Subliminal Wayfarer

For a while, similar conversations continued. Whenever Rosetta casually mentioned her likes and dislikes, the duke diligently took notes.

Not only that, but Rosetta also started to inquire about Alicia and Damian’s preferences.

“My favorite tea is… well, I think black tea is the best for me.”

“I like black tea with milk and sugar!”

“Did you hear that, Father?”

The duke was busy jotting down notes, openly given hints. The gap that hadn’t been bridged since Lillian’s death was swiftly filled through this notebook.

At that moment.

“What about you, Father?”

Rosetta’s unexpected question followed.

“What do you like?”

Originally, a gap exists because of distance between two parties, so it was a natural question to ask.

Under the gaze of three pairs of eyes, the duke thought of Lillian.

“White flowers.”

White flowers that bloomed profusely in the summer garden.

And Lillian, watching those flowers and smiling brightly.

“I like white flowers.”

 

* * *

 

Ah, I’m a bit tired.

Nearly at the end of our teatime, which felt almost like an interview, they finally brought up taking a break.

It was a meaningful time, but unavoidably exhausting.

Thank goodness we had separate rooms.

It would have been exhausting to stay in one room for a family trip. I need some rest alone.

I promised to meet Alicia at dinner time in front of our rooms before entering my own.

Well, at least, I tried to turn the doorknob to enter.

At that moment, I felt a slight presence from inside, putting me on high alert.

‘Someone’s inside.’

An intruder?

I confirmed that Father, Brother, and Alicia each entered their own rooms. I checked the key and room number given by the staff again, and they matched. Meaning I hadn’t mistaken the room.

The person inside must be an unwelcome guest.

‘I don’t know who it is, but… I need to catch them first.’

I needed to find out why they had intruded into my room.

I turned the doorknob as quietly as possible. There was still a sound from inside. It seemed the intruder also realized I was back, trying to muffle their footsteps. But to my ears, it was clear as day.

I pulled out the fan I was carrying and, holding it, pulled the door open to enter. After quickly closing the door behind me, I lunged towards the location I had roughly pinpointed by sound.

In the unlit room, a dark figure tried to dodge my movement.

Oh?

Their footwork was quite good.

But still not good enough.

It took only three steps to subdue the intruder. One, two, three. I twisted the figure’s arm, holding them, and kicked their legs to make them kneel.

“Ugh.”

The figure groaned as they fell to the floor. But something was strange.

The voice sounded quite familiar.

Right. The groan was low yet pleasing to the ear, almost like…

“…Cassion?”

“…Rosetta?”

As the name was murmured, and a response came back in an equally hushed tone.

Also, in a voice all too familiar.

No, but…

Why would Cassion be here?

 

* * *

 

We sat down to sort out the situation, and it felt even more absurd to be sitting across from each other with the room’s lights fully turned on.

“How did this happen? Did Blanca invite you here?”

Cassion nodded in response to my question.

“…Seeing how quickly you figured it out, you must have been invited by Blanca as well.”

“Well, yes. She said I was going on a family trip and should sail on her cruise ship.”

Cassion’s eyes widened as he listened.

“Wait. Family trip?”

“Yes. A family trip. The room next to this is Alicia’s, the one across is Father’s, and next to that is Brother’s.”

“…Ah, damn it.”

As I continued to explain, Cassion frowned more deeply and sighed, rubbing his face.

What’s with that expression? It seemed like he was hiding something.

I crossed my arms and tilted my head slightly.

“What is it? You’re hiding something from me, aren’t you?”

He hesitated for a moment before admitting,

“Yes. It seems I was tricked by Blanca.”

“Tricked?”

“…I was told that you would be the only one on this ship.”

You thought I’m the only one on the ship?

“She said you… seemed unsatisfied because we haven’t been able to meet often lately, so she suggested I make a surprise appearance and have a date or something.”

“Aha. So, you were naively tricked by Blanca’s prank.”

He nodded, his ears turning red.

I tried to hold back my laughter—but ended up not being able to.

Smiling broadly and propping my chin on my hand, I watched as Cassion’s neck began to turn beet red.

“This is a bit upsetting. To think you believed Blanca’s words and thought I really harbored any complaints.”

Cassion rubbed his face with both hands in response to my teasing.

Oh my. With a reaction like that, people might think the world was ending.

“Honestly, it’s true that I’ve been neglectful lately.”

“I said I would understand that you’re busy. I even go to see you myself when I miss you. Not to mention the letters I send you practically every day that you might get tired.”

“…Tired? Who?”

I burst into a resigned laugh and shook my head at his pale question.

“I don’t know what to say.”

Is he getting cuter by the moment?

He used to be like a prickly, sensitive cat.

As I gently stroked his cheek with the back of my hand, he looked baffled but subtly leaned into it.

“Anyway. I get why you’re on the ship, but why are you in my room? Trespassing is a crime, Cassion.”

“You often trespass into my room.”

“What are you talking about? I politely knock on the window and ask for permission to enter. Do you dislike me visiting? Should I stop coming in the future?”

I shrugged and started to withdraw my hand, only for his large hand to hastily grab mine.

“If it’s you, even if you break through the window, you’d still be considered a distinguished guest.”

“Haha, just kidding. Anyway, why are you in my room?”

Upon being asked again, he sighed and pulled something out of his pocket and extended it toward me.

Hmm?

Seeing it, I couldn’t help but doubt my eyes.

“Why do you have my room key…?”

“It’s my room key.”

“That can’t be. Room 707 is my room.”

“And, it also happens to be my room.”

…Ah. I see.

That’s when everything made sense.

This, too, must be Blanc’s doing.

From sending Cassion to be by my side while my family was on a trip, to assigning the same room to both Cassion and me, it all must have been Blanca’s plan.

Oh dear. This is really troublesome.

Even though we’re lovers who have promised to marry, does it make any sense to share a room while surrounded by family?

Just imagine if someone were to find out.

Before we even marry, Cassion would be branded as a ‘sly and immoral man’.

I sighed and looked at Cassion.

“The fact that you boarded this ship—my family must never find out.”

Upon further thought, sharing a room wasn’t the issue.

If they were to find out that Cassion was on this ship, it could be misunderstood that I dragged him here or that Cassion followed me.

It meant that our first family trip could end up being extremely awkward.

Fortunately, Cassion, without showing any signs of resentment. And, with a determined face, he nodded.

He had also concluded that it would be best not to encounter the family during this trip, considering its nature as a family vacation.

“Then, I’ll go and change rooms first.”

“Alright. Be careful not to get caught.”

After whispering his farewell, Cassion quietly left the room.

However, Cassion soon returned with a not-so-bright expression.

“Did it fail?”

“The cruise ship’s rooms are already fully booked.”

What? The rooms on this huge cruise ship are full? That sounded unbelievable.

“It seems Blanca had made arrangements in advance.”

“It looks like it, yes.”

We concluded that changing rooms would be difficult.

At least, this was not the reaction Blanca had anticipated from us.

I quickly revised the plan.

“For now, hide in my room. If you want to go out, be careful not to run into my family. And if we do run into them, you must ensure they don’t find out we’re sharing a room.”

Understood?

Cassion nodded vigorously in response to my question.

He resembled a model student responding to a teacher during class.

And so, our five nights and six days operation of hiding Cassion began.

But, before it started in earnest—

“Now that the plan is set, can I do something else, Teacher?”

Cassion, with a noticeably more relaxed attitude, raised his hand and asked. My goodness. What kind of mischief does he intend to get into now?

I wrapped my arms around his neck, looking into his eyes.

“I permit it, my dear student.”