Ch.93To You (2)
by fnovelpia
The cloudless, clear weather and the unusually high sky seemed to signal that autumn was approaching. The pouring sunlight wandered aimlessly before finding its way through a small gap, eventually streaming through Evan’s window and flooding Irene’s eyes.
Normally a light sleeper, Irene had fallen into an unusually deep sleep that day, and it took quite a long time for her to regain consciousness.
Evan smiled quietly as he watched Irene breathing softly, not even noticing that his arm had gone numb. How surprised he had been when he opened his eyes. After briefly glancing at the slender arm resting by the pillow, Evan gently stroked Irene’s hair as she lay there looking at him with a quiet smile.
“…Did you think I wouldn’t touch you if you stayed like this?”
He wondered if she was underestimating him too much. Evan sighed lightly at the worry that suddenly arose. He was a man after all… how could she sleep so comfortably beside him? Though he felt a little upset, he was also somewhat happy at the thought that she trusted him. He hadn’t intended to touch her anyway, and unlike usual, his body felt completely refreshed as he quietly stretched.
He thought she slept quite beautifully. Whether it was because she was a noble lady or just her own trait, he couldn’t tell. But watching her sleep so flawlessly and quietly made him smile involuntarily, and Evan covered his mouth as he quietly lay down again beside Irene.
Stroking her forehead slightly covered by her hair, he gently brushed it aside. His finger slowly traced down from her snow-white forehead to her sharply defined nose bridge. When he pressed her spotless cheek with his finger, it dimpled inward, and Evan, applying enough pressure to leave a slight mark, pulled at the corner of Irene’s mouth.
“My lady, aren’t you going to wake up?”
To sleep so deeply even with him beside her. Though he had drawn back the curtains long ago, Irene showed no signs of waking, and Evan quietly sank into thought as he watched her. How should he explain this to Rophena? She would surely panic and come looking if Irene wasn’t in her room… It was a bit late to be called dawn, and surely the servants here had been up for quite some time.
Taking Irene out from here posed many problems.
‘But well…’
Perhaps it would be fine now. If anyone made a fuss about this, he could simply hold Irene’s hand and that would be that. Evan’s expression, which had been smiling contentedly at the thought, suddenly hardened. Irene’s fingers, with nothing inserted between them—he realized he had never properly confessed to her yet.
A confession. Evan frowned as he lay back looking at the ceiling. He had no idea how to go about it. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But… having never been interested in such matters before, thinking about confessing only made his mind go blank.
Evan carefully picked up the vase with violets he spotted in a corner of the table. Perhaps he could give her flowers? Or would that be too cliché?
As for someone to ask for advice about romance… Evan shook his head at the thought of the Crown Prince. Though he was friendly toward him, he couldn’t deny the Prince’s reputation as a playboy. While he was devoted to Scarlet now, hadn’t he been rumored to be with many women before?
Things had quieted down lately, but if he sought advice from him, he might end up doing something terrible to Irene. Clearing his thoughts, Evan looked back at Irene lying there. Their relationship was actually quite ambiguous. They hadn’t officially declared themselves a couple; they had only narrowed the gap slightly with the broken engagement.
“…The Duke has essentially given his approval.”
Hadn’t he said Evan could call him father-in-law? At the last concert, he had suddenly flown into a rage, which had left Evan dumbfounded. Something about gaping at another woman? He had spent so much time clearing up that misunderstanding, but things had returned to normal afterward. Evan shrugged as he recalled swearing never to do such a thing again.
Now all that remained was the confession itself, and Evan closed his eyes tightly, feeling overwhelmed by the future. But there was no need to rush. Wasn’t he happy enough as things were now?
Lying back down while looking at Irene, Evan smiled quietly. How long would it take her to wake up? He hadn’t thought she was the type to oversleep, but seeing her asleep this late made him smile at this unexpected side of her.
On the other hand, it was also amusing to be so affected just by watching her sleep. As Evan touched her long eyelashes, he suddenly noticed a change in Irene’s breathing. Seeing her arm twitch and the blue eyes revealed between her slightly parted eyelids, Evan quietly spoke.
