Episode 127. Daily Life (1)

“This is…. Sniffle.”

“Well, I just remembered that only Winnie didn’t have a ring yet. The reason I came today is because this was ready.”

“Ah, no….”

Then what about everything she had been thinking until now? He wasn’t trying to hate her or abandon her, but was waiting for the ring. Winnie, who had been having negative thoughts all by herself, felt so ashamed that she wanted to hide in a mouse hole. Of course, there wasn’t a hole where a mouse could live in the well-maintained Mountberne mansion.

“Winnie Mountberne-yang.”

“Y-yes?”

Edward, who had taken a step away from her, knelt down on one knee politely. Winnie answered as if possessed by his voice, which called her softly. Edward took her left arm and carefully placed the ring on her ring finger.

“Will you believe me now?”

“Hic, when have I ever not believed you? Sniffle.”

Winnie, who was wondering how to deal with the situation that had changed so suddenly, decided to be brazen in the end. How did he even know the circumference of her finger? The silver ring, perfectly fitted on the lowest knuckle, and the blue gemstone that resembled her eyes. She liked the ring, which seemed to be custom-made just for her.

“…Don’t you have one, Edward?”

“Me? I have one too.”

Edward then took out another ring that looked exactly like Winnie’s. But he already had a ring he exchanged with Monica on his left ring finger… or so she thought? Edward said to Winnie, who was surprised to see his hand.

“I don’t usually wear rings. It’s uncomfortable when I’m holding a sword.”

“Hmph, really?”

It was an obvious lie to Winnie, who had seen him wearing it just fine usually. Winnie, who knew about his relationship with Vera-unni from the beginning, knew that he deliberately made Vera-unni’s ring similar to Monica’s and sometimes switched them. But she liked the fact that he took it off before coming to see her, so Winnie decided to let it go.

“Hehe, here.”

When Winnie held out her hand with a flourish, Edward smiled awkwardly and handed her the ring. It was exactly the same shape, but it was made to fit his finger size, so it looked like her thumb could fit in it. She carefully held the ring and carefully grabbed Edward’s ring finger and put the ring on.

“Why are you being so careful?”

“Hmph. You might not feel anything because you’ve done it so many times, but this is the first time I’ve put a ring on someone else’s hand.”

“Ahem, ahem….”

The ring slowly went onto Edward’s finger. When the ring fit perfectly on his ring finger, Winnie smiled contentedly.

“But you know.”

“Yeah?”

“Why did you put it on my right hand?”

Winnie put the ring on the ring finger of Edward’s right hand, not his left. He even took off all the rings he was wearing for her, but if she put it on the wrong finger….

Winnie held Edward’s hand.

“Don’t take off what’s here just because it’s not on the left hand. And….”

Edward’s right hand and Winnie’s left hand intertwined, their fingers intertwined. They were thick and rough fingers, but Winnie liked them even more.

“The rings touch each other when we hold hands like this.”

Wouldn’t it be better to have them touch each other like this than to put them on hands that are uncomfortable to hold? That’s what Winnie thought. Winnie touched the ring mark on her left ring finger and said.

“And since this is a friend’s spot, I don’t want to go in there even if I have to compete. No matter what anyone says… I had the first child. I can give up that much.”

“Tsk tsk. Who was it that was stabbing the meat to death when you saw Monica doing that to me?”

“W-what? W-when did I ever….”

‘You saw all that?’

She was trying to relieve her bad mood by herself somehow. It was like, ‘I can’t stab you, so I’ll stab the meat.’ She thought no one would see it, but she was so embarrassed that Edward, the person she didn’t want to see it the most, saw it. At the same time, Winnie was secretly happy that what he said about looking at her all the time at lunch seemed to be true.

“Really….”

Edward hugged Winnie tightly. Winnie felt the pleasant pressure of his arms, which held her tightly but gently, and felt at ease for the first time in a long time.

“What? Don’t abandon me?”

“U-uh….”

“Don’t abandon me… Hwaaah….”

“Seriously, I didn’t do that!”

“You didn’t? The proof is still in your eyes.”

Winnie’s eyes were still swollen, as she hadn’t stopped crying long ago. She only cried for a short time, but how sadly she must have cried.

