Ch.73A Star for You (5)

The sun sets. As the sun that had brightened the sky goes down, and fireworks announcing the festival begin to burst, a strange atmosphere starts to envelop the duke’s mansion.

Several maids with solemn expressions, as if preparing for battle, disappear somewhere in perfect unison, and a tension thick enough to choke hangs in the air. Even Ropena, who would normally be wandering around at this hour, was nowhere to be seen.

“Hmm.”

It wasn’t entirely unexpected. The seasonal festival had just begun, and the reason I was dressed up like this was for the festival after all.

The maids of this mansion could only be busy for one reason. Perhaps they were too nervous to come out. In truth, I was just as nervous. Today’s festival wasn’t simply meaningful because we were going out together; it was a crucial event to take a step forward from this ambiguous relationship.

‘Stout.’

Especially that final event we would attend… it was a key event that couldn’t be missed. Even if everything else had to be given up, that one had to be attended.

As I was thinking about this while fiddling with the brooch around my neck, the murmuring in the hallway gradually grew louder. And amid it all, clearly audible, the sound of shoes ringing out clearly. I raised my head. And then, meeting her gaze, I smiled faintly.

“Are you ready?”

“It took a while. I’m sorry.”

She knew there was no need for fancy clothes. Although we were participating in the festival, if we dressed too elaborately, as if going to a ball, we would quickly catch others’ attention. So I had wondered about this long wait, but when I actually saw her, all my doubts were instantly resolved.

Simple, clothes that ordinary commoners might wear if you just looked at them. Of course, as she was a noble lady, the quality of the fabric was incomparable to other clothes, but in this darkness, her outfit would certainly appear modest.

However, her appearance was anything but, and I unconsciously blushed as I carefully brushed my eyes.

At least among all the people I had seen so far, no one was as beautiful as Aileen. Grateful for that fact inside, I carefully began to approach her. I too was dressed plainly, unlike my usual clothes, and I wondered if it suited me well.

When I asked, Aileen, who had been staring at me, quietly nodded and replied.

“It looks fine.”

“Does it?”

I was glad if it suited me well, but her attitude, subtly different from usual, made me frown slightly. Something… sharper than usual, should I say? She didn’t seem to be in a bad mood, but I could only tilt my head at her solemn attitude, similar to the other maids.

I thought she must just be nervous. With that in mind, I reached out my hand, but Aileen ignored it and walked right past me.

‘What on earth…’

At her suddenly changed attitude, I could only stand there blankly, watching her walk away.

#

“That’s what came to mind then, right? Just close your eyes and make the first move yourself!”

Ropena’s words were swirling in my head, making it impossible for me to look directly at Evan’s face. If only I had heard how she had done it right then, it might have been a little better. What had she done to advance that frustrating progress in one go?

If I had known it would be like this, it might have been good to listen to what the other ladies were saying. I had thought that love talk was just something thoughtless people engaged in, but now that I was in that position, there was no field that interested me more.

We’ve… held hands. We’ve even embraced, so all that’s left is… kissing, isn’t it?

But the thought of kissing was unbearably embarrassing. How does one press their lips together? I had never even imagined such a thing. But waiting for Evan to do such a thing… too much time had passed.

I knew his feelings toward me were romantic, but whether that heart would remain steadfast forever was unknown.

‘There are too many women.’

I knew well that besides myself, there were plenty of women in this world who would love him. Especially when going to balls, there were more than a few vixens targeting him. I had even burned letters on purpose to warn them, but still, there were those who changed the recipient to secretly deliver letters to him.

It’s unlikely, but what if Evan grew tired of my attitude?

…I absolutely couldn’t let that happen. I turned my head slightly and saw Evan’s face. Whether the moonlight was particularly bright tonight or not, his face looked especially white, making my cheeks flush with heat.

He was truly an excellent person. His personality, and especially his appearance, was flawless. Appearance, as I thought about it, my gaze naturally fell on his lips, so I hurriedly turned away and quietly exhaled a heated breath.

I closed my eyes for a moment, then slowly opened them, focusing on thoughts other than his face. Carefully considering what Ropena had told me, my biggest concern was how I should act going forward, being swayed by Evan like this. Should I continue to be swayed by him? No, hadn’t I resolved that this time I would take the initiative?

