Between Your Letter and My Reply

Chapter 39

[Translation By Divinity]

—…

Lilliana had spoken as cautiously as possible, but Pascal remained silent for a while. Unable to bear the awkward silence, Lilliana hurriedly continued.

“Oh, if it’s not okay, then it’s not okay! I don’t really have a reason to tell him anyway! Ah, I know. If I tell him, it could be troublesome for both me and you… I wanted to tell him because I trust Damian, but we haven’t known each other for long, so maybe I judged him too quickly. I won’t tell him. Yeah! I won’t tell him! Ehehe, ahahaha.”

Lilliana laughed awkwardly to reassure Pascal. It seemed to work, as she heard a soft sigh from the other end of the line.

—…Alright.

Lilliana quickly changed the subject to break the awkward atmosphere.

“By the way, do you know what happened today? Damian, well…”

She told Pascal, with a bit of exaggeration, how Damian had fought against four pickpockets and subdued them all at once.

“Isn’t he amazing? Right?”

Lilliana spoke proudly, even though it wasn’t her own accomplishment. Pascal replied in a low voice,

—Oh… He’s really amazing, isn’t he? So that’s what happened…?

For some reason, Pascal’s voice sounded meaningful. Lilliana couldn’t read her intentions and felt uneasy.

“Auntie?”

—Huhuhu… It seems there’s always a way, after all.

Then she laughed softly for a while, like a contented lioness. No matter how many times Lilliana called out to Pascal, she just kept chuckling to herself.

“Hello? Auntie? Auntie?”

Lilliana called out again, and Pascal suddenly spoke in a serious tone.

—Lilliana, the truth is…

Pascal started speaking, as if it was difficult to bring up the topic.

—I was planning to tell you a bit later… But since you seem to be going out and about, I thought I’d better tell you now before I regret it.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden? Why are you creating such a serious atmosphere?”

Lilliana asked, puzzled, but Pascal continued in a heavy voice.

—Listen carefully, Lilliana. You need to avoid returning to the east for the time being.

Lilliana frowned and asked,

“What? Why?”

—The people chasing Casey have become aware of your existence.

“What?!”

Lilliana’s voice rose involuntarily.

“What do you mean?! What happened in the past two years?”

Pascal answered in a tired voice,

—They found out that Casey has a younger sister. So they’re targeting you. You’re an easier target than Casey, who’s abroad.

They’ve been searching the hideouts in Kelta, and I can’t use my contacts at Noster State University anymore. That’s why I sent you to the hospital in Nichio. There’s a saying that to hide a tree, you plant it in a forest. I thought you’d be safer in the capital, where there are more people, than in the sparsely populated east.

“You can’t use your contacts anymore? What happened, Auntie?”

—Things just turned out that way. Anyway, you can’t go back to Kelta or Noster University for now.

“Why didn’t you tell me until now? Why did you act like nothing was wrong?”

Lilliana’s face was filled with confusion and anxiety, but Pascal’s voice remained business-like.

—You were sick. It wouldn’t have been good for you to hear about this while you were already dealing with your heart condition.

“But…!”

Lilliana bit her lower lip and asked,

“Then what’s going to happen to me?”

—Ah, that’s actually why I’m calling.

Pascal’s voice lightened.

—I need to meet with Damian about that.

☆

Two days later, Pascal arrived in Nichio.

Even though they had agreed she could call him anytime since they were friends, it had only been two days since that conversation, and Lilliana felt embarrassed to call Damian out of the blue.

Moreover, after hearing Pascal’s reason for wanting to meet Damian, Lilliana wasn’t sure if it was even appropriate.

When Lilliana told Damian that Pascal wanted to meet him, he was a bit puzzled but agreed to set up a meeting. Since Pascal was the one who unilaterally requested the meeting, they headed to the hotel where Damian was staying.

Upon receiving their arrival notice, Damian came down to find Lilliana and Pascal sitting in the hotel lobby. They stood up as he approached.

Damian walked towards them with an awkward expression, and Lilliana quickly said,

“I’m so sorry for calling you out of the blue like this, Damian.”

“No, it’s okay. I didn’t have anything to do anyway…”

“Hello, Damian. This is the second time we’ve met.”

Pascal pushed Lilliana aside and approached Damian, extending her left hand. Damian shook her hand and bowed his head.

“It’s been a while, Ms. Pascal. I heard you were looking for me.”

“Ah, yes, but this isn’t something to discuss standing up… Shall we find a place to sit?”

Damian blinked and tilted his head. He looked at Lilliana over Pascal’s shoulder. She nodded at him with a resigned expression. Lilliana didn’t seem too pleased, but it didn’t appear to be anything strange.

Damian was puzzled but spoke politely.

“There’s a cafe inside the hotel. Would you like to go there?”

“Alright.”

Damian led the way. On the way, Lilliana quickened her pace to walk beside him and whispered,

“Hey, Damian. I think my aunt might say something strange… Well, not strange, but a bit awkward… If you don’t feel comfortable, you don’t have to agree to anything. Don’t feel pressured, okay?”

Damian looked down at Lilliana, who was fidgeting nervously, and then tilted his body to match her eye level, noticing how much shorter she was than him.

“What’s it about that it’s so difficult to say?”

“I can’t really tell you now, but you’ll understand when you hear my aunt out. But really, don’t feel pressured! It’s okay to say no if you don’t want to.”

“I don’t know what it is, but I understand.”

Damian nodded briefly, and they heard Pascal clear her throat behind them. They straightened up and looked forward.

Damian led them to a window seat in the cafe. Pascal and Lilliana sat side by side, and Damian sat across from them.

A waiter came to take their order and left, leaving a brief awkward silence. Unable to bear it, Lilliana took something out of her handbag and handed it to Damian.

“Here, I got the photos we took developed. I’ll give you one.”

“Thank you.”

Damian looked closely at the photo. It showed a beautiful woman smiling brightly against the backdrop of the magnificent fountain, standing next to a gloomy-looking man with an awkward smile. Damian didn’t know how to smile prettily for photos, so this was the best he could do.

Lilliana tilted her head, seeing Damian staring at the photo for longer than expected.

“Why? Don’t you like it?”

“No, I like it.”

Damian put the photo aside, and Pascal, as if waiting for this moment, spoke up.

“I heard you got caught up in some trouble while out with Lilliana the other day?”

Damian looked at Pascal with wavering eyes, wondering if she was about to scold him. He braced himself for criticism about putting Lilliana in danger or pushing her too hard despite her condition.

But there was no anxiety or displeasure on her face. Instead, her eyes sparkled like a child who had just heard a heroic tale. It was similar to Lilliana’s reaction.

Damian, who had been preparing a few excuses, relaxed at Pascal’s lighthearted tone and nodded.

“Well… yes, that happened.”

“Hmm.”

Pascal hummed with an unreadable expression and nodded.