“Are you awake?”
Irene stared blankly at the face in front of her. Was this a dream? To wake up and find Evan in front of her… she often had such dreams, but today’s seemed particularly vivid. Irene smiled brightly with drooping lips.
“Hehe… Evan…”
Like a doll, Irene hugged Evan and began nuzzling her face against his chest. Smelling his scent, feeling the rough texture of the bandages…
‘Texture?’
Irene’s eyes suddenly widened. Gradually becoming aware of things she couldn’t feel in a dream, and seeing Evan’s blank stare, she finally realized this wasn’t a dream. Hastily pulling away from Evan, Irene breathed rapidly. Her wandering eyes rolled about, lost.
“…Forget it.”
Evan couldn’t answer, covering his mouth. Trying not to forget the voice he had just heard from Irene, he could only stare at her as she covered her face with both hands.
-Hehe… Evan…
“Th-that just now—”
“Forget it…!”
If only she could turn back time, Irene’s pitiful voice filled the room. Of course, Evan had no intention of forgetting what had just happened. He would cherish it in his memory forever. It was a moment when Evan’s memory worked more effectively than ever.
#
He felt his physical condition had improved quite a bit. Just from one good night’s sleep, he hadn’t expected most of his wounds to heal like this. Perhaps it was time to remove the bandages. The Emperor’s summons was a bit bothersome, so I turned to look at Irene to continue our conversation from yesterday.
Irene, still sitting on the bed, averted her gaze and turned her head when I looked at her. Why be so embarrassed about sleep-talking? People do that sometimes.
“I said I would forget it. If you keep acting like this, it makes things difficult for me.”
“…I don’t know.”
Unable to forget what had happened earlier, Irene responded in a weak voice with her head bowed low. In such a state, it would be difficult to have a proper conversation. Though I was curious about many things regarding the Emperor, I decided to postpone that discussion and rested my chin on the desk as I watched Irene.
“Rophena will be worried. Shouldn’t you be heading out soon?”
“You could leave instead, Evan.”
“…This is my room, my lady.”
Hearing that, Irene glanced at me and fidgeted with her lips. I wondered what excuse I should give Rophena. Given that there had been no commotion so far, she was either looking for Irene or had guessed she was with me.
…Rophena would surely misunderstand. Two people entering in the afternoon and leaving the next morning—anyone would misunderstand. While thinking about what excuse to give Rophena, I grabbed Irene’s wrist and lifted her from the bed. It was regrettable, but I couldn’t keep her here any longer.
Irene was startled when I grabbed her wrist and tried to pull away, but when I didn’t let go, she resigned herself and tried to maintain an indifferent expression. In a seemingly cold voice, she spoke.
“Let go.”
“Alright.”
“……”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“N-nothing.”
Irene stared at me blankly, as if incredulous, then looked at her released wrist and muttered something. Though it was a very faint sound, I didn’t miss it. My unnecessarily sharpened senses were useful at times like this, but what Irene muttered was more shocking than expected.
“In situations like this, I heard he’s supposed to push me down on the bed…”
“Who told you that?”
I was so surprised I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Bed? I never expected to hear such words from Irene. When I opened my mouth in considerable surprise, Irene visibly flustered and moved her lips.
“R-Rophena told me. She said she was helping me—”
“…It seems you’ve only heard unhelpful things.”
It seemed Rophena had been saying unnecessary things. The innocent Irene had clearly fallen for those words. I pressed my throbbing head and sighed. Surely Rophena hadn’t advised her to come make porridge and lie down too? But I couldn’t say anything to someone who had brought it herself, so I forced a smile and patted Irene’s shoulder.
“It might be better not to listen to Rophena from now on.”
“…Alright.”
“Now, shall we head out? I’ll return to duty shortly.”
Irene’s eyes widened at the word “duty,” and she spoke while looking at my bandages.
“Return to duty? You’re not fully healed yet.”
