Sehironz started picking a fight in a sneering tone. Whatever his problem was, Riu let out a long breath and said,
“I want to be alone. If you’ve got something to say, say it quickly and go.”
“I hear Albert’s been keeping you company lately, so I guess you don’t see anyone else anymore. I’m Sehironz.”
His face flushed with the entitlement of class privilege. He was the classic type who bowed to the strong and lorded it over the weak.
“Be honest. You’re dating Albert.”
Riu knit his brows as if he’d just heard something ridiculous.
“If not, then why does Albert keep hovering around you? Isn’t it strange that the son of a highly reputed ducal house would be friends with someone like you in the first place?”
Deciding it wasn’t worth listening any further, Riu closed the notebook he’d been reading. It seemed he wouldn’t be able to take class properly today anyway.
“Hey, I’m not done talking.”
Ignoring him, Riu stood up. At the same moment, Sehironz snatched his wrist and bared his teeth.
“Are you ignoring me?”
“Don’t touch me.”
Riu reflexively pulled his hand back and rubbed his wrist. It was an unconscious reaction.
“Then finish the conversation before you go.”
“I don’t know what you think you’re saying… but Albert and I aren’t like that.”
“So you’re saying you and Albert are just friends?”
Sehironz let out a derisive laugh, as if he’d heard something absurd. From his expression, he had no intention of taking anything Riu said at face value.
“Riu Carter. Don’t push it.”
Bending slightly, Sehironz tapped Riu on the shoulder. As if that weren’t enough, he leaned in and whispered in a voice only Riu could hear.
“Say it straight. You slept with Albert, didn’t you?”
At that line, which crossed the line, Riu’s face hardened. Unable to endure any more, he stared at Sehironz and said firmly,
“I get that you don’t like me… but don’t talk recklessly about my friend.”
“Well, well.”
“What do you think happens if what you just said reaches Albert’s ears? Your family could be in trouble for defaming a ducal house’s honor.”
Keeping his voice from shaking as best he could, Riu spoke slowly. But Sehironz only snorted.
“Go on, tell him. If you can.”
He seemed to think that would sour things between Riu and Albert. And while that wasn’t entirely wrong, Sehironz, smirking, gave Riu’s shoulder a couple of light taps.
“So watch yourself. I’m not the one tarnishing your friend’s image—you are.”
Seeing Riu say nothing, Sehironz crooked his lips in a slanted smile. As if waving a victor’s flag, he gave his own shoulder a light pat and left.
After several nights of poor sleep, his stomach churned. With his vision swimming off and on, Riu quietly crawled into bed and pulled up the covers.
Three days remained until the ball. A short time if short, a long time if long.
He had no choice but to attend, so Riu planned to secure a room near the imperial palace the night before and stay over. It was to prevent anyone who didn’t know he’d be attending from guessing based on the carriage.
“If everything goes according to plan…”
Then it would all be over without incident. Riu drew the thin edge of the blanket up over his face and closed his eyes for a moment.
Knock, knock—
At the sound on the window, Riu shifted. Since he didn’t hear Nick’s voice, it didn’t seem like an invited caller.
“Mmm…”
Rubbing at his reluctant eyes, Riu lifted his lids. Fresh from sleep, his voice came out in a low rasp. Clearing his throat at the scratch in his voice, he turned his gaze toward the window.
“…Did I hear wrong?”
Even if his house was a count’s manor going to ruin, the bedrooms were on the second floor.
Unless someone had set their mind on a break-in, no one could be knocking freely at this height. Unless they were trained in magic.
But then came another tapping at the window. This time he heard it fully awake.
At the clean, distinct sound on the glass, Riu pushed himself upright and slowly got to his feet.
With a faint rustle, the blanket slipped to the floor. Sliding his feet into the slippers by the bed, he made his way to the window.
“…Who is it?”
There was no reply. Riu swept aside the pale, half-draped curtain and threw open the closed window.
Flutter.
