Side Story Part IX
Anyway, thanks to that, one thing was certain. That he wasn’t angry.
I decided to bring up the urgent matter first.
“Celesto, I…”
“Just, be quiet.”
“No, I need to plant this now!”
At my words, Celesto stiffened.
“I had to cut away almost all the roots to carry it this far. If I don’t plant it soon, the roots will die and it’ll be useless!”
“Ah.”
Only then did Celesto look down at the small pot.
The little flower he had wanted so desperately to kill.
His green eyes, having stared at the dark red petals, looked up at the window.
“Is anyone inside?”
Saying that, Celesto lifted me up.
Fortunately, the reception room was empty.
“Yeah. It seems no one’s on this side.”
“Good.”
Celesto lifted me onto the windowsill.
I quietly jumped down into the reception room. Celesto followed me through the window.
“But why are you coming in this way? This is your house.”
“I told you not to ask that kind of thing at a time like this.”
Saying that, Celesto carefully opened the reception room door.
We passed through the corridor, devoid of any sign of people, and climbed the stairs. Whether most of the servants were in the rear garden, the side with the family bedrooms was eerily empty.
We found the bedroom without exchanging a single word.
But at the door, Celesto stopped me.
“Give it to me.”
“What?”
“Give me that pot. I’ll plant it in the flower pot and come back.”
Celesto held out his hand, as if urging me to hand over the pot.
“And how can I trust you with this?”
“Do you think I’d throw the pot outside? It’s not that I don’t trust you because of what you’ve done before, but right now…”
“No, that’s not it. Have you ever even transplanted a lilac before?”
“…Ah.”
Only then did Celesto let out a sound of realization.
I immediately pressed him. It was clearly much easier to talk him down than to push aside his arm blocking the door.
“Do you think this is just a matter of digging a hole and planting it? I already told you, the roots are drying out and need care.”
“…Then I’ll go bring the flower pot from my brother’s room.”
“I need to see the position to plant it properly, anyway. Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”
“Because you—”
Celesto ground his teeth. It was a reaction that suggested there was something he couldn’t bring himself to say.
But just as I had become more familiar with Celesto, he too had learned more about me.
So in the end, he also laid bare his true feelings without reservation.
“Because I don’t like you… going into another man’s bedroom.”
“…”
I was speechless, staring at Celesto.
‘Is he insane?’
It’s not like I’m going in there to sleep with him. I’m just going to plant a flower—a curse-purpose flower—in a flower pot on the window. And that he doesn’t like?
At this point, it was beyond astonishment—it was mysterious. Even the women who had once imagined his jealousy at a party probably wouldn’t have predicted such petty jealousy.
“Were… were you always like this?”
Caught off guard by the completely unexpected situation, I blurted out a stupid question.
Then, an answer I never expected came back.
“Yeah.”
Celesto answered with a face utterly devoid of shame.
“I’ve always been like this. Me.”
“…”
Having said that, Celesto tucked me under his arm and headed somewhere.
Soon, he opened the door to a room. I immediately recognized where it was.
Celesto’s bedroom.
Crossing the room, Celesto threw the window wide open. Then, supporting my hips with one arm, he grabbed the windowsill with the other.
“…Just to be sure, you’re planning to go all the way to your brother’s bedroom like this?”
“Yeah.”
Celesto answered calmly.
Soon, using only the momentum of his body and the strength of his legs, he began traversing the vertical wall.
Despite the dangerous situation, the ride was surprisingly smooth. Thanks to that, I missed my chance to point anything out to him.
And so, we soon arrived at our target—Celesto’s eldest brother’s window.
While I carefully dug the soil and transplanted the flower, Celesto quietly watched my face.
His expression was so composed that he didn’t look like someone supporting the weight of two people with just one arm.
When I had finally completed everything perfectly, Celesto spoke.
“I’m very jealous.”
“Huh? I already know that.”
It was one of the things I had learned through experience over the past few months.
But it seemed that wasn’t what Celesto wanted to say.
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