Ch.98To You (6)
by fnovelpia
“…miss.”
“What is it?”
“How long are you planning to stay on top of me?”
After their brief kiss ended, Evan spoke to Irene who was straddling him.
While this position was fine, it was still… embarrassing.
As he blushed slightly at the soft sensation pressing against his chest, Irene chuckled and embraced Evan tightly.
“I’m not moving.”
Evan quietly laughed. Since she was hugging him so tightly it was hard to breathe, he had quite a few things to be concerned about.
The sensation against his chest, Irene’s nape entering his field of vision.
Her snow-white neck without even the slightest blemish aroused desire in him,
and Irene’s earlobes turned red from Evan’s hot breath.
Though they acted like lovers, they weren’t actually a couple yet. They had shown signs of liking each other,
but neither had actually said the words out loud. Because of that ambiguous relationship, there were things they couldn’t do,
and now Irene had no intention of giving up anything she could finally desire.
However, Evan was still caught up in the afterglow of the confession,
so he could only be flustered by Irene’s bold behavior.
“…I’m sorry. So please- now…”
Squeeze-
“Irene, please-“
Squeeze-
Evan gritted his teeth as something soft increasingly pressed against his chest.
No matter how much she was teasing him, wasn’t this going a bit too far?
While trying to suppress what was gradually rising from below, Evan glared and grabbed Irene’s wrist.
For Irene, it was quite a sudden move,
and as their bodies tangled and positions reversed, she could only stare blankly at Evan who was now glaring at her.
“….Um, well.”
“Didn’t I ask you to stop?”
Evan’s eyes blazed. Seeing his eyes mixed with various emotions, Irene awkwardly pulled at the corners of her mouth,
but Evan had no intention of forgiving his bold miss. Was she the only one holding back?
He too had been holding back for a very long time.
Three years. Recalling that time, Evan quietly began to move his hand that had been gripping her wrist.
Since he roughly grabbed her shoulder, Irene unconsciously winced.
It hurt more than expected- but Evan didn’t stop, and as his hand gradually moved toward her chest, she tightly closed her eyes.
A strange anticipation arose. She never imagined they would end up in this situation right after becoming lovers, but she thought this heat wasn’t bad either.
And after a moment of silence, Irene slowly opened her eyes when she realized the hand that had reached her collarbone wasn’t moving.
Seeing his clearly hesitant expression, Irene let out a long breath and spoke.
“What are you doing…?”
Evan avoided her gaze and fidgeted with his lips.
He had intended to make her embarrassed… but the more he reached out, the more embarrassed he became,
and he simply couldn’t cross that line any further. This was his first time, wasn’t it?
After sighing briefly, Evan finally spoke while gently stroking Irene’s waist.
“It’s your first time, isn’t it?”
“……”
“I don’t really want to… do this for the first time like this.”
When Evan, who had slightly lowered his gaze with a serious expression, quietly muttered,
Irene, who had been quietly watching him, finally burst into laughter.
As she covered her mouth with her hand and laughed for a while, Evan stared at her blankly and slightly frowned,
then Irene wiped away her tears and spoke.
“I was just joking, why are you so serious?”
“Joking?”
“I was wondering, were you perhaps trying to touch my body? Do you always look at me with those eyes-“
“Of course not!”
When Evan hastily shouted, Irene chuckled and pushed him away to sit up.
They were both adults now, so there was no need to be so alarmed over such things.
It had been quite a while since she’d seen Evan with such a flushed face,
so Irene laughed and pressed both hands against Evan’s cheeks as she answered.
“I like this about you.”
His cheeks were soft under her palms, so Irene moved her hands around playfully and smiled mischievously.
“You mean you like that my cheeks are soft?”
“That too.”
It felt a bit like being teased, but even that felt good. Why wouldn’t it?
They were now in a relationship where this was allowed. They were now lovers.
Finding it hard to believe, Evan stared blankly at Irene before finally pulling down the hands on his cheeks.
“May I be honest?”
“About what?”
“This feels like a dream. That we’ve become like this.”
Confessing and becoming lovers. Though he had imagined it, now that it had become reality, he felt dazed,
and Evan quietly fell silent as he looked at Irene’s empty fingers.
The wind blew against his cheek. They were close enough that her long white hair fluttered in the breeze and tickled his face.
The awkwardly blue sky and the clusters of roses decorating the surroundings were just like a scene from a dream.
But all of this was real, and he had now become Irene’s… lover.
“Me too.”
Irene spoke as she flopped down on Evan’s lap.
Resting her head, she enjoyed the moment while looking at the leaves hanging on the large tree above.
The feeling that this was like a dream wasn’t felt by Evan alone. Even now as they were together,
even though they had just kissed with their bodies pressed against each other, it didn’t feel quite real.
What if she closed her eyes and opened them again, and it was all just a dream- Irene briefly squeezed her eyes shut, and when she opened them,
what she saw were the familiar green eyes she had always been looking at.
This gently curved face smiling at her was definitely her lover.
“It’s not a dream.”
“…I see you have a whimsical side too.”
“So, do you dislike it?”
“……”
Evan awkwardly smiled at the conversation that seemed somehow familiar.
Irene grinned, thinking she had finally gotten one over on Evan,
and then Evan sighed and gently brushed her white hair.
He had confessed, but there was still something left to give. Shouldn’t he put the ring in his pocket on her finger?
But not knowing when to bring it up, he just stared blankly at the sky, lost in thought.
He didn’t know how long Siren would show this fantasy. This place was quite meaningful to him,
so wouldn’t it be good to put the ring on her here? While watching Irene, Evan finally spoke quietly.
“I think I’m not as romantic as I thought.”