What caught my eye then was an empty hand. Come to think of it, wasn’t it always him who reached out first to hold hands? My deliberation wasn’t long. Even if it was a bit embarrassing, today at least, I would act faster than Evan.

Tap,

Though I confidently extended my hand, unfortunately, it barely touched the back of Evan’s hand. My courage was lacking. I wondered if he had noticed? With that thought, I glanced at his face, then reached out again to touch his wrist.

‘…I need to grab it.’

Somehow, I couldn’t do it well. Was it because there were too many people around? It felt as if everyone was watching what I was doing, making my face burn hot. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes tightly and reached out forcefully toward Evan’s hand again.

I grabbed it. At that thought, I almost raised my fist in triumph. The thrill I felt at that moment of perfectly clasping hands was quite exhilarating, so I just wiped my twitching lips with my free hand and quietly laughed inside.

They say people mature through trials. Perhaps the woman named Aileen Yuris had grown significantly through this experience.

As I gently shook our clasped hands, I realized that Evan’s gaze toward me was strange. It was as if he was looking at an animal, a small creature like a cat or dog, with quite a pleased expression that somehow made my heart feel pricked, so I carefully opened my mouth while meeting his gaze.

“Why are you looking at me like that…?”

“If you had asked me to hold your hand, I would have held it.”

“W-what are you saying?”

Hadn’t I held his hand without him noticing? Momentarily flustered by his attitude of knowing everything, I feared that if I stayed like this, I would be swayed by him again. Perhaps it would be better to speak boldly? After a moment’s consideration, I finally met his eyes directly and moved my lips.

“Is it wrong… to want to hold hands? I held them because I wanted to.”

This wasn’t what I meant to say, and a sense of dismay flashed through my mind. But I wasn’t given time to correct my words. Squeeze, Evan’s hand gripped mine. Though I was surprised by how tightly he held it, even interlocking our fingers as if not to let go, all I could do was bow my head deeply without saying anything, looking at his smiling face.

Fishuuu-

Bang!

Even with my head bowed, the light from the fireworks reflected on the ground. Yellow and red lights bathing the night sky. The light of the fireworks I had seen during the Founding Festival was green. Evan had told me he hadn’t seen such a thing, but I had firmly believed I had seen green fireworks for a while. I wonder why I now felt like I knew what that light was.

Evan’s eyes, sparkling in the light of the fireworks, were also brilliantly shining in the darkness. At a glance, they were sparkling so much that one might mistake them for fireworks. Perhaps what I had seen then was Evan? Perhaps I had been watching Evan since then?

The memory that suddenly came to mind reminded me of myself, who had wasted the Founding Festival four years ago. Alone, lost in thought, ignoring Evan and walking here and there, and in the end, seeing nothing except the final firework.

“Evan.”

This time, I wouldn’t waste time so futilely. Not only had I made a promise to myself, but this time, I wanted to enjoy the festival with him. This desire to create at least some memories was certainly greedy. So, looking at our clasped hands, I quietly murmured his name.

“Did you call me?”

“No, just…”

In truth, I didn’t have much desire to participate in anything called a festival. Aren’t all festival events similar anyway? I just found meaning in being together like this, and hadn’t I already heard all about how the events would unfold?

It was just the time spent looking at the map and planning the schedule that was enjoyable. Though trivial, I could never deny how precious that time was.

“Is there anything you want to do?”

“Well, let’s just see the few things we looked at before, shall we?”

“If you don’t want to do anything, just walking is fine too. We just came out to take a break anyway.”

Step, step,

The sound of irregular footsteps could be heard. Many people were passing by this area, but why did it sound so quiet around just the two of us? The voices of merchants hawking their wares, people crying and laughing amidst the crowd, drunk people getting angry by themselves. All those sounds were mixing in their own way in this large place.

Yet what came through clearly was the sound of each other’s heartbeats, which made my face redden. It felt as if the heat rising from my chest was spreading throughout my body. Footsteps crossed. Eventually, their intervals became faster and slower, until at some point, they began to sound simultaneously, as if coordinated.

