Chapter 8 – A Rainy Day (1)

Because it seemed like he didn’t know which part of his shoulders was still wet, I pointed to the location with a finger.

But as Robin wiped the wrong place, I felt frustrated and touched my forehead.

“Give it to me. I’ll do it for you.”

There was no helping it.

I was honestly grateful to him—except for the suspicious and mysterious things about him.

It felt like I barely found my way out of a dead end.

That’s the feeling I had as I went into his mansion.

Upon receiving the towel, I wiped his wet hair.

Robin, who was looking down at me, leaned forward more and bowed his head.

He was so close. At that short distance, I glimpsed into Robin’s eyes, but soon turned away as I dried his hair, pretending that nothing happened.

Then, wondering if he was going to stop me, my brows furrowed slightly.

“Since you helped me in many ways… Think of it as a reward.”

I added this just in case he’d misunderstand.

But compared to all the help he had given me, this was nothing.

“Are you normally this kind?”

“I’m far from being affectionate.”

Then, the man contemplated for a while, then nodded, as though he was thinking ‘That sounds about right.’

Did I really seem that way?

“Do you live with your family here?”

Even though I had been in the living room the whole time, the only people I encountered were the servants.

It was unbelievable to think that he lived alone in such a large mansion, so I thought there might be some relatives in other parts of the estate.

“They’ve passed away.”

My hands had been busy shaking off the moisture from his hair, but at this, my hands froze. As I looked up in surprise, he added.

“A long time ago.”

“Ah…”

“Why do you ask?”

But I shouldn’t have asked.

I experienced the same thing before.

Before I reincarnated as Rina Blan, I had parents who raised me and loved me with all their hearts. I loved them very much, but they died in an accident.

After coming to this place, I sometimes thought about them.

And I sometimes missed that previous life.

The more I lived in this world, the more I missed my parents who gave me endless affection.

Of course, it wasn’t all happy times. Except for my parents, there were instances when the situation over there was as bad as it was here.

“I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

Robin frowned as he asked.

“It’s not something that others are privy to. I thought that I might have stumbled on an old wound of yours unknowingly.”

There’s no one who could easily say that their family was dead.

“Old wound.”

I handed over the wet towel to the butler behind me.

There was a strange light behind the butler’s eyes, but I looked back at Robin without stopping to consider it.

“Do you have that?”

It was an inquisitive question.

“…Yes.”

“Hmm…”

We stopped talking about the topic beyond this, and he didn’t bother asking more. I just tilted my head to the side to see if he was mulling over something.

The silence was awkward.

I knew it. I shouldn’t have brought it up.

“By the way, Rina.”

While I was thinking about what to do to remedy the awkward atmosphere, Robin suddenly called my name.

“I’m two years younger than you.”

“…What?”

I could only blink at the unexpected words that were brought up in this peculiar situation.

Why did it feel like he was still being gentle despite him being expressionless?

But what’s wrong…?

“Please speak comfortably. It’s a bit uncomfortable for me.”

“This is comfortable.”

“No, I’m uncomfortable.” *

We first met each other only the other day, so I don’t think it’s right to drop honorifics.

But we’ll continue meeting each other in the future anyway, so is this okay? But then…

“How did you know my age?

I definitely only said my name when I introduced myself, so I was wondering how he knew it.

“You told me while you were sleeping.”

Come to think of it, I remember hearing someone’s whisper as I slept.

So that’s when.

“Then later, when we get to know each other.”

When I turned my head, I realized just how close we were.

Outside the window, the rain was pouring even more, as if it never wanted to end.

 

* * * 

As I continued to stay at Robin Vhind’s mansion, he told me that he had gleaned some information about Valta living in the north.

It would take a few days to get there by train.

Then again, there was a high possibility that the train would get suspended because of the sudden downpour.

The rain didn’t stop for three days.

In the meantime, I tried to figure out what kind of person Robin Vhind was.

While I was being bathed by a maid who was waiting on me for the first time, I asked what kind of person her master was.

As she hesitated with great difficulty, she only said one thing.

“Milord is a good person.”

The employees here were generally quiet even though there were enough people to manage this large mansion.

They focused on their own work and didn’t pay much attention to anything else.

They also didn’t talk to me more than necessary, answering me very briefly when I had something to ask.

It was as if they were abiding by a set of rules.

After observing them for two days, this was my conclusion.

The quiet people working under Robin were all like that.

I didn’t know if he was truly a good person.

I had yet to rule out the possibility that he was a pervert.

However, he did not secretly open my door and enter, nor did he subject me to any sadistic acts.

