The Unexpected Visitor
Matilda, most likely.
After all, the only person who came and went in that room was Matilda. Vivienne had opened the door without a second thought. Only to find an unexpected visitor waiting there.
“...Theo?”
Vivienne’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Ah, hello.”
Theodore looked flustered.
Unable to decide where to direct his gaze, he couldn’t find his footing and suddenly turned his head away.
Why was he acting like that? As if he’d seen something he shouldn’t have? His face was flushed red, as if he was embarrassed about something.
“You were asleep, weren’t you?”
“It’s all right. I’ve been awake since earlier. But what brings you here…?”
“My apologies. I’ll come back another time. Take care.”
Seeing him hurry away as fast as he could, trying to leave the room, he seemed to be in some kind of trouble.
Vivienne unconsciously glanced down at the place where his eyes had rested.
“...”
Oh no. He had been wearing a thin negligee. Ever since the doctor had left, she had only slept, without properly dressing in clothes. The moment that thought hit her, her face burned even hotter.
“Ah, no. Just a moment!”
She grabbed Theodore as he was about to leave the room. He stopped, but when she looked at him, he seemed too embarrassed to meet her eyes and instead stared at the floor awkwardly.
“I’ll put on some clothes. It’ll only take a moment. Please wait!”
Perhaps too flustered, she slammed the door shut with a loud bang.
Good grief, nothing was going right today.
If she had told him not to wait, she wouldn’t have slammed the door. She should have done at least one of those things. Theodore probably would have been stunned.
Since their first meeting, after he became her guard, she had only seen him through Matilda, so she had grown a little careless.
Vivienne leaned against the door and let out a deep sigh.
This is not the time for this.
She quickly changed into a simple indoor dress. When Matilda had helped her dress, she had been glad she had paid close attention to the designs that allowed her to dress herself.
Having tidied up her appearance, Vivienne opened the door again. She had worried that he might have gone already, but luckily he was still there waiting.
“Please come in.”
“No, I...”
“If you stand there any longer, it will make me more uncomfortable. Come on.”
He entered the room reluctantly. His stiff posture, in contrast to his large build, made him look like a flustered little child. A smile naturally escaped her lips at the contrast.
He had never entered the room before, except when he came to fetch her for walks. Even then, he had only waited outside the door.
What could his business be?
“I’m glad you came. Theo.”
She smiled brightly, wanting to make the moment as comfortable as possible.
“The room was a little lonely because only the doctor came and went when Matilda wasn’t around.”
Thanks to her honest confession, Theodore’s face relaxed a little.
“That’s... I came because I thought you might want to go for a walk by now.”
“A walk?”
“Yes. Even though I’ve gone out once a day, today there was no news from you. I was wondering what had happened.”
“Ah.”
Now that she thought about it, she had forgotten even her daily routine today, which had been so chaotic.
She had slept so much that even lunch had passed without her realizing it. There had been no time to go for a walk, but Theodore probably hadn’t known the reason. Maybe he was worried about her.
“I stopped by just in case. I wanted to go out, but I couldn’t talk to Mother about it. So... I thought maybe.”
Since he had become her guard, a distance had grown between them. It had felt awkward, and she had felt uncomfortable when trying to get close to him. But he had been thinking of her this whole time. A grateful feeling rose in her chest.
“That’s right.”
Vivienne answered kindly.
“I was too distracted by sleep to talk to you today. Thank you for worrying about me.”
“Not at all. It’s my duty. But are you feeling unwell?”
“No. It’s nothing like that.”
Vivienne shook her head.
“Let’s go together. Shall we head to the beach?”
Yes. She had decided to walk at least.
If she could breathe the fresh air outside and escape her complicated thoughts for even a little while, it would be good.
***
Before he came out, the sunset had already faded. In the blink of an eye, the sun had set. Now a pitch-black darkness had settled over the surroundings.
Perhaps because of the rain yesterday. The sand still held some moisture, but the air was refreshing. The night sky was clear, with not a single cloud.
Because of that, the moonlight felt even brighter. And the stars... When Vivienne looked up at the countless stars scattered across the inky sky, she let out a small exclamation.
She was glad she had come out. In her mermaid days, she hadn’t realized how beautiful the night sky was while she was only sneaking glances at Kian. It turned out that the night sky was this pretty.
Yes. Maybe not knowing it had been natural. Nothing in the world had shone before Kian and had become boring. Love was that cruel.
She had thought she could see him plenty if he stayed beside her, but somehow the times when she had secretly stolen glances once a month had left her heart less heavy. She felt a little deflated.
Theodore had fallen silent again. As usual, he walked a little apart. All she could hear was the sound of the waves slapping against the shore and the soft footsteps of his shoes on the sand.
Vivienne deliberately slowed her steps, then suddenly turned around. She sensed Theodore stop in his tracks behind her.
“You’re still keeping that gift I gave you, right?”
It was a rather sudden and strange question, but a smile burst out almost on reflex.
Theodore pulled a seashell from his pocket and showed it to her.
“I inspected it suddenly just to check. You’ve been taking good care of it.”
“If I had known you’d inspect it so fiercely, I wouldn’t have given it to you.”
She had tried to joke, and luckily Theodore responded lightly too. The stiff atmosphere had slightly thawed.
Vivienne began walking at a leisurely pace, matching his steps so she could keep talking.
During their conversation, Theodore didn’t avoid the topic.
“Actually, I gave one to Matilda too. I was planning to inspect it suddenly like now. Even though she’s my mother, she must never be told in advance. Do you understand?”
“I’ll remember.”
It was nothing special, but it felt good to laugh even for a little while with someone.
“It’s a joke. Giving such an insignificant thing. It was just for show, wasn’t it?”
“No. What kind of thing is insignificant in a gift?”
“Still... A seashell like that is useless anyway.”
“Useless? Thanks to it, I’m laughing. Mother probably laughed the same way.”
Right. Matilda had laughed brightly after receiving the seashell.
“If you can smile about it, that’s enough. A gift with a heart doesn’t need to be grand.”
Thinking about it, since he was her son, Theodore’s smile looked exactly like Matilda’s.
Vivienne somehow felt a sense of stability from that smile. She smiled back at him, as if returning the favor.
“...Did you give a gift to Master too?”
“Um, that’s...”
It was an unintentional question, but somehow she felt a little lonely. When she didn’t answer, Theodore didn’t ask further.
Thinking of a gift, the stack of newspapers she couldn’t show Kian came to mind. Kian had probably taken a few days to see them because of her.
She felt it was too pathetic to say anything about a gift she thought would be needed.
Even if she had given a seashell, would it have made him smile like them? She wouldn’t even have known his true feelings. No matter how hard she tried, she stayed in the same place. No matter how close he was, he remained out of reach, like a star in the sky.
The night air had grown quite cool. In her mermaid days, she hadn’t noticed the coldness because she was underwater. And since getting her legs, she hadn’t been out at this time before.
Even in summer, it was cold at night. Wearing thin clothes, it felt a little chilly. Vivienne unconsciously hugged her bare arms.
At that moment, a warm, soft touch descended over her shoulders. Theodore had taken off his outer garment and draped it over her. When Vivienne’s eyes widened in surprise, he smiled awkwardly.
“Put it on. The night air is cold.”
“I’m fine. Theo, you’ll get cold.”
“I’m not cold. I have a lot of body heat. It was already a bit muggy, but it would be better for the person who needs it more than me.”
He was wearing only a thin shirt. That wasn’t possible. Yet Theodore fanned himself as if to prove it.
“Still...”
“And I’m giving it to you entirely because of me.”
“Because of Theo?”