Now that I had come to think of it, did Dranste just suddenly disappear without words because he was generous and because he knew that Assisi would scold me with worry? I felt suspicious about why he did such a good thing, but it was also true that I was grateful for him. Anyway, he sometimes did this kind of vague idea and made me feel like I couldn’t even hate him. Oh, that sneaky man.

  “Were you reading a book?”


  “Huh?”


  Assisi asked me while looking at the area beside me. Assisi, who was standing next to me, was still as handsome as ever, I see.

  This reminded me of when we first met.

  I smiled while thinking about those days. Back then, I never could have imagined that we’d become this close…


  “But I’ve already finished reading it.”


  As soon as I stood up, Assisi followed me naturally. I was going to walk around my garden and go back to the palace and have dinner. I stood up without thinking because this is my daily routine, but when I saw Asissi, my heart suddenly wavered.

  “Assisi, would you like to hold hands?”


  “Pardon me?!”


  Huh? Why was he so surprised more than he should have been? I was embarrassed after looking at his reaction.

  “No, I just… it seems like I’ve never walked while holding your hand before.”


  After all, he always held me in his arms.

  Usually, I would hold on to Assisi’s sleeves, or he would walk behind me. A most common scene is that my dad and I would walk while holding each other’s hands, and Assisi would follow behind us.

  Oh, thinking about that now, we had never really held hands.

  Now that I realized it, I wondered how I could do that.

  I didn’t do anything for Assisi, but he always protected me. I didn’t know anything to repay Assisi. I barely smiled, thinking that I was such an indifferent master.

  “Come on, here, let’s hold hands.”


  As soon as I stretched my arms and stuck it out to him, Assisi looked down at my hand. I was a little embarrassed because he looked at my hands as if he was looking at a strange object.

  What was he staring at? Hadn’t he ever seen a person’s hand before?

  Assisi’s face looked like he was considering something. Hmm. Maybe I shouldn’t have suggested holding hands. I just wanted to tap out now, but somehow, he seemed embarrassed, so I just waited for him. He didn’t seem against it… so I should wait for him. Wait, wait!