Chapter 307
"Oh, father."
The excitement that had fluctuated just a moment ago was gone, and Gallahan"s face hardened.
He was just standing with his hands on his back, but the energy that Lulac Lombardi naturally emitted suppressed the surroundings.
A few years ago, after a long struggle for succession, Lulac, who inherited Lombardi"s householder, was regarded as having seized power more meticulously than any other householder of the past.
Gallahan, who was a teenager at the time, vividly remembered the political strife in the family that took place just before the succession of the householder position.
And how perfectly his father, Lulac Lombardi, had ridden his rival brothers.
Gallahan, who paused breathing for a moment as he recalled the memory of that time, barely answered, bowing his head.
"I went to get some fresh air."
"Until now?"
"I, I lost track of time while walking in a place with a nice view."
He was not old enough to be reprimanded for being late to go home, but Gallahan swallowed dry saliva at Lulac"s stinging gaze.
"Gallahan."
"Yes, father."
"It"s good to enjoy a moment of freedom among the citizens of Lombardi."
Flinch.
Only then did Gallahan remember that he was wearing shabby, commoner"s attire.
A stream of cold sweat seemed to flow down his back.
"As a member of Lombardi, it is important to know their lives well and to have affection for them. But."
Lulac put a heavy hand on Gallahan"s shoulder.
"You need to know how to distinguish between what you want to rule and what you have in your heart."
You know everything.
Gallahan looked up his head and faced his father.
Brown eyes, which seemed normal at first glance, had an irresistible power.
"I believe that you, Gallahan, will behave well on your own."
Behave yourself.
Realizing the meaning of the words, Gallahan hurriedly tried to protest.
"But father..."
But a large hand gripped his shoulder again.
It meant that he would not talk about this anymore.
In the end, Lulac, who saw Gallahan"s mouth close again, said with a half-satisfied smile.
"I have something to give you, so follow me."
The back of his father, who turned around first and walked away, looked so huge.
To the point where he can"t go against it.
Gallahan eventually followed Lulac into the patriarch office.
Perhaps the work had not been completed yet, and doc.u.ments were piled up here and there in the brightly lit office.
Lulac, who was accustomed to pa.s.sing through them, sat down, opened the drawer and took out a fairly thick stack of papers.
"What"s this?"
Gallahan asked as Lulac handed it over to him.
"This is a brief summary of the recent work at the top of Lombardi. If you read carefully, you will get a sense of how the top is operating."
"But, I already told you, Father, I don"t want to work at the top..."
"Is it you or Viege to say that you don"t want to?"
Surprised by the sharp question, Gallahan was unable to answer in the end.
Lulac, who looked at his youngest son with strict eyes for a while, swallowed a sigh.
Among the four siblings, the first, Shananet, and the youngest, Gallahan, were the only ones who showed sprouts to inherit the householder position.
However, since Shananet wanted to be faithful to her family after her marriage, she was in a situation where she had to put down her duties she was doing.
Eventually, Lulac put his hopes on the one remaining Gallahan, but Gallahan was too weak.
Gallahan was the only one who didn"t know that even though he had the ability to quickly push his older brother Viege out of the succession compet.i.tion if he made up his mind.
Lulac wondered if Gallahan"s personality would change a little after adulthood, but as the years pa.s.sed, Gallahan only got intimidated more and more.
"Viege has been looking for you every day and being mean to you."
"Oh, did you know?"
"Do you think there"s something I don"t know about in Lombardi?"
Gallahan"s face turned red when Lulac asked back.
It was because the memory of giving a clumsy performance in front of his father yesterday was revived.
"It"s different from last time. Now you have no choice."
Gallahan opened his eyes wide.
"If it"s you, you know what I mean."
Gallahan nodded his head heavily.
It meant that he would not give Viege time to intervene by taking away the right to choose.
It was both compulsory and consideration for Gallahan.
After watching his youngest son for a moment, Lulac said as he resumed his paused householder job.
"So, prepare your heart and come back on your own. Time can"t be given very long."
***
"What the h.e.l.l was that dream?"
As she cleared the table the customer had just left, Shan tilted her head.
She had a dream last night.
It was the future for Gallahan.
It wasn"t there when she had a long dream in the village.
"Does it mean that the future has changed?"
In her dream, Gallahan was working.
At first glance, surrounded by talented people, he looked busy, but at the same time, he looked very energetic.
It was a very different future from Gallahan she has seen so far.
At that time, someone smiled at Shan and spoke loudly.
"Shan, I enjoyed the food today, too!"
