Chapter 707: Side Story 3. Stellar Blossom - 42
The sun had started to rise, and the house staff was in the middle of their first busy schedule of the day: preparing breakfast, cleaning the house, tending the garden. Inside the ante-library, however, it was very calm and quiet. With a cup of warm tea in front of him, Han Joon sat face-to-face with the Matriarch.
"This is nostalgic," the Matriarch spoke in her usual soft tone, inhaling the delicate scent of her tea before sipping on it.
"...so I did go and see you," Han Joon stared at the steam billowing from the tea.
Ludya flicked her gaze at the man--a young man. The gaze was not yet exhausted of the world, but there was a deep maturity that came from frightening experiences. It was fascinating for her how his proper form changed slightly in each stage of his life.
Han Joon in front of her now had a straight back, but a more relaxed shoulder. His eyes were deep, filled with caution, and while a subtle smile played on his lips, it was nothing but a mask.
"I reckon you gain your memory again," the matriarch said. "You don’t remember seeing me, however, which means..."
"My last memory is deciding to meet you in a week or so," Han Joon told her.
"Ah, so it was when you decided to do everything alone," she nodded.
It was already twenty years ago, but she remembered the moment quite vividly. A young man came to see her, using his father’s name instead of Radia’s, even though the matriarch knew they had intense contact with each other.
Perhaps it was intentional, to make sure Ludya was intrigued enough to allow him a meeting. This boy was just as cunning as her rascal’s grandson, after all. What intrigued her at that time, however, was the gaze Han Joon held.
A deep fear, but not of her. A pair of eyes that had gone through countless nightmares. The gaze was screaming emergency, and yet there was nothing like that in his cheeky request. She only understood it eleven years later, together with everyone who knew.