Chapter 21: 21

Chapter 21 – Heavy Rain

“Have you heard?”
“About what…?”

Emilia could barely ask.

“The waltz is a man’s dance.”

With those words, Hadius started moving without warning.
Emilia also moved, as if attracted by a magnet. She just had her hand on his shoulder, but Emilia was following him as if they were tightly tied with an invisible string.

They were amazingly in sync. As he moved to the left, her leg turned to the left; and as he turned, Emilia turned in that direction too.

“You just need to stay still.”

A mushy voice flowed down her spine.

“You don’t have to do anything.”

Why is the breath that’s tickling the top of her head so sweet?

“I have been learning this since I was five years old. I have always done it perfectly.”

The slow-paced steps gradually got faster.

It was amazing. All she could hear was the sound of waves and wind, but Emilia was taking the music with her entire body.

As he applied strength into the hands that were touching each other, the center of gravity shifted to the opposite direction. Emilia’s body titled. She thought she was going to fall, but in the next moment, she found herself spinning.
As soon as she returned, his hand embraced her waist again.

Unlike Hadius, who was getting stronger and stronger, Emilia kept losing strength in her legs. It was hard to stand with her whole body shaking. Still, she moved diligently. Led by the eyes and hands of a man who had become frighteningly unfamiliar.

“Are you tired?”
“… I’m fine.”

Emilia answered with difficulty. She let go of all the tension and just entrusted her body to him until the end.
As if he had been waiting, Hadius pulled her slender body. Her chest and thighs were awfully pressed, arousing her desire.

Emilia unconsciously closed her eyes.
Then, the endlessly rushing waves, the sand they were gently stepping on, and the cool breeze became stronger and clearer.

Happiness.

Surprisingly, she felt ‘happiness’.
Something to rely on. Something to relax her body, that is always focusing on something, and completely entrust herself to someone. The act of being so wary after her father passed away felt terribly sweet.

She knew very well that it was a momentaneous happiness. That’s why Emilia didn’t resist anymore.

The 5 years had trained her well, and she was confident that she wouldn’t falter now.

Do not forget. It’s over anyway. The breakup.

Emilia thought so and slowly returned to her senses, which she had left to rise high in the sky. As if it had been waiting, something cold fell on her cheek.

“?”

Emilia opened her eyes. At that moment, another drop of water splashed on her face.

“It’s raining…”

The steps that seemed to continue endlessly stopped at once. Hadius held her waist firmly, to prevent inertia from knocking Emilia down.

Tap… Tap… Tadap… Taptaptap…

The rain that had dropped intermittently turned into a torrent in an instant.

“Ah!”

The moment Emilia shrieked, the sky flashed and lightning struck. Then, the abundant sound of thunder swallowed everything.

The sky abruptly turned into darkness, and rain poured on both their faces.
Laughter burst out from the mouths of the two people, who were facing each other with surprised faces.

That man… He laughed… And I did, too…

Rain started pouring like a waterfall, giving her no chance to dwell on that shocking fact.

“Let’s go!”

Emilia, who was trying to run as hard as she could, stopped, not being able to take a single step. Hadius grabbed her wrist. He took off his frock coat and put it over Emilia’s head.

The man’s pure white shirt quickly got wet.

Emilia ran frantically after Hadius. Her heart was beating as if it was going to break through her ribcage.

He didn’t just put his clothes over her. He filled her up with his delicate body scent. Adding up the memory of her wrist being grabbed, she felt light-headed, and her body trembled. She kept losing strength in her legs.

Just as they left the sand and entered the forest path, Emilia finally stumbled. She was trying to avoid a puddle and lost her footing.
Hadius grabbed the body that was about to fall down.

“Are you alright?”
“… Yes…”

The elbow held by the man’s hand was burning.

“… Thank you.”

Emilia quickly tried to release herself.
But he didn’t let go. The man’s arm stretched out like a spiderweb and embraced her small shoulders with force.

“Ah, I’m fi…”
“Let’s go.”

Hadius pretended not to listen and walked diligently. It was different from when they were dancing. The unnecessary contact suffocated Emilia.

Her shoulder, her side, and even her tights.
Sparks lit up in every part that brushed against the man, plunging her into a strange shock.

Walking in heavy rain was not easy. Her hair and clothes were sticking to each other and it was difficult to tell what was ahead. Her body slowly began to tremble as the cold set in.

Hadius suddenly stopped. He looked worriedly at the steam coming out of Emilia’s mouth without stop, and then raised his head and looked straight ahead.
He was estimating how long it would take them to get home.

Then, an idea flashed through Emilia’s head. She immediately tugged at his shirt.

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“Over there, there’s a place where we can escape from the rain!”

There was a small shed at the end of the side road she pointed to.

