Chapter 125 – The Lost Margin
This golden butterfly hairpin belongs to Lady Tillysha. Since Tillysha usually wears it and almost never takes it off, Litte immediately recognized it.
“Wow, Tillysha sure is clumsy, leaving such an important item in my room without me even noticing!” At a time of crisis, Dillin exhibited an impressive survival instinct, feigning surprise as he looked at the golden butterfly hairpin in Litte’s hand. His facial expressions were spot-on, making him a convincing actor.
However, the usually dimwitted Litte seemed completely unaffected by this act, holding the hairpin and smiling silently at Dillin with a look that clearly said, “I’ll just watch you continue to perform.”
“Oh, I remember now, Tillysha came to my room yesterday to discuss something. She must have accidentally left the hairpin here then.” Dillin, with no other choice, began making things up on the spot.
“Is that really true?” Litte tilted her head.
“Or is it something else? If you don’t believe me, just ask Tillysha when she comes back.”
“…… Really?” Hearing Dillin’s explanation, Litte seemed somewhat moved. “Alright, let’s wait here for Miss Tillysha to return.”
“……” Dillin’s face stiffened. “I, that’s not what I meant. I mean……”
“Mr. Dillin, wasn’t it your idea for me to ask Miss Tillysha? Are you nervous about something?” Litte seemed determined to corner Dillin today, like a turtle latching onto something and refusing to let go.
“Not that, but let’s wait in the living room instead? Waiting here might cause misunderstandings when Tillysha comes back……” Dillin added the term ‘classmate’ after mentioning Tillysha’s name to deliberately emphasize the distance between them, hoping to dispel Litte’s suspicion.
“Alright.” Litte thought for a moment. She didn’t want any misunderstandings with this morose and humorless man in front of her, nor did she want to trouble Lady Tillysha.
They descended the stairs and entered the living room.
“What kind of tea would you like, Miss Litte?”
“White tea is fine, thank you.”
“Oh, okay.” On the surface, Dillin appeared calm as he opened the teapot and carefully picked up some tea leaves with tongs. However, in his heart, he began to panic.
He knew that no matter how long they waited, Tillysha wouldn’t come……
If he was here, how would Tillysha appear?
“Mr. Dillin.”
“…… Huh?” Deep in thought, Dillin was startled by Litte’s call.
“You’re not very good at making tea, are you?” Litte sat upright on the sofa and sniffed.
“You see, you’re supposed to pour hot water into the teapot and let it steep for about half a minute. That way, the tea retains its natural flavor. Following your method will make the tea bitter and astringent.”
“…… Oh, really?”
“Seriously……” Litte sighed, shaking her head. “You’ve been paired with Miss Tillysha for so long and haven’t learned anything? Clumsy and reckless – Miss Tillysha, who values delicacy, must have scolded you quite a bit, right?”
“Ah? Uh, yeah……” Dillin scratched his head awkwardly in response.
However, sparked by Litte’s words, Dillin began imagining what their life would be like if he and Tillysha were together. Hmm… considering Tillysha’s nature, his style might indeed irritate her quite a bit.
Litte took over the tea-making process, skillfully and meticulously adding tea leaves into the small teapot. Not a single drop of water spilled outside when she poured in the hot water. After covering the teapot and letting it steep for half a minute, she slowly poured the clear tea into the cups.
This elegant and unique tea fragrance was much like Litte herself – not overly intense, just the right amount of lightness, invigorating the senses.
“Here you go.” Litte gently pushed the teacup towards the dazed Dillin and took a delicate sip from her own cup, noticing the incredulous look on his face. “Mr. Dillin, is something wrong?”
“…… Nothing, thank you.” Dillin accepted the teacup. Normally he thought of Litte as a ‘dumb but adorable elf girl,’ or a ‘lively idiot,’ but never realized she had such a ladylike side.
Everyone, indeed, has many aspects, some of which only manifest before certain people.
Time passed minute by minute.
