# 136
136. Met the Count Again (5)
The break time had ended, and Vincent was walking ahead down the corridor. Someone from the opposite side was hovering around, then noticed us and quickly approached.
"There you were."
The person who approached with a bright smile was Alicia.
"Lady Joelli said it would be nice if you joined her for tea time, and told me to bring you."
Alicia spoke respectfully with her hands gathered together, but her gaze quietly pierced me. It was a look asking why I was with him, so I bowed my head to avoid it.
Vincent didn't respond immediately. At his silence, Alicia paused for a moment before putting on a pleasant smile again.
"Master?"
With that, she gently grabbed one of Vincent's hands. It was a careful but bold gesture. When Vincent didn't shake her off, Alicia pulled his hand with a delighted expression. Being dragged along, Vincent looked back at me and mouthed silently.
'You come too.'
I shook my head. There was no reason to go together. When I stepped back, Vincent, who had been watching me without any change in expression, opened his mouth wide this time.
"Po-"
"Just a moment! I'll come too."
To cut off what he was about to say, I hurriedly walked toward them. Alicia stopped and looked at me with a displeased expression.
"Why?"
"I thought the Young Master might be there too."
It was a roughly made-up excuse, but since Robert might actually be there, Alicia couldn't voice any particular complaints. When I turned my head from her fierce gaze, I saw Vincent. He was covering his mouth with one hand, but couldn't completely hide his smiling face. How mean, really.
Even though he must have felt my gaze, Vincent pretended not to notice and asked Alicia.
"Where should I go?"
"Ah, to the reception room."
Then Vincent strode forward alone. Alicia also turned her face from glaring at me and quickly moved her steps. I sighed, shrank my body, and followed them with heavy steps.
Inside the reception room, tea time was already in full swing. On the table with a floral tablecloth sat a three-tier stand with various kinds of pound cakes and cookies.
Joelli, who was sipping steaming tea, saw us coming in and greeted us with a smile. Next to Joelli, Robert was eating cake with his mouth covered in breadcrumbs.
Vincent sat on the sofa opposite Joelli, and I approached the nanny. The only servants in the reception room were Alicia, me, and the nanny.
"I was going to call you anyway."
"What should I do?"
"Could you pour tea for the Count?"
I nodded and lifted the warm teapot. But before I knew it, Alicia had come over and snatched the teapot from me. Leaving me bewildered, Alicia approached Vincent and said in a soft voice.
"The tea is hot, so please be careful."
Then she poured tea into the teacup placed in front of him. Tucking the hair covering her face behind her ear, her shy smiling face whenever their eyes met was pretty. It seemed as if sparkling sunlight was shining on the two of them. However, Vincent showed no reaction with a sullen face.
"You two haven't had many occasions like this, have you? How about sitting together as a commemoration of meeting again? Alicia, would you like to sit next to me for a moment?"
At Joelli's suggestion, Alicia glanced at Vincent and asked carefully.
"May I do that?"
"Of course. Sit comfortably."
When Joelli permitted, Alicia sat next to Vincent, trying hard to hide her joy.
Alicia sat carefully and shyly glanced at Vincent, but Vincent only picked up his teacup and swirled it once. Joelli looked at the two with satisfaction. Because she knew Vincent's circumstances, she could enjoy the current situation.
I watched them anxiously. Vincent, as if keeping his word, really didn't tell anyone who I was. He kept his mouth shut even to Joelli who had helped him. While I was grateful and sorry for his kindness, I felt uncomfortable every time I saw Alicia.
I couldn't tell Alicia that I knew she had discovered my identity. I was anxious about what kind of accident Alicia might cause if I said that. And on the other hand, I wasn't confident enough to handle this situation. Neither leaving Alicia alone, nor becoming the party involved in the rumors connected with him.
Contrary to my feelings, Joelli's cheerful voice continued.
"You two talk. I've always been so curious. How did you say you met?"
"I was employed by the Belunita family. I went because the family circumstances weren't good, but now I think that's also a memory."
"Wasn't it hard serving Vincent? Because his personality used to be, well, like that."
"I went through a lot."
At first there was a somewhat stuttering feel, but after all this time, she now responded quite calmly.
Robert, who didn't understand the current situation, was just eating pound cake deliciously with a fork. The nanny standing next to Robert, wiping his mouth, looked at Alicia with a face full of curiosity. Seeing the nanny like that, guilt pierced my heart, and I needlessly fiddled with the plate of pound cake left on one side.
"At that time, the Master threw a lot of tantrums at me. He said many mean things, do you remember? He told me to get lost the most."
Her careful voice was mixed with playfulness. My gaze naturally turned to Alicia. Vincent also turned his head toward Alicia at some point. Alicia put one hand on her chest and made an expression as if she had been hurt.
