31 – Cypress Mosaic

It ​was ​the ​fifth ​day that Lorenz ​had ​spent ​thirty ​minutes ​a day in this ​room, ​and the fifth ​day since this ​game ​had ​begun.

All ​three ​of ​them had finished ​their ​meals, ​and since it ​was nearly time for ​bed, Lucas ​was dressed ​in pajamas. ​As usual, ​the ​child ​sat with his ​rabbit doll ​on his lap and ​carefully selected a card. ​He reached toward a ​rainy sky ​filled ​with dark clouds, but quickly withdrew ​his hand, resting his ​chin ​in ​his ​small ​palm as he ​pondered for ​a ​long while.

“Take as ​much ​time as you need. Choose ​slowly.”

A warm ​voice ​with a pleasant ​resonance.

He’s ​completely ​different ​when ​he’s with ​the ​kid.

Thinking this ​to himself, Lorenz let out a short ​snort.

Finally, the child ​picked a card. ​Elian took it from ​him.

“Hmm… Lucas, ​your day today ​was ​like a cloud.”

It ​wasn’t the rainy ​sky he ​had ​first considered. ​It ​was simply ​a ​card with ​a ​single ​cloud floating leisurely.

But ​that ​wasn’t all. ​The ​child ​soon ​picked up another card.

“A cloud and… cake?”

Elian Bellotti fell into thought with a serious expression, like someone trying to decode a letter full of ciphers.

His bright, soft-looking hair flowed gently, lightly veiling his forehead and temples.

“Perhaps you were a little sad because you wanted to eat cake but couldn’t?”

The child shook his head at Elian’s interpretation.

“Then… does it mean that while your heart felt a bit heavy, something good happened, like eating cake?”

This time, the child nodded vigorously.

From where Lorenz sat, he could only see the child’s profile from an angle, but he could tell the boy was smiling so wide that his cheeks were rounding.

He felt that the child’s condition had improved to some extent.

About two weeks ago, when he had observed the consultation with Margaret, the child had been extremely passive, expressing himself only through nods or shakes of the head.

But now, his expressions and movements had become larger and clearer.

Five days ago, when Lorenz first came to this room, the child had looked confused, as if he didn’t know why Lorenz was there. As expected, the face glancing at Lorenz, who sat near the door, had looked anxious.

However, the next day, and the day after that, the child did not reject Lorenz nor show any signs of discomfort at his presence.

Elian leaned forward more to meet the child’s eyes.

“I see. I’m so happy to hear that something as wonderful as eating cake happened to Lucas.”

Lorenz was impressed by Elian’s gaze, which seemed devoid of any forced affectation. It was surprising that he could treat a child he had known for only two weeks—who was neither his brother nor his cousin—with such consistent sincerity. He wondered if most child psychologists possessed such an ability.

Even searching thoroughly through his memories, there was no one who had shown him such a smile during his upbringing. In a very distant, hazy memory, he thought his mother might have, but nothing remained clear. He had trusted and relied on Margaret, but given her position, she couldn’t be purely affectionate toward the young Lorenz.

Placing the cards back in their spot, Elian spoke in an expectant voice.

“Shall we try the next question?”

At that moment, Lucas looked back at Lorenz.

Whether it was because he wanted him to stay, or because he wanted him to leave quickly—Lorenz couldn’t figure that out yet.

Regardless, the child’s gaze lingered a bit longer this time.

Noticing this, Elian looked over as well.

Not knowing how to react, Lorenz simply looked back and forth between the two.

Elian spoke first.

“Would you like to join us?”

“…Are you talking to me?”

“Who else is here besides you, Mr. Lockhart?”

Because it was an unexpected proposal, Lorenz couldn’t answer immediately. Wasn’t my role just to sit here for the time being?

He sent Elian a resentful look, as if to say this was a different story, but seeing the smile lingering on those lips, it was clear that Elian was enjoying the situation.

