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The weather caused some delays, as it’d chosen to snow, but finally, the day was bright and clear, the ropes and pulleys were all in alignment, and take two of lifting the beam into place commenced. Noe couldn’t do anything to help but supervise, but dammit, he wanted to see that thing go into place. He wanted the satisfaction. It almost felt like revenge after the beam tried to kill him the first go-around.

Luca was of two minds, having Noe outside while still recovering, so they ended up in a sort of compromise. Noe had a chair, two blankets, and a suitou of hot tea so he could sit on the lofty perch and watch it all come together. General Brahms shared Noe’s perch, using a spyglass so he could see the particulars and give orders if necessary. Knowing he’d be sharing this spot with the Aartan general, Noe had brought Raijuu the dragon with him so he could return it to Sakura. Not that she was here yet, but she would be soon.

Noe heard the call from the foreman with the drum hitting the beat, and the first heave lifted the beam ever so slightly off the chilly ground. A second heave saw more progress, and he anxiously watched as it gained air. This time, everyone was very intent, and aside from calling out to each other to coordinate, there wasn’t much talking being done. Which was how it should be.

The beam seemed intent on behaving today, but Noe wasn’t going to relax until it actually settled into place. Everything else would be easy by comparison, as this beam was much larger than the rest.

When it finally did settle into the right place, Noe and General Brahms both let out a long breath of relief.

“That,” Noe observed, “is a weight off my shoulders.”

General Brahms grunted in agreement, still peering through the spyglass, intently watching.

Some might find his lack of words off-putting, but Noe didn’t. His own grandfather had been a man of few words, so he was used to the type. Besides, anyone who had observed General Brahms around Sakura knew the man was a softie at heart. He spoiled his daughter relentlessly.

“Thank you for handling things,” Noe tacked on. “After my accident, I understand things went very awry. It meant a lot to Luca that both you and your husband took care of everything so he could focus on me.”

General Brahms lowered the glass enough to focus on him, those blue eyes twinkling. “You’re welcome. Don’t get hurt again.”

Noe laughed, able to interpret him without issue. “Luca’s a bear when one of his own is hurt. I’ve realized this better than anyone, after being the focus of his attention. I’ll strive to be more careful.”

Another satisfied grunt, an almost imperceptible nod, and then he went back to peering through the glass.

Welding started on the main beam, but those who were on the ground reset the rigging, preparing to lift the next beam into place. They might as well—they had hours of daylight left. Why not set as many of the beams as possible while they had good weather?

From the road, there was a happy call of “Papa!”

Noe turned his head to watch as Sakura raced up the hill, a bamboo suitou in her hand, and she waved hello as she spotted him. “Keller-san, you’re up! Are you feeling better?”

“I am, much better.” His ribs were still sore, arm still a touch achy, but anything was an improvement over the day of the accident.

“Good!” She skipped to her father’s side and offered him the thermos. “Hot tea. Uncle Robert packed me snacks too. Do you want snacks?”

“Later,” he answered with a soft smile down at her.

While their interaction was cute, what amused Noe most was Nathan standing beside her. Did the man just follow her everywhere? Noe knew for a fact he now had language lessons and duties of his own, so how did he even find the time to follow Sakura all over?

Nathan greeted him with a pleased smile. “It’s good to see you up, Mr. Keller.”

“It’s good to be up. I was becoming deathly tired of staying cooped up in my room all day.”

“I bet. Hardest part of recovering is limiting yourself so your body can heal. Gets boring quickly.”

“Agreed. One hundred percent agreed. Speaking of, though…” Noe reached down and lifted the bag with the stuffed dragon. “Sakura-chan, thank you for the loan. He was actually the perfect armrest for me and helped me sleep.”

She accepted the dragon back with a brilliant smile. “He’s the best sleep assistant. I knew he’d help.”

“That he did.” Noe wasn’t exaggerating much, as the dragon had been the perfect armrest for him. None of the pillows had quite worked as well without aggravating his ribs. It was only the past night he’d found he didn’t need to use the dragon and decided to return it to her. “So thank you again for the loan.”

“You’re welcome.” She paused and looked him over seriously. “Is General O’ Broín still mad?”

“Mad?” Noe wasn’t quite sure what she meant by that.

“About, you know…” She made a gesture that seemed to encompass everything, brows furrowed in frustration. Sakura was searching for the word, but it seemed to be evading her. “When you got hurt, he was really mad.”

“Oh! That’s what you mean. He’s much calmer now.” It was sweet she was worried. “I’m sure you’ve seen for yourself. When you get hurt, your parents are worried, but they’re also angry, right? They’re mad they weren’t able to stop you from getting hurt.”

She nodded seriously. “Yeah. I thought that was it, but he was also mad at your brother.”

“To be fair, we were all mad at my brother. Me more than most. And he deserved it because it was entirely his fault.”

“It was. Chichi said he won’t come back here.”

“No, he’ll never be allowed in Shiirei again.”

That pleased her. “Then he can’t hurt anyone here again. I’m glad.”

