Ch.75A Star for You (7)

It was such a brief moment. Just a moment, a flash.

After that fleeting ecstasy that ended too quickly to be expressed in words,

I could finally look into those blue eyes staring intently at me.

“…Hmm.”

What should I say? The atmosphere was delicate. When our lips parted, a thin thread refused to break,

and I quietly sighed while wiping away the silver thread still lingering on Irene’s lips. It had been an impulse.

Because we were close, and because she had asked me to answer honestly, that’s all it was.

But had I crossed a line? It wasn’t just our lips that touched…but our tongues too.

I really wished she would say something,

as I slightly avoided her intense gaze. Then I slowly opened my mouth with a faint smile.

“It was nice. Even though it was…my first time.”

“Was it really your first?”

“…What kind of person do you think I am?”

Many people have tried this sort of thing with me, but I thought I’d avoided them well.

I wanted my first to be with someone I cared about. When I slightly furrowed my brow,

Irene chuckled and touched my lips with her finger as she retorted.

“Let me see. A womanizer?”

“Let go of me.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I’ve never thought of you that way.”

It was already too late. Calling me a womanizer,

if she knew how careful I usually am, she wouldn’t have said such a thing.

As I detached Irene who was clinging to me, she hiccupped once and then slumped down beside me, holding her head.

Perhaps the effects of alcohol hadn’t fully worn off. That thought brought a wave of guilt.

I had done it while she was intoxicated…what if she said something to me after fully regaining her senses?

In truth, we had certainly made significant progress in our relationship tonight.

But I wouldn’t know until tomorrow.

Slowly rubbing my heated face, I quietly stood up and looked at Irene.

“It’s time to return to the mansion.”

The seasonal festival had ended long ago. The fireworks that had illuminated the sky were gone,

and we couldn’t spend hours lingering as we had at Siren.

When I extended my hand to Irene who was sitting, she stared at it blankly before shaking her head and pouting.

“Not your hand. Something else.”

“…Something else?”

“Carry me on your back.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of her swinging her legs while sitting on the chair.

Asking to be carried—I could certainly do that, but if we went straight to the duke’s mansion like this, other people’s stares would be uncomfortable.

…Though if I let her down before we arrived, it shouldn’t matter much.

After staring at Irene for a while as she stretched her arms into the air with her eyes closed,

I finally turned my back to her and knelt on the ground.

“Climb on.”

“Hehe.”

The laughter reaching my ears somehow tickled them. If only she would laugh like this more often,

but after tonight…I might find it quite difficult to see her smile like this again.

Lost in such thoughts while staring into space, I carefully stood up as Irene climbed onto my back.

However, my hands were still wandering. Where should I hold her?

My hands, which had been helplessly hovering around Irene’s legs, finally carefully grasped her thighs.

“…I have to carry you, so there’s no choice. Truly without any ulterior motives—”

“Liar.”

Irene whispered in my ear, then stretched out her arms to wrap around my neck and moved her lips again.

“Really, no ulterior motives at all?”

The sudden breeze made my mind go completely blank.

I needed to answer somehow, but being so conscious of Irene on my back, I just stammered and ultimately couldn’t give any response.

She looked at me with a grin.

“Pervert.”

Hearing that response, I could only furrow my brow and sigh.

Irene’s legs felt soft under my hands. Perhaps…she was somewhat right.

Trying to ignore the sensation in my hands, I looked ahead and saw the completely empty, dark street.

Because magic stones were so expensive, the streets weren’t lit except during festivals.

Perhaps because of that, the street without even a hint of light had a certain charm to it.

Silence, a silence where no one uttered a word. In that street, I heard faint breathing near my ear.

When I turned my head, I saw Irene with her face buried against my back. Perhaps she had been quite tired,

as I stared at her sleeping form before continuing toward the duke’s mansion.

It might have seemed somewhat troublesome.

Carrying someone swaying from intoxication like this, if seen by others, might cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

Of course, not many would recognize Irene and me, but I just wished this moment would last a little longer.