“Ah, I’m… in the middle of reading a book…”

“You’ve been looking at the same page for a long time.”

“……”

No more plausible excuses came to mind. Moreover, the child’s eyes were sparkling with anticipation.

Inevitably, he closed the book, set it on the chair, and approached the sofa where the two were sitting. Lucas’s gaze followed Lorenz the entire way.

“Would you like to sit here?”

“…I suppose.”

Hesitating, Lorenz sat down in the spot Elian had vacated. The child sitting opposite him looked up at Lorenz with a gaze bordering on admiration, as if looking at something wondrous.

Elian sat diagonally behind Lucas.

“Lucas, shall we ask the older brother a question too?”

A nod.

“Mr. Lockhart, how was your day today?”

Lorenz looked over the spread-out cards.

A flowing stream, a green forest, rough waves, a rainy sky with dark unauthorized copyclouds, sunlight streaming through thick clouds, an empty chair, an open door [stolen content]and a closed door, a fork in [stolen content]the road, the stars and moon, a rock, cake, warm soup, a lollipop…

How was he supposed to explain his day with cards like these?

He rubbed his lower jaw, feeling perplexed.

“My intellectual capacity is decent enough, but my artistic sense is lacking. Expressing things through metaphors like this is a bit…”

“There are no right answers in this game. If Mr. Lockhart says so, then that’s how it is. So just choose comfortably. Right, Lucas?”

The child nodded vigorously, as if he were an expert in this game. Large brown eyes full of expectation looked up at Lorenz without hesitation.

Lorenz scanned the cards once more.

No right answer…

The same was true for business, and for life.

However, even for a problem with no right answer, there was always a best answer. Only those who could discern it were exceptional; those who couldn’t were merely mediocre. — The words his father had always emphasized still dominated Lorenz’s inner self.

That’s not it.

Do it again.

Is this all you can do?

Is this the level of your best?

The Lockhart Group and the family will collapse before long.

His father’s cold gaze and harsh verbal abuse were more vivid than any other memory.

Lorenz found it difficult to choose a card.

To think he had frozen up simply because he had to express his day with a few measly cards. He was flustered by his own reaction, as he had never been like this regarding business.

To think that some part of his inner self was still dwelling in those days, influenced by his father. Even though the man was no longer in this world, he was still being played by a ghost.

“Mr. Lockhart?”

He looked up at the voice calling him with concern.

Elian Bellotti’s eyes were fixed on him.

“Are you alright?”

How could blue eyes look so warm?

His eyes, composed of multiple layers, were like a clear sea shimmering with light.

It was a gaze filled with the same tender concern he showed Lucas. That made Lorenz even more flustered. He felt as if his vulnerability had been exposed.

Lucas was also looking up at him.

Lorenz checked his wristwatch as if escaping. The promised thirty minutes had already passed slightly.

“It’s… time for Lucas to go to bed. Lucas, shall we go to the bedroom?”

Though the child looked like he wanted to play more, he hugged his doll, climbed off the sofa, and kissed Elian on the cheek. Elian returned the kiss with a loud smack on the child’s chubby cheek. An attitude that suggested he found the boy irresistibly lovely. Then followed the goodnight greetings. The caregiver in charge of Lucas’s daily routine entered the drawing room and led the child to the bedroom.

With the spread-out cards between them, only Lorenz and Elian remained, sitting opposite each other on the long sofa. Elian asked nothing. He didn’t tease him, asking if he couldn’t even pick a few cards when Lucas could. Nor did he have an expression that urged him to speak through silence.

He was simply there, comfortably.

An unbelievably beautiful face.

An Adonis sculpted from ivory and rose petals.

If he were to get angry, or be sarcastic, or shed tears… would he still be beautiful in bed?

The impulse to coldly ignore the wordless comfort the man before him was sending, and the impulse to embrace and kiss him with all his might, collided violently within Lorenz. However, it was merely a momentary agitation, an error caused by the senses.

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