As the cherry blossoms danced in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.
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After they parted their kiss without a word, Lord Cyrus covered my face with his hand and pressed his thumb against my cheek. Then, he kissed the spot. After a light kiss, he moved to the other cheek.
He pressed his lips to the corners of my eyes, near my ear, and even a strand of my hair, then pulled away. Standing right beside me, he lowered his eyes.
"...Marie, are you really here?"
He asked a strange question. But I understood. I smiled and replied.
"I am here. I haven’t disappeared."
"...Now I can understand how you felt when you first came to the castle."
He furrowed his brows. Laughing with a hint of self-mockery, he petted my head affectionately and said,
"I’m so happy, I might accidentally cry."
He said such things.
"Marie, I will take good care of you."
"...You already do."
"No, I can do more. I want to take even better care of you. I want to carry you wherever you go and not let you take a single step on the hard ground."
"Then my legs will become weak."
"Yes, that’s why I’m holding back."
Lord Cyrus buried his face in the sheets and sighed. Hmm? Was that not a joke?
He then chuckled, his shoulders shaking, truly laughing.
"I’m so happy... It’s not because I have a wife. I’m very happy that Marie can now express her will to me. ...There’s nothing more joyful than this..."
Lord Cyrus sat on the edge of the bed for a while, looking at me. Occasionally, he reached out to pet me.
I silently returned his gaze, sometimes blushing and looking down, then raising my head when he petted my head. Every time our eyes met, he would smile softly, and I would smile along with him.
After quite some time of this meaningless moment—
Lord Cyrus suddenly exclaimed, "Ah," and stood up.
"I forgot. The doctor told me to inform him when you wake up."
"Oh, that’s not good. It’s already dawn; we should let the doctor rest."
I hurried to get out of bed, but Lord Cyrus stopped me with a hand.
"It’s enough for me to go. You should go back to sleep."
"...I want to stay with you a little longer."
"Ugh!"
Lord Cyrus suddenly clutched his chest and crouched down. What, could I have had a contagious disease!?
In a panic, I rushed to him, and he groaned while still clutching his chest.
"It’s fine, my heart just stopped for a moment."
"That’s serious! Lord Cyrus, you should rest. I’ll go get the doctor!"
"No, the castle gets cold at dawn. I’ll be right back, wait for me in bed."
I gasped, my cheeks flushing as I looked down.
"Y-Yes, I understand... ...I’ll wait for you."
"...Ah, no, that’s not what I meant!"
"Eh? Ah!"
Realizing my misunderstanding, my face turned even redder. I screamed silently in my head and trembled under the sheets.
Lord Cyrus groaned for a while but eventually patted me through the sheets (he thought he was patting my head, but it was my bottom) and declared cheerfully, "I’ll be back," before leaving the room.
Left behind, I was alone, my whole body flushed red, writhing in agony.
"Ugh, maybe I’m still not used to being alone with Lord Cyrus..."
It’s not that I’m so nervous or don’t know what to talk about anymore, but sometimes I feel like we don’t quite understand each other. We misinterpret each other’s actions and words, leading to all sorts of misunderstandings.
From now on, I need to make sure such misunderstandings don’t happen.
We are going to be husband and wife, after all.
The moment I thought that, my face flushed again. I buried my face in the pillow and groaned.
"Ah, but I still wish someone... someone who knows both of us well and is considerate, could be there with us..."
Just then—
*Bang!* ...a sound of something hard colliding came from a distance. I also thought I heard a man’s scream. Could it be Lord Cyrus!?
I threw off the sheets and ran out of the room barefoot. The castle was cold at dawn, but I didn’t care. I looked around and saw Lord Cyrus crouching at the end of the long corridor.
I called out and ran to him.
"Lord Cyrus! What happened? Are you okay!?"
He didn’t respond to my voice. Lord Cyrus just groaned, holding his head.
I gently placed a band-aid on his small, hunched back—where did she get it from?—and a maid with dark brown braided hair and blue eyes said in her usual expressionless tone,
"From the moment Lady Marie left Lord’s room, I can guess what happened. However, Lord, the castle has lower ceilings than the mansion. Skipping with your height will inevitably result in hitting your head on the beams. Please don’t get too carried away."
"...I didn’t... skip... I just jumped once..."
"Are you being foolish?"
It had only been about ten days since we were apart, but her voice felt so familiar. I exclaimed joyfully.
"Mio! Welcome back!"
Mio turned to me, a faint smile on her face, and bowed politely.