"See you next time!"
They were regulars who came several times a week.
"Please go home safely!"
Shan greeted each other with a smile and looked around.
After running around frantically for several hours, the shop was pretty quiet after lunchtime.
And Shan found Gallahan at the window seat located at the corner of the shop.
"Gallahan, when did you come?"
"It"s been a while. Now, is it the time to take a break, Shan?"
Gallahan replied with a small smile.
Shan, fluttered a little at that smile, took off her ap.r.o.n and sat down in front of him.
It has already been ten days since she started meeting and spending time with Gallahan every day.
In the meantime, he visited the "Blue Wave" every day in time for Shan"s break time and the end of work, and the two had become part of each other"s daily lives.
It was nice to see Gallahan"s face every day, but there was one thing that bothered her.
"Hmm."
Shan didn"t hide her dissatisfaction and looked around with a frown on her forehead.
It was because the women at the table, who were still there, were glancing at Gallahan.
"......"
Not sure what to worry about these days, Gallahan often stared blankly at a distant place like now.
And his excellent appearance drew more people"s attention.
Shan narrowed her eyes and said.
"Gallahan, don"t come here anymore."
"Shan...?"
"We"d better just meet outside."
Then Gallahan"s light green eyes shook anxiously.
"What"s wrong, Shan? Did I disturb Shan? Have you ever been scolded because of me?"
"No, that"s not it."
The owner of the "Blue Wave" didn"t hate that Gallahan occupied one table every day.
No, she rather liked it.
Thanks to this, the number of customers in the shop has increased even more.
"There are so many people coming to see Gallahan."
Everyone knows he"s handsome.
At Shan"s small remark, Gallahan"s face turned bright red in an instant.
But his appearance was cute, so she could heard women giggling from afar.
"I can"t kick the guests out."
It was when Shan was thinking bluntly.
"That"s... I feel the same way."
Gallahan looked straight at Shan with a red face and said.
"Do you know how many men can"t take their eyes off Shan every day?"
"Me, me?"
"Yes. Everyone won"t even know where the stew goes because they"re looking at the hard-working Shan. And sometimes when Shan smiles, it seems to shine brightly..."
Gallahan, who was pouring out his heart, suddenly stopped talking.
Only then did he realize what he was saying.
His white face is now like a pretty apple.
On the opposite side, Shan, with a face as red as his, clapped his hands and asked.
"Even if I tell you not to come, you"ll come, right?"
Nodding.
Gallahan quickly nodded his head, not even meeting her eyes properly.
It was a pretty strong expression of will.
"Then... Please cover your face with something like a hat or hoodie. What do you think?"
...Nodding.
Even after the compromise was reached, the two reddened faces did not calm down easily.
Friend.
While they tied each other up with those vague words to see each other every day, the conversation they had a while ago was quite bold and crossed the line.
"Ehem, would you like to visit the backyard here?"
"...Shall we go?"
Gallahan, who hurriedly put down the price of food on the table, jumped up from his seat.
The backyard of the inn, which often visited by guests and staff of the inn operating with the restaurant, was small but warm with good sunlight.
"It"s a place where I put my mind at ease."
Gallahan, who looked around once, said.
"Right? I also want to have a backyard like this in the future. It"s a house with a lot of trees and flowers, so it feels comfortable and cozy."
"...I think it suits Shan well."
At Gallahan"s praise, Shan smiled brightly and clapped her hands loudly.
"Oh, I forgot!"
"What"s wrong, Shan?"
"I"m taking care of the trees and flowers here. But I forgot to water it!"
Shan hurriedly found a large bucket and filled it with water.
And the moment she tried to lift it with all her might.
"I"ll hold it. Where should I go?"
Gallahan asked, gently pushing Shan"s hand away.
Gallahan lifted the bucket, which she struggled to lift with her two hands, with one hand.
There was no sign of difficulty.
"Uh... You can give it to the tree over there first. Do you want me to hold it together?"
However, Gallahan shook his head.
"I"ll do it, so just tell me how much Shan will watering it."
"......"
Behind Gallahan, who was willing to take the lead, Shan secretly clapped her hand again.
After giving water to the trees and flowers, the last thing Shan pointed to was a small flowerpot.
Gallahan looked closely at it placed in the sunny spot in the backyard.
His eyes kept looking towards the delicate leaves or the very small flower buds.
"What"s this plant"s name, Shan?"
To Gallahan"s question, Shan directly watered it and answered.
"Bomnia. It is called Bomnia flower."