Between Your Letter and My Reply

Chapter 30

[Translation By Divinity]

She then looked at Damian with sparkling blue eyes.

“Money problems and housing problems can be solved at once! Aren’t you going to university, Damian?”

“What? University?”

“Yes! Graduating from university opens up more job opportunities! Is there a reason you didn’t go to university and enlisted instead?”

“Two years ago, I didn’t have the money for tuition. And my grades weren’t good enough to aim for a scholarship. Besides, how would going to university solve my money and housing problems?”

Lilliana spoke with a determined expression.

“Of course, if you can afford it, there’s no better refuge or solution than university in your current situation! I think it’s not a bad idea to study hard and get a scholarship. It’s not too late to start preparing for entrance exams now. You have enough savings to last until next year, right? If you get admitted as the top student, you’ll get a scholarship and dormitory fees covered. Even if you don’t get a scholarship every time, you can still earn enough for tuition by working part-time during vacations. And you’re a war veteran, right? There might be universities with additional benefits for that.”

Damian blinked.

“University…”

“If you make a more concrete plan… Ah, they’re calling me. Let’s talk after my therapy! Meet me at the same cafe! If you get there first, order me a caramel macchiato!”

As Lilliana ran towards the treatment room, Damian called out to her.

“Lilliana!”

“What?”

She turned around, her blonde hair swaying in an arc due to the centrifugal force. Damian thought it looked quite lovely. He looked at Lilliana’s thin hospital gown and said,

“Please wear something over your gown today.”

“Ah, roger, roger.”

She mimicked a salute, and Damian chuckled. ‘She looks like a bunny, but…’

Left alone for a moment, Damian thought of Lintray. He tried to organize his impression of her.

For some reason, the Lintray in his mind had blonde hair, like the one he had seen in that dream or hallucination, and her eyes, though he couldn’t recall the exact color, seemed to have a warm and intelligent glint.

Her demeanor might be refined and elegant, but upon closer inspection, she wouldn’t be a typical lady. But she would be pure-hearted.

She would always have a gentle expression, with softly drooping eyes, a straight nose, and lips like red berries.

Waiting for Lilliana at the cafe after his therapy, Damian continued his thoughts and tilted his head in confusion. He felt a sense of déjà vu, as if he already knew someone with a similar impression.

‘Ah.’

A face finally came to mind. The face of Saint Fabalty, known as the angel of God who descended to earth 300 years ago, looked just like that in her portrait.

‘Is it too idealized?’

But if someone asked him to imagine the most beautiful image of a person he had never met, wouldn’t he naturally conjure up the most beautiful image he could think of? That was the Lintray in Damian’s mind.

He was still pondering whether his image was too idealized when Lilliana’s cheerful voice snapped him out of his thoughts as she entered the cafe.

“What are you thinking about so deeply? Were you thinking about what I said?”

As Damian had requested, she was wearing a warm pink cardigan over her hospital gown. Damian observed Lilliana sitting across from him and thought absently,

‘She’s like a bunny.’

Lilliana was indeed beautiful and innocent, but she was different from the purity Damian imagined Saint Fabalty to have.

To Damian, Lilliana was like a hopping bunny. She had a round forehead and delicate features, and her small mouth moved so busily when she spoke.

“Look! My aunt bought me cookies!”

Lilliana proudly held up a tin case as if it were a trophy.

“They’ll be delicious with coffee. Oh, I got permission from the cafe owner to eat outside food.”

Lilliana opened the lid of the case and quickly took out a cookie, biting into it. The way she munched…

‘Does she have to be bunny-like in every way?’

“Here, Damian, have some too.”

Lilliana pushed the tin case towards Damian, but he shook his head.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not good with sweets.”

He realized he had sounded too serious and blunt in his refusal, so he tried to explain himself to Lilliana, worried that she might feel embarrassed. But to his surprise, she was grinning.

“What’s up? What were you thinking just now?”

Lilliana asked playfully, drawing out the end of her sentence.

“What?”

“Why were you smiling so warmly? You, our Damian, who’s so stingy with his smiles.”

“Was I smiling?”

“Yes. You’re back to your usual expression now, though.”

She rested her chin on her hand and giggled.

“It would be so nice if you smiled like that more often. You’re always so expressionless and stiff in front of me, saying things like ‘Yes, ma’am’ and ‘No, ma’am.'”

Lilliana tried to imitate Damian’s expression and voice, but he wasn’t even aware that he acted that way.

“Is that so?”

“See! You’re doing it right now. That expressionless face is taking away half of your good looks. Don’t waste that handsome face! And your hair! It’s so long it’s covering your unique blue-gray eyes! Get a haircut! Your skin seems naturally good, so if you just fix your hair and that expression, you’d be ten times more handsome!”

Lilliana seemed genuinely concerned.

Damian had often heard from Nicole to make better use of his face, but this was the first time he had met someone so passionate about his appearance. He didn’t know how to respond.

“And you know, are you doing that on purpose?”

“What do you mean?”

Damian asked back, and Lilliana said in a slightly sulky voice,

“Smiling only when we part ways!”

“What?”

Lilliana’s words were completely new to him.

“You’re expressionless or have that stiff look the whole time we’re together, but you only smile when we’re saying goodbye. Didn’t you know that?”

“Did I really do that?”

“Yes, you did. And every time you smile like that, you really…!”

Lilliana wanted to scold Damian for only showing her glimpses of his smile, but she couldn’t continue.

“I mean, every time you do that, you really…! Really…”

As Damian tilted his head, Lilliana’s face slowly flushed. She fanned herself and looked away.

“J-Just smile like that more often. You’re so stiff during our conversations, and then you only smile at the end! It’s heartless.”

“…I’ll try my best.”

Damian replied with an unsure expression. Just then, their drinks arrived, and Lilliana fanned her face for a while, pretending to drink her coffee to cool down her flushed cheeks.

“S-So, what were we talking about?”

“University?”

“Ah, right. We were talking about university, weren’t we?”

“I thought about it, Lilliana, but I’m not sure. Your idea sounds good, but honestly, I don’t have anything I want to do if I go to university.”

Lilliana crossed her arms at Damian’s words.

“Don’t you have any interests?”

“Not really.”

Damian’s indifferent attitude made Lilliana’s face crease in thought.

“But there must be something you’re good at or enjoy doing, right?”

“I don’t know about enjoying, but there’s something I’m good at.”

“What is it?”

“Infiltrating enemy lines and shooting.”