Annecy quietly raised his eyes, puzzled by the gaze that did not fall away.
He knew that his wife looked straight into the other person’s eyes when they talked, but they were not in conversation at that moment.
Moreover, the eyes that were always clear and emotionless looked a bit different today. Emotions filled those transparent pupils.
Filled with disbelief and a bit of hope, Annecy asked carefully.
“Why did you look at me that way?”
“Just……”
“Just?”
“Be careful not to fall?”
But the reply was cold. Annecy’s face stiffened unpleasantly.
“It was an event that happened once in a lifetime. It wasn’t like I fell without reason.”
“You’re too young to talk about a lifetime. Don’t be so sure.”
“I could be sure. If I ever fall into the water again, I would even do something nice for Kolabe.”
“I never expected to hear about Baron Perotto all of a sudden. In any case, fine. Since Baron Perotto has been struggling quite a bit, if you fall into the water, you should raise his salary triple.”
“That’s excessive. I already raised his salary not long ago… though it doesn’t matter since I won’t fall anyway. I’ll do as you say.”
“No take-backs.”
Surprisingly, for something Goyo said, her true feelings were clearly revealed in that one short statement.
Finding her glittering gaze adorable, Annecy wrinkled his nose as he tried to hold back his laughter. Meanwhile, the music reached its finale, and their dance ended.
Because of the dance or maybe the breeze, her face was flushed red, and strands of hair stuck to it.
Annecy roughly swept back his own hair and carefully tidied his wife’s hair.
Goyo silently watched Annecy’s fingertips with a clear gaze, not revealing what she was thinking.
“At first, I thought all your actions were pretentious.”
“…Pardon?”
“Now, I feel that a bit less.”
“Wait, what?”
Annecy, who felt blindsided, stammered.
“That made me feel pressured.”
“Why did you think that?”
“That’s a strange question. In a relationship formed out of necessity, isn’t it odd to blindly believe someone is kind just because they’re overly polite?”
“That… is true. Then why did your thoughts change now?”
“We have been married for quite some time, haven’t we? That’s why. No matter how skilled someone was at deception and pretense, they couldn’t hide their true self completely while conversing face-to-face all the time.”
“That’s more rational than I expected.”
“So, were you disappointed?”
No. Annecy shook his head.
“I wouldn’t ever be disappointed in you.”
“See, that’s why I was suspicious. You say you’ve never dated anyone and you lack social skills, but everything you say sounds like this.”
“What did you mean by that?”
“You always said things that sounded too good. They sounded like something out of a novel or a play.”
“Aha, so I said only pleasant words.”
Seeing the sly smile on his face, Goyo realized that she had slipped up in what she said.
“I didn’t mean that I liked it.”
“Then do you dislike it?”
“There were times when it felt a bit burdensome……”
“If it wasn’t just sometimes, in most cases then?”
“…Yes, I tended to like it.”
Since lying after being cornered like that was pointless, Goyo gave up her brief resistance and readily admitted it.
The one who became flustered was Annecy. Seeing the man’s lips twitch and his eyes tremble with bewilderment, Goyo narrowed her eyes.
“Really, if even this was an act, I’d probably never trust anything in this world again.”
“…I’d say it wasn’t an act, but I felt extremely embarrassed.”
“You didn’t have to. I said I liked your mask. It might have been pretense, and it might have been a disguise, but for now, I liked it anyway. So if this really was ‘kindness’ as you called it, then stay like that until the end.”
“I have a lot I want to say, but if you mean the end, what end are you referring to?”
Until you kill me.
At Annecy’s words, Goyo immediately thought of a reply but said something else out loud.
“Well, if not the end of life, maybe it’s the end of marriage?”
“I apologize, Goyo, but I have no intention of granting you a divorce.”
He spoke in a playful tone, but what came back was a heavy response. The icy words came so quickly that Goyo’s eyes widened in astonishment.
Annecy, equally surprised by his own words, also widened his eyes.
“Did I just see your true colors?”
“I was wrong, so please don’t say it like that.”
“But this is the first time I’ve seen you speak so seriously.”
“This was your fault. You brought up a sensitive topic.”
“Well… yes, you’re right, I’m sorry, Annecy.”
Hearing her straightforward apology, Annecy also quickly replied. No, it’s fine. Awkwardness briefly sealed both their lips.
“…I feel a bit empty. I thought I treated you with genuine care, but you believed it was all fabricated until now.”
“I don’t think it could’ve escaped your notice that I felt that way. You’re quick-witted.”
“Faced with your perfect composure, my once-proud insight turned into nothing but a halfway useful tool. I mean to say there were times it was useless. Still, I thought you had trusted me a lot more lately. Even if we joked about trust and such.”
“I do trust you.”
Annecy froze at the unexpected words and looked away. Her calm face appeared as usual, barely revealing her emotions. Unable to read her inner thoughts, Annecy felt that familiar frustration.
“Even if it’s just a little, just a tiny bit.”
“…I suppose I’ll have to try harder.”
Annecy murmured self-deprecatingly.
“In that sense, I wanted to say that I would not change.”
“Hmm…… yes.”
“It sounded like an answer that showed barely any trust. Are you sure you believed me even a little?”