Just like now, when he entered my room—

“Is your arm alright?”

—He was only concerned about my well-being.

I nodded at him and rolled up my sleeve.

The hand that I thought would touch my arm unexpectedly touched my forehead.

He touched my forehead with the back of his hand, but I pulled back, flustered when he moved his hand towards my cheek and ear.

Then, as he looked into my eyes, he spoke.

“You said it hurts.”

Even though the room was endlessly warm, my body shivered.

I didn’t know why my body suddenly felt like it was heating up.

“Does it hurt so much that you couldn’t eat breakfast?”

“I’m alright.”

“You have a fever. Even your breath is hot.”

“I’m really fine.”

Was Robin Vhind worried?

I looked back at the past conversations I had with the employees, but I never heard anything about him being like this.

Well, there’s only so much that an employee could know about their master.

“Don’t you want to meet Valta?”

As I heard the pitter patter of rain drumming on the window, I touched my forehead. I definitely had a fever.

“You should get better before then.”

First, my recovery. Then…

“And you can’t skip any more meals.”

“I don’t have an appetite.”

“Eat even a little in the morning.”

“But I’m not hungry. I’ll be sure to eat dinner instead.”

As a guest, it wasn’t polite to skip meals.

Robin nodded and sat on the chair opposite the bed. He placed his hand on my arm and started treating me.

I shivered at the cold sensation spreading over my bare skin.

It felt like there was ice over my arm.

Only then did I realize that my fever was really bad.

Every time my arm was treated, I would be left exhausted even when magic wasn’t used.

And when the treatment was over, he wiped away the tears at the corners of my eyes as though saying that I endured well.

He caressed my lips with his thumb, which were chapped and clumped with red blood, then he rang the bell.

“Not dinner. Eat now.”

The meal arrived like it was medicine.

I really didn’t have an appetite and I didn’t want to eat, but strangely, I grew hungry the moment I smelled the food.

There was also another portion of food served. Robin was going to eat with me.

“You haven’t eaten yet?”

Did he skip breakfast and come straight to me?

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I had to do some work first.”

I scooped up some soup and glanced at Robin, who was reading a newspaper. Thanks to him sitting next to me, it was easy for me to read it as well.

It was the daily newspaper for today, but there weren’t many interesting events.

I couldn’t see the words on the other side, so I squinted and tilted my head slightly to the side.

But it seems like I leaned in too much.

My head bumped into his shoulder.

“……”

I lifted my eyes to look at him.

But Robin was still reading the newspaper.

His facial expression didn’t change at all. It seemed like he didn’t feel as embarrassed as I did.

He didn’t seem to care about me being close to him at all, so I continued reading the newspaper with ease.

He shifted slightly so that our posture was more comfortable. Thanks to this, I could see the words a little better.

I read along without noticing that he slowed down in turning the pages, but I couldn’t get any interesting news.

Then, I noticed that we were really close together. I moved back.

“Any interesting gossip?”

“There are still two pages left.”

He flipped the page as he said this.

Robin knew that I was peeking over, so he brought it closer to me so I could read more easily.

I was flustered, but I nodded without showing it. Then, I nodded.

“I read it. I read everything.”

I drank some water.

My surprised heart skipped a beat, then stood up to open a window because the air was too hot for no reason.

On a rainy day like this, the humidity was permeating into the room.

Some drops of rain went in as the window was opened, and water splattered on my hand as I rested it on the window frame. Looking blankly, I murmured unconsciously.

“When will you stop…”

But there was an answer to my musings.

“Do you want the rain to stop?”

“There’s no one who likes rain.”

“Don’t be so sure. I like it.”

“Perhaps many people do.”

“Why do you dislike the rain?”

It was an ordinary question, but I couldn’t answer right away.

I had no luck during rainy days.

I didn’t know if it’s because the first time I got rained on in this world was when I ran away from the Blan mansion…

I wanted to forget it, but I couldn’t.

The day I ran away was as vivid as yesterday.

Just recalling it made me feel all the same anxious thoughts and pain…

“It’s just… Damp.”

I closed the window.

The few drops of rain that had pierced through were blocked.

And the close sound of the rain was also blocked.

“Then let’s go out to meet Valta when the rain stops.”

As soon as I turned towards him, my eyes were in turmoil.

And he stared back at me.

He was looking at me as though he could see through me.

“Is there a person you think of whenever it rains?”

——

t/n:
this can’t be translated well in English, but in Korean, both Rina and Robin are speaking to each other with the same level of respect. Robin says he’s uncomfortable because people usually speak informally to those younger than them, but this is only the case when they have a close relationship.

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────