I was secretly very surprised. How could Alicia know those words? It was too accurate to say she simply picked any words.
The reason I said what Alicia did was nonsense was not only because I wasn't the real person, but largely because they weren't shared memories. How could she pretend to have experienced something she hadn't seen or gone through directly? So I couldn't help but be confused by the words coming out of Alicia's mouth now.
Then suddenly, a memory came to mind.
'What was the person you served like anyway?'
Even after leaving Filton with Alicia, I couldn't let my guard down. As I was sharply watching every person approaching, on edge, Alicia couldn't hold back and asked me.
'Just a bit pitiful and... a person with a dirty temper.'
The latter part was because the things I had experienced came to mind. He really did have a dirty temper.
'Pitiful but dirty temper, what does that mean?'
'There are such people.'
'Did he throw tantrums at you too?'
'Yes. He said a lot of mean things. Come to think of it, I heard him say get lost the most.'
'What else did he say?'
'To me......'
"He also said he'd kill me. He said no one would care if someone like me died, and that it wasn't a place for vain dreams. Do you know how hurt I was then?"
I didn't ramble about everything I had experienced at the Belunita mansion to Alicia. But very occasionally, when Alicia asked lightly or when I was immersed in memories myself, I briefly told her things in passing. I didn't know she would remember those. I thought she was just pretending to be me for a brief moment after hearing my nightmares, but I noticed that Alicia had prepared quite meticulously.
"Vincent, did you really do that?"
Joelli asked with a face saying how could you do such a thing. However, Vincent didn't answer. I looked at Vincent anxiously. But I could only see the back of his head, so I couldn't know Vincent's mood.
"I'm okay. I also think of that as a memory, and there were many good memories too. He said mean things, but sometimes he was kind to me."
'Were there good memories?'
Once, when I went to feed the livestock, Alicia asked me. I wiped the sweat I had shed in the hot weather and thought carefully.
'There were. Even though his temper was dirty, he was sometimes kind. Oh, there was a flower garden deep in the forest there......'
"The flower garden there was really pretty. I want to go see it again."
Alicia was saying the words I had once said as if she had experienced them herself. Joelli responded with enjoyment.
"There was a flower garden in the forest here?"
"Yes, deep in the forest. A fairly large flower garden blooming roundly in a place surrounded by trees."
"I didn't know. Why didn't you tell me? It would have been nice to go see it once."
When Joelli said with regret, Vincent turned his head toward her. On the side profile that was finally visible, there was still no expression whatsoever. That made me even more anxious. As I was watching with an anxious mind, Vincent, who had been staring blankly at his teacup, took a sip and suddenly chuckled.
"I didn't know either. Someone told me."
"Who?"
"Lucas took me there. Remember?"
Vincent asked back, looking at Alicia. A very slight crack appeared on Alicia's smiling face, but she didn't lose her smile.
"Yes. Of course."
Alicia's answer was a bit slow. Because she didn't know that Lucas had taken her there. Because I hadn't told her.
"I said it was a really pretty place. So much that I wanted to jump right in. I didn't spare compliments about how good the flowers smelled. If I liked it that much, you even held my hand and ran."
"Oh my, it must be a really pretty place."
Joelli clapped her hands. Vincent nodded and put down his teacup. Between them, Alicia's stiffened face caught my eye. Even though she was trying hard to hide it, I could tell that Alicia was flustered.
"What color were the flowers?"
At that one sentence, Vincent looked back at Alicia again. The moment Alicia opened her mouth with a slightly tense face, someone tapped my shoulder. Startled, I looked and saw the nanny had approached without me noticing.
"The Young Master is eating well, so the cake must be tasty. I should refill it. I think we can take the rest."
"......Understood."
I answered a beat late and reached for the plate with the pound cake. After cutting it into bite-sized pieces for Robert to eat easily, I picked up the plate and turned around, when Vincent suddenly looked back at me. I didn't even have time to avert my gaze.
"What about you."
"Yes?"
"They say there's a flower garden in the forest. What color flowers do you think there would be?"
Why is he asking something like that? My gaze quickly turned toward Alicia. I saw Alicia biting her nails with her teeth, showing signs of anxiety. Joelli sitting opposite also looked at me with a questioning expression, and Robert was also looking at me with round eyes following them.
I could also feel the nanny standing next to me giving me her gaze. As people's attention gathered, I stood there unable to move forward or backward, hesitating.
At that moment, a breeze blew. The end of the hair tie holding my hair fluttered in the air. The face of the person who grabbed it and laughed flickered before my eyes.
"......White."
I blurted out blankly, then suddenly came to my senses. The gazes of the people who heard my answer naturally turned toward Vincent.
A brief silence fell. Everyone was expressing doubt about what this situation was, when Vincent's cheerful voice, the only one who recognized the situation, rang out.
"That's right. It was a white flower garden."