Silver Lining Yesterday - Chapter 13
“Throwing a party?”
At Jean’s sudden declaration, her colleagues, who had been eating their late dinner, dropped their forks.
“Dear Jean, I understand your heart, but isn’t that a bit much?”
“Yes, Gemma’s birthday is tomorrow, and there’s no one left to prepare for it these days…”
“Then why is this place so empty? This is supposed to be the home base of the Heidegger family, right? Shouldn’t there be a butler or a cook around?”
“Most of them died defending the fortress. The ones who survived either fled or were killed while trying to resist…”
“Ugh. Isn’t this also that witch’s house? And they fought so fiercely despite that? What a dysfunctional family!”
Jean, who had been listening carefully to the conversation going on at the table, made a solemn sign of the cross.
Karl, who had been chatting happily, instinctively felt the chilling atmosphere and paused.
“Wh-What are you doing? Jean, Jean Rohrbach, hey, wait a second!”
Suddenly, the candlestick floating up began to hit the boy violently.
After making the sign of the cross, Jean folded her hands together and began praying in a solemn voice.
“Dear Father in Heaven, I beg of you, please embrace your foolish and stubborn lamb with love.”
“Love? Hey! Stop! Ah! Are you not stopping?!”
“Embrace with love. Love. Please, with love.”
Every time Jean murmured ‘love,’ the hits of love seemed to add one more strike.
Unable to endure any longer Karl ran away with his tail tucked, and Ernest, who had been enjoying the spectacle, lazily asked,
“Looks like sweet Jean has already decided to throw the party. I’m sure you’ve already planned how to do it, right?”
“Of course. But I’ll need your help.”
“You’re going to make us work after we followed you all the way here, even rejecting our five-day holiday?”
“Dear Ernest, no matter how much you tease, my will will be done. Because the kind and gentle Miranda will support me.”
Jean flashed a bright smile and reached out to the right.
Miranda, who took her hand, looked at Ernest with a somewhat embarrassed expression.
“Ernest, you should rest. I’ll help Jean with your share.”
“Oh, no, no. Miranda, you shouldn’t. Now is the time to follow the 500-year tradition of Riholm.”
Everyone sitting around the table, including the escaping Karl, was from Riholm Academy.
In the past, when the teacher and students gathered at the round table to discuss, Riholm had rules, when a decision couldn’t be made, they decided by majority vote among those sitting at the table.
Looking at the empty seat where Karl had fled from the love strikes, Ernest sighed.
“Sly. You deliberately kicked him out, didn’t you?”
“Could you at least say it was a bit clever?”
Jean elegantly flipped her hair behind her ear and put her hands on the desk.
“You understand, but this birthday party for Gemma has to be perfect.”
Her blue eyes sparkled with determination.
* * *
The car, which had been driving down the main road, turned onto a side street at the intersection near the bell tower.
Stopping in front of an old-fashioned store, Nix quickly jumped out onto the road.
He rushed up to the sidewalk, then, without hesitation, scooped up Jean, who was pondering how to leap down in her loose boots.
Startled, Jean wiggled as she found a comfortable position, but through Nix’s broad shoulder, her eyes met those of a young child.
The child stared at her with wide eyes. Perhaps it was the sight of an adult being held like that?
Jean smiled gently, narrowing her eyes prettily.
The child’s eyes grew even wider, to the point where they seemed incapable of growing any larger. A lollipop dropped from the child’s open mouth.
As Nix turned around, his expression grew frustrated, and he roughly grabbed Jean’s head, pressing it down against his solid shoulder. Surprised, Jean began squirming, but Nix didn’t care. He strode across the street and rudely pushed the store door open with the tip of his boot.
The staff member, who had been about to change the sign, stumbled back in surprise and quickly rushed to stop them.
“Um, excuse me? Excuse me! We’re closing the store, you’ll need to leave… Ni, Nix Heidegger?!”
The staff member who had recognized Nix’s face clamped a hand over their mouth in shock.
Jean, who had been about to turn around in confusion, was once again caught by Nix’s large hand, which pressed down on her head. Nix bent down deeply to meet the staff member’s gaze at eye level.
Through his sunglasses, his red eyes flickered.
“Leave.”
“…Yes, have a good day.”
The staff member, with a stiff smile, left without hesitation.
Desperately trying to break free, Jean burst out angrily.
“Nix, you just used magic, didn’t you?!”
“Not at all.”
“What do you mean not at all? Look at me! What kind of spell did you carve into your eyes… what are you doing?”
Jean, caught in a daze, looked up at Nix as he set her down to stand on the couch, raising the coat’s label as if checking it.
Suddenly, Nix lifted the coat and draped it over the edge of the sofa, hanging her dangerously on the coat rack.
Jean, nearly hanging from the coat rack, panicked and stood on her tiptoes to avoid falling.
“Nix Heidegger! What are you doing?!”
“You’re scolding me just like mom.”
“You…! Put me down?!”
With a voice trembling from both anger and embarrassment, Jean shouted.
“If you keep underestimating me like this, you’ll regret it later!”
“That’s a shame. I’m treating you with all the patience I have in my life.”
“What?”
Nix flicked Jean’s forehead with his fingertip, and without hesitation, turned away.
As he changed the sign to ‘close’ and drew the curtains over the window, a middle-aged woman stepped out from the side door and approached them with a startled expression.
“Excuse me? What are you doing? The police will be patrolling soon. Please, don’t make a scene… Young Master Nix?!”
Nix, who was swiftly scanning the doorframe with his fingers, glanced at her.
The woman was flustered and unable to speak, followed Nix as he hurriedly scanned the walls, curtain rods, and the backs of frames.
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