BMD 315

Tick-tock―

The scales symbolizing the Council mean justice and fairness. It is said that ‘Edmund Justice’, who founded the early Council, found these scales in the market he always passed by while looking for justice that was ingrained in everyday life.

Leonardo, lying sideways on the bed, supported his head with his hand and turned the pages. His expression, reading somewhere in 『The History of the Council』 again, was mindless itself.

The last name Justice was bestowed by His Majesty the Emperor at the time, and he hoped to gather scholars from commoner backgrounds who were deeply knowledgeable in law and humanities to form a part of the councilor seats. However, it was thwarted by the opposition of the nobles at the time and social norms, and about 400 years later, Adrianus Agrizendro, who inherited his will, succeeded in registering a councilor from a commoner background for the first time.

Leonardo’s eyelids, which had been loose, reacted to the familiar surname that stood out when he was about to forget it. The fact that the first councilor from a commoner background was created by someone from the Agrizendro family, who had been high-ranking nobles for generations. It can’t be anything but a heresy of the vested interests.

Moreover, this family was a direct descendant of the Logia royal family, and if you had to be picky, the title of Royal Blood was more suitable for them than the current imperial family. Suddenly, Leonardo recalled Hugo Agrizendro, who was walking a similar path to the person in the book. It is a clear fact that facilities for socially hated people or the weak, such as those from Bermuda, are concentrated in his territory.

Even though he has ‘nothing’ to do with people from Bermuda.

“The Logia King should have become the Emperor…”

Leonardo muttered without realizing it, recalling the old people who appeared in the founding myth. Then, he was startled when he realized what he had said. He had to be careful, this was not the barren peninsula.

The golden eyes, staring blankly at the letters, rolled to look out the window. Darkness had fallen on the sky where the rain had stopped. Looking at the clock, it was just past 9 p.m. based on the Zodiac time.

Leonardo, twisting his lips, closed the thick book and lay down nervously.

“He’s always making me wait.”

The eyes looking at the antique ceiling were sullen. He didn’t know how many times he had been waiting alone for the time that wasn’t properly kept.

The adjutant had put some simple food on the table, but it was clear that it would be as cold as him, who was now tired.

‘He said he’d come during mealtime.’

Nero’s belongings had been neatly organized and hidden for a long time, and he had to get a definite answer on when he would be released, even because of the promise that the guy had unilaterally made.

But the Commander was so busy that he had disappeared for hours after leaving behind some incomprehensible words earlier. They were together, but it felt like they were always apart. Leonardo, who had arched his back like a shrimp, pulled the bed sheets and buried his mouth and nose.

When he closed his eyes tightly, the deep scent was felt even more strongly. There wouldn’t be many days left to smell this scent.

“……”

He felt strangely strange for no reason, so he put strength into the hand holding the blanket, and suddenly opened his eyes with a shocked expression. He quickly got up from where he was lying, wondering what he was doing.

‘I’m not a pet waiting for its owner…’

He roughly ruffled his hair and kicked the bed and stood in the middle of the room, pacing around.

It wasn’t a prison, but the entrance door could only be opened by registered people, so it was virtually no different from a prison. But the white Butterfly came in here without any restrictions and left leisurely, didn’t it?

When his thoughts reached that point, his legs headed to the window as if possessed. Of course, this time he put on the slippers that were lying around.

When he touched the glass window with his hand and pulled back the curtain a little, he couldn’t see outside because the rain had stopped but there were water droplets on it. When he blew hot air into it, the water droplets hanging on the glass surface vaporized and disappeared quickly. He thought about opening the window, but he stopped because he thought he would be scolded if cold air came in.

Leonardo, leaning his upper body against the window frame with his arms crossed, looked at the sparse lights on the opposite glass.

“It seems like a lot of people are working at this time too.”

Anywhere that’s a major institution in the Empire, but especially the Council, the evenings are unusually bright, even considering it’s a special period. If I escaped out the window right now, it looked like there were so many people who would come running that an emergency would be declared immediately. The Legion Commander would probably come right away too, but I didn’t want to make things difficult for him, so I didn’t put it into action.

‘……?’

Just then, a dark figure came into view on the opposite rooftop, where the lights were on. It wasn’t moving, so at first I thought it wasn’t a person, but when I looked closely, it was someone with their arms on the railing.

I don’t know since when, but it looked like they’d been standing there all along, so I thought they must have come out to get some air too, and tried to ignore it.

But Leonardo couldn’t take his eyes off that place.

‘…What is it?’

It felt like that person was looking this way.

Even long before I approached the window.

Click―

“Leonardo―.”

Suddenly, the doorway behind me opened without warning, and another figure was reflected in the dark window. Leonardo, who had been caught off guard, was startled and turned around.

“Oh?”

The person I was waiting for was just coming inside.

“I’m a little late. Have you eaten?”

Hugo closed the door and asked how I was doing, but he kept looking down at Leonardo’s feet.

Wondering why, I looked down the same way, and Leonardo realized that he was standing by the window where he had been told not to go.

“I’m wearing slippers.”

As if making an excuse, I hurriedly shook the indoor shoes on my feet. Hugo, with an unreadable expression, saved his words and nodded once.

Even so, he shifted his gaze to the cloche on the table and the neatly arranged tableware. It felt like they hadn’t been touched, so Hugo immediately changed his words.

