# 20
20. Tea Time with the Count (2)
Starting with the Belunita couple, the harmonious image of three people was captured in a frame. In the middle, a young Vincent could also be seen.
Looking at the cute child smiling brightly, I clicked my tongue.
"How did it come to this. How regrettable, so regrettable."
They say a person changes in an instant. That young Vincent in the frame probably never imagined he would lose his sight and spend his days confined to his room.
After roughly looking around the annex, I came out the back door and leisurely strolled through the garden. Though it was a small annex hidden behind the grandest and most splendid mansion, it too had a garden. Going out the back door revealed a small garden, and circling to the front opened up to a wider garden.
It was my first time seeing the garden. The well-tended trees and flowers looked refreshingly vibrant just from looking at them. Even the weeds being stepped on seemed beautiful as if they were managed. I could feel the devoted hands of the gardeners.
The weather was particularly good today.
It was good enough to be almost a waste.
[The weather has been nice lately, so how about having tea time in the garden?]
After returning from the garden stroll, I read today's letter with golden text and broke into a wide smile. This was it!
"How about having tea time in the garden today?"
So I suggested it to him at lunch. However, Vincent immediately frowned.
"What nonsense."
I thought it was a good suggestion, but it seemed he didn't care for it. But today the weather was truly fine. Rarely, the sun peeked through the clouds, and warm air floated around. On a day like this, staying cooped up inside was poison.
"It's good to get some fresh air occasionally."
"No one must see me."
"It would be fine just for a short while, wouldn't it?"
Besides, other than me, no servants were visible in the annex or the garden. There were no people around this area. Both the annex and the garden seemed to deliberately block servants' access. So there would be no danger of anyone seeing him.
"How would I even get there."
"I will escort you!"
When I shouted energetically, his face contorted with dissatisfaction. Undeterred, I helped him prepare to go out. I had prepared outing clothes before, so they were easy to find. Of course he refused, but just for today, I really wanted to take him to the garden.
Every step forward was incredibly difficult. I gritted my teeth and put strength in my legs.
"You'll collapse before we get there."
"I will escort you well."
Even my voice as I spoke was trembling. I gripped his slipping arms tightly and took another step. A sigh flowed from behind me.
"You're already failing to escort me properly. Your legs are dragging."
I was carrying him on my back, half-bent over. It was only natural that his long legs, belonging to someone much taller than me, dragged on the ground. His body more than filled my back and overflowed. On top of that, he was deceptively heavy. So this situation was unavoidable.
There were many hardships in walking with him on my back. I had let my guard down thinking he was thin.
"Let's return to the room even now."
"N-no. Huff. E-even if it's uncom, fortable, huff, just, please bear with it a little."
Despite his dissuasion, I insisted. I really wanted to take him outside. I could have supported him and led him, but I chose to carry him thinking he might refuse and resist going. Gripping his limp arms firmly, I stepped forward with all my might.
Supporting the weight pressing down from above, I walked with difficulty and finally reached the garden. By then my whole body was drenched in sweat, but seating him on a chair in the garden felt rewarding. I smiled broadly and wiped the sweat flowing down my face.
The gently blowing wind tousled his golden hair. His face moved with the wind.
"Where is this?"
"It's the garden behind the annex. Going too far seemed like a stretch, and there happened to be a table, so I thought it would be nice to sit and enjoy tea time here. It seems like a place where servants don't pass by either."
That was why it wasn't properly maintained and was messy, but I had tidied it up roughly. It was a table I often noticed whenever I looked out the window. I had thought it was strange that it sat there alone in the garden behind the annex, but to think it would be used like this. Since no one passed by the back of the annex, naturally there were no people around here either.
He didn't ask more. He simply felt the wind. Seeing his slightly relaxed face, it seemed he didn't entirely hate it. I was relieved, as I thought he would immediately demand to go back.
I smiled with satisfaction and took out the things I had prepared in advance, placing them on the table one by one. Then I guided his hand to grasp the handle of the cup. After that, I poured hot black tea into it. It was the same black tea he had said he enjoyed last time.
He really must enjoy Nobelle's black tea, as the tea leaves he received as a gift back then ran out quickly. So when I asked the golden text where I could buy them, they sent three whole new packages.
[Please let me know if you need more.]
I've felt it lately, but the golden text really seems like a good person. I must make sure to write a thank you reply.
"It's delicious."
"It's the same one you had last time."
"I know. The aftertaste is different."
He looked comfortable sipping the tea. He really liked it. Thanks to that, I served him black tea often recently. It was especially perfect for soothing him when he showed signs of becoming difficult.