“…What are you saying all of a sudden?”
“Just, I suddenly had that thought.”
Though he had confessed on impulse, he couldn’t think of how to give the ring.
He could say “I love you” as many times as needed. He could kiss her lips many times without being asked.
But giving a ring was on a different level, wasn’t it?
“Just saying you love me was… romantic enough.”
“Was it?”
Evan chuckled at Irene’s words. In fact, he barely remembered how he had said it.
His mouth had opened, his voice had come out. He could only remember that much, not what he was thinking when he said those words.
All he could do was speak honestly. To express what he was thinking, what was in his heart, as best he could.
Honestly.
The gradually dimming light meant that Siren’s magic was coming to an end.
The sparkling sunlight disappeared and starlight seeped in its place.
The white roses were soaked in darkness and turned into grass with purple shadows,
and where the tree that had reached toward the sky had been, there was now a lake where moonlight created a halo.
Watching this change, Evan quietly spoke.
“To be honest, becoming your lover isn’t quite satisfying.”
What a sudden statement. Irene’s expression gradually hardened at Evan’s words.
Just until a moment ago he had said he loved her, was he changing his words now?
Irene, who had been lying on his lap watching the changing sky, sat up and glared at him, and Evan quietly met her cold gaze.
“What do you mean by that all of a sudden?”
“Just what I said.”
“But just now-“
“As lovers, I won’t be satisfied.”
Seeing the ring box that Evan took out from his pocket, Irene showed a dumbfounded expression.
Those things that came out in succession without giving her time to think were clearly-
“Right now, this is just a token. A token that we are lovers, that we love each other, and that we hope for eternity.”
Click-
The opened ring box revealed two rings.
One with a blue gem, and another with a green gem.
The ring with the sapphire was slightly larger, and the one with the emerald was slightly smaller.
It didn’t take long for Irene to realize what these rings meant.
The rings, reflecting the moonlight, were unmistakably showing their presence.
They could be engagement rings, or simply rings worn by lovers.
But even just the rings made her heart race.
A different kind of excitement from before came over her, and Irene covered her mouth with both hands and stared blankly at Evan.
“I told you, I’m not a very romantic person.”
Though he said it was just a token, it wasn’t a ring that would end as just a token.
It was a ring to promise eternity. He had intended to take it out while confessing,
but because Irene suddenly pounced on him, he couldn’t take out the ring.
Though giving it like this felt a bit awkward, his feelings were as sincere as ever.
Like gold that bends gently, hoping that even if they fight, their relationship won’t break.
Like jewels that never lose their light, hoping they can love each other forever.
Carefully taking out the ring with those wishes, Evan
finally carefully knelt down and looked at Irene.
As if urging her, Irene moved her lips at his steady gaze.
“…Did you really mean it when you said you weren’t satisfied with being lovers?”
“Of course, I meant it.”
Evan nodded and added with a playful expression.
“Don’t tell me you’re satisfied with just being lovers-“
“That’s not what I meant…!”
Haah, Irene sighed and looked at Evan kneeling before her.
She should have understood when he said he wasn’t romantic,
but she really couldn’t have imagined receiving a ring so suddenly.
But if asked whether she disliked this situation, Irene looked at Evan and smiled.
Why would she dislike it? The person she loved was saying he wasn’t satisfied with just being lovers and wanted to promise a future together.
But she couldn’t just accept it like this, so Irene slowly spoke.
“If I accept this, I won’t let you even look at another woman for the rest of your life.”
“I have no intention of looking at anyone else. Didn’t I tell you, only you are reflected in my eyes.”
“Even if you try to run away later, I won’t let you go. I’ll tie you up if I have to and keep you by my side, to make sure you keep your word.”
“Why would I run away from you?”
“…You must always stay by my side. When spring comes, when summer comes, when autumn comes, when winter comes. Stay only by my side.”
At her slightly hesitant words, Evan quietly nodded.
That was exactly what he wanted to say.
After watching Evan for a moment, Irene slowly reached out her hand, and Evan carefully took it.
He looked at Irene’s wavering eyes as he slipped the ring onto her slender finger, her ring finger.
“Forever, I will do so.”
The breaking light scattered and disappeared into darkness. The fantasy was scattering like sand.
Though this was the second time he was seeing such a sight, how could anyone not call this spectacle enchanting?
Like glittering gold dust, like flowing stars, the light surrounding them enveloped the two, but.
Their eyes were only reflecting each other.
“…I love you.”
Irene spoke to Evan, who was now standing and looking at her.
Though she had much to say, the only words she could say now were those.
Evan smiled at those words. Coincidentally,
the only words Evan could utter were those affirming her feelings.
“I’m glad. I feel the same.”
Unlike before, their bodies weren’t pressed together. Unlike earlier, their lips didn’t meet.
They just held each other’s hands, feeling the awkward metal sensation on their ring fingers, and looked at the lake.
The moon in the sky, the stars in place, that brilliant light that allowed no darkness to seep through.
Evan thought. If all this was fate, perhaps they had just taken their first step into that fate.
He recalled the moment he realized he had become the knight of the villainess in a romance novel.
Instead of the dazzling white sunlight from back then, there was moonlight,
and instead of the somewhat dirty room, there was a lakeside sparkling under the stars.
Just as that had changed, many things had changed since then.
The villainess from the romance novel had now become a woman just beginning to love, and he.
Was both her lover and her knight.
The two quietly listened to the sound of the blowing wind.
Why did it seem like they could hear the song played here three years ago?
Perhaps the fantasy wasn’t over yet.
Because the fantasy of these two was just beginning.
The two would be in a fantasy that would never end, forever.
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