I didn’t mind being caught. Even if others misunderstood,

even if I had to endure hours of scolding after returning to the duke’s mansion, I wanted this time to last a little longer, to be with Irene just a bit more.

“I suppose.”

Perhaps it was only natural that I would think this way.

The corners of my mouth curved upward. Like the half-moon in the sky, I smiled brightly and murmured quietly.

So quietly that no one could hear.

“I must…really like you, my lady.”

Naturally, there was no response. Only the warm breeze tickled my cheek,

so I just continued walking while absently staring at the sky.

The words “I like you” were truly heart-fluttering no matter when they were heard.

How powerful was the magic created by those four syllables?

Feeling my heart pounding for a moment, I headed back to the duke’s mansion.

#

My head felt heavy. As I tried to open my eyes, a sharp pain shot through my head, making me wince,

and soon a familiar voice reached my ears in response to the groan that escaped my lips.

Many thoughts came to mind, but with memories that somehow seemed cut off in the middle, I couldn’t quite regain my senses. And—

Why on earth was I lying in bed?

“My lady, are you awake?”

“…Rofena?”

The scenery beyond my narrowly opened eyes was blurry.

With my hazy consciousness and my head stinging whenever I moved, I took a deep breath and picked up the cup in front of me.

It felt cold to the touch. Probably cold water—as the cool liquid went down my throat, I gradually began to regain my senses.

That this was my room, and that yesterday’s memories were…somehow blurry.

“When did I return here?”

“Hmm, don’t you remember? You came in walking with the knight yesterday, then washed up and went to bed yourself.”

“I did it myself?”

If that were true, there’s no way I wouldn’t remember it.

Clutching my throbbing head, I slowly began to recall yesterday’s memories.

Leaving the duke’s mansion with Evan and arriving at the street where the seasonal festival was held.

I clearly remembered that. I also remembered taking Evan’s hand after hearing what Rofena had told me, only to be led by him instead.

I pulled down the corners of my mouth that were involuntarily rising. As embarrassment washed over me, making my face heat up, I sighed, and noticed Rofena giving me a curious look.

“Um, I’m not sure if I should say this, but…”

As I stared at the hesitant Rofena, she smiled awkwardly and carefully began to speak.

“My lady, you seemed intoxicated yesterday. Did you drink alcohol? No one else knows. The knight didn’t say anything…but I thought you might have been drunk.”

“…Ah.”

Now I could understand why my memories were cut off. The first alcohol I’d ever tasted in my life,

I remembered putting the stout to my lips. But after that, nothing came to mind.

I drank the alcohol, and the hot, burning sensation going down my throat was vivid.

-Will you kiss me then?

“Hmm.”

The voice that came from the fragments of my memory—was it possibly…mine?

Unlike my usual self, it was full of confidence, a voice breathed out with excited breaths, infinitely soft.

So much so that I could hardly believe it had come from my own lips.

Did I really say such a thing? That couldn’t be possible.

Carefully touching my lips, I clicked my tongue once and slowly moved from the bed.

“Was there nothing else that happened?”

“No, nothing special happened…you just came back a bit late, and only the knight got scolded a little.”

Evan was scolded? My eyes darkened momentarily at those words, but I soon blinked as if nothing was wrong.

Couldn’t one come back a little late sometimes? It was unacceptable for him to be scolded for such a trivial matter.

More precisely, I didn’t like the idea of my knight being scolded by someone else.

If anyone should scold him, it should be me…as I was thinking this, a knock on the door naturally drew my attention.

“My lady, may I come in?”

“Come in.”

“I see you’re awake.”

As always, his slightly sweaty hair glistened.

Had he not skipped his morning training today either? When our eyes met, Evan smiled faintly and spoke.

“About yesterday…it seems you don’t remember?”

“About yesterday, I don’t remember well. It’s as if it’s cut off in the middle. Did I do anything strange while drunk?”

“Strange behavior, you ask.”

After saying that, Evan stared at me for a moment before clearing his throat and smiling broadly.

“Well, I wonder.”

