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Chapter 44
“…What?”
“You.”
Leon, who was about to say that spying was bad for him, was speechless.
“You look really pretty.”
The girl covered her blushing cheeks with her hands, and she smiled bashfully.
It was the first time he had been told he was pretty, but he had been tired of hearing that he was good-looking. Even his mother, who didn’t like him, said that she liked him for his good looks.
“To a man, you don’t say ‘pretty,’ but ‘handsome’.”
“Wow… you look pretty when you’re angry.”
She was a really weird kid. Looking at the twinkling turquoise eyes, it was strangely warm, even in the shade of a tree.
“Well, you see.”
The girl clasped her hands behind her back and twisted her body as if there was something she wanted to ask of him.
“What?”
“Can I touch your hair just once?”
Leon was speechless once again by the unexpected request.
‘Why are you doing this to someone you’re seeing for the first time?’
Leon’s face didn’t look very good, and the girl panicked, giving reasons for the strange request.
“Sorry. Still, it was so pretty that I wanted to touch it! I think it will be soft and fluffy.”
“I am not a dog.”
“It’s not like that…”
“I’ve never seen a girl like you.”
The girl pouted her lips. Her big eyes started to get wet. Leon got nervous because he thought she was going to cry soon.
“No, I don’t mean that…”
I don’t mean that in a bad way.
He was just amazed to see a child who spoke straightforwardly after seeing girls who always covered up their inner feelings. To be honest, it was fun. It made him wonder what kind of strange words would come out next.
“Here.”
Leon bowed his head. Still taller than her, the girl tiptoed, and he bent his knees.
The girl’s hand touched his hair, smooth with pomade. He laughed at the thought that anyone would be astonished to see Major Winston’s son being petted like a dog by a commoner girl. However, when the girl smiled broadly like an excited puppy, the crooked corners of his mouth straightened.
“Wow, it’s soft. I thought it would be cold because it was a cold color, but it’s hot.”
“Because it’s summer.”
She was a really stupid kid.
“I think it will feel like this when you touch the sun.”
When the girl withdrew her hand, he straightened his bent body.
“Thank you.”
“I hope all your doubts are cleared.”
The girl nodded her head.
“I’m jealous. I want to be blonde too. My whole family is blonde, but I am the only one with brown hair.”
The child was talking about things he didn’t ask.
Usually, Leon would use a reasonable excuse to avoid the place when girls were telling their stories that he didn’t care about. He left the place with an excuse for his upcoming riding class, but oddly enough, his foot didn’t step away from the place.
The child was chattering to herself, and she suddenly blushed and rummaged through the small bag that was slung across her body.
“Here, chocolate.”
The sloppy-branded chocolate from quite a distance from here was pushed around the corners as if it had been in a bag for a long time.
Leon didn’t like sweets. Even though he always refuses, this time, he inadvertently accepted it. Besides, the cheap chocolate that his mother would tell him to throw away as though it was unclean…
“Why is this?”
“Price for spying.”
I saved it to eat.
The girl added that and smiled shyly.
It was literally like taking candy from a poor child’s mouth and eating it. At the moment, he just wanted to give back.
“I’ll come to spy again.”
The girl waved her hand and ran away. She even proudly told him she would spy again next time.
‘She’s a really weird kid.’
He noticed that she forgot to ask for her name.
To forget such a basic thing… Leon thought it was her fault for being so overwhelming that he got distracted. He was going to ask if they met again, but it rained all day yesterday.
That child looked a little naive. He was so nervous that he would come to spy even in such bad weather.
Perhaps, it was Leon who was really naive. It was because he sat and waited all day by the window where he could see the wall where she was always hanging out. He then put an umbrella next to it. Nonetheless, the child did not come.
…It was a relief, but why was he upset?
‘Aren’t you coming today?’
As soon as class was over, Leon went to the window where his gaze had been stuck all day yesterday and was disappointed again. All that was there when he turned his back to stare at the orange tree was nothing but oranges.
“Where are you going? A guest has arrived.”