“What answer were you hoping for?”
“Did you want me to say I loved you?”
Goyo’s eyes turned cold.
“I was joking.”
“You should be.”
“Still, it wasn’t something impossible to say between a married couple, was it?”
“Wasn’t it a joke?”
“…It was a joke.”
“All right. Ah! Annecy, over there…?”
Her intention to surprise him was so obvious that it almost made him laugh, but it was still better than the chilly atmosphere they had just moments before.
Wanting to play along, Annecy turned his head in the direction Goyo indicated. If his wife wanted it, he could have raised Kolabe’s salary not just three times but thirty times.
Perhaps it wasn’t entirely feigned surprise; in the spot Goyo pointed to, Wartin was already splashing around.
As though he had turned into a real whale, Wartin spouted water from his back. Contrary to the lake’s dark color reflecting the night sky, translucent blue water sparkled and scattered.
Momentarily distracted by it, Annecy felt his collar being tugged.
‘So, should I have fallen into the water wholeheartedly now?’
While he tried to catch the timing, something soft touched his lips. Brown eyes that appeared impossibly close, noses brushing, breath touching his mouth.
It was not an act. Annecy’s eyes widened in genuine astonishment. There was a splash.
Thanks to Wartin, whom Goyo had summoned to distract him, the magic dissipated, but Annecy did not fall into the water.
The lake was only deep enough to reach Annecy’s thighs, so even though he fell into the water, only everything below his shoulders got submerged.
It was a depth more fitting to say he had stumbled rather than fallen. Drenched from head to toe, Annecy stared blankly up at Goyo.
With countless starlight as her backdrop, Goyo smiled brightly.
‘So…’
“What is this? You said you wouldn’t fall.”
Her wind-swept hair, eyes shining with delight, cheeks reddened, and lips brimming with laughter.
Her expression had changed from just a moment ago, and her innocent laughter alone was enough to prevent him from dismissing it as merely that.
‘She was so beautiful.’
Come on up.
Goyo offered her hand. Wordlessly, he took it. But instead of using her hand to pull himself up, Annecy pulled Goyo’s arm.
Her body, already precariously balanced on the lake’s surface thanks to Wartin, collapsed in an instant. Startled, Goyo slipped beneath the water.
Though Annecy supported her as she fell so she would not be hurt, Goyo also ended up completely soaked.
Before she could protest, he pressed his lips to her astonished face.
The surroundings grew quiet.
The moment the two people’s faces touched, the confusion that had appeared on their faces faded away.
Instead, only the two of them knew what feeling emerged.
* * *
Perhaps because she was very tired, Goyo fell asleep as soon as they returned to the train.
She had ridden a horse, healed a beast, and even fallen into the water, so it was only natural. Fortunately, her stamina had improved thanks to her handling of spirits, so she was not utterly exhausted.
As Annecy covered her with a blanket, he dispersed the slight hint of a cold hovering around Goyo.
Sweet dreams. After kissing her forehead, Annecy turned off the light and left the sleeping car. He still had paperwork to deal with.
When the sound of his footsteps grew distant and then disappeared, the eyelids that had been shut slowly opened.
Without emerging from the blanket or turning on the lights, Goyo blankly gazed into the air.
‘What do I even want to do?’
A long sigh quietly dispersed.
* * *
The Bethelgius couple returned from their trip.
“Welcome home, both of you. I hope you enjoyed your journey.”
Lucullui, the butler, was waiting in front of the main gate. Behind him stood the mansion’s employees, bowing respectfully.
Goyo suddenly recalled the day she first arrived at the Marquess of Bethelgius’s estate after their marriage.
“Thanks to you, yes. Oh, Lucullui. It’s nothing much, but I brought a gift. I also bought gifts for the others, but it was too heavy for me to carry, so Deben will bring the rest.”
“Goodness, a present I truly did not expect. I will gratefully accept it, Madam.”
Lucullui, whose eyes were already round, opened them wider as he received the box from Goyo. The ribbon on the box was his favorite shade of blue.
The butler’s face, which had been smiling contentedly, clouded over with remorse the next moment.
“Now that I’ve received a gift, it feels even more awkward to mention this.”
“Did something happen?”
“I’m sorry to trouble you when you must be tired, but there is a guest waiting.”
“A guest? For whom?”
Annecy briefly recalled Terrio Alte, tensed for a moment, then relaxed. On second thought, there was no one left at Bethelgius who would call Terrio a guest now.
“They said they wished to wait for the marquess, but they also said the madam would do just fine.”
At that subtle and vague remark, Goyo thought of a possible request.
Come to think of it, even though she had been in the mansion ever since their marriage, there were no nobles who came seeking favors.
Considering that people from Rubiette or Alte had at least popped in once, it was a bit surprising.
Perhaps Annecy had the same thought, because his eyes grew cold.
“I told you before not to let in people who came for that sort of request.”
“You did say so, but you also told me to report if it was a guest whose status could not be ignored.”
“Status that can’t be ignored?”
“Yes.”
With a chilly expression, Annecy asked about the guest’s identity.
“Lady Rante Frittil is waiting for you.”
Leave a Reply