And even if Tsuare truly loved Sebas, he had no intention of accepting her feelings. Not when he was hiding so much, not when their circumstances were so different.
“Then I will meet you after a few words with the lady.”
“Lady…Solu…”
Tsuare’s expression darkened slightly. Although Sebas knew why, he did not say it.
Solution did not try to come in contact with Tsuare and when she did, would only give her a passing glance before leaving without a word. It was to be expected that being ignored to such a degree would create a feeling of anxiety and in Tsuare’s case, great fear.
“It’s alright. The lady has always been like that to everyone. She is not singling you out in particular… And I will only say it here, but the lady has quite a difficult personality, after all.”
As Sebas became overly talkative, the expression that was on Tsuare’s face softened slightly.
“She becomes sulky if she sees a cute child.”
“…I’m… not… compared…to her.”
Tsuare hurriedly waved her two hands.
Although it was true that Tsuare was pretty, she was still no match for Solution. However, what is beautiful and what is not was different for everyone.
“If I had to go by appearances, then Tsuare would be more my type than the lady.”
“T-t-that’s…!”
As he gently looked at Tsuare’s brightly lit face pointed towards her feet, his brows furrowed at her sudden change in expression.
“And… my body… dirty…”
Sebas breathed an inward sigh from seeing Tsuare’s face make a complete change from before. He then spoke while staring ahead.
“Jewels are like that. Those without scratches are considered beautiful and valuable.”
Hearing his words, Tsuare’s expression darkened in an instant.
“However— humans are not jewels.”
It looked as if Tsuare slightly raised her face.
“It seems that Tsuare wishes to keep telling herself that she is dirty. But wherein lies a human’s beauty? For a jewel, it can be appraised with certainty. But the beauty of a human— what is the standard? Is it the average? The general consensus? If so, would the minority opinion be considered meaningless?”
After a brief pause, Sebas continued.
“Like how people have their own definition of what they consider beautiful, ‘I’ believe that if a person’s beauty lies separate from their appearance, it is not in their past, but their heart. Although I do not know all of your history, from what I have sensed of your inner self for these past few days spent with you, I do not consider you dirty in the slightest.”
Sebas closed his mouth and the world changed to one where the only sound was of their footsteps. In the midst of it, Tsuare spoke with determination.
“…If you say I’m… beautiful… then please… hug…”
Sebas did not let her finish and embraced her.
“You are beautiful.”
As he spoke gently, silent tears flowed out of Tsuare’s eyes. Sebas softly patted her back as to console her and slowly parted.
“Tsuare, my apologies. The lady calls.”
“O-okay….”
With a sad goodbye from Tsuare and her red eyes, Sebas knocked on the door and opened it without even waiting for a response. As he closed the door behind him, he gave Tsuare who was still glancing at him a smile.
Because the house was rented, despite having many rooms, there was barely any furniture.
However, this room was decorated enough to not be embarrassed when accepting guests. But a person with a discerning eye would be able to recognize the lack of history and the shallowness of the room.
“Milady, I have just returned.”
“…Good work, Sebas.”
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