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If it were the usual me, I would never have hastily said something from my heart.
And yet, the words flowed out without thought.
“Until now, Mother’s marriage has been her business alone. A union of the love between two people.”
“. . .”
“That meant that, when the fate between Mother and her partners ended, their relationship with me would also naturally cease.”
Therefore, I didn’t take much interest in Mother’s partners.
Because I just needed to be polite and to keep to myself.
However, Orion kept interacting with me.
Saying that he was the one in front of me, as though imprinting his presence.
Asking what I liked.
Asking what I was thinking.
And saying that he wanted to stay with me.
All of that was very unfamiliar to me.
“In my eyes, I don’t believe that the relationship between Madam and Father is the only thing that holds any weight”
“. . .”
“Just as it wasn’t my choice to become my father’s son, neither was it a choice for you and me to become a family. Though we didn’t become a family by choice, it has happened anyway. In that case, why not get to know each other?”
I flinched at his unexpected common sense.
Orion continued to speak.
I felt that Orion with a serious expression was somehow unusual. Alien, even.
“That’s why I believe that the relationships and ties bound through Father’s remarriage will obviously be related to me as well.”
As I became silent at his persuasive words, Orion’s voice became faint.
“Maybe you don’t know, but I’ve seen you before.”
“Really?”
“At the banquet celebrating His Majesty’s birthday.”
“Ah.”
I remembered that time.
Mother was ecstatic after receiving an invitation to a grand party after a long while, and her eyes sparkled brightly that day.
Watching her scarlet hair swaying, I suddenly wanted to go to the banquet as well.
And Mother gladly listened to my wish.
“Okay, let’s do that.”
It was the first time I wore a dress and ornaments, as well as makeup.
I wore lace gloves on my little hands and placed a pink flower pin in my hair.
That was my first party.
Having her entrance while holding my hand, Mother sang more beautifully than any others on that hall stage.
But, in my clear memory, there was no memory of me meeting with anyone.
“I remember the child who was clapping alone for Madam’s singing. It was in the middle of a silence where everyone else was busy keeping up their appearances while watching that amazing performance.”
“My mother’s stage performances are always illuminating, but that day was really awesome.”
“I was fascinated by the little girl who never cared about the gazes of others and ate every dish served and was busy running around to look at the hall.”
He propped his chin as he recalled his memory.
“That’s why I liked it.”
The conversation suddenly turned to another direction.
Suddenly? From ‘fascinated’ to ‘liked’?
“I found the way you enjoyed the party in your own way— rather than what we had learned about manners during parties— to be amazing.”
“That was only because I never learned any etiquette . . .”
“Even when we met, you had no expectations about me, nothing you wanted from me, and you never judged me in advance because of rumors alone.”
“Because I’m not someone who believes in rumors.”
Rumors that flowed through one mouth to another could be so easily manipulated.
A very trivial thing could become bigger, and it wasn’t rare for something astounding to fade away in an instant.
As a daughter of one who was luxuriant within many rumors, I knew how meaningless gossip was.
He nodded.
“That’s why I’m very comfortable with you.”
The conversation continued naturally, and with ease.
I also felt the atmosphere had become more comfortable than it had been when we started the dinner.
Of course, I still thought of the Young Duke in front of me as someone who was difficult to understand. But,
At the very least, he isn’t just a strange person.
A strange person who definitely had his own way of thinking.
Perhaps because the long conversation had made him gain some confidence, Orion gave me a suggestion once again.
“That’s why I think we can be more open to one another in the future.”
“Really?”
“Don’t treat me formally because I’m a Young Duke. If you tell me your troubles, I’ll also try my best.”
This time, I didn’t reject him.
I answered him seriously and sincerely.
“I feel burdened.”
“. . .”
He went still at my honest words.
At the same time, the maid who was serving the desserts also stiffened.
As if Orion just managed to come back to his senses, he took a deep breath.
“What is burdening you?”
“I feel burdened with you contacting me.”
“
.”
One thing for sure, we were still walking on parallel roads. Roads that would never meet.
Sir Rune, who had returned, looked at Orion who had appeared to lose his soul. Then at me, eating cake, before smiling bitterly.
I think I made a mistake again.
The deep silence continued on until I finished the rest of my studying.
On my way home, the eyes of the servants who came out to send me off and even the guarding knights were moist.
It seemed as though there was an eye disease going around in the Duchy.