Between Your Letter and My Reply

Chapter 21

[Translation By Divinity]

The woman who had introduced herself as Lilliana, seeing that Damian didn’t respond to her handshake, seemed to finally notice his missing right arm. With a look of realization, she extended her left hand instead. Damian awkwardly shook it.

They entered the cafe and looked at the menu at the counter before taking a seat.

“You can order desserts in addition to drinks.”

Lilliana shook her head at Damian’s suggestion.

“It feels a bit excessive to have you buy me dessert too… Hmm…”

She pondered for an unnecessarily long time, narrowing her eyes at the menu.

“… Are you sure there’s nothing you’d like to have? If not, would you like to go to a different cafe?”

Damian asked cautiously, and Lilliana sighed and said,

“I want to drink coffee, but I’m worried caffeine might not be good for my heart. It makes your heart race, right? Honestly, I don’t think I’ll die from drinking a bit of coffee, but my aunt will scold me if she finds out…”

As Lilliana struggled, the barista behind the counter interjected nonchalantly.

“Ma’am, I see heart patients with that same concern about once a week. Unless you’re chugging coffee by the pint, it shouldn’t be a big problem.”

Lilliana’s face brightened.

“Really?”

“If you don’t believe me, ask your doctor. Being in front of a hospital, I get this question a lot, so I asked a doctor, and they said it’s usually fine.”

“Yes!”

Lilliana pumped her fist as if in a victory celebration and then ordered without a care in the world.

“I’ll have a hot vanilla latte then…”

Damian ordered a vanilla latte for himself and paid. Meanwhile, Lilliana had already taken a seat by the window with a good view and was waiting for him.

As Damian sat across from her, Lilliana smiled and looked at him.

“Is your heart not well?”

Damian had been concerned about Lilliana’s pale lips since earlier. She must be hospitalized because she’s sick, and it’s natural for an inpatient to look unwell, but he was hesitant to ask about her condition.

But since Lilliana brought up her heart condition first, he took the opportunity to ask.

Lilliana shrugged.

“Yes. Well, that’s how it is.”

“But is it okay for you to be out and about like this?”

“Hey, I’m not running a marathon or anything. What’s wrong with just sitting and having a cup of coffee?”

Lilliana chuckled and waved her hand dismissively.

“Your heart condition at such a young age… Is it congenital?”

Her expression turned somewhat resentful as she replied,

“I was born healthy, but I had an accident. It was a near-death experience, and my heart stopped a few times, I think. My heart hasn’t been good since then, so I’m getting treatment.”

“Ah…”

Damian nodded briefly and continued,

“We have something in common then. I was also born healthy but had a near-death experience that left me with aftereffects.”

Lilliana laughed, a sound escaping her lips like air from a balloon.

“Oh my… Hearing that, I guess you really didn’t bring me here with the intention of flirting.”

“Why do you say that?”

“You have no talent for talking to women.”

“…”

Lilliana clicked her tongue and wagged her index finger, leaving Damian speechless. It was quite a bold statement to make to someone she had just met.

Just then, the waiter brought their coffee, interrupting their conversation. It took a while for them to resume talking.

Damian, already a man of few words, was shocked by her comment about his lack of talent and clammed up.

Eventually, Lilliana, uncomfortable with the silence, broke it first as she sipped her coffee.

“Um… That arm… is it also because of the near-death experience you mentioned?”

She wondered if it was a bit rude to ask such a personal question so soon, but Damian had brought up the accident first. So she figured he wouldn’t be too offended if she inquired further.

And as she expected, Damian simply nodded without any visible emotional distress.

“I lost my right arm and a quarter of my liver.”

Lilliana’s eyebrows furrowed, expressing silent sympathy for his situation.

“What kind of accident was it?”

“A grenade exploded right in front of me.”

Lilliana’s face mirrored the doctor’s earlier expression. She looked as if she was contemplating whether he was a ghost or not.

“You’re incredibly lucky to be alive. Don’t people usually die in those situations?”

“Yes.”

“How did you survive?”

“I’m not sure myself. I can only explain it as luck.”

“Huh… That’s truly fortunate. But if you were in a situation where a grenade could hit you, does that mean you were a soldier?”

“Yes.”

“No wonder your way of speaking…”

Lilliana nodded, and Damian tilted his head.

“Does my speech sound like a soldier’s?”

“Not just ‘like’ a soldier’s, it ‘is’ a soldier’s way of speaking. Your sentences always end with ‘da’ and ‘kka’.”

Damian briefly reflected on whether he had indeed been speaking that way and then nodded in understanding.

“I didn’t used to speak like this, but I was recently discharged, so maybe that’s why. I think I’ll go back to my usual way of speaking soon.”

“Were you discharged because of your injury?”

“Yes.”

“Where did you fight? Were there any situations where our country would deploy troops…?”

“I was dispatched to Lebe.”

“Ah, I see. Were you a career soldier?”

Lilliana asked, and Damian replied with a slightly gloomy expression.

“Not originally, but I planned to stay in the military since I had made it to Second Lieutenant, but this injury forced me to be discharged.”

Hearing this, Lilliana put down her coffee cup and stared at Damian’s face.

“Second Lieutenant? I don’t know much about the military, but you look young for that… How old are you?”

“I’m 21.”

“Wow! A Second Lieutenant at that age?! You’re not even old enough to graduate from the military academy?! And you’re a year younger than me! That’s amazing!”

Damian’s expression stiffened slightly at her reaction. He had received a similar response before.

[You’re a year younger than me… That’s impressive.]

“…My high rank is because I was able to start as a sergeant thanks to the military studies courses I completed at the Advanced Academy. Also, my superiors all died in battle, so I got promoted quickly. I’m not particularly exceptional.”

Damian forced the words out.

Lilliana, seemingly unaware of Damian’s complex emotions, took a sip of coffee and shook her head.

“But they wouldn’t have given you that position if you weren’t capable, would they?”

“I’m not bragging, but I did receive two medals.”

“See?”

While Lilliana chuckled, Damian asked,

“Are you 22, Lady Lilliana?”

But Lilliana’s reaction was a bit strange.

“So they say.”

“…?”

‘It’s either yes or no, so what does ‘so they say’ mean?’ While he was pondering this, Lilliana scratched her arm and said,

“And please, stop with the ‘Lady Lilliana.’ I’m not a noble, so don’t call me by such a cringe-worthy title. Just call me Lilliana.”

Come to think of it, she had called Damian by his first name earlier.

‘What’s with this sudden closeness?’

‘And she’s 22 too… Hmm…’

Damian found himself constantly looking for similarities between Lilliana and Lintray. It was true, wasn’t it? They wore the same perfume, were the same age, and said things he had heard somewhere before…

“Speaking of which, Lady Lilliana…”

“Lilliana.”

“…Lady Lilliana.”

“Oh, please.”

Lilliana shook her head, and Damian asked a deliberately pointed question.

“What perfume are you wearing?”