Chapter 31: A Smile After the Tears

After crying for so long that the front of Elias’s shirt was soaked through, as if something had been poured all over it, Elias invited Elysia to sit on a bench by the riverside, right next to a lamp that cast its glow over the spot.

Then, once the two of them were seated, Elias handed Elysia a meat sandwich. He knew full well that she had to be starving, since she hadn’t been at the mansion during the day and there was no way she could’ve brought any money with her when all of it was with Elias.

*Nibble... Nibble...

Elias could only let out a small sigh as he watched Elysia eat her sandwich bit by bit. Her eyes were still puffy from all that crying earlier, which made him feel a little guilty.

’Welp... Next time, I’ll give them some money to carry around.’

Noticing that Elias kept staring at her, Elysia paused mid-meal, looked down at the sandwich in her hand for a few moments, and then held it out to him.

"You want some?"

"Ah, no need. I’ve already eaten—"

"I don’t take no for an answer. Besides, it’s just one bite. I want you to try it too."

Judging by her face alone, Elysia looked perfectly ordinary. But with her voice still trembling, Elias, who was usually clueless about this kind of thing, realized for the first time that Elysia was pleading with him out of embarrassment.

*Chomp

Elias took a single bite from her hand, then turned his attention back to Elysia, who was still chewing in silence.

However, he noticed something strange. Elysia’s face slowly flushed red as she ate the part of the sandwich he had just bitten into.

’Don’t tell me she’s running a fever? Or is this from crying too much earlier?’

Worried about Elysia’s condition, Elias immediately leaned in. He pressed one hand to her forehead, then pressed his own forehead against the back of that hand to check her temperature.

"Eh?! W-what are you doing?!"

Elysia flinched on the spot. Her face turned even redder, and with her body temperature shooting up, she hurriedly turned her face away.

"Hm? I was just checking if you have a fever."

"B-but you don’t have to get this close!"

"Why? Isn’t it easier this way?"

"Like hell it is?! You idiot!"

"But your body temperature just shot up, and your face got even redder. That means you really do have a fever."

"I-I don’t have a fever!"

Elias was startled when Elysia suddenly shouted at him. All he could do was lean back a little from where he sat while scratching his head.

’But I clearly felt how hot she was.’

Elias was still scratching his head when Elysia went back to eating. She no longer talked back to him, though she still glanced at him from the corner of her eye every now and then.

For a while, the two of them simply sat in silence. Elias turned his gaze toward the river, watching people come and go along the road. Beside him, Elysia kept eating her sandwich bit by bit. Her face was still faintly red, but this time she wasn’t trying to nag him anymore.

Elias glanced at her briefly before looking straight ahead again.

"...Lady."

"Hm?"

"I’m sorry."

Elysia stopped chewing and turned to him.

"For what?"

"Honestly... I’m not sure either. But it seems like I did something wrong to make you cry."

Elysia didn’t answer right away. She looked down at the sandwich in her hand, then took another small bite.

"...I wasn’t crying."

"Then why is my shirt soaked through?"

"Shut up!"

Elias quickly shut his mouth, while Elysia went back to her sandwich with a sulky look on her face.

"Well, I didn’t mean to make you cry. But still, I made you sad. So, I’m sorry."

Elysia gripped her sandwich a little tighter before muttering,

"...You’re such an idiot."

"I’m sorry, what?"

"Who told you to do something like that?"

Elias fell silent for a moment before scratching his cheek.

"Maybe I really am an idiot."

Elysia whipped her head around. "Don’t just agree with me! You’re seriously..."

She didn’t finish. After snorting in annoyance, Elysia turned back to her sandwich, while Elias could only tilt his head, not understanding what was wrong with his answer.

A little while later, Elysia opened her mouth again, her voice quieter this time.

"...I’m sorry about the match earlier too. I went overboard."

Elias turned to her, but Elysia was still busy staring at the sandwich in her hand.

"I didn’t mean to hurt you like that. But..." She paused for a moment, as if struggling to find the right words. "I didn’t like the look in your eyes back then."

"My eyes?"

Elysia gave a small nod. "You kept attacking me even though you were already hurt. I told you to stop so many times, but you didn’t listen at all. And the way you looked, too..."

*Crinkle...

The girl crumpled the sandwich wrapper before continuing in an even smaller voice.

"It felt scary."

Elias could only fall silent. He never expected Elysia to say something like that.

"I only wanted to make sure you were okay."

"That’s exactly the problem!"

Elysia shot back immediately, startling Elias a little.

"You don’t even think about yourself! What if something worse happened to you? Do you really not care?!"

Elias didn’t answer right away. He looked back at the river in front of them, trying to think over Elysia’s words.

"...I didn’t mean to scare you."

"I know!" Elysia hurriedly cut in, then turned her face away. "But I still hate seeing you like that. So don’t do it again!"

Elias glanced at her. "Staring at you?"

"That’s not what I meant, you idiot!"

"Then what do you mean?"

Elysia fell quiet, clearly struggling to explain something that made even her uncomfortable. In the end she only huffed and went back to eating.

"...Just don’t make me see that look again."

Elias studied the girl for a few moments before finally nodding while scratching his head in confusion.

"...Alright. I’ll keep it in mind."

"Good."

Elysia fell silent again, this time without any more scolding. Elias let her enjoy her food, even though he still didn’t fully understand why the look in his eyes during the match could’ve scared her so much.

