Chapter 56

He's talking about his brother-in-law.

"That's what I should be saying. After all, it's a phrase I learned from Mr. Lu."

His face, which I had only seen in passing, was now filled with deep shock, so I had to reassure him.

"I know Mr. Lu doesn't like me."

"I've heard that a few times."

"That's why I sometimes wonder. If he doesn't like me, why does he treat me specially?"

Lu, who was reading a book, slowly repeated my words as if he had just come across a very unfamiliar sentence.

"Miss Daisy is special to me."

"Are you going to deny it?"

"No."

What was he denying?

Was he denying the certainty that I was special to him? Or was he denying the question of whether he was going to deny it?

"Miss Daisy Pargue is very special to me. Yes, that's right."

"..."

"You are the most special existence in my life, Daisy. Perhaps I was born to meet you. No, it seems that's the case. Maybe I was conceived in my mother's womb, born, and endured that dog-like childhood just to meet you."

"..."

"You are my light and salt, my beginning and end. I will think of your face even as I die. If I can die seeing your face, I would have no regrets..."

"I'm sorry. Please stop being ridiculous."

"But can't I like you?"

His expression seemed genuinely curious rather than just testing, so I answered with all sincerity.

"If you mean you like me as a colleague, I'll tell you to like me as much as you want."

"Then I will."

"..."

"Miss Daisy?"

"..."

"Do you like me? Of course, as a colleague."

I clenched my teeth and answered.

"I do, a little, yes."

Lu smiled blissfully, like sunlight after a long rainy season.

"Is that so? I'm moved. So this is what it feels like to be a colleague. Hmm, I almost shed a tear."

He rubbed his perfectly dry eyes and turned his gaze back to the book.

That day, as I idly watched Lu reading in the carriage, I discovered a new fact.

Lu's eyes do not follow the text.

He wasn't reading the book. He was just flipping through it, lost in thought. Continuously, continuously.

'What could he be so deeply engrossed in?'

To think something could make a person like Lu so contemplative. I wondered what it could be.

The train whistle sounded long and loud.

I led my still-sleepy body off the train.

It felt like I bumped my shoulder three times with each step. Normally, I would have walked without a speck of dust on me, but today, I couldn't help it.

I was sleepy.

"Haam."

It's really strange.

'When I'm with Lu, I strangely sleep deeply.'

I'm not someone who sleeps a lot. And I don't usually sleep deeply.

Especially after the first week of being employed at the Weatherwood mansion, I rarely slept more than five hours.

The nights I slept well that I can immediately recall were the day I achieved the first level of mind-body unity, the first day of the noble gathering, and the night at the Iregel villa.

In short, most of them were nights I spent with Lu.

"Stand up straight."

Lu, who had been walking ahead, had already turned around and was touching my left shoulder.

"Okay."

"You answer well."

"Okay."

My inability to sleep deeply is likely a result of post-war trauma.

In the past, I wouldn't have connected the two at all, but now it's different.

'Thanks to Lu's teaching, 'Know yourself'... I suppose.'

The magic war may be over, but I realized that my inner war is not.

"Miss Daisy."

Fundamentally, I have uncomfortable and anxious sleep.

I can only fall asleep quickly if I lie with my back against the wall. This is a habit from preparing for the devil's attack at dawn...

"Miss Daisy."

"Okay."

"You're not focused."

At some point, Lu was walking while holding both of my shoulders.

Even though I wore a clumsy straw-colored fedora to avoid drawing attention to his beauty, I could feel people glancing at Lu's face as we passed.

Lu must be so handsome that it's annoying.

"Here's the address. How long will it take?"

Lu handed the note with the address to the driver.

"It's a ten-minute ride."

Continuing the thought from earlier.

After returning to a woman's body, I originally intended to completely give up the sword.

I didn't want to repeat my life as a sword demon.

The reason I ended up practicing every night was due to this insomnia. I thought it was a waste of time to do nothing, so I decided to practice.

As a result, my vow to give up the sword was abandoned. I didn't practice as intensely as before, though.

"You both look young. Are you a married couple?"

"We were once."

"Oh... Oh, I see. Ha ha!"