Satisfied, she turned to her father and tugged his arm. General Brahms seemed to know what that silent signal meant, as he leaned sideways a little, scooped her up, and settled her on one hip, then passed the eyeglass to her so she could see for herself.

Frankly, their nonverbal communication was adorable to watch.

What she’d said to Noe stuck with him, though. Even Sakura had been unnerved hearing about Luca’s anger. She hadn’t known much kindness until her fathers adopted her, so that said something.

Sakura wasn’t the only person who’d voiced that observation to him—far from it. Even men who had served with Luca his entire life had been unnerved by how angry he had been. Hell, it had taken two men to pull Luca off Petar, and Noe knew for a fact how strong Ren and Ewan were. Even in his half-frozen state, though, Luca had almost overpowered both of them. Noe had been too out of it to properly register what that had meant at the time. Now?

Well, now it painted quite the picture in his head.

Luca had been upfront with him from the beginning of their relationship that he might never fall in love with Noe. Noe had accepted that because Luca had offered him so much else—so much of what he had dreamed of and craved. Sacrificing romantic love for a good husband to live with had seemed worth it. But even if Luca wasn’t in love with him, he clearly felt deeply for Noe. His affection wasn’t in question. All through his recovery, Luca had been very attentive and patient, and not once had Noe felt any lack.

Luca’s anger had told a story, but his actions after that day also told their own story. Noe hadn’t missed any of the cues. Honestly, if Luca cared for him so much, it felt wrong to keep his own revelation to himself. He didn’t know precisely how Luca would take the news that Noe had realized he was head over heels in love with the man. Not for one second did Noe think Luca would take the news badly; however, it might make things a touch awkward between them. Noe didn’t want to pressure Luca to respond in kind, no good would come from that anyway, but…just sitting on his feelings felt wrong.

Finding the timing for it would be a bit tricky. Especially with him healing like this, they seemed to have a steady stream of people in their room, mostly to look out for Noe while Luca dealt with work. Still, he was determined to try for it today or tomorrow.

Part of him quaked with nerves at the idea, though. Why was it so nerve-racking to reveal your heart? Even when Noe knew, without a shadow of a doubt, how much Luca cared for him. This shouldn’t be so scary, dammit.

“Hello, all,” Elsbet called as she walked up the hill. “Oooh, progress! I see a beam in place!”

Noe shook off his thoughts and pulled a smile onto his face. “Hello, and yes, the big beam’s locked in now. At the rate we’re going, we might get all the major beams into place before end of day.”

“Here’s to hoping.” Elsbet paused at his side, and while she spoke to him, she clearly looked at Nathan from the side of her eye. “You’re looking better, Noe. There’s some color in your face, but I’m surprised to see you sitting here.”

“I couldn’t stand being in our room anymore. Plus I feel vindicated watching the beams actually going into place right now.”

“Ahh. Well, so long as you’re not overdoing it. I’m not explaining to my cousin how you reinjured yourself on site.”

“If anyone’s to blame, it’ll be me for insisting on being here.” Unable to take it anymore, Noe lowered his voice a touch and waved her in closer. “Just ask.”

“That obvious?” She tugged her lip with her teeth, eyes roving over Nathan with even more interest. She took him in from head to toe—ice-blond hair, massive build, tattoos, and all. “He’s just very striking. Name? Status?”

Why did he feel like an employee of a matchmaker right now? “Nathan Asen, single.”

“Come on, man, give me more than that!”

Noe was beginning to see why Luca liked Elsbet. She was fun to tease. “I’ll do you one better. Nathan?”

Turning, Nathan obeyed the hail, and it did not escape Noe’s notice that he also seemed intrigued by this pretty woman. Perhaps the attraction would be mutual, then.

“Nathan.” Noe did the introductions while trying not to laugh, because seriously, these two were very obvious. “This is Luca’s cousin, Elsbet O’ Broín. She’s over here visiting and hoping to become an exchange student like yourself. El, this is Nathan Asen, one of my countrymen. He’s a structural engineer in the intern program.”

Nathan lifted her hand and gave a shallow bow over it, his gaze never leaving hers. “A pleasure, Lady O’ Broín.”

“Why, thank you, and likewise. If you’re in the program, then you haven’t been here long? Is that right?”

Noe’s duty was done, so he sat back and let them chat, which was borderline flirting. Luca had made noises about introducing Elsbet to various people and seeing if she found someone she liked enough to marry, but he might miss his opportunity at this rate. Elsbet was clearly not waiting around for him.

Knowing what he did of Nathan, she could do far worse. The younger man was intelligent and a gentle giant. He’d make a good husband, Noe had no doubts. He had no idea if the relationship would go that far, but he had no qualms letting them court for a while and test the waters.

Although, if they did pan out, then it would amuse him to no end. What were the odds of two Bhodhsans meeting their future Scovian spouses on Shiirein soil? That had to be some kind of astronomical odds.

Well, if nothing else, these two could have fun chatting with each other, and there was no harm in that.