“You mean to show me?”
I sat down, picked up my napkin, and then turned my head to look at Kendrick.
Kendrick lightly pointed to the table as if to eat first and then talk.
Then the food started coming out one after another.
First, salad was put on the table, followed by my favorite fish dishes.
Arsene didn’t really like fish dishes, but he seemed to tolerate it because today was the day I became an adult.
The grilled cod with lemon juice was amazing, and the fish soup and steak were also delicious.
Soon, a special bread that is only eaten at coming-of-age ceremonies was placed on the table.
According to the chef’s explanation, it is a bread coated with sugar on the outside and filled with green onion jelly and flesh inside, and it is the Wolf Clan’s custom to eat it before the coming-of-age ceremony.
I carefully put the bread in my mouth.
The sweet taste spreads in my mouth as soon as I eat it…
I thought I knew why it was food before the coming-of-age ceremony.
‘It just means graduating from something sweet…’
The chef further explained that this sweet bread symbolizes childhood memories.
Kendrick didn’t like to eat sweets during meals, but—.
‘If things had gone the way it was, today would have been my coming-of-age day, so I guess he’ll notice.’
Arsene and I put aside all the other great dishes and ate the bread the most.
Since we were children, we both liked sweet foods the most, so it was natural.
Kendrick looked at us with a smile as if he knew that, and put some fish meat on my plate to tell me to finish eating.
“Thank you.”
“Yeah.”
Kendrick has been putting food on my plate since I was seven years old.
It was the same today, the day I became an adult.
The dishes were all excellent.
It felt even better because the chef prepared it for my coming-of-age ceremony for a long time.
‘Of course you have to prepare for this one more time… I feel sorry.’
The food was very delicious, so I was looking forward to eating it again.
After the meal,
“You have something to say…”
“Yeah, follow me.”
Kendrick took Arsene and me to the third floor of the mansion.
Since there was almost no reason to go up to the third floor here, Arsene and I narrowed our eyes and looked around.
‘Is this almost the first time we come up?’
Kendrick said there were a lot of important things stored on the third floor of the second residence, so he advised people not to go up there.
We nodded.
So, it was my first time officially coming up here.
The place Kendrick walked to was a room without sunlight at the end of the hallway on the third floor.
Kendrick took out the key from his pocket, inserted it into the keyhole, and turned it like he was used to.
Click.
The door slid open.
“Let’s go in.”
He said, gesturing around the room. Arsene and I made eye contact once and followed Kendrick into the room.
The room that Kendrick showed me was so well-maintained that I could believe that someone had stayed there not long ago.
“Your mother loved watching the festive fireworks from the third floor of this mansion. This place has the best view.”
Kendrick said, tapping the chair still sitting near the window sill.
Kendrick’s eyes, smiling while talking, seemed to have a faint longing for her.
Kendrick put us on the sofa.
Arsene and I sat down carefully because we were afraid that the old sofa might be ruined.
I looked around slowly.
I could see that the owner of the room, that is, Arsene’s mother, cared and loved the room very much.
Although it would have been a room where she only stayed once a year for festivals.
It looked like there was no place left untouched.
Arsene was also seen carefully sweeping the sofa, as if this was his first time hearing this from Kendrick.
I glanced at Arsene and held his hand tightly.
Arsene also held my hand.
“Linsy, I said I had something to show you.”
Kendrick took out a small jewelry box and placed it on the table.
I shifted my gaze to the jewelry box and nodded slowly.
“This is a jewel that has been passed down from generation to generation in the Yeckhart family. They call it mermaid tears.”
Kendrick gestured as if to open a jewelry box.
I looked at Arsene. Arsene also shrugged his shoulders, then tilted his head as if asking me to open it.
I carefully picked up the jewelry box and opened it.
Click.
A cheerful sound was heard, and the jewelry box slowly opened.
And inside, an oval-shaped blue diamond appeared.
It was a huge, transparent, beautiful diamond, and in the middle of it all.
“Yeckhart…”
Yeckhart’s emblem was clearly engraved.
As if to say that only the owner of Yeckhart can have this jewel.
Kendrick nodded his head.
“Arsene, your mother. So, Linsy’s mother-in-law… she received this jewel here. I proposed to her here.”
Kendrick’s face, which murmured quietly, was filled with longing.
“This is an heirloom passed down from generation to generation by the heads of the Yeckhart family. Only the head of the Yeckhart family and his wife can see it.”
Arsene narrowed his eyes after hearing Kendrick’s words.
“I don’t mean to hand over the position of head of the family to you right now, Arsene.”
Kendrick smiled as if to tell him not to worry.
“What needs to be organized needs to be organized. It’s also too early for you to take over the position of head of the family. But one day, you will become the head of the Yeckhart family. And Linsy…”
Kendrick’s blue eyes turned to me.
I looked at Kendrick and nodded.
