Ashes Nocturne (1)

Even as he said that, there was a subtle lack of strength in the curve of Theron’s lips.
Selene noticed it without difficulty.
Although he tried not to show it, there was still a dark cloud in Theron’s heart.
‘It must be because of that matter.’
The matter Theron had said he needed courage for.
Selene had decided to wait, so she just watched him silently.
“How are the competition preparations going?”
Theron asked, brushing away the shadow from his eyes.
Selene nodded.
“All Great, thanks to you, Theron.”
“I’m glad if the experimental subject research was successful.”
Theron let out a light laugh.
In contrast, Selene was quite serious.
“No. My skill improvement isn’t just because you were my experimental subject, Theron. There wouldn’t be a scientist who laughs and gets angry at an experimental subject. You might have been more than just an inspiration to me from the beginning.”
“…”
“You are undoubtedly an important person to me now.”
It wasn’t an impulsive statement.
It was a thought that had been wandering in Selene’s mind lately.
Selene, having confirmed this thought, had wanted to tell Theron all along.
Theron was silent for a moment.
Then he slowly met her eyes.
“…Do you know that what you just said makes me expect things?”
The speed at which Theron’s chest rose and fell quickened.
Although his sense of expectation was strongly felt, Selene did not deny it.
Because she had decided to be honest, at least with Theron.
“It’s my unvarnished sincerity.”
Theron, who had been staring at Selene’s face, pulled her head and pressed his lips against hers briefly.
The kiss did not last long.
Theron’s lips parted with a light peck.
“Honestly, if I had my way, I’d want to rip off the rags you’re wearing right now, but I’ll hold it in for today.”
“…”
“Because I really don’t want to disturb your competition practice.”
The statement that he was holding it in didn’t seem to be a lie, as a hot heat was flowing from Theron.
Hooo.
Theron, who let out a long breath, took off the jacket he was wearing over his thin sweater.
“Was there nothing else?”
Theron, with a slightly flushed face and taking deep breaths, suddenly asked.
“Anything else?”
“Yes. I’m always curious about your every move. What you’ve eaten that was delicious recently, if there was a newspaper article you read that was interesting, if you went out, for what reason, things like that.”
While wondering if it was possible to be that curious about another person’s day, looking back, Selene had also been curious about Theron’s day at times.
Things like whether Theron was leaving work now under the yellow sky at sunset, or if he had already arrived at the mansion he was said to be living in.
Selene had to think about her answer.
It was because her daily life did not come to her clearly.
“I don’t remember anything special.”
It was true.
As the competition drew closer, she had no choice but to stay in the piano room from the moment she opened her eyes in the morning until she closed them in the evening.
‘Ah, is there one thing?’
Although the matter of Logan sending a letter and announcing his return to the country came to mind, it was not the kind of news that Theron would particularly like.
Theron had been the type to growl whenever the topic of Logan came up, even without ever having seen him.
Since it wasn’t a particularly important matter between them, Selene, who had decided there was no need to tell him that fact beforehand, erased the wandering Logan from her mind.
“Still, don’t forget to think of me from time to time. I don’t care if it’s even a fraction of a fraction of how much I think of you.”
Theron was nagging unnecessarily.
Besides, there was something Theron didn’t know; Selene thought of him quite often in her daily life.
Especially yesterday, the soft blanket had reminded her of Theron’s chest.
The thick, swollen, and widely enveloping feeling felt like that.
However, if she were to tell him this as well, Selene thought that Theron, who still looked hot, might end up kissing her as if to pounce on her, so she kept her mouth shut.
‘No, is he already looking at me with that intention?’
Theron was staring at Selene fiercely, as if he wanted to put her in his mouth and roll her around.
Then, as if he couldn’t stand it anymore, just as he was stealthily touching Selene’s finger, she asked, “When you first introduced yourself, you said you knew my uncle, right?”
“Uh, uh…”
Theron froze his finger like someone caught doing something wrong.
“How did you get to know my uncle?”
“Well… as you know, the social circle in Cantora is small. We just got to know each other naturally as we came and went…”
“But why did you never talk about my uncle?”
“…I thought you wouldn’t particularly like me talking about Colonel Ashcombe. As you know, most people assume you’re not on good terms because of the complicated matter of the Ashcombe ducal family’s lineage…”
‘Considering that, didn’t Theron approach me at our first meeting, nonchalantly mentioning his connection with my uncle?’
It was strange in many ways.
It felt like the pieces didn’t fit.
And yet, Selene didn’t feel the need to question Theron any further.