So I smiled. Even such trivial things were enjoyable; at this moment, the most enjoyable thing was the very fact that we were together.

Would there ever come a day when we could openly talk about our feelings? If I handle Roman’s matter well, and thus the engagement is broken, I would become a person free from that relationship.

The reason we haven’t said anything to each other all this time is because of this shackle called engagement, isn’t it? If that time comes, what should I say to him to reveal my heart?

Just thinking about it was embarrassing, and eventually, I sighed deeply with my head bowed.

#

Although we seemed to have talked a lot about participating in various events when looking at the map, when we actually walked around, we only participated in one thing.

And that was an event we just got to participate in as the line finally ended. We came across an artist who said he could draw a picture in 10 minutes, and since he seemed to be quite good at drawing, we decided to participate.

If there had been a camera, we would have taken a photo, but unfortunately, cameras were something that couldn’t be implemented even with magic. The fortunate thing was that magically enhanced paint wouldn’t discolor and would be preserved even after several decades.

“Are you lovers?”

At the artist’s sudden question, Aileen’s shoulders flinched. Her trembling lips looked as if she was trying not to laugh, so I firmly shook my head and answered.

“No. We’re friends.”

“Evan.”

The gaze directed at me was stinging.

But since I had deliberately said that to see such an expression, when I smiled brightly, she glared at me with dissatisfaction. I knew she would forgive me soon anyway. When I slightly embraced her shoulder saying I was sorry, Aileen, with wide eyes, fidgeted and then bowed her head deeply.

“…They look like lovers to me.”

As the frowning artist began to draw, Aileen, who had been looking straight ahead, suddenly poked my side. Apparently displeased that I had called us friends, her narrowed eyes made me laugh involuntarily.

What else could I say? To be honest, we weren’t even lovers yet. Saying we were friends was probably the best answer. Perhaps next time… that answer might change. After sitting in the chair and looking straight ahead for some time, the artist, who had been wielding his brush, grinned and handed us the canvas.

“How is it? Do you like it?”

It was such an exquisite picture that admiration escaped as soon as I saw it, so detailed that it seemed like a photograph rather than a drawing. I doubted whether it was really possible to draw such a picture in just 10 minutes. But since I had seen him drawing for 10 minutes, I could only stare blankly at the picture with my mouth open.

A picture of us smiling faintly. It was drawn on a small canvas, too small to hang in a large frame, but big enough to place in a corner of a desk. Well, if such a picture were drawn larger, it might be awkward to hang it anywhere. After examining the small picture, I handed it to Aileen as we left the event venue.

“You keep it, I have nowhere to put a picture.”

“…I will.”

Though she accepted without a word, I had expected this from the look in her eyes when she saw the picture earlier. What had briefly appeared in her eyes as she stared at the picture was clearly desire. After putting the paper-wrapped picture in a bag and walking around for a while, I remembered that there wasn’t much time left until the event I really wanted to attend.

Stout, the most important event of the summer seasonal festival and the reason and purpose for attending today’s festival. As Aileen and I headed toward the pub where Stout was being held, Aileen frowned upon seeing the crowded people at the pub.

There were quite a lot of people. But if there was a hidden space in this pub, I already knew about it from Lord Chris, so I took her to the basement of the pub.

“This is…”

The basement of the pub was dark but filled with brilliant lights. Far fewer people than upstairs, and in that dreamlike atmosphere, there was someone alone polishing glasses. As we approached him, the bartender with narrowed eyes looked at us.

“Would you like to order?”

“One glass of Stout-“

“No, make it two glasses.”

At Aileen’s interruption, the bartender nodded. Had she also become interested in alcohol?

However, Aileen, with an expression that made it impossible to know what she was thinking, eventually sat in a corner and gestured for me to come over.

Stout was not only the name of this event but also the name of a fruit wine. It was quite a famous drink in this duchy, tasting like a combination of apple and grape flavors. As I sat down, Aileen, sitting across from me, carefully opened her mouth while looking at me.

“Suddenly alcohol, was this what you meant when you said you were an adult?”

“Yes, the most important event of the seasonal festival is Stout.”

