Emojis
ForTestingPurposeAyla is afraid of the young lady.
EmojisForTestingPurposeI’m not sure what kind of reaction she would have if I told her this directly.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“It’s important to go and speak to her. If you don’t say anything, the conversation won’t continue.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“So, is that why you’re speaking to me like this?”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Yes.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Well, it seems it actually works since you’re responding to me.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeAyla exhaled a long breath.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAyla stood up as if she were about to go to the young lady, but she did nothing. Since Ayla didn’t move, I didn’t move behind her either.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Ayla.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Wait a moment.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeAyla sat back down.
EmojisForTestingPurposeShe picked up her teacup.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“The tea in the teacup isn’t finished. It’s impolite not to drink the tea you’ve gone to the trouble of preparing, even if it’s tea you prepared, Luna.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeI quietly gazed at Ayla.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Ayla. The other person is a child who has just turned ten.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“‘The other person?’”
EmojisForTestingPurposeAyla said coldly at my words. Her eyes narrowed.
EmojisForTestingPurposeStill, perhaps because she had lived as the daughter of a baron for so long, Ayla had learned to put on the expression of a noblewoman.
EmojisForTestingPurposeLooking at the blue eyes between her narrowed eyelids, I thought the color of her eyes suited this expression quite well.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“A child can’t be my opponent. I’m just speaking to her. There’s no reason for me to fight with swords with the young lady, right?”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“I’ve heard you once told her to hold a branch and attack you, Ayla.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Wouldn’t it have been fine if I had called it training from the beginning?”
EmojisForTestingPurposeAyla was silenced by my reasoned words.
EmojisForTestingPurposeI pondered for a moment. Had Ayla’s communication skills always been this poor?
EmojisForTestingPurposeWell, maybe not to this extent, but I think there were always signs of it. Saying things like she would teach a bloodied boy how to defend himself wasn’t exactly a sincere tone.
EmojisForTestingPurposeWe lapsed into silence for a moment again.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Ayla.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeFear of rejection.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAyla always sat at the edge of the ballroom, isolated, gazing out the window.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThe baron family had shown great talent in swordsmanship for generations.
EmojisForTestingPurposeBut perhaps because their political sense had never been very good, from about four generations ago, they repeatedly sided with the losing factions in power struggles, causing the family’s power to rapidly shrink.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThere was almost no one who would try to get close to the baron’s children, who were always cornered politically. The time at the ball passed quickly. It was far more beneficial to meet those with political advantages in that time.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAyla knew this as well, which is why she couldn’t speak to her. She didn’t want to be rejected.
EmojisForTestingPurposeNo matter how you looked at it, a commoner swordsman with a bit of renown seemed to suit her better than the wife of a high-ranking noble. I’m not trying to belittle her; it’s my own form of praise for Ayla.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Well, fine.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeAyla repeated her usual saying, which she had heard many times. It seemed she was saying it more to herself than to me.
EmojisForTestingPurposeUnable to bear my gaze, Ayla stood up from her seat.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“So, you’re saying I should go and speak to her? And what happens if I fail?”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Then Ayla can give the punishment you want.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“I have a feeling that you’d even gladly accept that, so I don’t want to do it.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeWhen I didn’t respond, Ayla shook her head in disbelief.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Ayla.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“What is it now?”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Take this.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“…What is it?”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“It’s a flower crown.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeI held out the flower crown, which I had placed on the other chair, and presented it to Ayla politely.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“You can make things like this?”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Of course.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeI learned how to make flower crowns when I was a child.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAyla accepted the flower crown with a somewhat dazed expression.
EmojisForTestingPurposeI wondered if she remembered.
EmojisForTestingPurposeIf she did, I’d be happy.
EmojisForTestingPurposeLooking at the shape of the flower crown, Ayla blinked.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Ayla!”
EmojisForTestingPurposeI wondered when he used to shout like that.
EmojisForTestingPurposeI couldn’t recall his exact age, but at least it was when he was young enough to be called a child.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThe image of him running towards me, holding the flower crown, was very different from the time we first met. He wasn’t injured, and his clothes were neat. They weren’t luxurious, but at least there were no holes in them.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“What is this?”
EmojisForTestingPurposeAyla, who had been dozing off on the grass for a moment, asked a bit sharply to hide her dazed appearance.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAs always, he—no, the boy—wasn’t afraid of Ayla at all.
EmojisForTestingPurposeWithout responding, he suddenly placed the flower crown on Ayla’s head.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAyla instinctively pulled the flower crown down with her hand and lowered it in front of her eyes.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“A flower crown? You can make this too?”
EmojisForTestingPurposeAyla looked at the boy. By chance, his face was quite close, and the round flower crown seemed to frame his face like a picture frame.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“I learned from Nancy.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeNancy.