“The reason I’m showing you this is… I said I would respect your choice. But Linsy.”
Kendrick said, pointing to the jewelry box.
“I want you to remain a member of Yeckhart.”
“….”
“I don’t want to be a burden, but I can’t even imagine Yeckhart without you.”
Kendrick continued his words quietly.
“Linsy. You changed many things about Yeckhart. I want to repay you that much.”
I looked at Kendrick with wide eyes at his words.
“W, what do you mean to repay! What I received was much more…”
“Not much. It’s not that much. So Linsy…”
Kendrick continued.
“Yeckhart, I, and Arsene… I want you to give me a chance to repay you as your family.”
Kendrick’s eyes, which said so, looked clearer and firmer than usual, so I nodded blankly.
‘…Give a chance to repay as a family.’
I was thinking of divorcing Arsene.
…Even just thirty minutes ago.
Arsene is the head of Yeckhart, and he will need a more suitable companion than me.
It is impossible for a bird clan to become the companion of the head of the wolf clan.
But Arsene and Kendrick.
The people I really love and care about are telling me they want me to be my family.
‘I…’
I.
Yeah, the truth is, I didn’t want to leave Yeckhart either.
‘Really, I don’t want to leave.’
It’s been like that since a long time ago, when I was collecting Arsene’s jewelry buttons to get ready to leave Yeckhart.
I didn’t want to be hated,
I didn’t want to leave,
Furthermore, I wanted to be loved.
Yeckhart generously gave away everything I wanted.
So I thought I had to divorce Arsene even more.
I have to repay Yeckhart.
I just need to do my part by curing Arsene’s illness and leaving.
However,
I suddenly felt like tears were welling up in my eyes, so I bit my lip.
I remembered Arsene telling me not to leave.
“I hope you make the same choice as me.”
Kendrick is in front of me, asking me to become his family.
“I want you to remain a member of Yeckhart.”
I…
When I heard this, I wanted to keep being greedy.
It was too much for me from the beginning,
Nevertheless, when I hear this, I want to complain and reach out like a seven-year-old child.
When I pursed my lips and didn’t say anything, Arsene tilted his head towards me, probably a little confused.
“Linsy.”
“Mmhm? Y, yeah. I’m fine.”
“I’m sorry if it was a burden, Linsy. But I really wanted to tell you this.”
As I carefully set down the jewelry box, Kendrick spoke with a smile still on his face.
“I hope this helps you with your decision.”
“You mean to show me?”
I sat down, picked up my napkin, and then turned my head to look at Kendrick.
Kendrick lightly pointed to the table as if to eat first and then talk.
Then the food started coming out one after another.
First, salad was put on the table, followed by my favorite fish dishes.
Arsene didn’t really like fish dishes, but he seemed to tolerate it because today was the day I became an adult.
The grilled cod with lemon juice was amazing, and the fish soup and steak were also delicious.
Soon, a special bread that is only eaten at coming-of-age ceremonies was placed on the table.
According to the chef’s explanation, it is a bread coated with sugar on the outside and filled with green onion jelly and flesh inside, and it is the Wolf Clan’s custom to eat it before the coming-of-age ceremony.
I carefully put the bread in my mouth.
The sweet taste spreads in my mouth as soon as I eat it…
I thought I knew why it was food before the coming-of-age ceremony.
‘It just means graduating from something sweet…’
The chef further explained that this sweet bread symbolizes childhood memories.
Kendrick didn’t like to eat sweets during meals, but—.
‘If things had gone the way it was, today would have been my coming-of-age day, so I guess he’ll notice.’
Arsene and I put aside all the other great dishes and ate the bread the most.
Since we were children, we both liked sweet foods the most, so it was natural.
Kendrick looked at us with a smile as if he knew that, and put some fish meat on my plate to tell me to finish eating.
“Thank you.”
“Yeah.”
Kendrick has been putting food on my plate since I was seven years old.
It was the same today, the day I became an adult.
The dishes were all excellent.
It felt even better because the chef prepared it for my coming-of-age ceremony for a long time.
‘Of course you have to prepare for this one more time… I feel sorry.’
The food was very delicious, so I was looking forward to eating it again.
After the meal,
“You have something to say…”
“Yeah, follow me.”
Kendrick took Arsene and me to the third floor of the mansion.
Since there was almost no reason to go up to the third floor here, Arsene and I narrowed our eyes and looked around.
‘Is this almost the first time we come up?’
Kendrick said there were a lot of important things stored on the third floor of the second residence, so he advised people not to go up there.
We nodded.
So, it was my first time officially coming up here.
The place Kendrick walked to was a room without sunlight at the end of the hallway on the third floor.
Kendrick took out the key from his pocket, inserted it into the keyhole, and turned it like he was used to.
Click.
The door slid open.
“Let’s go in.”
