Illya looked at Axion, who was looking at her in amazement.
'He came to see me here?'
The fiefdom of Ruppelt, home of Axion, was clearly located on the outskirts of the capital, not far away.
From there to here, it took more than half a day.
To come here to meet her, wasting his precious vacation time?
She couldn't understand it at all.
'I wonder what's the matter?'
But there was something more urgent than knowing why Axion had come looking for her.
“Please call Erhan.”
Axion asked them again, and Illya felt embarrassed.
'Now, even if I wanted to wear men's clothes, I can't!'
The military uniform that I washed to pick up tomorrow has not dried yet, and Erhan's other clothes were all thrown away after his death.
The only clothes she could wear here were dresses.
Also, the Baron and his wife pointed at her with their eyes with confused faces.
In the end, Ilya looked at Axion and said without blinking:
“Sorry, but my brother isn't here right now.”
"What?"
“He went out this morning saying that he was going to tour the fiefdom alone during his vacation, but as you can see, the weather suddenly changed like that, so he couldn’t come back.”
She continued speaking, pointing with her eyes outside the window where the rain was falling heavily.
“So, we just received word from him that he will be returning directly to the unit from there tomorrow.”
Excellent, looks natural.
Illya secretly sighed in relief as she looked at Axion.
In an instant, a feeling of disappointment flashed in his blue eyes.
"If it's not urgent, I think it would be better for you to go back to the unit to meet my brother.
Is it urgent, by the way?"
Then, Axion shook his head.
“It's not urgent.
Then, I'll excuse myself.”
She looked at him as he turned toward the front door, and she sighed in relief.
'Why exactly did he come here, even though it's not that urgent?'
He always did things that you couldn't understand, but his sudden appearance here today was the strangest of all.
Axion had already approached the front door and started to open it.
His strangely strong back looked like he was particularly miserable today.
At that moment, the Baron's wife looked at her and whispered.
“How about we ask him to stay here today?
The weather outside is not looking good right now.”
Threads of heavy rain were hitting the window mercilessly.
The rain was falling heavier than it had just been.
Axion didn't even carry a raincoat or an umbrella.
“With this much rain, it will be difficult to even request a carriage.
He will have to walk to the city in this rain.”
No matter how strong he was, he would fall ill if he walked into the city in this heavy rain in this weather.
'But…'
Elia looked towards her father, the Baron.
The story of the Ruppelts that the Baron had told her yesterday was on her mind.
She felt uncomfortable, as if she was introducing an enemy into her home.
'No, this won't work.'
While she was about to tell the Baron's wife that it wouldn't work, her mother had already approached Axion.
“One moment please.”
When he turned around, she suggested:
"How about you stay here today if that's okay with you?
The weather outside isn't looking good."
"No, thanks.
I don't want to be an unnecessary burden."
What a relief!
She quickly approached and opened the front door for him as she bid him farewell.
“Yes, then bye...”
Then, this time, the Baron closed the front door that she had opened and suggested:
"Think about it again.
We're fine.
We have spare rooms too."
Even my father, why would he do this?
Her parents were warm and kind people, but sometimes very intrusive.
Axion looked at them with a confused face.
“But I…”
“Master Axion, right?”
The Baron's wife looked at the name plate pinned to his uniform and then continued her speech.
“Mr.
Axion, you are the same age as Erhan, and since you are from the same unit, you do not look like a stranger to us, but rather like one of our sons, and that is why we are doing this.”
“That's right, son.
So, don't hesitate and come in.”
In the end, Axion couldn't refuse and nodded.
“Okay.
Then, I’ll have a one-night stand even though I’m shy.”
The Baron and his wife smiled very affectionately as they looked at him as he entered.
The moment she saw that smile appear on her parents' faces, Elia could understand their exaggerated interference.
It was clear that they remembered her dead brother Erhan as they looked at Axion.
Understanding their feelings, she couldn't actively stop them.
'Well, my parents probably won't know that he's a Ruppelt...'