“Mr. Dillin, Miss Tillysha has been gone for almost an hour now.”
“Yes.” Watching the tea in his cup gradually diminish, Dillin, who had been pondering solutions, finally realized he was running out of options.
“Why hasn’t she returned yet?” Litte wondered. “Did something happen on the way?”
“Who knows? Tillysha usually spends a long time outside. I don’t know what she’s always doing out there.” Dillin appeared to mutter to himself, actually trying to establish a scenario where Tillysha often went out.
“Perhaps it would be better if you came back in the afternoon. Tillysha will definitely be here then.”
“…… Alright.” It was getting late, and with Tillysha still not back, Litte had no more time to sit around staring at Dillin.
Hearing Litte finally relent, Dillin let out a sigh of relief. However, just as he was about to fully relax, he saw Litte carefully placing the golden butterfly hairpin into a small, exquisite box she carried and preparing to leave.
“Eh, eh?? Miss Litte, you, why are you taking…… Tillysha’s hairpin with you?” Seeing this, Dillin became visibly agitated.
“Hm? Is there a problem?” Litte turned around and looked at Dillin humorously.
Why does what belongs to my lady concern you? Should a human like you even have a say?
This isn’t about problems or not. If you take the hairpin, you’ll likely never see Tillysha again!
But Dillin couldn’t say this outright, so he had to be more tactful.
“Cough, Tillysha might return soon. If she can’t find her hairpin, it’ll make her very nervous, so it’s better to leave it here.”
“……” Litte stared at Dillin silently, making the latter feel a chill run down his spine.
“Mr. Dillin, are you trying to cover up something?”
“Huh? Cover up what?”
“This hairpin wasn’t accidentally left in your room by Miss Tillysha, was it?”
“It was definitely stolen by you, correct?”
“…… Why would I steal my roommate’s hairpin? Losing personal belongings can be very distressing. Can such deeds really go unnoticed?” Dillin was almost rendered speechless by Litte’s wild imagination.
“Who knows? Humans have these weirdos who specifically enjoy collecting personal items of young maidens.” Litte didn’t believe any of Dillin’s explanations, firmly accusing Dillin.
My lady is so meticulous, how could she accidentally lose anything in a male’s room? If anything went wrong, it’s definitely the fault of this human, no refutations allowed.
“Isn’t this pure prejudice? Do you see me as someone like that?” The golden butterfly hairpin was tightly held in Litte’s hand, creating a strange sense of insecurity for Dillin, as if his own life was in her grasp.
“Sorry, Mr. Dillin, I don’t mean to question your person, but I do have serious doubts about your self-control and integrity. Um, the above does not include any prejudice.”
“Because you’ve already established everything as a fact, so it doesn’t include any prejudice, right?” Dillin said, utterly speechless.
“Anyway, I can’t entrust the lady’s personal item to you. Who knows what sort of lewd… oh, I mean, I can’t ensure that you won’t, in private where nobody else knows, perform some indecent, unseemly, and morally corrupt acts on her belongings, which are of a very vile nature.”
“What kind of person do you think I am? Doing such things doesn’t make someone a pervert, it definitely indicates some form of mental illness!”
“Hmph, who knows? Perhaps Mr. Dillin likes collecting girls’ intimate clothing and engaging in some unsavory deeds.”
“Maybe while doing those things, you’re even imagining the owner of the intimate clothing… ugh, that’s so disgusting!”
“That’s it……” Having been personally insulted for a while, Dillin wasn’t irritated at all. On the contrary, he began to realize something, gazing suspiciously at Litte. “Miss Litte, you’re an elf; how do you know so much about these things?”
“More detailed than even I know. I can’t believe you didn’t deliberately study these topics.”
“…… Hmm, these matters, don’t dig too deep!” Asked about this, Litte blushed and scolded.