“I think I am. After a good sleep, I feel completely fine. Thanks to you, my lady.”
It was just an excuse, but I did intend to return to duty today. I just had something to look for on my own first, so I needed to send Irene back. Irene looked at me with a displeased expression, but eventually seemed to accept it and slowly nodded before turning around.
“See you later.”
“Understood.”
The door took so long to close that I smiled and closed it for her. I was just as reluctant, but we would meet again soon. Having confirmed no one was outside the room, I was sure she had returned safely. After Irene’s footsteps faded, I sat in the chair and exhaled deeply.
How should I put it? After just one day together, the room felt strangely empty. Even though only one person had left, and she had only been here briefly. How long had it been since I felt such emptiness? Engulfed in this strange emotion, I began organizing the desk to forget the emptiness.
I took out well-organized books only to put them back, and still not satisfied, I rearranged them by height. I wiped the already clean desk again, gathered old wooden swords and placed them in a corner, and only then did my mind start to feel a bit more organized.
“Haah.”
When I unwrapped the bandages around my body, a completely clean body was revealed. Perhaps the reason for my slow recovery was simply that I hadn’t been sleeping properly. I stared at the shirt that still carried Irene’s scent, then shrugged nonchalantly as I buttoned it up. Well, since I hadn’t sweated in it, wearing it for one more day would be fine.
‘Speaking of the Emperor…’
The Crown Prince had mentioned the possibility of meeting the Emperor, but considering how the Crown Prince usually spoke, it was almost certain I would meet him. If I did, my main concern would be Ascalon. Originally a sword wielded by the first Emperor Alarr, the imperial family would naturally want to claim ownership.
But I didn’t want to hand Ascalon over to them. It wasn’t important that Alarr had wielded it; Ascalon was the best tool for utilizing my mana. If I hadn’t had Ascalon when fighting Biltain, the battle might have been prolonged. That could have put Theolard and the Crown Prince in danger from the gargoyle.
The fight against the dark mages wasn’t over yet. Though we had weakened their momentum by eliminating Roman, we still knew nothing about the “plan” they had established. What did the red moon signify, and what about the original female protagonist who hadn’t properly appeared yet?
The original female protagonist’s past before the start of the original story was never mentioned. She was only described as being of common birth, luckily adopted into nobility. And even that was an unknown family in the borderlands, so people were often surprised to learn she was a noble. Scarlet Terazein—why hadn’t I been able to find her despite extensive searching?
I had thought a lot about the original female protagonist, but lately I couldn’t ignore the subtle sensations I felt about her. Clearly, there was something there. And the Emperor probably knew about it. Since the novel never explained why the Emperor was wary of Scarlet, I would have to ask him directly when I met him.
‘…Still a long way to go.’
The Crown Prince had mentioned last time that Hatan might also be related to the dark mages. Aside from Scarlet, completely ending the Annihilation was also an important issue. Though I felt I could now easily deal with the likes of Maloric or Biltain, I couldn’t let my guard down.
Still, it would be easier than before. Once I was officially recognized as a Master, I would have authority as an imperial Master rather than just a guard knight. I could delve deeper into the Empire’s information about the Annihilation. And also… about House Fried, the family I belonged to.
But my thoughts soon scattered.
The rose scent that filled the room and kept tickling my nose was distracting me. Whether it was because Irene had slept here or not, the bed was saturated with her scent, making it difficult to concentrate on anything. If I stayed in this room, I probably wouldn’t be able to think as clearly as I wanted.
I quietly checked outside the door after pushing the chair back to the desk. I didn’t want Irene or Rophena to discover this outing. Besides the embarrassment of being caught, all my plans would be ruined.
It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Rophena, but I couldn’t deny that she had a loose tongue.
The sky beyond the corridor window was very blue. The rain had stopped, leaving a completely clear sky with occasional clouds, through which pure white light filtered, giving everything a warm glow. The weather was nice, birds were singing.
…It seemed like the perfect day to go buy a ring.
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