“Now that I think about it, maybe he’s been that way ever since you won that duel between the two of you when you were fourteen.”
He’d lost, without being able to put up any fight.
At my words, Arkhan muttered meaningfully, “I wonder if it really is because of that.”
“Just look upon him kindly. He’s our family knight.”
“Kindly, you say…” murmured Arkhan, his voice lowered and shaking his head.
He then looked at me, practically sprawled on the couch and cleared his throat. “Um, actually, I came to ask if you want to go somewhere.”
I answered him with a completely hollow expression, void of any expression. I had no strength in my body right now, and since I’d slept late last night, I was feeling sleepy to boot.
“Really? … If you take me there on piggyback, I might be able to go.”
“Won’t it break my back?”
“Do you want to die?” I said, narrowing my eyes at him with a sweet smile.
“You said you went out with that person. Why not me?” Leaning back on the sofa, Arkhan grumbled with a face full of dissatisfaction. “I hate that you’re closer to him than you are with me.”
When I heard that, I stopped rolling around where I was and sat up.
He was right, I’d gone out with Noah before; there was no reason I couldn’t accompany Arkhan today.
“Alright, let’s go. What do you want to do?”
If I went out and ate something, surely I’d feel a little better.
I peeled myself off the sofa sluggishly.
“That reminds me, I should’ve had them bring you tea at least. I’ll buy you something outside.”
He’d come all the way out here and he hadn’t had a sip of tea yet. I felt bad for being such a poor hostess.
Patting Arkhan on the back, I trudged out of the drawing room.
“As long as you’re going with me, Kate, I can do all the buying.” Arkhan slung his arm over my shoulder, his eyes bent into happy arcs.
Oof, how heavy.
“This is nice, going out with Kate for the first time in a long while.”
“Yeah, sounds great. Now tone it down for a bit.”
In the end, Arkhan was so excited and jumping all over the place that he nearly tripped over the doorway of the drawing room.
“Whoa there.”
I grabbed Arkhan’s waist and supported him just as he was about to fall.
Since he’d grown and had muscles, unlike his younger self, it took a lot of strength out of me to support him. His waist felt firm under my arms.
“…!”
Startled, Arkhan backed away and whirled himself around. His ears were flushed in between locks of red hair.
Since I’d snapped up Arkhan’s shirt in the process, a few of his shirt buttons had come undone.
I took a look at the open shirt and slid my eyes to the side.
“Um… It’s pretty hot today, but are you planning to go outside like that?”
When I said as much while awkwardly scratching my head, Arkhan hastily buttoned his shirt up in the midst of his robotic strides.
“… Let’s go now,” Arkhan mumbled, turning his head.
A grin spread slowly on my face, and I answered by teasing him. “What? Are you embarrassed? Why are you feeling flustered?”
“C’mon, Kate,” Arkhan groaned under his breath when I kept screwing around. He rubbed the area around his waist with a completely red face. “I said don’t already…”
“O-Okay.”
What was that?
Momentarily taken aback, I even stuttered. He’d been just fine until just a moment ago, so what was up with him now?
Looking at Arkhan’s fire-red face, seemingly seconds away from exploding, I scratched my head in bewilderment.
And just like that, the awkwardness continued for a little while longer.
***
Thankfully, once I tried my best to talk to him and keep a conversation going, the awkwardness had mostly dissipated as we walked to the city.
Since it was a weekday and not around any mealtime, the streets were pretty quiet and thus nicer to walk around in.
With lowered eyes, I lifted my head up quietly.
Street lined stalls and a wide sky spread out beyond the buildings.
It was everything I had seen a while ago with Noah.
“Want cotton candy?”
“Mm, sure…” From where I stood, dazed out and staring at nothing, I turned my head to the fluffy pink cottony balls in the distance at Arkhan’s question, nodding.
“Milady, you aren’t here with that good-looking young man today, huh?” was what the stall owner uncle said as he handed me the cotton candy.
“… Sorry?”
“You know, that one man with the long white hair and…”
“Oh.”
With cotton candy in my hand, I stilled.
It felt like he had just caught me thinking of Noah.
“Hmm.”
Arkhan, lowering his head and taking a bite out of the cotton candy, licked his lips and smiled.
“I wonder what that’s about.”
“Oh, that isn’t… well…”
“Heard he came to subjugate monsters but turns out he was just here to come on a date?”
At this slightly misleading remark, the old man at the stall glanced at me peculiarly.
No, no, I’m not cheating, mister.
“Even so, isn’t this a little too much? Since you came out to play with me and all.”
Seeing my trembling eyes, Arkhan dropped his raised eyebrow and made a plaintive face.
“Well, then there’s no other choice.”
Just as I was about to explain myself to say that that wasn’t it, Arkhan shrugged and began pulling on my hand, smiling as per usual.
“I’ll just have to make it so you don’t remember that person at all.”
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