Between Your Letter and My Reply

Chapter 153

『 Translator – Divinity 』

To be precise, the beach that Eugene’s parents owned was more accurately described as a beach attached to their villa.

Before coming here, Eugene had offered to let them stay overnight at the villa if they wanted, and Lilliana had readily accepted. So, in addition to the usual things needed for a day at the beach, they had also brought luggage for an overnight stay.

Lilliana had been humming happily in the car the whole way, excited to stay at a villa with an ocean view.

“Ah, I can see the ocean. We’re almost there.”

At Eugene’s words, Lilliana opened the window and stuck her head out.

“It’s real! The ocean!”

“Lilliana, it’s dangerous, please come back inside.”

“Look, Damian! The ocean is so beautiful!”

As Lilliana said, in the distance, they could see the ocean shimmering with gold and blue under the sunlight. Casey and Damian also found themselves glued to the window, gazing at the sight.

And soon, they arrived at Eugene’s villa.

The vast, endless white sandy beach and the blue ocean stretching out in front of the small villa were enough to capture anyone’s attention.

“Wow!”

Seeing Lilliana dash towards the beach as soon as she got out of the car, Damian shouted after her, “Lilliana! Let’s unpack first and…”

Eugene laughed brightly at the sight.

“Lily hasn’t changed a bit.”

Damian glared at Eugene for saying something only someone who had known her for a long time could say. Oblivious, Eugene continued, “Lily was always like that. So innocent and carefree, but at times, more mature than anyone else…”

“I see,” Damian replied curtly, unloading the luggage from the trunk.

While the other two helped him carry the luggage into the villa, Lilliana returned. Her feet, freed from her shoes, were already wet with seawater.

“Wow, this villa is beautiful.”

Lilliana, who had followed the others into the villa, exclaimed in admiration. The villa wasn’t that big, but it seemed comfortable enough for the four of them to stay overnight.

“There are caretakers, but I’ve sent them away for now. I thought you might feel uncomfortable with strangers in the house…”

Eugene shrugged and added that it was fine to make a mess since the caretakers would clean up later.

“You’re going straight to the ocean, right?”

“Of course!” Lilliana nodded vigorously in response to Eugene’s question.

Eugene assigned each of them a room. They changed into clothes suitable for swimming and gathered back in the living room.

Lilliana wore a playsuit for swimming. It was a refreshing blue checkered pattern with a white ribbon on the chest.

The latest swimwear trend was tight-fitting styles, but Lilliana didn’t have the courage to wear something like that in front of three men.

Knowing that the old-fashioned Damian and the surprisingly conservative Casey would nag her if they saw her in such an outfit, her options had been limited from the start.

The men’s attire wasn’t anything special either. Casey wore a short-sleeved t-shirt and shorts, and Eugene was similarly dressed. However, Damian wore a thin, long-sleeved outer garment over his short-sleeved shirt.

“Aren’t you hot?” Casey asked, tugging at Damian’s outer garment.

“I am, but if seawater gets on my prosthetic arm, Asher will kill me.”

In fact, the prosthetic arm was waterproof, so it wouldn’t be a big deal if it got wet with seawater.

However, seawater, unlike freshwater, contained salt, so it needed to be cleaned afterward, and Damian wasn’t yet skilled at disassembling and cleaning the prosthetic.

Apart from the structural issues of the prosthetic, Damian had to do it all with his left hand. In the end, it meant asking Asher for help, which Asher wouldn’t be happy about.

“What? Then you’re not going into the ocean, Damian?” Lilliana pouted with a disappointed look.

“I don’t particularly like swimming…”

“What do you even like, Damian?” Casey asked with genuine curiosity.

Damian couldn’t answer. He remained silent for a moment, and then Lilliana suddenly asked, “Huh? But Damian, if you had to choose between mountains and water, you prefer water, don’t you?”

“What?”

“Didn’t you tell me that before? That you prefer water to mountains?”

Damian frowned at her words.

That was something he had discussed in his letters with ‘Lady Lintray.’ He had never mentioned it to Lilliana.

Seeing him frown, Lilliana tilted her head.

“Why, why are you reacting like that?”

“When did I ever say that?”

“Huh?”

“Do you remember when I said that?” Damian pressed.

Lilliana, flustered, blinked and scratched her head.

“We-ll…?”

“I’ve never said that to you, Lilliana.”

“Is… that so?”

“No, why are you getting angry?”

Casey grabbed the back of Damian’s collar and pulled him away from Lilliana. Damian, while being dragged, muttered an excuse belatedly, “I wasn’t angry, I was just asking…”

“I’m sorry if I was mistaken, Damian. I felt like we had this conversation before…”

Lilliana apologized to Damian, but he wasn’t angry, nor did he want an apology. It wasn’t Lilliana’s fault at all.

So, feeling awkward, he shook his head.

“No, I was just asking. I apologize if it seemed like I was angry. And you’re right, Lilliana. I do prefer water to mountains.”

Lilliana still felt a bit uneasy, not understanding why he had overreacted, but since he said it was nothing, she let it go.

***

“Yahoo!”

Lilliana ran across the white sandy beach. The sun-baked sand was hot, and her feet sank into it, but she ran barefoot without a care. Then, she splashed into the ocean.

“She’s really impatient,” Casey clicked his tongue and followed after her.

Eugene laughed, watching them.

While Lilliana and Casey were playing in the shallow water, Damian set up a parasol and spread out a mat in a suitable spot. Then, he took out bottles of cold water and drinks and put them in an ice bucket so they could drink them anytime.

His movements were practiced, like someone who had been camping many times.

Eugene, who was inflating a tube with an air pump next to him, spoke to Damian.

“Even if you don’t go into the water, how about floating on a tube? You won’t get wet on the tube.”

“Ah, I’m sorry, but I’ll have to decline. The tube might flip over in the waves…”

Damian refused his kind offer with an apologetic look, and Eugene couldn’t persuade him further and just nodded.

“But I feel bad. I invited you all the way here, and you don’t seem to be enjoying yourself…”

“No, it’s not that. It’s more like I forced myself to come along on this invitation.”

“Forced yourself? It’s only natural for Lily’s friend to come along.”

Eugene shook his head with a friendly smile. Looking at his handsome face, Damian thought he understood why Lilliana had dated Eugene. But he didn’t understand why they broke up.

Lilliana’s explanation wasn’t enough. What did she mean by their views on relationships not aligning? While they were getting along so well like this?

“Why did you break up?”

Damian asked the question without realizing it. He was a bit surprised that the question had slipped out of his mouth.