He heard wings by his ear. As if it had been waiting for the window to open, a pigeon flew in and perched on the sill.
“So it was you? The one knocking.”
Since the Carter estate was ringed by hills, birds sometimes flew in. But none had ever tapped at his window so late, and Riu stared down at the pigeon before him.
Its feathers were neatly kept, its beak glossy. Anyone could see it didn’t look like some wild mountain bird.
“You have an owner, don’t you?”
The pigeon cooed in answer.
“Do you understand speech, by any chance?”
Curious, Riu asked, and the pigeon coo-cooed again, lifting one foot.
“…A carrier pigeon?”
Seeing the note tied to its right leg, Riu tilted his head. There was no one close to him who would send a note by pigeon at this late hour. Puzzled, he reached for the proffered leg.
“Hold on.”
He tugged the long end of the string, and a rolled slip dropped free with a soft pop. Riu quickly picked up the paper and checked the contents.
“I miss you.”
It was short. Though he’d read it clearly, he read it again. Maybe the note meant for someone else had come to him by mistake. Riu asked the pigeon before him,
“Is this note really meant for me?”
As if to say yes, the pigeon rubbed its head against the back of Riu’s hand. A laugh escaped him at the tickling sensation.
“That tickles.”
At Riu’s bright laugh, the pigeon gave a questioning coo. Tilting its head a little, it hopped up to Riu’s shoulder and fluttered.
“Are you always this friendly?”
Riu stroked the pigeon’s beak with his index finger, charmed by its affection.
“Mm… I don’t know who sent you, but thanks for delivering it.”
Still rubbing its beak, Riu smiled with his eyes. He didn’t know who had sent it, but he wanted to do something for the bird that had flown all the way here.
“Wait just a second!”
Lest it fly off, Riu carefully walked over to the table.
“Want something to eat?”
He took out a jar of almonds and held it out to the pigeon. The pigeon cooed enthusiastically and lifted its leg.
Since it raised the right leg, it seemed to want him to tie the almonds there.
“Taking them home for later?”
Chuckling, Riu cupped the pigeon and set it on the table.
“It might be heavy, so I’ll only tie two on.”
He put two almonds in a little pouch and tied it to the bird’s leg.
“There, all done.”
At his words, the pigeon flapped its wings as if pleased. Not satisfied, it rubbed its head once more against Riu’s index finger and gave a low coo. Then it headed for the window and vanished the way it had come.
“…It’s gone.”
A little wistful, Riu rubbed the fingers the pigeon had touched and looked down at the paper in his hand.
“‘I miss you,’ huh…”
The handwriting overall was neat and tidy. If penmanship reveals character, the writer seemed sturdy and meticulous.
The pigeon returned to Riu’s house the next day as well. Maybe because they’d met once, it slipped through the cracked door and rubbed its head against Riu’s wrist.
“You came again today.”
As before, Riu untied the string on the pigeon’s leg and unfolded the note.
“Not long now. Until the day we meet.”
At the loaded words, Riu’s eyes trembled slightly.
“Who on earth is your master…?”
The pigeon tilted its head at his question. He hadn’t expected a reply from a bird, of course, but some nameless frustration made Riu bite his lip.
“‘Not long now’… that sounds exactly like it’s talking about the masquerade…”
It was too apt to chalk up to coincidence. Anxiety pricked at him. What if Matthew had remembered and was sending these to him? Riu read the contents again.
But if it were Matthew, there’d be no reason to send notes by pigeon. For having deceived him alone, Matthew would have stormed over or confronted him.
“Then who could it be…”
When Riu closed his eyes against the confusion, the pigeon pecked lightly at his knuckle.
“Are you trying to comfort me?”
The pigeon flapped, as if to say yes. With a word of thanks, Riu wrote a reply on the paper.
“This kind of prank isn’t amusing. If this is meant for me, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t send such notes anymore.”
Riu didn’t reveal who he was either. He clung to the small hope that maybe he wasn’t the intended recipient of these notes.
Leave a Reply