CH 2.3

I understand him. It must have been amazing to have a fourteen-year-old daughter who had eyes on a priest as her bridegroom. There is no discrimination against the priest that leaves the priesthood, but it is not seen as a good thing, right? He must have been frustrated to bring in a man, who knows nothing about the world because he only lives in the Temple and has no other job or talent, as the eldest son-in-law of the Rivero family. He must have blamed me for choosing the groom on my own accord.

There was someone stopping my father from scolding me again. Who do you think it was? Of course it was Yohan. It must have been heartbreaking to see a loved one being scolded by her parents in front of his eyes. Well deservedly, Yohan stepped up to stop it.

“Senator Rivero. Please stop it.”

“I didn’t know my child could be this rude…”

“That’s all right. It’s a mistake that can be made by young girls.”

“I really have nothing to say.”

“I’m ashamed to brag, but there are many young ladies who have fallen in love with me.”

That was natural. Yohan was a 16-year-old beautiful boy at the time, you see. People of all ages and both sexes fell in love with him for the charm of a man who was just growing up. But you know what? Even though there are so many people who have a crush on him in this Holy Nation, the one he has a crush on is only me. It is only me, Tite Rivero. It’ll be like that in the future as well.

Yohan smiled at me. Come to think of it, the first day I met him and the next few days were the only days he smiled at me. Perhaps it was difficult to manage his expression because he was happy and excited to hear that the person he fell in love with at first sight had the same feeling as him. But after that, he was good at managing his expression.

I’m drifting off topic. Anyway, Yohan smiled at me. He spoke kindly and gracefully.

“Young Lady Rivero. I appreciate the love that you have for me. However, I’m a fool who devoted his life to the clergy. I don’t deserve your heart, so please take it back.”

“You can just quit.”

“Tite, you really!”

“Young Lady, the cardinal is not an easy position to quit.”

“I believe even the pope can return to secular life. God will not be angry. We’re meant to be, after all.”

“Tite!”

“Young Lady Rivero. You are still young, so you’re confused between admiration and love. You misunderstood your wonder for the blessing the god gave me as a feeling to me.”

“I don’t want to kiss God nor I want to hug him. You are like that, too, right, Your Eminence? And, I’m not that young. I’m only two years apart from—mmrf!”

My father and mother blocked my mouth. I managed to get their hands off my mouth because I had more to say.

“You love me, don’t you? You fell for me! So am I! I fell at the first—mmmrrf!”

I was dragged out by my parents. I saw him until the last minute. So was he. He couldn’t take his eyes off me until the last minute. I couldn’t see his eyes because rude people immediately surrounded him, but I’m sure he couldn’t take his eyes off me until the end. I know.

I was confined in my room like that. My father and mother declared a month-long curfew and I ended up copying letters of apology and scriptures ten times. It was easy to copy the scriptures. I was already able to memorize and recite it, so I could just write it, not copy it.

The problem was the letter of apology. I didn’t know what I did wrong, so I racked my brain. Even the maid who brought me a meal only said I was wrong and didn’t tell me what I did wrong. When I asked what I did wrong, everyone looked like, “are you asking because you don’t know?”

I felt really wronged. It was the first time my parents scolded me like that, so I couldn’t think I did nothing wrong. I was really a naive kid back then.

So I believed I did something wrong and thought hard about what it was. After a few days of suffering, I finally found out my fault. I’m telling you I realized my fault. I made a really big mistake, you see. I have committed an unspeakable disrespect to Cardinal Yohan.

After the long curfew, I decided to meet Yohan in person and apologize for my rudeness. My parents were very happy with my decision and hardly prepared an appointment for me and him to meet. I was on my way to apologize, so I dressed up as neatly as I could and met him.

He didn’t hide his smile because he was happy to meet me.

“Welcome, Young Lady Rivero.”

“Hello, Your Eminence. I’m here to apologize for the rudeness I’ve committed.”

“Can it be called rude? It’s a cute mistake that young girls often make. I have no intention to reproach you, Young Lady. You don’t have to ask for forgiveness. I’ve already forgiven you.”