Mess 172
by Cristae172.
“So, you’re planning to kill Count Loria in front of your grandmother.”
Crack—the firewood split with a sharp sound.
“…That’s unexpected.”
Orkis lowered his axe, picking up the freshly split logs and stacking them to the side, where a fair pile was already accumulating.
“I never thought I’d hear you speak of killing someone.”
“Don’t you like it?”
While Orkis split the firewood, Serapi sat crouched beside him, watching with idle curiosity.
“Like it? Hardly.”
Orkis came closer and crouched to meet Serapi’s gaze.
His forearms, bulging with muscle beneath the cloth, were clearly the product of all this exercise.
“Actually, I appreciate your honesty.”
“Saying I want to kill someone doesn’t seem much to be proud of….”
Serapi shot a glance at his forearm.
“……”
Noticing her stare, Orkis held out his arm. Serapi, without hesitation, kneaded the muscle bared beneath the rolled-up sleeve, grumbling as she did so.
“I feel like my head is about to explode.”
As she vented her frustrations into his arm, Orkis put on an exaggerated show of pain. Serapi eased her grip a bit.
“It was hard enough dealing with one lunatic, but now an even crazier one has shown up.”
“There’s no proof Count Loria’s involved, yet.”
Oh, unlucky me.
Orkis watched Serapi’s grumbling face, then wrapped his other arm around her waist.
“Excuse me a moment.”
He lifted her up in one easy motion.
“Kyaa!”
Hoisted into the air, Serapi quickly threw her arms around his neck.
A ripple of laughter rose from somewhere below. Embarrassed, Serapi buried her face in Orkis’ shoulder.
Then another arm slid securely under her thighs.
“It’s such a lovely day.”
His calm voice tickled her jaw. Each movement sent a pleasant vibration through their contact.
“……”
Serapi peeked skyward. As he’d said, the sky was high and vividly blue. It was breathtaking. She was amazed the sky could ever be this brilliant.
‘Ah…’
Watching the drifting tufts of cloud, Serapi idly imagined how happy she’d be if she could just doze off like this.
How restful to forget everything and simply relax.
With that in mind, she pressed her face even more snugly into his shoulder. She could feel his embrace tighten around her.
“Are you sleepy?”
He feigned indifference, but his tone was teasing.
Orkis gently set Serapi down somewhere—an old wooden table nearby.
“……”
But once she was sitting, he eyed the table with concern, noticing how worn it was.
Orkis moved to lift her up again, but Serapi waved him off.
“The weather’s so nice—I want to stay here a bit.”
If she drifted off now, she truly felt she might forget something important.
Serapi released her hold from around his neck. Her hands naturally found his, and idly traced along his thick, rough fingers.
They were wholly unlike her own—there was a certain fascination in touching them.
“What should I do?”
“For now, the right answer is to rest.”
Thud—a gentle weight pressed her forehead. Orkis leaned his own forehead against hers.
Their eyes met, and Serapi’s lips curled into a loose smile. Just gazing at him made her want to laugh.
“You can only make sound judgments when you’re properly rested.”
“Have I ever made proper judgments until now?”
“And that’s precisely what brought you here, isn’t it?”
Orkis thought Serapi greatly underestimated her own achievements.
“You’re always doing just fine.”
“……”
“So, you don’t have to be so hard on yourself.”
He offered his counsel with deep sincerity, urging her not to push herself so mercilessly.
It was painful to watch her become caught up in incident after incident, always doing her utmost—a bystander could hardly bear it.
‘…Truly unlucky.’
Such a wretchedly fated life, it seemed.
“So, please just—”
He was about to encourage her to rest,
When he felt her shuffle closer within his arms.
Looking down, he saw that Serapi was now snuggling into his embrace. Her fiddling hand had, before he knew it, slipped around his waist, holding on tightly.
“…Maybe I will rest a little.”
Despite her nonchalant tone, the ears peeking out from beneath her short hair were flaming red.
“……”
Orkis looked down at her with a gentle sadness, as though he had things left unsaid. There was a trace of helpless resentment.
But all he could do for now was wrap his arms around Serapi’s back, or plant a kiss—and nothing more.
Not just yet.
They had finally uncovered the hidden architect of the chaos.
Count Loria was the origin of it all, involved to some extent in every incident, and now, had returned to the Empire.
