CH 127

Chapter 127: A battle of sincerity 

“May I have this dance?”

“….”

What was I supposed to do? It would be very cold-hearted if I rejected him.

I glanced up at Sigren. He looked surprisingly calm. When I saw his face this close up, my heart weakened again. 

Yeah, there were too many eyes if I rejected him. 

“Yes, your highness.”

In the end, I gently grabbed his hand. 

We slowly headed to the dance hall. 

I didn’t know whether I could dance well since at this moment my heart was disturbed. What if I stepped on Sigren’s feet? Contrary to my worry, when Sigren and I stepped onto the dance floor, the dance song changed into a slow beat. Sigren’s escort was also skillful. Therefore, I didn’t make as many mistakes as I thought. 

Of course, even though I felt fortunate that I didn’t make many mistakes, my childish heart was still displeased. So, all the time, I just stared down even though I knew it was against the rules. 

“Fiona, raise your head.”

“….”

I slowly shook my head. I wanted to avoid Sigren’s gaze. Because if I looked into his eyes, I didn’t know how to react.

“How’s your body?”

“It’s okay, everything is fine.”

I turned around, following the dance step. The hem of my skirt was swaying as I moved. The dance was almost over. I couldn’t help but panic a bit. What should I do when the dance is over?

“Ah.”

Because I was thinking about something else, I accidentally stepped on Sigren’s foot. 

“It’s okay.”

Sigren gently supported my back. 

This was a dance that I usually dance to, so it felt strange for me to accidentally step on his foot.

“Let’s talk after dancing.”

“No….”

“Then shall we do it now?”

Then Sigren tried to lift me up. 

I screamed inwardly. What was he going to do?! I was terrified and quickly grabbed his arm.

“Okay, let’s talk.”

“Great.”

The tip of my toes, which were slightly raised, immediately lowered.

My heart beat so fast. Gosh, we almost created new gossip on this dance floor.

After the dance was over, I looked at him dissatisfied. However, Sigren tucked my messy side hair behind my ear. 

I wondered what he was thinking. He didn’t have his usual expression. I inadvertently tried to stroke his cheek, but I stopped immediately. We were in a cold war. So I slipped my hand down. 

“This way.”

Sigren wrapped his arm around my shoulders. He didn’t grab me tightly, but it was hard to get out of his arm.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to hold me.”

“What if you ran away like last time?”

At that time, he didn’t even follow me. 

“Where are we going?” I muttered.

“A place to talk quietly.”

My head was trying to guess what he was trying to say. 

Well, ever since I was in Fiona’s body, I’ve never been in a relationship, and Fiona has never had a romance plot, especially a plot where her lover suddenly became serious like this. 

“Cold?”

As I flinched, woken up from my ominous thought, Sigren took off his coat and covered my shoulders. 

Did he plan to be nice to me when I was angry?

He muttered in embarrassment. “Do you want to go inside?”

“I’m not going to your room.”

“Well, that’s not where we’re heading.”

“…”

I sighed. Then we stopped in a quiet garden. 

“What do you want to talk about?”

He looked troubled for a moment, then he tried to sit me down on a nearby bench. 

“If you stand for a long time, your feet hurt.”

It seemed that he took a note as I always grumbled about my shoes every day.

“Are you going to talk long?”

“I don’t know.”

Sigren stood in front of me. Then he wrapped my cheeks and raised my face to look at him. I finally met those blue-gray eyes.

“Fiona, I’m only going to ask you once.”

“…?”

“Shall we stop?” He asked in a terribly low voice.

I widened my eyes, and blinked a couple of times. 

Stop? 

Was this breaking up?

“Why?”

“You know better why.”

Wait, what did he mean? Did he want to break up because of the fight? Was that it?

Sigren whispered softly, “If my existence is a burden for you, we could stop. All of this.”

Burden? It was a familiar word for some reason. 

“Did you hear my conversation with Kwonter?”

“Right.”

I see. So that was what he meant. Just as I was hurt by him, I also hurt him without knowing. 

“Well, then, what will happen after that?” I asked in a hoarse voice.

“Everything would be back to normal. We’re still friends, and we share the political will.”

“…”

That might be fine, wouldn’t it? After all, this was something I acknowledged that would happen when I accepted him in the beginning. Hadn’t I always been preparing for this to happen while I reciprocate his feelings? He liked me, then I liked him too. So now he wants to break up, then it should be fine, right?

But, really? Was that really what I wanted? Could I really be alright?

“Fiona, shall we do that?”

Heat rushed to my eyes.

Sigren’s index finger lightly brushed my eye.

My tears were almost out of my eyes while I looked at him. 

His face was so dull that I had no idea what he was thinking. 

Did he want to just break up and remain friends comfortably? Or was it the opposite?

“Don’t be swayed by your feelings for me and be honest.”

“Be honest?”

“Yeah, what you want.”

What I want.

“But…”

I lowered my gaze.

Sigren’s hand was about to touch my cheek, but it stopped. 

Then I heard his deep sigh.

“….”

Sigren seemed to interpret my silence to mean something else that he backed away one step further. 

“Am I just asking for an answer that has been decided?”

I clenched my fist. 

It was not like that.

But if I tried to explain it, he would be completely fed up. And then our relationship would reach the point where we couldn’t even remain friends. 

I covered my face with both hands. 

Ugh.. My brain could not keep up with this.

“Alright. I understand. Please don’t worry too much that you even cry because of me.”

His hand lightly brushed my hair and fell off.

“Goodbye, Fiona.”