He said, gesturing around the room. Arsene and I made eye contact once and followed Kendrick into the room.
The room that Kendrick showed me was so well-maintained that I could believe that someone had stayed there not long ago.
“Your mother loved watching the festive fireworks from the third floor of this mansion. This place has the best view.”
Kendrick said, tapping the chair still sitting near the window sill.
Kendrick’s eyes, smiling while talking, seemed to have a faint longing for her.
Kendrick put us on the sofa.
Arsene and I sat down carefully because we were afraid that the old sofa might be ruined.
I looked around slowly.
I could see that the owner of the room, that is, Arsene’s mother, cared and loved the room very much.
Although it would have been a room where she only stayed once a year for festivals.
It looked like there was no place left untouched.
Arsene was also seen carefully sweeping the sofa, as if this was his first time hearing this from Kendrick.
I glanced at Arsene and held his hand tightly.
Arsene also held my hand.
“Linsy, I said I had something to show you.”
Kendrick took out a small jewelry box and placed it on the table.
I shifted my gaze to the jewelry box and nodded slowly.
“This is a jewel that has been passed down from generation to generation in the Yeckhart family. They call it mermaid tears.”
Kendrick gestured as if to open a jewelry box.
I looked at Arsene. Arsene also shrugged his shoulders, then tilted his head as if asking me to open it.
I carefully picked up the jewelry box and opened it.
Click.
A cheerful sound was heard, and the jewelry box slowly opened.
And inside, an oval-shaped blue diamond appeared.
It was a huge, transparent, beautiful diamond, and in the middle of it all.
“Yeckhart…”
Yeckhart’s emblem was clearly engraved.
As if to say that only the owner of Yeckhart can have this jewel.
Kendrick nodded his head.
“Arsene, your mother. So, Linsy’s mother-in-law… she received this jewel here. I proposed to her here.”
Kendrick’s face, which murmured quietly, was filled with longing.
“This is an heirloom passed down from generation to generation by the heads of the Yeckhart family. Only the head of the Yeckhart family and his wife can see it.”
Arsene narrowed his eyes after hearing Kendrick’s words.
“I don’t mean to hand over the position of head of the family to you right now, Arsene.”
Kendrick smiled as if to tell him not to worry.
“What needs to be organized needs to be organized. It’s also too early for you to take over the position of head of the family. But one day, you will become the head of the Yeckhart family. And Linsy…”
Kendrick’s blue eyes turned to me.
I looked at Kendrick and nodded.
“The reason I’m showing you this is… I said I would respect your choice. But Linsy.”
Kendrick said, pointing to the jewelry box.
“I want you to remain a member of Yeckhart.”
“….”
“I don’t want to be a burden, but I can’t even imagine Yeckhart without you.”
Kendrick continued his words quietly.
“Linsy. You changed many things about Yeckhart. I want to repay you that much.”
I looked at Kendrick with wide eyes at his words.
“W, what do you mean to repay! What I received was much more…”
“Not much. It’s not that much. So Linsy…”
Kendrick continued.
“Yeckhart, I, and Arsene… I want you to give me a chance to repay you as your family.”
Kendrick’s eyes, which said so, looked clearer and firmer than usual, so I nodded blankly.
‘…Give a chance to repay as a family.’
I was thinking of divorcing Arsene.
…Even just thirty minutes ago.
Arsene is the head of Yeckhart, and he will need a more suitable companion than me.
It is impossible for a bird clan to become the companion of the head of the wolf clan.
But Arsene and Kendrick.
The people I really love and care about are telling me they want me to be my family.
‘I…’
I.
Yeah, the truth is, I didn’t want to leave Yeckhart either.
‘Really, I don’t want to leave.’
It’s been like that since a long time ago, when I was collecting Arsene’s jewelry buttons to get ready to leave Yeckhart.
I didn’t want to be hated,
I didn’t want to leave,
Furthermore, I wanted to be loved.
Yeckhart generously gave away everything I wanted.
So I thought I had to divorce Arsene even more.
I have to repay Yeckhart.
I just need to do my part by curing Arsene’s illness and leaving.
However,
I suddenly felt like tears were welling up in my eyes, so I bit my lip.
I remembered Arsene telling me not to leave.
“I hope you make the same choice as me.”
Kendrick is in front of me, asking me to become his family.
“I want you to remain a member of Yeckhart.”
I…
When I heard this, I wanted to keep being greedy.
It was too much for me from the beginning,
Nevertheless, when I hear this, I want to complain and reach out like a seven-year-old child.
When I pursed my lips and didn’t say anything, Arsene tilted his head towards me, probably a little confused.
“Linsy.”
“Mmhm? Y, yeah. I’m fine.”
“I’m sorry if it was a burden, Linsy. But I really wanted to tell you this.”
As I carefully set down the jewelry box, Kendrick spoke with a smile still on his face.
“I hope this helps you with your decision.”