Fortunately, the nameplate on the military uniform said “Axion R.”, and there were many families in the empire whose names began with the letter R.
Moreover, the Axion I knew didn't like to talk about his family much.
It seemed unlikely that he would start talking about his family first.
'Anyway, I already lied about Erhan, so it doesn't seem like there will be a problem.'
Then Axion approached her.
“Miss.”
"Yes?"
When she saw his handsome and polite face staring at her intently, Elia felt her heart beat uncontrollably.
This was completely different from the rough expression he always had when dealing with her in loneliness.
“Thank you for your understanding, although this may cause you inconvenience.”
After he finished speaking, Axion raised her hand lightly.
Then he placed a light kiss on the back of her hand.
The moment his wet, rain-soaked lips touched the back of her hand, she felt as if an electric current ran through her body.
From any angle, it was an ordinary greeting from a nobleman's son, but she felt like her heart was going to explode and her face flushed intensely.
'What is this?'
She felt confused by her own reaction.
On the other hand, I felt a kind of strange rage.
For the cold Axion to act so kindly and politely towards someone other than her, it was unbelievable.
Elijah quickly withdrew her hand, then turned her head sharply as she answered.
“It's okay.
We shouldn't disturb my brother.”
"Yes?"
As if she was trying to erase the trace left on the back of her hand, she quickly covered her hand with the other as she continued her words.
"If you get exposed to all this rain, even you will catch a bad cold.
And tomorrow is the day to return, so if you can't return properly, how much will my brother, the unit commander, suffer?"
Axion laughed sarcastically, as if startled.
“You look exactly like your brother, not only in appearance but even in personality.”
“Because we are from the same family.”
In fact, they are the same human being.
Then the Baron and his wife approached them.
“Come here and at least eat something warm.
You must be hungry.”
He followed them into the dining room.
On the dining table, there were simple but carefully arranged dishes.
It was a farewell to Elijah before the day of her return, and they even took out the candelabra and lit the candles.
“Axion, we haven’t prepared much, but go ahead and eat.”
"Thank you."
Axion sat at the table.
In the middle of the table, there were three large pieces of steak.
The Baron's wife placed a piece of steak in front of Elijah.
“Eat this.”
Meat in this palace!
It was the first time since the monster attack.
It had been specially prepared by the Baron and his wife because it was the last day of her vacation.
“Axion, eat too.”
The Baron's wife placed the remaining piece of steak on Axion's plate, who looked confused.
“No, I'm fine...”
“When you come back with Erhan tomorrow, won’t you suffer for a while?
So, eat this and regain your strength.”
“Yes, this one piece is enough for us.”
Axion refused, not knowing what to do, but the Baron and his wife smiled with relief and urged him again.
In the end, Axion nodded in greeting to them.
“I will eat well.
Thank you for your concern.”
Axion slowly cut the meat with the knife, took a bite, then looked at the baron and his wife.
“It's really delicious.”
He thanked them again, then began cutting the meat and eating it carefully.
Seeing that sight, the Baron's wife expressed her admiration.
“This young man is really polite and his table manners are exquisite.
He seems to have received a good education from wonderful parents from a noble family.”
At the Baron's wife's praise, his movement with the knife that was cutting the meat stopped.
"What is with you?"
A bitter smile appeared on his lips.
"…nothing."
There was an awkward silence following his answer.
The confused Baron turned his gaze here and there to change the subject.
Then, the nameplate pinned to the chest of Axion's uniform came into sight.
“Axion, your name is really cool.
Manly.”
"Thank you."
“Is the letter ‘R’ written next to your name your family’s surname?”
"yes it is."
“What is your last name?”
Wait a minute!
Before Ilia could interrupt with a word, Axion answered.
“Rubellette.”
At that moment, the Baron's face froze.
“روبيلت؟ هل قلت روبيلت الآن؟ روبيلت تلك، عائلة الجيش الإمبراطوري؟”