EmojisForTestingPurposeShe was much younger than the boy. She was so young that she had to spread all five fingers on one hand to show her age. She was the daughter of the man who worked at the dojo and would often come to visit with her father.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAyla had found the boy in an alleyway.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAlthough he was young, he wasn’t exactly a child. But perhaps because he had lived in such alleyways, he didn’t seem to have any clear boundaries.
EmojisForTestingPurposeHe didn’t have the lines of behavior that others expected of him.
EmojisForTestingPurposeA man should be manly. A woman should be feminine. A commoner shouldn’t speak to a noble. An adult should act like an adult.
EmojisForTestingPurposeHad he never learned these things? It seemed he didn’t even know about those boundaries, as the boy often did things that other boys his age wouldn’t do.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“You learned how to make a flower crown, and what are you going to do with it?”
EmojisForTestingPurposeWhen Ayla asked in disbelief,
EmojisForTestingPurpose“I can put it on Ayla’s head like this.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeThe boy smiled and answered.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAyla was momentarily at a loss for words.
EmojisForTestingPurposeWhat would he do by putting something like this on my head?
EmojisForTestingPurposeShe wanted to say something like that, but in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to say it.
EmojisForTestingPurposeA boy who lives without any constraints, just endlessly free.
EmojisForTestingPurposeA boy who moves forward only in the direction he wants, with no fixed future.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAyla put the flower crown back on her head.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAs the flowers that had been surrounding the boy’s face disappeared, the boy’s face seemed to look brighter for no particular reason.
EmojisForTestingPurposeBefore she knew it, Ayla was walking with Luna.
EmojisForTestingPurposeShe had been lost in thought, staring at the flower crown.
EmojisForTestingPurposeWhen she came to her senses, Ayla and Luna were already standing in front of the young lady.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThe young lady, who had somehow moved out from the blanket spread on the floor, was sitting on the green grass with various flowers blooming.
EmojisForTestingPurposeShe was looking up at Ayla’s face with a slightly fearful expression.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAyla looked at Luna, but Luna just stepped back a little, clasped her hands, and bent her waist, as if it were something Ayla had to do.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAyla felt a bit resentful.
EmojisForTestingPurposeUnlike Luna, who could approach without measuring anything and without worrying about ruining the relationship, Ayla had various obstacles in her way.
EmojisForTestingPurposeBut still, Ayla felt that she couldn’t just come all this way and do nothing.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAyla looked down.
EmojisForTestingPurposeBy chance, the young lady’s face appeared in the middle of the flower crown Ayla was holding.
EmojisForTestingPurposeA completely different expression from the boy’s—the young lady’s face was filled with fear.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThe young lady seemed to be about to flee at any moment, lifting her body slightly from her seat.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAyla placed the flower crown halfway onto the young lady’s head, almost throwing it on her.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThe surprised young lady fell back onto the ground with a thud.
EmojisForTestingPurposeWith her eyes wide open, she grabbed the flower crown on her head and brought it in front of her eyes.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Did you make this yourself?”
EmojisForTestingPurposeShe was so surprised that the angry tone Ayla usually heard when she spoke to her was almost completely absent.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Luna did.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeAfter saying that, Ayla immediately regretted her words. Her tone was a bit too discouraged.
EmojisForTestingPurposeBut fortunately, it seemed that the young lady didn’t notice any difference from usual in Ayla’s demeanor.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThe young lady tilted her head and carefully asked,
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Is this… for me?”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“If you want it.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeAyla replied briefly again.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAyla feared that the young lady might be suspicious of her suddenly acting this way.
EmojisForTestingPurposeSince coming here, Ayla hadn’t really met the young lady. The young lady had been wary of Ayla, and the servants seemed to keep them at a distance, almost isolating them.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThe young lady stared absentmindedly at the flower crown in her hands and then looked over at Luna.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Luna, is this alright?”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Of course, Seila.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeSeila.
EmojisForTestingPurposeRight, that was her name.
EmojisForTestingPurposeShe was the poor child who had lost her mother when she was young.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“But, please remember that the flower crown already belongs to Ayla, so Seila, I’d like you to keep that in mind.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“That’s… true.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeSeila, hesitating, looked up at Ayla and carefully placed the flower crown on her head.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThen, she lowered her hands and smiled.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAyla had the feeling that Seila was hoping for something.
EmojisForTestingPurposeBy now, Daisy had come closer, and the plant in her arms was looking up at Ayla. Both of them had expectant expressions.
EmojisForTestingPurposeEven the other maids, standing far away side by side.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“…Well, it’s… okay, I guess.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“…Okay?”
EmojisForTestingPurposeSeila looked up at Ayla with a slightly dazed expression.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAyla left those words behind and turned around.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“If you want to keep playing, feel free, but I’m going back to the mansion.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeLuna nodded calmly at Ayla’s words and quietly followed behind.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Okay?”
EmojisForTestingPurposeFrom a little further away, Ayla heard the young lady’s voice again.
EmojisForTestingPurposeIt sounded a little indignant—
EmojisForTestingPurposeAyla couldn’t help but smile a little.