âYou can stay here if you just want to sleep while holding my hands.â
âI have no hobby of being tortured voluntarily.â
I noticed, somehow, Sigren looked better than before even though he rejected my offer. Donât tell me, heâs been deprived because I didnât want him to kiss me? Itâs not, right?
âFiona.â
âWhat?â
Sigren was petting my fingers as if he regretted something, he then said abruptly, âTell me youâre annoyed.â
âHuh? By you?â
âNo, not me. By that lady, who came into my room and tried to seduced me.â
âArenât you more annoyed than me?â
I then tried to imagine if I were in his position, a handsome man lying on my bed then trying to seduce me, begging me to hug him while looking at me sweetlyâŠ.
Oops.. Imagining it, I think itâs okayâŠ?
But, this wasnât it.
I shook my head. Basic manners are necessary between people.
âRight, I think that lady has no basic common sense.â
âI expected a stronger response, butâŠ.â
Sigren kissed my palm and sighed.
âI think right now I should be satisfied with this.â
Sigren stared at me. His dazzling eyes were looking at me as if he wanted to entrap me. Being stared at with those eyes made me feel embarrassed for a moment, so I covered his eyes with her hand.
âDonât look at me like that.â
âWhy?â Sigren asked softly. âAre you embarrassed? Or do you hate it?â
âNot both.â
âThen?â
âWellâŠâ
I felt emotional all of a sudden that my tears almost came down.
Sigren is precious to me. It has been like that ever since the beginning. It is natural that I want him to be the happiest. However, after spending a very long time together, I realized, instead of me who gave him the happiness, he was the one who gave me the most love in this world. What happened at this moment could not be more clear that his feeling for me was sincere. And this whole time, I was the one who left him alone.
If Iâm also sincere with him? I couldnât help but strongly believe he must be very happy.
However, it was the first love affair between two people, who were also basically in the college student age.
Sigren said he likes me. But for me, he was the only one in the world. If I too gave him my complete sincere feeling, I would be completely immersed in it. I would be very afraid of losing him. Then if we broke upâŠ.
A broken heart was the reason Fiona fell into the darkness.
Like her, I too would suffer from irreparable wounds.
However, now it was getting harder and harder to keep distance from Sigren.
In honesty, the moment I accepted his confession, I knew the space I had created between us was blurred. And I also knew that I accepted his confession not just because of having a dating relationship. I was vaguely aware that, deep down, my love has been twisted.
âSo, please leave when I can let you go without seriously getting hurt. So that you can meet someone who can make you happy, who can give you more noble love.â
I removed my hand and kissed Sigrenâs neck very lightly.
Ah, if I let myself immerse in that feeling, that sincere feelingâŠ
Right.
All this time, I wanted to have him.
***
Originally, we were going to stay for only a day, but the plan was delayed. Because it was raining. It was difficult to move in the rain, and we have a large number of people. So, It would be much harder. Therefor, eventually, Sigren decided to leave a day later.
And because of that, I was invited to a tea party by the Viscountâs daughter. It was the lady who sneaked into Sigrenâs room yesterday.
Should I go, though? Well, why should I be hesitant? There was no reason for me to care. Sheâs the one who did wrong.
It was a small tea party in the greenhouse.
It was raining outside, I think it wasnât bad to accept it.
âTell me that I accepted it with pleasure.â I said to the maid who brought the invitation.
When I was walking in the hallway, I ran into Eunice.
âLady Fiona.â
âDid Lady Eunice also get invited?â I couldnât see Eunice often, so I was pleasantly surprised.
âYes. Iâve been in the same entourage with Lady Fiona, but I couldnât see your face often.â
âI was riding a horse.â
âIs that so? Still, would you come to the carriage. Iâm bored by myself.â Eunice cheeks turned rosy when she said those words.
âAlright. You must have a hard time in this trip.â
âWell, itâs my dutyâŠ.â
I was a little saddened seeing Euniceâs expression dimmed at the end of her words. It must be difficult to suddenly shoulder the expectation of so many people.
My conversation with Eunice stopped when we arrived at the greenhouse.
âWeâve been expecting you.â
The organizer of this tea time was the eldest daughter of the viscount, Lady Heather Arden. It was said that she was the most beautiful woman on this estate. Well, she was beautiful. She was a glamorous lady with dark brown hair and blue eye. Her red lips were plump and attractive.
âThank you for accepting the invitation.â
âDonât mention it.â
When we went into the greenhouse, it turned out we werenât the only ones invited.
âThese are the young ladies of the nearby estate.â
Their eyes were fixed on us who suddenly appeared. The atmosphere was stiff as they suddenly stopped talking.
I smiled awkwardly. âIt must be hard to come here as itâs raining.â
The young ladies finally opened their mouths.
âIt was not as difficult as my ladyâs thought. Nice to meet you.â
âItâs an honor to meet two great people.â
I could feel a peculiar awkward sense in the air. It was like the feeling when you join a group that has been formed.
Eunice and I sat down next to each other.
Then, a random conversation started to appear. And for some reason, they were very interested in me.
âI heard that Lady Heilon was living in the North before.â