There is No Key to His Cage - Chapter 25.1
“Whew… I barely survived.”
Had Su always been that sensitive to smells?
She almost got caught living in the Grand Duke’s residence.
If she had been caught, she would have had to explain all of this, and for a moment, everything went dark at the thought.
“Ah…!”
Just then, a dazzling sunlight shone down intensely.
Elena shielded her eyes with her right hand and looked up at the sky.
She didn’t even realize how much time had passed while chatting.
The sky, dyed red, was as beautiful as if embroidered with autumn leaves.
The time when the sun disappears and the moon rises.
She stared blankly at the sky for a long time.
“Fireworks…!”
She hurriedly looked at her left wrist.
“Oh right, I don’t have a watch!”
It seems she unconsciously looked at her left wrist out of habit from her previous life of frequently wearing a watch.
She raised her head once more to look at the clock tower visible in the distance.
The clock hands pointed to 8:30.
“Oh no. I’ll be late!”
Elena quickly headed towards the square, stomping her feet.
She knew that this fireworks display hosted by the duchy was quite an expensive event.
She wanted to capture even a little of the possibly never-to-be-seen-again spectacular fireworks in her eyes before returning.
“Please, hurry…!”
As rumors spread, there would surely be many people.
If it’s about the best place to watch the fireworks, she knew it well.
It’s the clock tower.
Ordinary people didn’t know how to get up there.
It was a secret place known only to Aiden and her.
***
“Aiden!”
“Elena, it’s too high up here. I’m scared….”
“Hurry! Take my hand and come up.”
It was when they were about 10 years old, wasn’t it?
Back then, they had also climbed up the clock tower after hearing news of fireworks.
The clock tower was located on Ber Street, a little away from the square.
The caretaker would leave at night, and we took that opportunity to open the locked door with a thin wire and sneak into the clock tower like little mice.
“Come here. Sit here.”
“Okay, Elena.”
Even the adorably cute Aiden had a time when he was a small boy.
Well, he was unusually short, but he grew tall suddenly as soon as he hit puberty.
He was small and tiny, but very timid.
There was always fun in teasing him, but as soon as his voice changed, he became a man with a husky voice.
So after that, there was no more fun in teasing him.
“The sunset is so pretty. It’s like autumn leaves have been pasted onto the sky.”
“Silly. How could you paste autumn leaves in the sky? You and your thoughts.”
“No, Elena. Look at the sky. It’s so beautiful.”
“Alright, kiddo. It’s pretty, it’s pretty.”
Unlike her, Aiden always described everything like a poet when he looked at things.
So every time, she would tease him saying it was cringeworthy, but maybe he got a little upset.
Ah, at that time, she was also momentarily surprised by his bland joke.
“But there’s something even prettier than that.”
“Hm? What is it?”
Young Aiden held her face and looked straight into her eyes.
She was momentarily surprised by the sudden skinship.
But because she was curious about what it was, she quietly waited for his next words.
“You.”
“What?”
“I’m saying you’re silly.”
“Oh, you!”
***
The funny thing is that because she hit Aiden’s shoulder so hard at that time, he couldn’t use his shoulder for a while.
Whenever she thought about it, she felt really sorry, but it was such a cute and precious memory that she couldn’t forget.
“It was so nice back then….”
Suddenly overwhelmed by old memories, her eyes became moist.
“Oh geez… Why am I like this again? Don’t cry.”
Now that there was no one to wipe her tears, she had to take care of herself alone.
But the tears that had already started flowing poured down endlessly like a sunshower.
Having no choice, she wiped her tears with her dirty dress sleeve and laughed dejectedly.
“Haa….”
The sky quickly darkened as if wrapped in a black veil.
Instead, the beautifully twinkling moon and stars burned themselves to give off a bright light.
Dong-
Dong-
Dong-
The clock tower’s bell rang painfully, announcing 9 o’clock.
She immediately covered her ears with her hands and closed her eyes tightly.
Just like Aiden used to do for her.
“It’s starting.”
Along with the booming sound that shook the town, a streak of white light shot up.
Bang-
Beautiful flowers bloomed in the vast sky, dazzlingly bright.
Pretty fireworks fell like stars, as if a fountain was spraying water.
“It’s beautiful….”
Elena watched the fireworks in a daze.
If she had a camera, she would have taken pictures and saved them.
Well, technology hasn’t developed here yet, so it can’t be helped.
“It’s a shame to watch alone.”
It was just a sudden wish that someone was there beside her.
Because these scenes were too precious to watch alone.
“Indeed.”
Startled by the familiar voice that cut through the sound of fireworks, she quickly turned her head.
Tall stature with broad shoulders.
Even though he wore a robe, she could immediately tell who he was.
“I was wondering where to find the runaway puppy.”
“De…carus….”
“To think we’d meet here like this.”
She was so surprised that her mouth wouldn’t open.
She should have made some excuse, but her mind went blank and no thoughts came to her.
“Should we call it fate?”
Along with his cold voice, dozens of fireworks burst into the air.
Bang-
His ebony-like hair gleamed red in the light of the fireworks.
His red eyes, tinted by moonlight, were clear like a beast that had caught its prey.
His approaching footsteps seemed to move in slow motion, second by second.
“I’ve been looking for you for a while.”
To think the last scene of this life would be fireworks.
Well, dying while watching fireworks isn’t a bad ending.
“I thought I had lost you.”
Bang-
Her trembling eyes met his.
He raised his hand and stroked her face.
