CH 51

Self-Awareness and Secrets (7)

Roelin stopped right at that moment before she looked back at him and shouted. Her face had already turned red—just like a ripe tomato. Still, Kergel laughed at her once again.

“Don’t laugh…”

“A woman named Roelin is very attractive indeed.”

Her eyes trembled stridently. He took a ribbon out of the box that he was holding before he tied it to her pigtails.

“It looks really good on you.”

“…thank you.”

Roelin hesitated before she responded quietly and turned her head again. She didn’t have the courage to face him at all.

As she bit her lips slowly, she raised her hand and touched the ribbon that was already tied to the end of her head.

His hand that touched her head just then had come to her mind ever so vividly. And her heart was already thumping like crazy.

‘What kind of an emotion is this?’

Roelin put down her hand while touching the ribbon and breathed in. At that moment, Kergel stretched out his hand towards her before he immediately held her in his arms.

Shortly after that, something fell at the spot where she had been standing and a crash instantly chimed.

“Oops! I’m sorry! You didn’t get hurt?”

An unfamiliar man was heard to be apologizing. Perhaps the man had dropped something while merely passing by. And Kergel seemed to have noticed just before that and straight away protected her.

‘…Yeah. It must have been like that.’

However, while recognizing the whole situation with her head, all of Roelin’s senses were still focused on other things instead.

Those had been the arms of a man who was now holding her while transferring his own heartbeat from himself.

Boom boom boom.

For some reason, Kergel’s heartbeat felt rather fast. Was it due to the fact that he had been surprised to think that there might have been an accident?

She ultimately thought that he could do it enough.

He was such a sweet and responsible man after all.

Kergel—this man did his very best to take care of her even though he was in an unwanted marriage while tolerating having welcomed a woman whom he never liked as his own wife.

‘…Ahhhaha.’

At that moment, her eyes became teary. Roelin couldn’t control her overwhelming emotions and started closing her eyes.

She finally realized the reality of those emotions that had made her heart pound just a little while ago.

It was so sudden.

Without even giving a beat to respond, emotions had overwhelmed her like waves for that very moment.

‘I like this guy…’

She never imagined having this feeling at all. Even in a dream, she couldn’t have dreamed all of this.

Since it had been an emotion that was never allowed for herself. She never even had enough time to put someone in her heart.

And to actually like someone whom she was deceiving…

Her heart was throbbing. Roelin trembled and clenched her fingertips tightly. At the same time, she eventually heard of Kergel’s voice.

“Are you okay, Roelin?”

Roelin. The name from his mouth had opened a path for her breath. Roelin looked up at Kergel then.

A slight frown was staring at her. And what was contained in that gold pair of eyes was actually concern for herself.

Roelin.

It was towards herself.

“…Yes, I’m okay.”

So, she thought that she could be a little greedy perhaps.

Today… no, even at this time.

It was not ‘Erita’ right now, but just ‘Roelin’ instead.

‘Even if that’s all just a humble excuse.’

Roelin raised the corners of her mouth and said once again.

“I’m okay. What about you?”

“…me?”

Kergel raised one eyebrow as he murmured as if he was still following her before he smiled and soon nodded.

“Yeah. It’s okay. By the way, it was really close.”

He glanced away and looked at where she had been. Roelin also turned her head and instantly opened her mouth when she saw it.

The men were seen to be struggling while moving the large chunk of metal that had fallen on the floor back to the cart. If Kergel hadn’t pulled her away, she would have gone through something utterly terrible.

After seeing it with her own eyes and realizing the situation once again, her whole body began to quiver, albeit belatedly.

“Oh my…”

Kergel noticed Roelin’s condition and assuaged her with a tongue click.

“Oh, sorry…”

“You don’t have to apologize to me. No wonder he had been so nice.”

After dissuading her from apologizing, he looked around and opened his mouth again when he saw some particular place.

“We’d better go into that store and take a rest. Excuse me for a second.”

“…What? Ah!”

Kergel immediately hugged Roelin without giving her any time to deal with it. Roelin was surprised and reflexively hugged his neck in return. Of course, immediately, she was even more surprised by her own actions as she tried to loosen her arms that had already hugged his neck.

“Stay still. You could fall.”

“Ha, but…”

“It is not that special for a husband to carry his surprised wife, is it? And this isn’t the first time anyway.”

Kergel smiled lightly and spoke. Roelin peeked up at him and straight away bowed her head with her eyes closed.

As he said, it wouldn’t have been so special—if it had been an ordinary couple. Also, she did go to the companion ceremony back during the wedding. Even on their way back, he once hugged her due to her foot injury, so it was nothing new anyway.

However, maybe because she was aware of her feelings for him now, she couldn’t control her heart’s arbitrary palpitations.

And it didn’t mean that she could do anything.

Roelin bowed her head and exerted some strength into her arm that was hugging his neck. Perhaps it was due to his body temperature that was even hotter than hers, but her palms kept on sweating profusely.

And she couldn’t.

She bit her lips in case he were to catch her like this.