It was because she trusted Theron, as she had revealed to Evelyn.
There was no reason to dig into their connection now.
“I believe you won’t lie to me anymore, Theron.”
The lies would end with him pretending he had no experience with women.
“…Of course.”
Theron answered.
Selene nodded.
This much of an answer was enough.
After the topic was finished, Theron was quiet.
He remained still for a while with his head bowed.
‘Is he tired from overworking these days?’
Just as she was starting to feel a little worried, Theron suddenly pressed a single piano key.
Ding.
As the clear sound of the keyboard was heard unexpectedly, Selene blinked.
“…Selene, do you know? That I’m thinking of buying a piano these days.”
When he lifted his head again, there was no sign of fatigue on Theron’s face.
On top of that, the radical statement that came out of Theron’s mouth was enough to snatch away Selene’s attention.
“Why?”
“At the salon concert, you said I was cool for the first time when you saw me playing a jazz piece. That’s a tempting thing.”
At his calm answer, Selene was happy.
It was because of the anticipation that she might be able to hear Theron’s performance again, and because it seemed that his old wound, which she didn’t know much about, had healed a little.
“I won’t be able to play for long because of the pain, but I can probably manage about 10 minutes a day.”
That was enough time to enjoy it as a light hobby.
Since Theron seemed to have a very solid foundation, if that 10 minutes accumulated, he might be able to play better than an amateur someday.
Originally, Theron was like a child who would suppress his feelings and be sulky only in front of the piano.
But now, he was naturally accepting that feeling.
Just imagining Theron playing the piano comfortably, without caring about anyone’s eyes, was exciting.
Selene, who was rarely excited, asked questions without a break, such as what kind of piano he was going to buy, which company’s piano he had looked at, how much space he had at home, and if he was going to play jazz again.
“It’s good that you’re so proactive, but do you know you’re getting closer and closer to me?”
As Theron pointed it out with a laugh, Selene finally noticed that her body was leaning heavily towards him.
“…I guess I got excited.”
Theron, as if finding such a Selene cute, pulled her and hugged her tightly.
Hahaha.
Theron’s upper body rose and fell lightly as he burst into a refreshing laugh.
“Let go of me… Theron Cox.”
“What if I don’t want to?”
Theron, with a sly curve of his lips, hugged Selene a little tighter.
Theron, who had buried his head in Selene’s hair, muttered.
“I don’t know why I’ve only just realized how good a person’s warmth is.”
“…”
“I guess it’s a relief that I’ve realized it now.”
Selene, seeing Theron, who was hugging her like a security blanket, looking so happy, relaxed her body after a moment of hesitation.
Since she had been swinging Theron around for her own good until now, she felt that he should also enjoy this much.
“Just stay like this for a moment.”
But suddenly, Theron lifted Selene up and started walking somewhere.
Just as she was worrying that he might be going out of the piano room like this, Theron put Selene down on the piano stool.
As Selene looked up, Theron grinned.
“The people who work here must have heard your piano performance countless times, but I’ve only heard it a few times, which is unfair.”
“Because you acted as if you’d get hives just by entering this piano room, Theron.”
Theron scratched his cheek with an awkward face.
“I’m sorry. To confess now, I initially doubted your skill.”
Selene looked at Theron intently.
Honestly, it wasn’t a shocking confession.
Recalling him from the beginning, he had seemed quite capable of it.
He might have guessed that she was overestimated due to the halo of the ducal family.
In fact, not a few people looked at her that way.
“But I don’t doubt you anymore. In fact, it’s closer to not caring either way.”
Theron, who had been rambling on about his past feelings, gazed at Selene.
“So, Selene. I want to hear the piece you’ll be playing at this competition now. I’ve always been curious what the piece you’ve been practicing so hard for feels like.”
Selene immediately thought of the main piece of the international competition, ‘The Age of Love and Romance’.
However, she did not want to play that piece in front of Theron right now.
“You’re going to come to the competition to see my performance, aren’t you, Theron?”
“Um… yeah?”
“Then, I’ll show you then. I want to show you a perfect performance then.”
This was a kind of greed.
The greed to show Theron the performance she had polished for so long in a slightly more complete state.
Theron looked disappointed.
“If I go back like this today, I won’t be able to see you until the competition… so if you’re okay with it, how about playing a short piece? An etude would be fine too.”
Selene, who was pondering the heartfelt request, soon thought of a piece.
‘Ashes Nocturne.’
She could play that not so badly right now.
Because it was the piece that had made Selene win the Velora Competition.