Chapter 189- Burdens Of Actions (Part 3)
The door was suddenly opened and Aria came rushing inside with a panicked face. Her eyes were almost bloodshot and her breathing was erratic.
Finding himself frozen, Rin merely looked back at Aria with a confused look on his face. For a moment, he had forgotten that his sister and Emilia were outside and they could easily hear what was happening inside if they tried to.
'Kissing Elise in such a place would create an embarrassing situation.' He thought to himself with a sigh. He would be lying if he said he wasn't excited to actually kiss Elise.
On the other hand, Aria and Emilia looked at him with varying degrees of surprise. Emilia was purely surprised because she thought that the two didn't have such a relationship before. However, it seemed that they had confessed to each other which ended up in them about to kiss.
However, the rather uglier look was on Aria's face.
"K-Kiss?! Were you two about to kiss?!" She said with a hesitant look on her face.
Finding himself in a tough situation, Rin tried to find an excuse for this. Although he wasn't ashamed of the fact that he had finally confirmed his feelings with Elise, he thought that if he admitted that they were about to do that, Elise would feel flustered or maybe even ashamed.
"Hmm... O-Oh, well, we weren't actua-"
"Yes, we were about to kiss."
Much to his shock, Elise turned around and said in her usual, cold, emotionless tone.
'Miss Elise?!' Almost choking on his own saliva, Rin stared wide-eyed at her. Of all the things he thought she would say, he never thought she would actually proudly admit to such a thing in front of these two people nonetheless.
'Whistle, bold.' Whistling, Emilia thought in her head.
"What is the meaning of this?! Why would you two kiss?" Finding herself in clear despair, Aria tried to deny the obvious reason for such an action. Her mind didn't want to accept what could be the case.
"Well, I presume there are only a handful of cases that would make people kiss. We have confirmed what we both think of each other." Elise explained.
'She's really saying that with a straight face. How badass.' Rin sighed as he rubbed the back of his head.
'I was worried for nothing.'
"You two... love each other?"
"Yes. I guess it should've been obvious for a while now. But, well, our inexperience ended up halting the inevitable."
"But, but, that shouldn't be the case..."
"Well, didn't you ask me whether I love Rin or not, Aria?"
"I..."
"I gave it some thought and I found that I was only denying something quite clear. I don't like to evade reality. Besides, Rin is the most precious person to me so I didn't want to lose him just because of a mere hesitation." Elise confessed again.
"Elise..." Feeling touched to hear that, Rin smiled slightly and stared at her.
'I guess I didn't fall in love for no reason.' Chuckling at his quirky lover, he took a deep breath.
"Well, I'm sorry for not being clear about it from the start. I never thought we would end up like this, to be honest."
"Don't worry, I wasn't clear either."
"..."
Shifting his eyes back to Aria, Rin saw her face looking down. Her expression was hidden from everyone. Not even he could understand what she was thinking of at the moment.
'I guess there is still a problem, after all.' Sighing, Rin didn't know what to say.
From how Aria treated him, Rin did have his suspicions that her feelings for him weren't just 'siblings' love' but something more than that. However, he couldn't come to accept that fact as Aria was still his sister even if they weren't related by blood.
He sees her as a family and someone he cared about deeply. However, he couldn't see himself date her or falling in love with her. It was something that felt weird.
"I see..." Hearing his thoughts, Aria murmured.
Then, she looked up and smiled at them.
"Congratulations, Rin, your highness. I hope you two have a happy life together."
Then, without waiting for anyone, she ran out of the room without looking back.
"Aria!!" Trying to stand up to follow after her, Elise stopped him.
"There is no point in it. Aria is a smart girl, she will come to terms with it." Elise had long since noticed how Aria saw Rin but she didn't comment on it since it wasn't her position to do so. However,
"Sigh... This is really troublesome."
"I can understand her. It's never easy."
That only left one other person in the room, Emilia.
'What would master think?' Rin wondered.
He knew how strict she was, but he also knew how kind she was inside. She doesn't like to show it but she was very considerate toward him and Elise.
eaglesnovɐ1,сoМ "You two... Let me confirm one thing." She said as she took a seat and eyed the couple.
"Rin, do you really love her?" She asked.
At first, Rin was surprised by the question but then he turned serious and nodded his head.
"I'm 100% sure."
"I see, and you, Elise?"
"I'm also certain."
"Well, I respect both of your honesty. But, since I'm your master, you know that I only want the best for both of you, right?"
The two nodded again.
"I think you shouldn't make it official yet. Or better yet, don't get into a relationship altogether for the time being."
"Huh?"
"What do you mean, Miss Emilia?" Elise squinted her eyes as a cold aura rose from her body. She was on the verge of getting angry but she was keeping her judgment after hearing Emilia's explanation.
"Listen both of you. The situation of the academy and the world isn't good at all. Quite frankly, it has been going downhill for a while, and with the Mana demon accident, it had become even worse. The world is about to enter a war that could potentially change the dynamic of Divine Sapphire. Many would die and even more, people would end up crippled or injured for life."
"What do you want to say, master?" Getting impatient, Rin cut her off.
He didn't like where her words were leading to.
"I know that having a romantic partner would take time and effort. I know that you two are very responsible. But, that won't change that both of you would have spent time with each other. Now isn't the time for that, you two need strength to be able to come out of this war alive. Life isn't certain."
"I apologize, master. But, I don't agree with what you said. I and Elise know that and we aren't dumb enough to slack off just because we are finally aware of our love for each other." Rin argued.
"That is indeed the case. I won't allow for such a thing to happen." Elise added after her lover.
However, Emilia shook her head.
"You two don't understand. You are going to be at the center of a world-scale war. You both carry the talents of once-in-a-million-years geniuses. I'm afraid that if what I'm predicting will happen, you two will be separated during the war. I don't want to see both of you lose your sparkle yet."
'I know how painful it is to not know what your loved one is doing in a place far away where you can neither help them nor save them.' She added in her head, not allowing anyone to hear it.
"We both had already faced danger before."
"Elise is right. We already know that this war will be dangerous. But, I believe that we both can get out of it alive and well. I won't allow for anything to stop me from seeing her again if we get separated. Not even death itself." Rin said with a cold tone.
"Rin..." Shocked by his words, Elise looked at him with a complicated gaze.
Just seeing his confidence, it made her hopes increase. She knew that Rin was a wonder in and out of himself. So, if he said that he would do anything to reunite with her, he meant every word of it.
Both of them were aware that death is always looming over their head. However, they persisted and survived this whole time with their own powers. Now, after finding their other half, they can't simply die and leave the other alone.
Extending her arm, she touched his hand gently, making him look up.
'Smiling like that toward me is unfair, Elise.'
On the side, Emilia saw this interaction and it only made her even more conflicted and in chaos.
They really reminded her of her sister and her husband. Somi and Lucian were just like that and Emilia loved to watch them like this. However, every time she remembers how this love ended up, she felt a deep pain in her heart.
'I don't want to lose you two, again. Please, understand me.'
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