Annoying though it was to realize there might still be another hand behind the scenes, identifying Loria was a major victory.
If they’d pressed forward in ignorance, the damage could have been devastating.
Still, Serapi’s vacation proceeded without interruption.
‘There’s nothing to do at the moment.’
She needed to assess matters coolly.
Although she was convinced Count Loria was the ringleader, there was no evidence.
Everything was circumstantial, and even that was tied to the last clue left when her uncle’s family was killed five years ago.
Loria was a meticulous schemer, one who left no trace.
‘If only this bastard were an ally…’
As unnerving as he was, he’d be an invaluable ally if he were on her side.
‘Was Count Loria an ally in the original story?’
Serapi racked her brain trying to recall the original plot. But it was no use.
‘Well, it’s been a year now.’
By now even her lottery numbers and race tickets from last year had become vague. It was only natural she could barely remember scraps of the original story.
She’d always only recalled the original when prompted by related developments—and even then, those memories often bred more confusion than clarity.
‘Fine, let’s stop forcing it.’
Serapi decided to let those thoughts go.
She needed rest—real rest—for her body and mind. She’d need her strength for when she inevitably had to face that madman.
‘Everything’s progressing well.’
This news came with the latest delivery from the Kia Trading Company. Baglosa had taken a massive blow from the audit.
Double ledgers had exposed huge sums of unaccounted-for money.
As a result, Count Baglosa had been jailed, and even the high priest was to be questioned again, since the temple was implicated in the illicit funds.
“Seri.”
The call pulled Serapi out of her musings.
“Why are you always overthinking things? You came here to rest, but you’re still working yourself to death.”
Luni complained, her tone disgruntled. Embarrassed, Serapi laughed awkwardly and offered a feeble excuse.
“Look, we’re almost there now.”
Beyond the window, the shimmering waves came into view where she pointed. Serapi’s eyes widened.
“We’re already here?”
“The lake’s just a short walk from the villa.”
Serapi’s eyes sparkled as she realized they had arrived at last.
“Wow.”
Stepping from the carriage, she was greeted by the crisp scent of water. The gentle sound of waves was distinct from the sea, and the moist earth beneath her feet was unexpectedly pleasant.
“There it is.”
Serapi looked at the pier extending out into the lake.
At the end of the sturdy wooden dock sat several large ducks—actually, duck boats, newly built since last year.
“Duck boats!”
“Sis, let’s ride the duck boats!”
“Me too!”
Vian’s younger siblings rushed excitedly toward the boats.
“They look a bit big for the little ones.”
Serapi commented, watching them. Luni quickly agreed.
“The older kids can reach the pedals, but the youngest have a hard time.”
“Maybe we should make a model for children?”
“Hmm, but it might be dangerous…”
“We should probably require them to ride with a guardian…”
As they pondered these points, a large shadow fell across them from behind.
“You startled me.”
Serapi turned and glared up.
“I told you to rest, and here you are working again.”
With concern in his eyes, Orkis massaged Serapi’s temples—focusing on the spots said to relieve fatigue.
“Oh… that feels good….”
Serapi closed her eyes to enjoy the pressure.
“……”
Luni watched for a moment, clearly about to say something, but then closed her mouth firmly.
‘Hmm…’
A curious tilt of her head followed.
“So, how far have you two gone?”
Luni asked.
Right in the middle of the lake.
“……”
Serapi paused in her pedaling. The duck boat, which had been gliding smoothly, eased to a gentle stop.
There was a slight jostle, but nothing significant.
“Wait, hold on.”
Ignoring Serapi’s startled reaction, Luni took some notes.
“Easy for an adult woman to operate, stable even in a sudden stop…”
She jotted down her firsthand impressions of the duck boat in her notebook. One page was already filled.
“So, as I was asking before—”
Once she finished her notes, Luni asked again.
“How far have you and Sir Felikia gone? And just to clarify, I don’t mean the Duchess—I mean her son…”
“I know who you mean, thank you.”
Serapi let out a deep sigh.
“Well, just….”
She turned her gaze to the lake, her words trailing off, while tapping her tired legs that had been working the pedals.
“I think we’re getting along well.”
“So, the two of you are dating?”
“He never actually asked me out…”
“Oh my, so you two are just… enjoying each other’s bodies?”
That’s rather bold!
Luni practically jumped in surprise.