Chapter 19

“Ugh!”

Demius clutched his chest.

Melissa gasped in surprise.

“Are you alright?”

“…Yes.”

He managed to catch his breath before collapsing.

Dear.

For a brief second, he could almost see his late father waving at him from across the river of the afterlife. Demius fought to steady his heart, forcing air back into his lungs.

Huff, huff…

Barely escaping death by embarrassment, he pressed his lips tightly to keep from laughing.

Then Melissa spoke again.

“Dear?”

“Ugh!”

He grabbed his chest once more, wincing as though struck. Melissa frowned, looking genuinely worried.

“I knew it. Maybe I shouldn’t call you that.”

“No!”

Demius blurted the word before he could stop himself.

“I-I’m fine, really. Please, call me whatever you like!”

“Then… Demi?”

He bit his lip so hard it hurt. He couldn’t frighten her again, not when she was trying so sweetly. If she got self-conscious and stopped using a nickname altogether, he’d never forgive himself.

‘A nickname?’

Dong—

It was as if a bell dropped straight onto his head.

A nickname. That was something lovers called each other.

The realization hit him so hard that his ears burned, and his mind went blank.

Melissa tilted her head, watching his expression.

“Um… are you sure that’s okay?”

“Of course. Perfectly fine. Yes.”

He managed to form words again, shaking off the wave of emotion that nearly drowned him.

“…Riri.”

Melissa blinked.

Seeing her surprise, Demius quickly added an explanation.

“I just took the ‘Ri’ from Melissa. So, Riri. Do you like it?”

“Oh my.”

Her face brightened with delight.

“I love it!”

She laughed, her voice full of cheer.

“I’ve never been called that before. I’ve heard people use Mel, Mellie, or Lisa, but never Riri.”

“That’s because Riri was made just for you,” Demius replied quickly.

It was an excuse, but an honest one.

He didn’t want to call her by a name anyone else could use.

Her parents had given her different nicknames, Mel, Mellie, Lisa, each special in its own way. But he wanted one that belonged to him alone.

After thinking long and hard, the name Riri had come to him.

No one else would ever shorten Melissa that way.

‘For one year.’

For the duration of their contract, he wanted to be the only one to call her by that name.

Demius glanced nervously at her and murmured, “Unless you don’t like it…”

“No!”

Melissa’s eyes sparkled as she shouted.

“Riri is adorable. It’s the cutest name ever!”

She smiled brightly, then clapped her hands as if struck by an idea.

“Then you’ll be Mimi!”

“…What?”

Demius froze.

Melissa met his wide eyes with a happy grin.

“You took the middle part of my name for Riri, right? So if I take the middle of Demius, that makes you Mimi!”

Oh heavens.

Demius fought hard to keep his mouth from twitching.

“That’s… wonderful.”

Had it been anyone else, he would’ve drawn his sword on the spot. But since it came from Melissa, it only sounded sweet.

He straightened his lips and said carefully, “Riri.”

“Mimi!”

Then Melissa suddenly widened her eyes, glancing around before whispering softly with her hand over her mouth.

“Should we use ‘Mr.’ and ‘Ms.’ instead? You know, just in case people overhear. If we keep saying ‘dear’ or ‘darling,’ someone might figure out it’s not real.”

Demius pressed a hand to his aching chest. His heart hurt again, but in a very different way.

“…Yes,” he said quietly.

Melissa clapped her hands again, as if remembering something.

“Right, I almost forgot! You already have a great nickname, Mimi.”

Demius’s eye twitched.

Melissa cupped her face with both hands, smiling dreamily.

“It’s such a lovely nickname too.”

Please no.

He shut his eyes, bracing himself.

That was a memory he would rather bury forever. But oblivious to his dread, Melissa continued, lost in fond recollection.

“Do you remember? The song we sang under the big tree on the hill.”

“…Of course.”

Demius slowly opened his eyes.

A faint smile formed at the edge of his lips as the memory came back.

The place they first met.

The Village at the Edge.

The village closest to the sky.

* * *

‘Isn’t it strange?’

Flap flap—

Birds burst from between the ridges, scattering across the bright blue sky.

Melissa looked up at them with a pout.

‘When I sit quietly, they come to me. But whenever I sing, they all fly away.’

Demius had no idea what to say.

Normally, animals were drawn to her as if by magic.

Squirrels, rabbits, deer, and even the occasional boar would all approach and sit peacefully beside her when she was still.

It made him wonder sometimes if she really was part fairy.

One day, when he followed her up the mountain ridge, he hid behind a tree and watched.

Melissa sat beneath a large tree, surrounded by small woodland creatures. Her soft hair shimmered in the sunlight, her presence almost otherworldly.

Then her lips parted.

‘La la la la~’

Demius’s eyes widened.

The sound that entered his ears resembled music, but just barely.

Thunder? An earthquake?

The rhythm was uneven, the pitch trembling wildly. The dozing animals around her jumped up in alarm.

‘La la la la~’

The bewildered animals seemed to realize she was the cause of the disaster.

The squirrels wobbled, staggered upright, and bolted. The birds flapped away, and the rabbits fled after them.

‘Oh?’

Melissa stopped singing, watching them disappear.

Demius blinked, finally snapping out of his daze.

What just happened?

He pressed his palms over his ringing ears until the world stopped spinning.

Then he noticed the expression on her face.

‘Are you alright?’

Worried, he hurried over and dropped to one knee beside her.

Melissa stared up at the sky where feathers drifted softly down.

‘It’s strange, isn’t it? When I’m quiet, they come close. But when I sing, they all leave.’

“That’s…”

He bit his tongue.

He knew exactly why, but there was no way he could tell her.

Her parents must have hidden that truth from her too.

After several failed attempts to speak, he finally said quietly,

“If that was the song I just heard, then I believe it went like this.”

It was an old song his brother had once taught him when they were small.

He sang it softly, the melody gentle and calm.

The air grew still, the birds silenced, the wind itself pausing until his final note faded into quiet.

“…Goodness.”

When he opened his eyes, Melissa was staring at him in awe.

His cheeks flushed red at once.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“Your voice is amazing. Just like a canary!”

Her excitement caught him completely off guard.

“Could you… sing another?”

With eyes that hopeful, how could he refuse?

He sang again, and again. Songs he barely remembered, songs from childhood.

By the time he finished, the sun was already setting beyond the mountains.

Beautiful.

He remembered thinking that as he watched the red sky fade between the peaks.

Of course, the most beautiful thing was the person beside him.

He knew even then that he would carry that memory forever.

He just didn’t know it would follow him in another way too.

* * *

‘Well, well. Look who it is.’

The next day, at the entrance to the village, he ran into Melissa’s parents.

Normally, they frowned whenever they saw him. But this time, they smiled far too broadly, which immediately put him on edge.

One of her fathers grinned.

‘Aren’t you our little canary?’

Demius froze.

He must have misheard.

He ignored it and walked on, but the nickname followed him wherever he went.

‘Hey there, Canary!’

‘Well, if it isn’t Mr. Canary himself!’

Even the most respectable elder in the village had greeted him that day with a chuckle.

‘Tell me, son, how did you end up as a bird?’