“You’re already having a child by yourself, and you’re that jealous of a friend who hasn’t even put it in once?”

“S-stop….”

If there was a spell to turn back time, Winnie wanted to go back to just before and stop her from saying that. How much is he going to tease her with this…. As she accepted Edward, who was teasing her even more mischievously to cheer her up, the moon, which had been hanging high in the sky, gradually got closer to the ground.

“Umm, I’m a little tired….”

“I must have been holding you for too long. If you’re tired, go to bed quickly.”

“I guess I haven’t been sleeping well for the past few days….”

As she said, Winnie’s eyes were dark, as if to show her fatigue.

“Why? Were you thinking about me or something?”

“Ugh….”

She couldn’t deny it. That’s actually why she was like that. But she wanted to retaliate against Edward, who was smiling mischievously, rather than admitting it like this.

“I was thinking about someone, but that bad bastard didn’t come to see me even once.”

“No, that’s….”

“Pfft! Ah, I’m tired.”

Winnie, who laughed out loud at Edward’s flustered appearance, was held in his arms and moved to her bed.

“Do you want to sleep over for the first time in a while?”

Winnie asked, remembering the days when Edward used to take naps in her bed every day, but Edward shook his head as if he was in trouble.

“I got up and came here. Even now, it’s originally time for me to train.”

“The sun hasn’t even risen yet? Geez….”

“That’s because the days get shorter in the fall.”

“I know that.”

She knew it wouldn’t work, but she just said it once. When Winnie buried her face in the pillow, Edward held Winnie’s left hand and kissed the ring.

“I’ll come see you often from today.”

“…You might get caught by Monica, so don’t overdo it, you don’t have to come….”

“No, you’re more important to me than getting caught by Monica. I’ll make sure to come see you at least once a day, even if I have to overdo it.”

“…Do as you please.”

Winnie thought she was really lucky that her face was in the pillow. If Edward had seen this expression, he would have teased her even more excitedly. Of course, Edward seemed to know Winnie’s expression just by looking at her back, but he didn’t say it on purpose. It’s enough if Winnie likes it.

“Umm….”

How long has she been sleeping?

The sunlight seeping through the wooden window was unusual enough to make her think that reflexively. Winnie, who was staring blankly at the ray of light, rubbed her eyes and got up, feeling a sense of incongruity on her finger.

“…Huh?”

Hwaa-

‘It wasn’t a dream….’

As if to prove what happened last night, a ring was on her finger. The ring Edward gave her. Is he wearing it well now? Winnie looked at her left hand and rolled around on the bed with a happy expression.

It’s been so long since she’s been alone and not anxious. Her head doesn’t hurt as much, and her body feels light.

‘Ah, I’m not alone.’

Because there’s one more person in her belly. This feeling from her lower abdomen was so warm.

“Hmm, hmm~”

Her heart felt at ease, so she naturally hummed. She opened the window to ventilate the room since it was morning. Should she clean up the house for the first time in a while? As Winnie made up her mind, she saw someone approaching her house like last night. Unfortunately, it wasn’t Edward, but just a maid.

Winnie was embarrassed by the lower-than-expected sun.

‘Did I sleep for too long…?’

The meal was the same as yesterday’s lunch. Nevertheless, the fact that she wasn’t anxious at all, unlike yesterday, was probably because her heart had changed and the situation had changed. Monica was sitting next to Edward, but she didn’t feel uncomfortable at all.

“Winnie, are you feeling better today?”

“Huh?”

“I feel like I didn’t pay enough attention to you yesterday… If you have anything uncomfortable today, make sure to tell me?”

“Oh, I’m fine.”

“You always say you’re fine.”

Come to think of it, that seemed to be the case. Winnie was the type to swallow things alone rather than express them outwardly when she was having a hard time. Monica’s words that she only says she’s okay even when she doesn’t look okay at all made sense. But what can she do? She’s really in a good mood right now. When she winked at Edward once on purpose, she saw him glancing at Monica and smiling awkwardly.

And so, dinner began. Monica clung to Edward like yesterday, but in Winnie’s eyes, who had regained her composure, it just looked like a tearful effort from a far behind friend. While eating dinner with the composure to even cheer on her friend in her heart, Vera spoke up.

“Come to think of it, you guys. How is the succession going…?”