Chapter 16: A Nighttime Conversation

That night, after returning home, Lydia and Leohart prepared dinner.
They made a vegetable stew together and grilled meat for Leohart.

After finishing the meal and cleaning up, they took tea and the cake she had made outside.

Perhaps because the sky was cloudy, there were not many stars visible.
It felt like an autumn night, with a cold wind rustling the forest leaves.

“It’s a little cold, I’ll go get a blanket.”
“Then I’ll get the fire going.”

Wrapped in blankets, the two sat by the campfire, drinking tea and eating cake.

Lydia spoke first.

“You asked earlier why I was confined in that giant tree, but… had I not told you yet?”
“I heard a little, but not the details.”

‘Come to think of it, I probably avoided talking about it in detail because I didn’t want to remember.’

Deciding to keep her status hidden for now, she slowly began to speak.

“I’ve always been good at making medicine, so I was making medicine for my father as his health weakened, but one day, I was suddenly told that poison had been put into it.”
“Poison?”
“Yes. I had no idea why, but it wasn’t a situation where anyone would listen, and at that time, my younger sister and my fiancé spoke up for me.”

“……What?”

Leohart froze stiff.

“…I’m sorry, what did you just say?”
“Eh? Well, when I was about to be punished, my sister and my fiancé defended me, and…”
“Fiancé.”

At Leohart’s parroted word, Lydia nodded.

“Though it was ten years ago, and I’m like this now, so I think that engagement must be gone already.”
“…I see.”

Leohart asked while lowering his gaze, as if hiding his expression.

“…And what kind of person was that fiancé?”
“A childhood friend. I was going to inherit the family, and he was supposed to support that, so we became engaged.”

As she vaguely explained the relationship between a queen and a consort, Leohart nodded.

“I see, a political marriage. …Then, did Lydia like him?”

At that question, Lydia thought seriously.
Perhaps because the fiancé had simply been assigned to her, she had never really thought about it.

“…I suppose it was normal. I respected him, but I didn’t like him romantically. To begin with, I don’t really understand liking someone of the opposite sex.”

“…Ghk—cough, cough.”

At Lydia’s words, Leohart suddenly started coughing.
He covered his mouth with one hand, trying to suppress it.

“Eh! A—are you okay? Does it hurt?”
“…No, it’s just that I feel relieved, but also learned something I didn’t want to know.”

After taking a light breath and regaining his composure, he returned to a serious expression.
Then, saying, “Sorry for interrupting,” he prompted her to continue, and Lydia spoke again.

“I told my father that I wanted to explain everything honestly, but my sister and former fiancé suggested that I hide for a while. They said it would be better after Father calmed down.”
“…And that led to the giant tree.”
“Yes. They said they would come get me once Father calmed down, but they never did. And because it was locked, I couldn’t escape.”

Remembering those days, Lydia let out a sigh.
Leohart reached out with a pained expression and gently held her hand.

Feeling reassured by the warmth of his large hand, she heard him ask in a quiet voice.

“Lydia, do you want to return to the Elven Kingdom?”
“No.”

Lydia shook her head.

“I don’t. If they didn’t come for ten years, I think that says everything.”

But… she lowered her gaze.

“I’ve always worried about my father. I wonder if he still thinks I poisoned him. I want to clear up the misunderstanding, but it’s too late now…”

With that sigh, Lydia smiled at Leohart, who looked deeply serious.

“It’s not a pleasant story, but that’s roughly how I ended up confined in the giant tree.”
“No, thank you for telling me such a painful story.”

Leohart gently patted Lydia’s head.

After that, the two returned to the house.
They finished tidying up, and when Lydia was about to go upstairs, Leohart suddenly stopped her.

“Lydia, could you wait a moment?”
“What is it?”

Leohart spoke as if he had made up his mind.

“May I give you a goodnight kiss?”
“A goodnight kiss?”
“Yes. After hearing what you said earlier, I thought I needed to be more proactive.”

Lydia tilted her head.
She didn’t really understand, but since there was no particular reason to refuse, she nodded lightly.

“Yes, that’s fine.”
“Then…”

Leohart bent down nervously.
After hesitating for a moment, he lightly kissed Lydia on the forehead.

Lydia couldn’t help but chuckle.

‘Hehe, this reminds me of when my mother used to do this when I was little.’

Before Leohart could straighten up, she pulled his arm and lightly kissed his cheek.

“…!!!!!!!!!!”
“Hehe, that’s my return kiss.”

Then, saying, “I’ll excuse myself first,” to Leohart, who stood frozen with one hand on his cheek, she went upstairs.

Leohart stood there in a daze, listening to Lydia’s light footsteps fade away.
As he heard the door upstairs close, he muttered,

“…I lost.”

He crouched down.
He had tried to be proactive, only to be beautifully countered.
The result wasn’t bad, but the sense of defeat was overwhelming.

However, his expression soon sharpened.

“…Still, that was a truly unpleasant story.”

He recalled what Lydia had told him earlier.

In short, her sister and former fiancé had framed Lydia, the rightful heir, with a false crime and confined her in the giant tree, then took the position for themselves.

“…Unforgivable, especially that so-called fiancé.”

What he couldn’t understand was why they had confined Lydia in that giant tree instead of killing her.
Why leave alive someone who could become a threat in a succession dispute?
There must have been some intention behind it.

“…Well, in any case, their reign won’t last long.”

Just from hearing the story, the sister and former fiancé felt warped.
Even if warped people seize power through warped means, cracks will inevitably appear somewhere.
And when that happens, they will struggle ugly.

‘As long as Lydia isn’t harmed, I don’t care.’

Thinking that, he slowly returned to his own room.