The Nerd Turned Out To Be The Tyrant - Chapter 82

Luce knocked on the door out of habit.

 

It’s always after knocking every time that she realizes.

 

‘Why do I always knock even though it’s been more than half a year since we lived together? Now the rules are long gone.’

 

Before she could think it over, the door opened.

 

“You back? You came earlier than usual.”

 

Perhaps, he ran down in a hurry at the sound of a knock, but as the veins on Rev’s neck stood, he quickly calmed down.

 

“Ah, eung. I didn’t study separately today. What were you doing?”

 

“I was demonstrating the engineering I researched.”

 

“Is it finished?”

 

“I think it’s almost done.”

 

“Can I take a look?”

 

“Next time.”

 

Normally, he would have shown the engineering product right away, but Rev only said that.

 

Was it because it was a large engineering product, or did it have some minor flaws?

 

Either this or he doesn’t want to expose a technology called teleport that is hard to understand in the realm of engineering.

 

Luce, who was thinking for a moment, asked quietly.

 

“Did you demonstrate by yourself?”

 

Rev smiled.

 

“Eung.”

 

Rev doesn’t lie. He’s close to not being able to.

 

Because the range of feelings is narrow and the expression is obvious, she can see what he’s thinking surprisingly well.

 

So the positivity with that calm and usual face must be the truth. It must be true.

 

But the blue light and the tall figure Luce saw kept coming back to her mind.

 

“Shall we eat?”

 

Luce naturally backed away from Rev, who was trying to hold her hand and headed to the kitchen first.

 

The gaze of Rev, who was following her, suddenly stung.

 

****

 

“What’s the matter?”

 

At Rev’s call, Luce looked down at her plate.

 

Her dishes, which had always been emptied, were hardly reduced today.

 

It wasn’t because it wasn’t delicious or because she wasn’t in good condition.

 

Today’s birthday food was surprisingly fancy. They were dishes that I had no idea how on earth he got the ingredients and made them in half a day.

 

It wasn’t that she didn’t like it. Everything on the table was food that Luce liked and ate well, and desserts and drinks that Luce said in passing, ‘I want to try it once’ were all provided.

 

But today, it didn’t go down well in her throat.

 

Putting down the fork, Luce smiled as if in trouble.

 

“It’s nothing.”

 

“Did you get sick somewhere?”

 

“It’s not that. You worked hard to prepare for it, I’m sorry. It’s just… I have a lot on my mind.”

 

“You always have a lot on your mind, Luce.”

 

Even Rev’s plate, which said so, hadn’t reduced.

 

“It’s new to hear such a thing from you. Compared to you, my thoughts are probably less than half.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

At the first birthday party, touching and warm stories were exchanged. She thinks she even cried a little.

 

At the second birthday party, there was a conversation that showed that they greatly cared about each other. She remembered she was very happy that day.

 

However, today, the third birthday party, there were only broken conversations and empty silence.

 

Luce, who had been drinking a few cups of apple juice in a row and felt like she had to get over it, searched through her bag.

 

“Now, here. I bought it at the general store. It’s a gift.”

 

When Rev heard the word “general store,” his eyes, which had been shining for a while, instantly lowered.

 

“What is this, Luce?”

 

“Come to think of it, it seems like I always received something on my birthday. It’s not something big, but I wanted to give you something too. Try opening it.”

 

It was a box the size of an arm with a ribbon tied.

 

The smile disappeared from Rev’s face as he slowly unwrapped it.

 

Instead, he asked, genuinely curious.

 

“Wine?”

 

“I bought it because Aunt Dahlia never sells it to minors, and I told her I would give it to you as a present. If Aunt Dahlia asks how old you are, I’ll say you’re an adult.”

 

Rev, who was looking at the harmony with rose wine, seemed to ask what this was.

 

“It’s a rose, isn’t it?”

 

“Drinking means celebrating becoming an adult, and flowers mean blessing the day to live as an adult in the future.”

 

It was a gift prepared in memory of the coming-of-age day experienced in her previous life.

 

In life outside the book, birthdays weren’t very pleasant days.

 

The countdown until the day she left her orphanage was all she could think of.