Seeming somewhat dissatisfied with that answer, Aileen sighed and continued speaking while glancing at me.

“Do you like alcohol?”

“It’s my first time trying it.”

It wasn’t a lie. After all, this was the first time I was drinking alcohol as Evan Fried. Wondering if perhaps Aileen couldn’t drink, I asked, and she shook her head while intently staring at the glass in front of her.

The bartender approached with a bottle and filled our glasses. The light green alcohol filled the glasses, and simultaneously, the swirling drink began to spread a fruity aroma around.

“I can drink alone. Are you really sure you’re okay with drinking?”

“It’s just one glass. Do you think I’ll get drunk?”

“…That’s not it.”

Would one glass be enough to get drunk? Since the atmosphere of sitting facing each other with drinks wasn’t bad, I momentarily forgot my duty and raised my glass. Yes, it was one glass. I closed my eyes tightly at the heat felt down my throat.

Had someone called alcohol a cold fire? Although it didn’t contain the moon, this drink with its dreamlike atmosphere was enough to warm the body.

A sweet and bitter taste lingered in my mouth. The aroma of ripened fruit spread fully, making it feel more like drinking juice than alcohol. There was no intoxication. The mana spread throughout my body purified even the intoxication, and I could only stare blankly at the glass, recalling the momentary heat.

At this rate, it didn’t even feel like drinking alcohol.

It was a bit disappointing, but still, the atmosphere was quite satisfying. Alcohol brings courage. Even if not drunk, I thought perhaps we could talk about our true feelings, using the alcohol as an excuse.

“Hmm.”

If it weren’t for the suggestive sound coming from in front, I might have slowly immersed myself in the atmosphere with such thoughts.

At the sudden sound, I raised my head to see Aileen’s eyes looking at me with a drowsy gaze. There was nothing particularly changed. Her eyes were still sparkling, and even in this darkness, a clear blue light was swirling in Aileen’s pupils.

Only her flushed cheeks. Her irregular, heated breaths.

They kept sending warnings to me. Something had clearly gone wrong, and I took a deep breath at the alarm ringing in my head. One glass, just one glass. It wasn’t even a high-proof alcohol, yet she was drunk from it? It seemed impossible, so with a doubtful heart, I carefully called out to Aileen.

“Miss, why suddenly…”

“Don’t call me.”

Hiccup-

The sound of hiccups echoed. I swallowed at the sound. Was it my imagination that everything went white before my eyes for a moment? My hand that had been gripping the glass opened, and eventually, Aileen raised her finger toward me and opened her mouth.

“I’m not in a good mood right now.”

“…Are you drunk?”

“I’m not drunk. Do I, hiccup, look drunk to you?”

A sarcastic voice mixed with hiccups. No matter how I looked at it, she was drunk. If this was acting, she deserved an award for her performance.

It was a predicament. With my vision gone white, I slowly wiped my eyes and stood up to help her.

“I think we should go back. Let’s get some fresh air in the park first and then go back…”

Whoop,

Suddenly my nape was grabbed and pulled forward. Since I hadn’t expected it at all, her rough gesture instantly moved my body right up to her face. Her breath touched me. The smell of alcohol, full of fruit aroma, characteristic of Stout, spread across my face.

At that distance, close enough that our lips would touch if either moved just a little, Aileen looked at me with a sorrowful expression and opened her mouth.

“Why, why do you keep making me feel bad?”

“……”

She bit her lip firmly and sighed. Shaking her head back and forth, as if organizing her thoughts, she finally stared at me and continued.

“I’m asking why you make people pine for you like this.”

“…I’ve never done that.”

“Then.”

Tap, Aileen, who had touched the nape she had pulled, licked her lips. My heart was pounding, and soon it began to beat wildly. I was flustered. Since it was the first time Aileen had acted like this toward me, I had no idea what to say to her.

For a moment, my mind became hazy, and I felt like I might be buried in this purple light.

In that dreamy state, feeling as if floating in space, the sound that reached my ears was enough to snap me back to reality.

“Kiss me then.”

What did I just hear? In the midst of that barrage of words that gave me no time to come to my senses, Aileen was smiling leisurely.