She naturally thought he would be happy, but oddly enough, Hadius hesitated.
Perhaps because Emilia was ignorant of the intimate relationship between men and women. She didn’t understand the man’s hesitation at all.

“It’s used as a warehouse, but it’s great to avoid the rain!”

Emilia shouted very loudly and clearly, and Hadius only looked down at her for a while.
His troubled pupils wandered aimlessly on her innocent face and stopped at her lips, which were turning blue. Hadius then turned to the direction she pointed.

***

It was an old, cramped, and small shed. After rushing to get under the eaves, Emilia quickly pulled herself away from him and handed him his coat.

“Thank you, Young Master.”

As soon as they went inside, she fumbled around in the darkness and lit up a lamp. Inside the dimly lit interior, Hadius looked around, silently.

There was nothing but a haystack, a small table, and a chest of drawers.

“This is my brother Mitch’s ‘secret base’. Before he went to school, we played here every day. When the weather was good, we would sleep too…”

Emilia smiled and pointed to the haystack they had used as a bed.

Hadius’ eyes leered at it and then turned back to Emilia. In a strange silence, the eyes of the young man and woman met with authenticity.
Regardless of who was the first, they scattered towards the opposite direction in an instant.

“T-There must be something we can use as a towel here.”

Emilia eagerly searched the drawers and found some bundles of linen cloth. After receiving the towel, he wiped his hair and face and squeezed the water out of his clothes.

Her wandering eyes secretly turned to the man again.
He was completely soaked. His shirt was completely attached to his body, and his firm and good-looking muscles were clearly visible.

Unaware of her peeking eyes, Hadius swept his wet hair; and Emilia had a strange feeling as if she were nauseous.

“… Are you cold?”

This time, Emilia found a blanket and handed it to him. Hadius received it without saying a word, opened it wide on both sides, and suddenly approached her. Emilia froze again, like a rabbit.

A moment later, the only blanket they had was covering Emilia, not him.

“Ah, I’m fine…”

Ignoring her small resistance, he wrapped the blanket around her and sat her on a chair.

As he was returning to his place, Hadius suddenly stopped as if he had found something interesting. His gaze reached a small hairpin that was stuck on one side of Emilia’s hair.

“… You had this during Passover too.”

She tilted her head. What was he talking about? Then, she understood what he meant and was surprised.

Was it 4 years ago?
The first time she was invited to the Meyer mansion was during Passover.
According to Hadius, Emilia was wearing this hairpin that day.

“Did… I?”
“Everyone was looking at you.”

With a pounding heart, Emilia put her hand on her chest.
Whether he was aware of that, a calm voice continued.

“No one could take their eyes off you. You were the only woman without any accessories, like this.”

The shock doubled her trembling.

Emilia stiffened like a statue and couldn’t breathe until Hadius got back to his place.

He leaned against the wall by the door and folded his arms.

After that, there was silence for a long time.

It was difficult to bear with Hadius, who had become unfamiliar. Emilia’s sense of obligation to say something made her move her mouth.

“… Aren’t you cold?”
“Don’t worry.”
“You might catch a cold while you’re being so courageous. Have you never been hit by rain like this before?”

The corners of Hadius’ mouth curled up.

“Did you forget? Where I have been during the past 4 years. When you march, you can’t even imagine having an umbrella.”
“Ah…”

Why is she so stupid?
She completely forgot that he would soon graduate from Elfort Military Academy.

The reason why he was able to calmly take off his clothes despite the sudden heavy rain, catch her, who almost fell down, and come here while staying composed all the time, is probably because of his training in the military.

“Being hit by rain is nothing. In the scorching sun, with cramping legs, you must walk even if you feel like you’re going to fall. If you fall behind in line, you will be told that you are inferior during all 4 years. I even have the name tag ‘Meyer’, so that can’t happen.”

A deep, low voice resonated in the cramped shed.

“At some point, I thought I was going to die like this, that my limit was coming.”

Hadius smiled for a moment. It was a bitter smile.

“The guys with lovers walked around with things like that hairpin. Like some kind of guardian deity.”

Emilia held her breath, listening to her beating heart.

“Anyway, don’t worry. If I had to get covered with this blanket, I wouldn’t have been able to graduate.”

There was silence for the third time. Emilia’s thoughtless mouth moved again.

“But your dance skills are pretty good? Thanks to that, I won’t humiliate you. Actually, I was a little nervous. At Lord Cavendish’s mansion, I only learned dancing once or twice a year. The teacher wasn’t as good at dancing as the Young Master, and I also didn’t have a partner like you…”
“Can you stop saying that?”

Unlike his voice, which quickly became cold, his eyes were strangely burning.

“… What?”
“Young Master.”

Her chattering lips came to a halt.

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