 

The last day she could stay at the orphanage was her 18th birthday.

 

“Congratulations on your coming of age. I hope there are only flower paths on your way from now on. “

 

She couldn’t remember what the head nun’s expression looked like when she said goodbye with a very different expression from the words of blessing.

 

Luce didn’t have time to think about the life of being kicked out onto the street on her birthday as she threw out a bottle of wine and a rose with the sponsor’s mark on the sidewalk.

 

She just ran around busily to find a place to live with a little settlement money and to find a job to live on.

 

Luce thought that giving Rev wine and flowers might be a consolation for herself who had not been able to enjoy her adulthood properly.

 

“I want you to think of it as a farewell gift to your childhood.”

 

His childhood may have been long because he didn’t even know when his birthday was, but she hopes that the days to come will be happy.

 

“So let’s celebrate together from this year. For my birthday and your coming-of-age celebration.”

 

‘It must be temporary. Maybe it’s because we’re so close. The strange attitude of trying to hide it or the personality that has changed from what I knew… It could be because puberty came late. He’ll tell me someday.’

 

Rev was still a precious person to Luce, even though he had grown up without her realizing it and had become very strange these days.

 

Rev was caught in Luce’s gaze, who had finished her thoughts.

 

Rev’s face, which received the two gifts, was mysterious.

 

It was a look she had never seen recently from him, who always had an expressionless or smiling face.

 

It seemed like he was touched, and it seemed like there was something bitter about it.

 

‘Look at this. I can still read his expressions. So… It’s just my misunderstanding.’

 

Rev, who had been looking at wine and flowers for some time, raised his head.

 

“Thank you.”

 

The red eyes that could be seen over the glasses sparkled exceptionally.

 

“That’s a good meaning.”

 

“Would you like to try a drink? Aunt Dahlia says it’s the most popular product. She says it’s really good.”

 

“Are you going to drink, too, Luce?”

 

Luce, who was at odds between conscience and curiosity for a while, eventually lifted the white flag.

 

“I’m a little curious. Should I take a sip?”

 

“So you bought it because you wanted to drink it.”

 

“It’s not like that, such a thing!”

 

A soft smile returned to Rev’s face as he joked.

 

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to save this. Since it’s a gift from you with a good meaning, I feel it’s a pity to drink it. Since the toast can be made with other things, I’ll bring a new one. How about it?”

 

“Ah, well.”

 

They also decided to get rid of the food they wouldn’t eat.

 

She heard a rattling sound from the kitchen, looking for wine.

 

Luce, who was left with a few refreshments on an empty table, thought while fiddling with her cards.

 

‘I was wondering why there was wine on the first day I came to play.’

 

Along with the fact that in the three years, they’ve known each other, she never asked about the wine.

 

Can’t she ask him now?

 

“I’ve been curious for a long time. Why do you have wine in your house?”

 

Luce asked Rev, who had returned with two bottles and two glasses of gold-labeled wine that looked expensive at first glance.

 

“You were curious about that?”

 

“Ung. Why did you have so much wine when you first came to your house, it’s unusual. That’s what I thought.”

 

“It would be more correct to say it was for camouflage. It would be difficult if it looked like a house where I live alone.”

 

Is it similar to receiving a parcel under a man’s name?

 

Rev’s answer was very cool and quick.

 

If this is going to happen, why did she spend energy and try not to ask him about it? Along with a sense of pointlessness, she had a vague idea that he might have thought a change in the relationship was also important.

 

‘Maybe Rev wanted to talk about the change in the atmosphere. Since he’s not very good with words, he might have been hesitant because he was afraid that he would get misunderstood if he brought up a topic unnecessarily. As expected, people have to talk.’

 

As they talked, she felt like the hardened atmosphere was getting loose.

 

Luce smiled brightly, feeling the sense of distance slowly ease.

 

“It’s been a long time since I saw you smile like that.”

 

Rev seemed to have expected the same thought.

 

“Haven’t I always been smiling?”

 

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a happy, bright smile.”

 

The fact that he was observing her just as she was observing him was a very new feeling.

 

Luce, who coughed in vain, took a sip of the wine that had been poured into her share.