But at least he knew one thing: he didn’t want to make her cry like that ever again.

"Ah, I’ve got something for you. I already gave Lady Evelyn one too."

*Rustle... Rustle...

Elias then opened his storage pouch and started rummaging inside as if searching for something. Elysia, still sitting beside him, glanced over in confusion, trying to guess what he was about to pull out this time.

Before long, Elias took out a thick fur vest in a grayish white. The fur looked soft and fairly dense, with a few patches that were slightly darker.

"This is for you. It’s pretty cold tonight, so put it on."

Elias spread the vest open before draping it over Elysia’s shoulders. He straightened the collar a little so it wouldn’t slip off easily, then stepped back once he was satisfied that everything was in place.

"Hmm... Yup! It suits you."

Elysia just sat there staring at the vest now wrapped around her. Slowly, she raised both hands and touched the thick fur at the front, feeling its softness with her fingertips.

"...Where did this come from?"

"From an Iron Fangs Wolf I got a while back. I still have some materials I haven’t used, so I figured it’d be better to make something useful out of them."

"You... made it yourself?"

"Yup! At first I wasn’t sure the design would fit. But looks like I worried for nothing."

Elysia stroked the fur near her shoulder once more. The vest felt warm, and it was even big enough to cover part of her body. Yet for some reason, she could feel her face heating up again.

"Why are you giving this to me?"

Elias tilted his head, not understanding why Elysia would ask something like that.

"As an apology... Maybe? Besides, you were crying for quite a while earlier. After crying that much, your body must be exhausted. With the cold night air on top of that, I don’t want you getting sick afterward."

Elysia fell silent at once. She wanted to say something back, but after opening her mouth several times without a single word coming out, she finally lowered her head and fiddled with the edge of the vest.

"...You idiot. You should’ve been the one wearing it. Your body hasn’t fully recovered either."

"Hm? Did you say something?"

"Nothing!"

Elias shrugged and settled back into his seat. He had no idea that Elysia was still holding the front of the vest, squeezing the fur between her fingers every now and then as she tried to hide her reddening face.

* * *

A short while later, Elias and Elysia headed back to Aurelle Mansion since the night was getting late. At first Elysia was genuinely scared of facing Evelyn, but with Elias’s support, she finally gathered her courage and walked into the mansion.

*Creak~

As the two of them pushed open the mansion door, they ran straight into Evelyn, who stood there with her arms folded across her chest and a smile on her face.

*Gulp

Elysia froze for a moment, swallowing hard before slowly walking toward Evelyn with her head bowed.

"B-Big Sis..."

Her voice was faint, with a slight tremble in it.

"Kneel."

*THUD

The instant she heard Evelyn’s order, Elysia dropped to her knees with both hands resting on her thighs.

"Where have you been? Can’t you read the time? It’s already night. What is a girl like you doing outside this late? Don’t you know the way home? Or did you find yourself a lover and forget to come back, huh?

Why have you become such a naughty girl, Elysia?"

Elysia was stunned by her sister’s words. She had prepared herself for Evelyn’s anger, but she hadn’t expected to get scolded this directly. Especially when Evelyn started nagging without giving her any chance to explain, all Elysia could do was keep her head down and listen to every word her sister said.

"Big Sis, I—"

"No excuses! As punishment, you’re not allowed to have any snacks for three days!"

Elysia was stunned again. She lifted her face slightly, as if unable to believe the punishment that had just been handed down. Her lips quivered and her eyes began to well up. But before the tears could fall, she hurriedly wiped both eyes with the back of her hand.

"S-sorry, Big Sis. I won’t do it again."

After that, Evelyn’s gaze shifted to Elias, who was still standing not far from them.

"Elias."

"Y-yes, Lady?"

"Kneel."

"E-eh?"

"Kneel."

Elias was confused for a few moments, but then he followed Evelyn’s order and knelt down next to Elysia.

"You too. Where were you this late at night? Don’t you know your body hasn’t fully recovered? So why have you started moving around, even at night like this? Have you forgotten how it felt when you tried to move your body this afternoon? Did you not think about how much trouble it was for me, Elysia, Seraphina, and the maids when we were taking care of you before, huh?"

"L-Lady, I just—"

"No excuses! Wrong is wrong! As punishment, you’re not allowed to eat meat for three days!"

Elias was utterly stunned by the punishment Evelyn handed down. He stared at her in disbelief, as if he’d just heard something far more terrifying than a death threat.

"T-that’s too cruel! Please don’t torture me like this, Lady! I’m begging you~!"

*THUD!

Elias immediately prostrated himself before Evelyn, sobbing his heart out.

*Sob... Sob...

He even bowed his head over and over until it almost touched the floor, pleading for the punishment to be called off. But Evelyn didn’t budge at all. She kept standing with both arms folded across her chest, even deliberately turning her face away as though she couldn’t hear Elias’s wailing.

"Three days without meat?! How am I supposed to survive like this?!"

"My decision is final."

Evelyn answered casually, without showing the slightest sign of changing her mind.

"Pfft... hehe..."

Seeing Elias’s over-the-top antics, Elysia finally couldn’t hold back her laughter. She giggled softly with a hand over her mouth, but the more Elias begged, the harder it got for her to stop.

For a moment, Elysia felt her heart grow much lighter. That simple warmth made her forget the sadness she’d carried all this time, letting her enjoy the moment without having to think about anything at all.

* * *