CH 8

Spending the night with Yuren-kun.

It doesn’t have any deep meaning; we just slept in the same room.

I thought I wouldn’t be able to sleep because I was so nervous.

At first, it was like that for a few minutes, but before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.

When I woke up, it was morning, and warm light was shining through the window.

“…I must have been tired.”

I think that’s it.

I was tired.

If I think back to yesterday, I would find it strange not to be exhausted.

I was suddenly fired and driven out of the palace, and then I happened to meet a friend I had wanted to see in the nostalgic forest.

I am here now, drawn by the kindness of that friend.

If it were really true, I would have woken up on hard ground or damp grass.

Thinking so, what I am doing now feels like a miracle…

“Hmm? Ah, Aria, you’re already awake.”

Yuren-kun gets up from the sofa and comes closer to me.

As he rubbed his eyes from waking up, he approached me until he was within arm’s reach and made eye contact with me.

“I had a good night’s sleep…”

Tears fell from my eyes as I looked at him.

It was unconscious.

It wasn’t sadness, rather tears of joy.

I noticed that I was crying when I saw Yuren-kun’s expression.

“I-I’m sorry.”

I hurried to wipe away my tears, trying to put on a smile to not worry him.

Then——

“Eh…”

Yuren-kun gently wiped away the tears running down my cheek.

He whispered to me with a calm smile.

“It’s okay now. Neither I nor this place should be bad for you.”

His hand touched my cheek.

The warmth of his hand overlapped with the warmth of my tears.

That smile was unfair.

That’s what I thought.

Because my dry tears flowed like rain again.

“Uh, yeah…yeah.”

I didn’t want to worry him.

My overflowing tears wouldn’t stop.

Yuren-kun didn’t say anything, he just silently watched over me.

It was a strange time.

Now, it felt like there were only the two of us in the world, and it felt special.

Knock knock knock——

So we didn’t notice the sound of knocking on the door, nor the voice that followed.

“Hey, Yuren-dono~ it’s morning already~”

It took a few seconds before we noticed the man’s voice.

Was it because we didn’t reply?

He opened the door without permission and walked into the room.

“At least give me an answer~ Are you still sleeping? You should be able to wake up without me having to wake you up…”

Our eyes meet.

What he sees is the scene of Yuren-kun touching my cheek while I sit on the bed.

By the way, I am crying.

I am crying seriously.

From the perspective of someone who doesn’t know the circumstances, what would they think?

“Yu—”

“N-No, wait a minute, Hisui! You’ve got it all wrong——”

“So Yuren brought a girl to his room and made her cry, huh?!”

“That’s not what happened!”

As expected, it seems that we were misunderstood.

The well-built man who entered the room was taller than Yuren-kun and carried a sword on his waist.

His hair was short and spiky, and he had a strong look of a man.

“Yuren was never interested in girls, and now he’s secretly meeting someone… It’s making me cry.”

“Don’t cry! It’s not like I made her cry! And besides, it’s all just a misunderstanding on your part!”

“Don’t put this on me. I’ll tell everyone around us, so don’t worry.”

“That’s why it’s not what you think!”

I’ve never seen Yuren-kun so flustered before.

He was shouting like a child, his face reddening.

Even though I was embarrassed for being caught crying, seeing Yuren-kun innocently bickering made me laugh.

“Fu, fufu.”

“Hm? You’re being laughed at, Yuren.”

“It’s your fault.”

Yuren-kun let out a small sigh and smiled at me.

“But it’s good. Looks like you’ve stopped crying.”

“Yeah. Who’s that person, Yuren-kun?”

“Oh, yeah. This guy is Hisui, my personal guard.”

“What do you mean ‘personal guard’? It’s always a hassle when you go out on your own!”

It seems like he’s a knight who’s a guard.

I had thought he must be her older brother or someone, judging by his casual way of talking and his attitude.

Their relationship did not look like that of a master and a subordinate at all.

Looking at him curiously, Yuren-kun noticed and answered for him.

“We’ve known each other since we were kids. There is a difference in our positions, but I do not care about that.”

“Well, you should care about that in public, right? Nice to meet you, Yuren’s fiancée.”

“F-Fiancée?”

“That’s why I told you to stop it! I will explain everything from the beginning.”

Yuren-kun explained the situation to him while looking exasperated.

Hisui-san listened seriously, nodding along.

As for me, I was fidgeting beside them, waiting for the conversation to end.

“I see. That’s quite a misfortune.”

“You think so too, right? That’s why I thought she could work here. We were also short-handed, and her abilities as a Transmutation Master are top-notch.”

“Yeah… well, that’s true…”

Hisui-san is staring at me intently.

It’s not a hostile gaze, but I get nervous when someone stares at me like that.

“So, this is the girl you mentioned…”

His serious expression suddenly softens.

“Alright then, I understand. I’ll take care of the arrangements for your audience with the king.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s not just for Yuren’s sake. From what I’ve heard, she hasn’t eaten anything since yesterday. It would be good to have some breakfast and take a bath.”

“Uh, really? Is that okay?”

The phrase “It’s okay” had several meanings.

Hisui-san’s response comes back with a gentle smile.

“Of course. If the prince trusts you, then I have no complaints.”

The words showed the solid trust between Yuren-kun and Hisui-San.