reacted with caution. A faint, mist-like aura of magic seemed to surround his entire body, which made me momentarily tense as well—but only for a moment. Did he dislike being touched? I carefully ensured I didn’t touch him directly and gently placed the blanket over his shoulder.

Calix’s red eyes widened, and his pupils trembled slightly.

“Your Majesty, even if you don’t like the design, please make sure to use the blanket! I’ll take my leave.”

I bowed deeply, placing my hands together and touching the back of my hand to my forehead. Like in a historical drama, I retreated with quick, small steps before pausing.

Ah, this isn’t that kind of place.

I thought I heard Calix’s faint laugh above me. After bowing once more lightly and turning around, a gust of wind hit me.

Brr, it’s cold.

Shivering, I stepped out from under the tree and, without thinking, noticed the climbing roses along the wall again. As I was about to leave them behind, the image of young Calix resurfaced once more. And seeing them soaked in the rain made my resolve waver.

Fine!

I squeezed my eyes shut and turned around—only to come face-to-face with Calix, who was now wearing the heart polka dot blanket over one shoulder.

Gasp.

I inhaled sharply. Was he still watching?

After a moment of confusion, I licked my lips and hesitantly spoke.

“Y-Your Majesty!”

“……”

“Flowers are living things that bloom and wither. So…”

“……”

“So please don’t worry about it too much!”

Calix, who had received my clumsy words of comfort, looked at me with an indescribable expression.

Ugh, this is embarrassing.

I shuddered and covered the top of my head with both hands.

“Then I’ll be going!”

Like the protagonist of a youth film, I ran straight through the rain and slipped inside the building.

Tap, tap. Sitting at his desk, Calix tapped the armrest with his fingers, observing the things laid out before him.

Two crumpled pieces of colored paper that failed to become a frog and a boat. A dried rose petal. A heart polka dot blanket.

To define them—they were nothing more than trash.

Even he found himself wondering why he had brought them with him.

Watching the scene closely, Yucard approached hesitantly.

“Your Majesty.”

As Calix ignored him, he cleared his throat deliberately.

“Ahem, Your Majesty. If you don’t need that crumpled colored paper made by Her Highness, may I take it—”

“Shut your mouth.”

“Yes, sir.”

Yucard stepped back in small, quick steps, but still eyed the crumpled colored paper with greedy eyes.