Chapter 18

I couldn't stop staring at it. Because although it was a portrait, the person had no face. There was something strangely magnetic about it that pulled me in.

Carlos

"Oh, are you looking at the painting?"

Kira

"Yeah... I was just wondering why the person didn't have a face. Isn't that the most important thing about a

portrait?'

Carlos

"I thought the same thing at first." "The painting's kind of sad, isn't it? I asked Lord Vlad whether he'd want to display a more cheerful painting instead."

Kira

"Haha. Sounds like something you'd say."

Carlos grinned and then murmured,

Carlos

"But that painting is super important to le Voivode."

Kira

"It is?"

Carlos

"Yeah. I saw him gazing at it alone once." "Most of the time he always notices me when I come near, but he just kept staring and had no idea I was there." "His eyes looked so sad as he gazed at it that it started to make me feel sad, too." "Like he was in love with the person in the painting or something."

In love with them...? Suddenly I felt a sharp pain deep in my chest. As I wondered why I felt that way, Carlos studied my face.

Carlos

"Hey, Kira. Are you in love with Lord Vlad?"

Kira

"What...??"

Me, in love with Vlad? I couldn't answer right away. I kept asking myself that question over and over again. Charles smiled softly at me.

Carlos

"I love le Voivode. Because I was all alone in the dark night when he reached out his hand to me and saved me." "Oh, and I love Docteur and I love you too, Kira!"

Kira

"Haha. Thanks, Carlos."

I guess he was just asking if I love Vlad as a friend, like he loves everyone. Now I'm embarrassed I took it the wrong way.

Carlos

"That's why I want to live with them always like this. But sometimes Lord Vlad feels so far away from me."

Kira

"What do you mean?"

Carlos

"Well, he always has such a kind smile on his face. But when you look closely...is he really smiling?"

He shifted his gaze back over to the portrait.

Carlos

"Sometimes I can't tell. I feel like he bottles up his emotions a lot and keeps them all to himself, deep inside." "But when I try to reach out to him, he just gives me that kind smile. And then I find it hard to bring it up." "It makes me so sad. And I wonder if he's really sad, too."

Kira

"...Carlos."

Carlos

"Ahaha, sorry! I guess I was just rambling because you're being so nice and listening to me!" "Let's go see Docteur right now. I bet he's in the middle of a really interesting experiment or something. C'mon!"

Kira

"Waaah! Carlos, don't pull!"

Carlos pulled me out of the room, but before we left I turned around. I took one last glance at Vlad quietly sleeping in bed next to the portrait on the wall… and for some reason I just felt devastatingly sad. It was a crushing, overwhelming feeling, like drowning in an ocean.

~~~~~~

By the time a crescent moon hung in the sky again, my ankle was much better. I told the guys I'd be leaving tomorrow. Vlad said he wanted to show me something and invited me to come with him.

Kira

"Wow!!"

He led me to a beautiful flower garden. It looked like paradise on earth.

Kira

"This is so gorgeous. Did you grow all these yourself?"

Vlad

"Yes. I enjoyed it so much I just kept growing more, and before I knew it the whole yard turned into a garden." "Hey, Kira... I suppose l've never asked you this, but what kind of flowers do you like best?"

Kira

"I love all flowers, but I think red roses are my favorite. They remind me of a passionate, burning love."

Vlad

"...A passionate, burning love. That's a beautiful way to put it."

We smiled at each other beneath the faint light of the crescent moon. I felt completely content, and I had the strangest feeling like I'd been here forever.

Vlad

"Hm?"

Kira

"…?"

He touched a pure white flower I didn't know the name of.

Vlad

"Oh, no... This flower is diseased."

His voice suddenly had a cold edge to it. Ilooked over at him and…he snipped the bud off with his fingertips. The white flower fell to the ground as if it had just died.

Kira

"Why did you cut that flower?"

Vlad

"The bud was changing colors, which means the roots had a disease."

Kira

"Maybe, but it still could have bloomed."

Vlad

"'If I would've let that flower bloom, the disease would spread to all the other flowers nearby and made them wilt."

Kira

"..."

Vlad

"And that white flower never would've known. It would've just blissfully bloomed." "So…" "It's better off being cut down now."

His crimson eyes clouded over.

Vlad

"If it doesn't realize it's doing something wrong, then someone needs to guide it."

He slowly turned his gaze on me, and the moment we made eye contact…

Flashback

Vlad

"...."

Flashback Ends

Kira

"!!!"

Why…Why am I remembering that day when I've forgotten it for so long? Itried to stop, but when I looked at the strange expression on Vlad's face, the memory continued to surface.

Flashbacks

Vlad

"That fire was caused by the citizens--by the sparks of their rebellion." "Your kindness is beautiful. I think it's a wonderful thing. But is that enough?" "Is that enough to change tomorrow? To change the future?"

/////

Carlos

"Well, he always has such a kind smile on his face. But when you look closely...is he really smiling?" "Sometimes I can't tell. I feel like he bottles up his emotions a lot and keeps them all to himself, deep inside." "But when I try to reach out to him, he just gives me that kind smile. And then I find it hard to bring it up."

Flashback Ends

I stared at the person standing in front of me.… Who are you?

Vlad

"Kira."

A familiar voice snapped me back to reality as Vlad smiled tenderly at me. I couldn't look away from his gaze.

I felt his fingertips slip through my hair and then I heard some kind of metallic noise.

Vlad

"Look into my eyes."

I did as he said, looking deep into his crimson eyes. I saw my reflection. I had a bright red rose flower pin in my hair.

Kira

"That's…"

Vlad

"You're going home tomorrow, right? This is a token of my thanks...for spending the past few days with me." "It looks wonderful on you. Very beautiful."

The smile on his face had saved me so many times, and yet for some reason right now it brought me to tears. The emotions he reached out to me with were so tender it made my heart ache.

Kira

"Thank you, Vlad. I'll treasure it always."

He smiled happily at my response. He was still close enough to touch me. I wanted to believe that everything I saw now was completely him. I Wanted to believe there wasn't anything he was hiding. I reached out my hand and clasped his.

Kira

"Hey, Vlade?"

Vlad

"Hm?"

Kira

"I've learned so much about you since we met, but I feel like it's not enough." "Maybe this is selfish of me, but I want to get to know you on a deeper level."

He squeezed my hand back tightly, almost as if he were grasping my heart itself.

Vlad

"Then come to my room tonight."

I nodded and then we walked through the night together, hand in hand. His warmth seemed to seep into every cell of my body, making me his. I know the name of this feeling, the feeling you get when it seems like someone consumes you. Vlad led me to his room and urged me to sit down on the bed. We sat next to each other, still holding hands. He looked into my eyes.

Vlad

"What do you want to know?"

My gaze naturally drifted over to the faceless portrait on the wall.

Kira

"Whose portrait is that?"

Vlad

"It's a portrait of someone l've been searching for, for a very long time now."