As he was taking out his bike from the parking lot, the bookworm with a bow tie came and whined.
“Yes, I know.”
“These are the people mother called to greet you.”
“Jerome Winston, for the sake of mother who wants you to be the eldest, today you are the eldest.”
Leon got on his bike and said sarcastically inhis father’s favorite commanding tone.
“I am not your subordinate!”
As he pedaled, Jerome shouted from behind. Leon stopped and glanced back at his brother.
“Why weren’t you born first?”
“I will rat you out!”
“Snitching sissy.”
He again imitated his father’s habits. Jerome kept his mouth shut as if his self-esteem had been hurt and snorted.
“Jerome, you’re so honest that it’s no fun.”
Leon chuckled at his brother over his shoulder and then pedaled again.
‘If you don’t come, I can go.’
The problem, however, was that he did not know where the girl lived. Did he have to check all the orange trees in Abbington Beach? After searching for about an hour on the hill where high-end villas were gathered and the shopping street below it, he was a bit discouraged.
The sun slowly rose. He was thirsty for riding his bike under the scorching sun.
Leon, who was following the beach, stopped when he saw a snack shop selling ice cream. When he parked the bicycle on the railing by the roadside…
“No money?”
…It was the girl’s voice.
‘Found you.’
Leon neatly swept his hair, which might have been messed up by the bike ride.
“I am so hot and thirsty… I will bring it to you tomorrow.”
Grace clung to the newsstand and begged one more time.
“Bring your parents.”
However, the man who sold ice cream did not back down even an inch.
I don’t know where my parents are. This morning, obviously, I got money from my father, but after playing on the beach, it disappeared. It’s a waste of money. If my father found out, he would scold me. So, should I eat only oranges on the road today?
It’s not like this in our town, everyone outside seems to have a heart made of ice.
Tears were churning. Sad and hurt, Grace took a step back and grumbled to the innocent seller.
“Why not? Tsk… too much. It works in our town.”
“Then, go back to your village. Don’t bother when you’re just a beggar.”
“I am not…”
As she bowed her head and was about to leave, an unfamiliar hand clasped Grace’s shoulder.
“You can’t help a lady in her plight, but to be rude and reveal your bottom line.”
Grace’s eyes widened as she raised her head.
‘Gasp! The pretty kid.’
Her cheeks became hot. Perhaps because of the hand that gently wrapped around her shoulder and perhaps because of the shame that she had shown the most insignificant side of her.
“I’ll have a bottle of sparkling water. Not Appenzeller, but Chalet. And, to the lady…?”
When the boy asked her politely, calling her a lady again, Grace answered with haste.
“A stick of ice cream for me. Just that.”
The boy was also cool enough to buy a bottle of sparkling water.
He ordered even the one with the difficult label in a foreign language to order, and the sparkling water looked like a fine wine. On the other hand, ordering an ice cream stick made her feel like a child. So, she added that she didn’t know what to order though she really wanted to eat it.
“What flavor?”
The boy was pretty and handsome, but he was even kind. He even asked her what flavor she wanted to eat.
“Chocolate and vanilla sell best. If you don’t like it, orange, lemon, strawberry…”
The seller, who was terrifying to Grace a while ago, was different in front of the boy. He took out all the flavors of ice cream sticks from the icebox and showed them. Perhaps even if Grace had brought the money, he wouldn’t have been this stoked.
Perhaps, it was because the boy looked like a nobleman no matter how.
Even if it was not for the expensive-looking polo shirt and wristwatch, he exuded a noble atmosphere from his posture of standing with his back straight and his relaxed eyes.
“Then, strawberry…”
As the boy watched, the seller quickly took out a strawberry-flavored ice cream and held it to Grace with both hands.
“Yes, strawberry for the lady. Here it is.”
Obviously, she was taught that nobles were terrible. The grown-ups called the nobility greedy pigs. However, when she came out of her town, she wasn’t sure. Everyone seemed to like nobles.
Grace didn’t know other nobles, but this boy was good.
“Thank you.”
The boy smiled gracefully.