“I say, does your elven physiological textbook teach such broad and detailed content? Even covering XP-related aspects? This can’t just be from the textbook, right? Haven’t you been secretly reading other ‘supplementary materials’?” Dillin’s questions became sharper and more direct, completely ignoring social cues, not considering the potential reaction from Litte.
“Whoosh whoosh!” An elfin longsword flew past Dillin’s ear, embedding itself into the wall behind him.
“Whoa!” Reacting quickly, Dillin side-stepped. “Hey, what are you doing? That’s dangerous!”
“You… you human! … Daring to say such shameful words to h*rass me??”
“I think what you said was more shameful!” Dillin retorted.
“You you you… Hmph, you’re defaming my chastity out of thin air!”
“I’m just making a reasonable guess……”
Realizing the situation was spiraling out of control, Dillin’s mind raced, trying to figure out how to solve the current predicament of the female elf who had her extracurricular knowledge exposed and was now angry and embarrassed.
The doorbell rang.
“Aha, I’ll go open the door!”
Dillin quickly slipped into his slippers and rushed out of the yard.
“T-Tillysha Lady?!” At the commotion, Litte stopped caring about any arguments with Dillin. She smoothed out her slightly messy hair and collar, then went to greet the visitor.
But it wasn’t Tillysha.
“Sorry for keeping you waiting. There was an issue… who are you…?” Opening the door, Dillin’s face stiffened upon seeing the person outside.
The visitor also seemed surprised by seeing Dillin, momentarily at a loss, with intertwined hands and a slightly bowed head, seemingly unsure of what to say.
After all, it was the first time they’d met since the Crown Cup.
The atmosphere grew somewhat awkward.
“Lady Tillysha! You’re back!” Litte, regaining her energy, stomped into the yard in her slippers. Due to her large movements, the two ‘waves’ in front of her chest surged violently, revealing glimpses of the flesh-colored waves…
“Lady Tillysha, you… Eh? Lady Aistride?” Noticing the visitor wasn’t Tillysha but Aistride, Litte was taken aback, then very confused. “Your Highness, how did you come here?”
“I…” Didn’t expect Litte to be here either; matters that were difficult to discuss became more awkward with her present.
“Is Lady Aistride here to find someone?” Dillin intentionally avoided meeting Aistride’s eyes, not knowing why. While talking to Aistride when he was Tillysha, everything flowed smoothly, and he even teased her occasionally. But when he was Dillin, he had no such ease.
“Uh…” Aistride slightly nodded.
“Hmm, if you’re looking for Tillysha, she’s not home right now. Please come back another day.” There was already one elf woman causing chaos at home; Dillin couldn’t imagine how much chaos there would be with a second.
Saying this, Dillin started closing the door.
“Mr. Dillin, what are you doing?” Taking advantage of Dillin’s inattention, Litte snatched the ID card from his hand. “Do you really intend to lock Lady Aistride outside?”
“You saw it, right? Tillysha Classmate isn’t here.”
“……” Suddenly, Dillin felt like Litte was looking at him with a rather peculiar expression.
“Mr. Dillin, have you always been this… straightforward?” At first, Litte thought Tillysha and Dillin had a special relationship that wasn’t yet made clear, with some ambiguous feelings for each other.
Now, she began to doubt it.
How did this man of abysmal emotional intelligence win Lady Tillysha’s favor? Even if elves tend to be passive in love, in their everyday interactions, any attempts by Lady Tillysha to create some small romantic moments would likely end in awkwardness.
It wasn’t that she had a bias against straight men; it’s just…
Oh, yes, she did have a bias against straight men.
“I’m not here to find Tillysha.” At this moment, after a brief struggle, Aistride outside the door spoke up.
“Oh? Then who are you here to find?” Just as Dillin said these words, both Aistride and Litte fell silent. The atmosphere became awkward again.
“…… So, what kind of person did the Divine Prince choose?” Litte covered her face with her hand, muttering quietly.
Dillin also realized just how dumb his question had been. There were only two people living here; if Aistride wasn’t here to see Tillysha, who else could she possibly be looking for?