"I plan to read a book to you here today."
"Probably another boring book."
"No, it's not. It's an adventure novel. Chris—no, I heard you like it, so."
I hastily folded the mention of Ethan. That name was a forbidden word to him now. Somehow it felt that way. I pulled out the book I had tucked at my side and sat on the opposite chair.
I opened the book. Then I cleared my throat and slowly began to speak.
The pace was slow, giving him enough time to imagine, the pronunciation clear, making sure not to forget to breathe in between. I read the book while reminding myself of the points Vincent had pointed out.
My voice reading the book had become smoother than before. It was satisfactory even to my own ears. Moreover, this time there were no corrections from Vincent. It was when I noticed that and was secretly rejoicing inside.
"What do you look like?"
An unexpected question popped out of his mouth. I stopped reading and looked up. He, who had set his cup on the table at some point, was looking my way. The moment I met those emerald eyes, my mind went blank. So I couldn't continue speaking right away.
I didn't expect him to ask me such a question.
"W-why are you curious about that."
"Because I'm curious. I've come to want to know what your shameless face looks like."
"I'll read the next sentence."
Ignoring his words, I lowered my head back to the book. It was an attempt to change the subject.
But suddenly, long fingertips touched my front hair. It was a small contact. So minor it could hardly be called contact. But I was so startled as if it had touched my face that I jumped up from my seat.
The sound of a chair falling behind me rang out. I barely caught the table shaking from the sudden rebound. The book rolled on the floor. Vincent stood with his hands in the air, his eyes wide open. His face was surprised.
The wind blew strongly.
"Ah, um... y-you suddenly tried to touch my face... I'm sorry."
I steadied the table and set the fallen chair upright again. I also picked up the book that had fallen on the floor and placed it on the table.
In the meantime, with a calm face, he said.
"Why are you so startled. I said I wanted to know what you look like."
"But why would you try to touch my face?"
"I can't see, so I have to touch to know."
I glanced at him as I sat in the chair. The other person cannot see. He can't see me. So without someone telling him, he would never know what my face looks like. And seeing him ask like this, it seemed no one had told him.
"What do you look like?"
"I look ordinary."
"So how exactly?"
I couldn't bring myself to say it was a face that people would point fingers at. I bit my lip and pondered how to divert his attention.
"I asked what you look like."
"I'll tell you later. First, let me finish reading the book."
"Hiding it like that only makes me more curious."
"......"
But it didn't work. He fidgeted his fingers as if he would reach out again. I anxiously watched his fingertips.
"I-I'm a bit short."
"I know that. What else."
"M-my hair comes down to my chest."
"Does it go past?"
"No, it doesn't go past... I cut it a little recently."
I hadn't noticed since I don't look in the mirror, but my hair had grown enough to get in the way. So a few days ago, I cut it to above my chest with scissors.
Actually, long hair was burdensome. The unmanaged hair was dry, and long hair in the back was useless anyway. Besides, when working, it got in the way so I had to tie it back. Still, not cutting it short was my last bit of pride. If even my hair became short, there wouldn't be a single feminine part left on my body.
"Is your hair curly? There's straight hair and curly hair."
"Mine too... is a bit like that."
"Hm—"
He let out a short hum and thought about something intently for a moment, then reached his hand out again. Instantly, my body stiffened thinking those fingertips might head toward my face again.
But this time they didn't go toward my face. The hand that reached out as if searching for something by stirring the air carefully touched my hair.
He held and fiddled with the curling ends of my hair.
"It really is. The ends are curved."
"......"
Flicking the upward-curving ends of my hair with his thumb, he smiled softly. I quietly watched his hand playfully touching the ends of my hair.
"And?"
"And... and... what exactly are you curious about?"
"Everything. Tell me in detail."
Give me pieces I can imagine. That was what he was demanding of me.
I opened and closed my mouth but couldn't easily speak. I had never once described what I looked like. I didn't want to, and it was an appearance not worth describing.
"Is your physique thin?"
Yes, so thin it's unpleasant to look at. I've gained some weight now, but before coming here, I was so thin I often heard people say I looked like a walking corpse.
"It's average."
"Are your eyes big?"
"They're on the bigger side. When I was young, I often heard that only my eyes were visible."
"Your nose?"
"Well..."
As I answered his rapid-fire questions, everything that came out was lies. Except for my hair length and eye size, nothing I told him was accurate. And those lies gathered and piled up to create one person. Funnily enough, what was completed was Alicia.
My sister, who was so much prettier than me.