Not too intensely. Not too desperately. For an hour, or at most two hours.

It turned out to be a good attempt. I quickly got used to wielding a sword in a woman's body, which was unfamiliar to me.

So it was even more puzzling.

'Why Lu?'

Why can I sleep more comfortably next to Lu?

'Is it because Lu is strong?'

Is it because he is a strong ally, and his presence reduces my anxiety and tension, allowing me to sleep easily?

"We've arrived, sir."

But if that were the logic, what about Raphael?

Raphael is the second strongest swordsman I know, after the Sword Saint. Together, we could overcome any obstacle.

Could it be that Lu secretly casts a sleep spell on me...

"Miss Daisy."

A cool sensation touched the back of my neck.

At that moment, I suddenly came to my senses.

My blurry vision seemed to clear up. We were already standing in front of an old mansion.

A withered garden. Dusty windows that hadn't been cleaned properly. Long, messy vines entwining the walls.

It was a mansion as eerie as the Weatherwood mansion two months ago.

"Is this it?"

"Miss Daisy. Haven't you slept for a few days?"

"Four days?"

Is it four days? What I'm sure of is that I haven't slept for more than two days.

Lu, who had been quietly leaning forward, looked into my eyes.

"I thought you usually don't sleep well but manage to endure. Is three days your limit?"

It seems so. I must have been lost in thought for a moment, but I arrived at my destination.

Lu, for some reason, didn't mock my dazed face. Instead, he straightened his back and advised me.

"You should go to bed early today. I'll be there for you."

It was such a natural suggestion that I almost nodded in agreement.

I asked him blankly.

"I was going to ask you anyway. Have you ever cast a sleep spell on me?"

Lu, who initially frowned as if it was a ridiculous question, soon let out a short exclamation and a lecherous smile.

"No, but I do stroke your back when you sleep. I haven't sung a lullaby yet, though."

"Is this a joke? My head is so fuzzy I can't tell if you're serious."

"It's okay. I like the well-behaved Miss Daisy too."

Well, if that's the case, there's no problem.

'What did I ask again?'

While trying to recall, Lu pressed the bell of the mansion.

The sound of the old wooden door was followed by a young maid rushing out of the mansion.

A bright blonde with prominent freckles, the girl looked at me with a puzzled expression.

"Who... who are you...?"

"Weatherwood."

"...Ah! Are you the people sent by the head butler of the Weatherwood family?"

Nod.

"Please, come in. The master is waiting for you. I'm Linya, the maid of this mansion. I heard there were two of you... so the tall person next to you is the cook and gardener of the Weatherwood family...?"

She paused.

The maid, Linya, gasped in shock when she saw Lu's face.

"Oh my goodness! Golden eyes and blue hair! No way! Oh..."

Then she collapsed to the ground.

"..."

What is this?

No matter how long I waited, Linya didn't get up.

'She really fainted.'

It was a situation that would shock anyone awake.

I turned to Lu, even though I knew it wasn't him.

"Did you do something just now?"

Lu shrugged, indicating no.

Then why? Is it possible to faint just from seeing a very handsome man?

I carried Linya on my shoulder and entered the mansion.

The master Linya mentioned must be the 'elder helping the Weatherwood family' we came to see.

Thinking to lay down the burden first, I headed to the first-floor living room.

The moment I stepped in, a frail old man sitting by the sunny window turned to look at me.

"...Oh my goodness."

Thud. The white-haired old man pushed his chair back and stood up, exclaiming in shock.

"Golden eyes and blue hair! No way!"

Why are you reacting like this? Are you going to faint like Linya?

"Whoa, whoa."

I put Linya down and tried to calm the old man while preparing for any emergency.

At his age, falling to the ground could be fatal.

The old man looked as if he couldn't believe it.

He pointed at Lu's indifferent face with a trembling finger.

"Such a beautiful face, worthy of striking the goddess of beauty!"

"Calm down. He's just an unlucky handsome man."

"Could you be...?"

To be honest.

I thought the old man would say something like 'Weatherwood Viscount?' or 'God of Beauty?'

But.

"Calapha!"

Of all the words, he chose that one.