Such a response only made me more anxious. Already troubled by the words that had surfaced earlier,

the mischievous smile on his face irritated me. What had I said while drunk?

I could clearly read the embarrassment in his eyes as he looked at me, as if he found it quite troublesome.

“Rofena, please step outside for a moment.”

“Me?”

“Yes, I need to talk with Evan. Officially.”

In truth, I never had official conversations with him, but seeing my serious expression, Rofena bowed her head and immediately headed outside.

With just the two of us left in the room, as I rose from the bed, Evan flinched slightly while looking at me.

I didn’t miss that subtle movement. There was something. Something I couldn’t remember.

“I know I was drunk. And I also know that Evan brought me here. But the question is, what happened in between?”

“Is that so.”

“Did I make any mistakes? Did I snap at you? If I said something harsh or made a verbal mistake, please tell me. If that’s the case…I’ll apologize.”

“You don’t suspect that I did something?”

I frowned at those words. How could I suspect Evan?

Even if I became defenseless while drunk, I drank because I didn’t think he would do anything.

What I had said before about trusting him meant exactly that. It meant trusting everything about him.

As I stared at Evan, he sighed and quietly began to speak.

“…It’s a bit disappointing. That only I remember.”

“When you say disappointing, what did I do?”

“Why don’t you try to think more slowly? It’s a bit embarrassing for me to say it directly.”

Embarrassing? What on earth had I done to elicit such a response?

As I carefully tried to recall, memories seemed to gradually revive from the darkness of my mind.

The memory of staring blankly at Evan after drinking, and then grabbing his nape and whispering in his ear.

-Will you kiss me then?

“Evan, I’m asking this just in case.”

“Yes.”

“Did I…ask you…to kiss me?”

Our eyes met. For just a moment, Evan’s wavering eyes seemed to tell me

that the memory I had just recalled was true. Did my drunken self really say that?

Various emotions crossed my mind, but the emerging memory and the fact that it was true confirmed it.

Heat instantly began to spread across my face.

And memories that began to resurface again—myself reminiscing about my childhood while looking at the stars.

And Evan’s face watching me appeared in my mind. His blonde hair shimmering in the moonlight, those green eyes that shone as brilliantly as stars.

In my memory, I saw myself sitting in the park, saying I no longer looked at the stars.

“My lady.”

Suddenly, I realized that Evan was quite close. Not close enough for our breaths to touch.

It wasn’t like the atmosphere in my memory of Evan’s face…it was a concerned expression, but

somehow, with new memories surfacing every time I looked at his face, I pushed against his chest.

“J-just a moment.”

In the park, I had pressed against his chest while looking at him. Looking at his eyes, his nose, his lips while breathing excitedly.

The memory of slowly pressing my finger against his chest, hazy and consumed by hot heat, surfaced.

It was firm. Perhaps because he trained diligently, the sensation of muscle transmitted through my finger felt so taut that it sent a thrill through my entire body.

And when my finger touched those lips, Evan smiled just like he was smiling now.

A gentle smile I would never forget.

“You’ve finally remembered.”

Clearly, I had touched those lips. Our lips had met for a long time, and like that…I was in ecstasy.

I was at a loss for words. I needed to respond, but his lips kept catching my eye, making it impossible to speak.

The sensation of our intertwined tongues was vivid. Our saliva mixing,

and the silver thread that formed when our lips finally parted flashed before my eyes.

“Ah, uh…”

Curling up on the bed, I hugged the blanket to cover my face.

I simply couldn’t look Evan straight in the face, and as yesterday’s memories surfaced, my entire body was covered in shame.

The memory of him skillfully invading my mouth…wasn’t unpleasant.

If I could experience it again, I would allow it, which is why I couldn’t look at him.

“Did you dislike it?”

How could I dislike it? When I finally raised my head at that question that seemed to demand an answer,

I saw Evan’s gaze fixed on me.

Trying hard to avert my eyes from those lips that kept appearing with the memories, I bowed my head deeply. And finally opened my mouth.

“…I liked it.”

I curled up at the sudden rush of heat. Alcohol was the enemy.