“If you haven’t eaten yet, let’s go out together now.”

“Go out? Where?”

“I was thinking of going to the restaurant we went to last time. You told me to take you.”

I was feeling stuffy anyway, so it was welcome news to hear. But Leonardo couldn’t answer right away. It hadn’t been long since the funeral, and you’re saying we should go to a restaurant now?

“Uh… but now?”

“Why, don’t you feel like it?”

“No, it’s not that….”

No matter what, this is someone who just sent off his subordinates. He shouldn’t be in the mood to go to a place like a restaurant at all. But Leonardo trailed off with a puzzled look, as the other person seemed to be in a great hurry.

In the meantime, Hugo picked up his coat hanging on the coat rack and personally put it over Leonardo’s shoulders.

“It’s cool, so put on a coat. Oh, and there’s something we need to do before dinner.”

He took Leonardo’s outdoor shoes and put them in front of him as if to leave right away. While awkwardly changing into his shoes, Leonardo stared intently at Hugo’s face, not knowing what he was thinking. With the sudden situation swirling around, it was hard to guess why this person was doing this.

Then, when I remembered the figure outside the window and turned my head, the figure had already disappeared from that spot.

However, I didn’t have the time to think deeply because I was following Hugo, holding his hand. Leonardo erased his doubts along with the closing door.

“I wish I could see your eyes a little better.”

“Oh my, Legion Commander. Young people these days don’t like it when you cut it that short.”

The place Hugo took Leonardo, saying there was somewhere to stop by before dinner, was a photo studio located inside the Council. It was a place that members often visited to take photos to submit with their documents, so it also doubled as a barbershop so they could tidy up their hair.

Looking down at his hair falling with a rustling sound, Leonardo was in a slightly nervous state. I couldn’t even remember how long it had been since I had left my hair in the hands of someone other than Agrizendro. Only after the sponge wiping his face passed several times did he lift his eyelids and look in the mirror.

The length of the bangs that had been poking at his eyes had been shortened appropriately, and the hair at the back of his neck, which had been covering it, was also neatly trimmed. I was worried that the person who styled my hair was old and wouldn’t suit my taste, but contrary to my worries, I quite liked it.

“You have such handsome features, and now that you’ve trimmed your hair, your face is shining.”

The barber praised Leonardo’s beauty, untied the towel around his neck, and appealed to his senses. Hugo seemed to regret that his pretty eyes were not clearly revealed, but he looked at Leonardo, who was looking in the mirror with satisfaction, and asked carefully.

“Do you like it?”

“Yeah.”

Leonardo swept about half of his bangs back with his heated palm. Then, the hair temporarily gained volume, slightly revealing his round forehead.

In that state, he turned to Hugo in the mirror and asked with a slightly expectant tone.

“How do I look?”

As if he had been brainwashed by the barber’s words, Hugo was about to answer that he was shining, but belatedly searched for another word.

“Pretty.”

Leonardo frowned slightly as if to say, what is that, but somehow it wasn’t bad, so he didn’t argue today and moved on.

Afterwards, they moved to the place where they took the photos, sat upright, and this time, awkwardly raised the corners of their mouths according to the photographer’s request. The photographer, energized by the appearance of a subject after a long time, actively demanded various expressions and angles from Leonardo.

I had clearly told them that it was a photo that would go on a general Mage registration certificate, but more than half of the photos were not suitable for certification. However, Hugo, who was watching with his hands behind his back, didn’t particularly stop the two of them. It seemed that Leonardo wasn’t uncomfortable, and he wanted to see the photos of his various appearances himself.

The face of him in the photo that he had when he first found Leonardo was very sharp, as if he had been forcibly captured and taken. But now, the atmosphere was much softer than then, and he looked much more mature and beautiful, having aged a little.

I don’t know what decision he will make in the near future, but wouldn’t it be okay to leave a few photos behind just in case?

Hugo recalled the conversation he had with Abraham and gazed at the gold that shone brighter than the lights in the photo studio.

“Okay, we’ve got all the usable ones. Would you two like to sit down together?”

The photographer looked back at Hugo, who had been standing to one side, and suggested. Hugo asked back with a puzzled look.

“You mean me?”

“You both have good looks, so if you take a picture together, it would be quite a sight. It’s a rare opportunity, how about a shot?”

That rare opportunity was from the photographer’s point of view, so she joked and induced Hugo’s participation. With two of the best subjects right in front of her, she might regret it for the rest of her life as an aesthetician if she missed this opportunity.

As the situation changed completely from the purpose of the visit, Hugo hesitated for a moment and turned to Leonardo.

Leonardo was also staring at Hugo. Then, as if reluctantly recommending it, he deliberately asked in an indifferent tone.

“Want to take one?”

Originally, due to the atmosphere of the family, which valued authority and legitimacy, he had a lot of experience commissioning portraits, but he rarely had experience standing in front of a camera. But sometimes I thought this wouldn’t be so bad.

Hugo, who had lightly agreed, strode over and sat next to Leonardo.

The photographer, who smiled with his gums fully exposed, waved his hands wildly, telling the two to get closer.

Around the time they looked at each other, checking the other person’s mood, and their shoulders touched, the flash that burst brightly dyed the eyes of the two.