Chapter 6.6

Morning in the middle of the sea felt different, and so Brienne woke up earlier than usual. After getting ready in the cabin’s shower room, she went down to the first floor, fastening the front of her outer garment securely.

‘Did I overdo it?’

She felt chilly after drinking beer in the sea breeze until dawn. The cold air against her skin made her shoulders hunch up.

Yesterday, she had ended up drinking beer until she was almost asleep. The conversation with Diashi had been so enjoyable that time had flown by.

To become friends with someone she’d just met in such a short time… Even as she drifted off to sleep, Brienne felt as if she were dreaming.

And that feeling hadn’t changed. She was about to set foot in a foreign country she’d never visited before, and she was anxious about meeting new people at the academy. But somehow, she had a feeling everything would work out.

Still… for some reason…

‘The more I think about Miss Diashi, the more I think of Shylo.’

She tried not to dwell on it, but Diashi’s navy hair stuck in her mind.

‘Could it be that the person Shylo liked was Diashi?’

‘…No way.’

That person was said to be the runner-up graduate, but Miss Diashi hadn’t mentioned anything like that.

‘But maybe she just didn’t say it on purpose…’

Shaking her head, Brienne tried to brush off the uncomfortable feeling and sat by the restaurant window from yesterday. The time to meet Herace was fast approaching.

Brienne, watching the relentless ticking of the second hand, sighed briefly. Why was she like this? Just thinking about meeting him made her nervous and her throat dry. She had a rough idea of what she wanted to say, but she wasn’t sure she could do it well.

She didn’t want to blush or stutter in front of Herace anymore.

If only she could calmly confess her feelings.

Showing herself running away, unable to express her heart even once, was enough.

‘Don’t be nervous.’

‘Just be honest.’

Brienne drank a sip of water to steady her pounding heart. At that moment, she saw a familiar face.

“Oh, Miss?”

Diashi’s eyes grew wide as she passed Brienne’s table, a large piece of bread in her mouth. Putting the bread back in its bag, Diashi plopped down in front of Brienne.

“Great! Are you eating breakfast alone here?”

“Ah, Miss Diashi…”

Brienne’s expression dimmed at Diashi’s unexpected appearance. She hadn’t imagined she’d run into Diashi at this moment.

‘Should I say I was waiting for someone?’

‘But I said I was alone yesterday…’

Feeling as if she’d lied, Brienne hesitated for a moment. Diashi had worried quite a bit about Brienne boarding the ship alone, without even a maid.

“I didn’t want to eat alone, so this is perfect! They say repeated coincidences are fate—maybe we’re fated, Miss?”

And she was smiling so brightly.

Brienne couldn’t help but raise the corners of her mouth awkwardly. She could just say she wasn’t alone, that she was meeting someone here. It was a simple matter of telling the truth, but she couldn’t do it easily.

Miss Diashi was the first friend Brienne had made after leaving Rontiano. She feared that such a friend might be disappointed in her.

The guilt of unintentionally deceiving her was an added burden.

‘…It’s fine. There’s still some time left, so with luck, I won’t run into Herace while Diashi is here.’

Checking her watch, Brienne still couldn’t bring herself to ask Diashi to leave, even when she started eating her bread again. Yet, she secretly hoped Diashi would finish quickly and get up.

She’d received plenty of help from Miss Diashi, so what was she thinking…?

Realizing her own selfishness, Brienne shook her head in surprise. It wasn’t too late yet. With a determined look, Brienne spoke up.

“Um, Miss Diashi, actually…”

“…Huh?”

But Diashi wasn’t looking at her. Brienne hurriedly turned her head to follow Diashi’s gaze.

At the end of her gaze was a familiar man. Herace had just entered the restaurant and was approaching their table.

“Oh, Herace…”

Meeting his eyes, Brienne awkwardly stood up. Herace’s deep gray eyes narrowed slightly as he noticed Diashi.

A gentle smile appeared on his face as he stopped.

“I must have arrived too early. I didn’t expect you to have company, Brienne.”

That enigmatic smile didn’t feel as familiar as it usually did. Brienne realized she had upset Herace by trying not to disappoint Diashi. She unconsciously bit her lip as she gazed at him.

And then, at that moment—

“Wow, is it really you, Sir Herace?! I wasn’t sure from afar! But why are you here, Sir Herace?”

Diashi’s loud voice echoed through the restaurant, which was starting to fill with people. Brienne flinched and turned to look at her.

Diashi had already stood up, blinking at Herace in surprise.

Brienne was flustered.

“…Do you two know each other?”

* * *

The awkward encounter soon led to the three of them sitting together. At Diashi’s suggestion, Herace naturally sat beside Brienne. Diashi glanced at Herace, then stuffed a big bite of bread into her mouth, mumbling,

“If that’s the case, you should’ve said so earlier!”

Diashi brushed the crumbs from her hands, her eyes playful.

“Miss, do I seem like such a petty person to you? That’s harsh.”

“N-no, absolutely not…! I just… I felt like I lied to you, Miss Diashi, and I didn’t like that… I’m sorry.”

Brienne shook her head quickly, anxiously explaining herself. Diashi, gulping down her milk after the bread, set her cup down with a thud.

“No need to apologize, I was just teasing! You really are cute.”

Diashi’s expression was genuinely cheerful as she wiped her mouth. But Brienne couldn’t relax.

‘So my guess was right.’

Diashi revealed that she knew Herace and reintroduced herself as the second-ranked graduate. As much as Brienne had hoped otherwise, it seemed certain that the person Shylo had mentioned was Diashi—the one who dreamed of working at the Belif Dukedom because she liked Herace Belif’s face.

“By the way, you look even better since you went home! You were always handsome, but now you’re even more so.”

“…If that’s a compliment, I’ll accept it.”

“Oh, what’s gotten into you?”

The more Brienne watched Diashi’s unusually excited demeanor since Herace arrived, the more certain she felt. Brienne stirred her soup, which the waiter had just brought, sneaking glances at Herace.

She’d thought Herace would be glad to see Diashi, an old schoolmate. But no matter what Diashi said, Herace only gave a faint smile and nodded occasionally.

‘Was he upset?’

‘Well, if it were me…’

If someone called her out for an important talk but was with someone else, she’d probably feel more annoyed than happy. While Diashi stepped away to wash her hands, Brienne, watching Herace, whispered carefully,

“…I’m sorry, Herace. I didn’t mean to avoid the conversation by doing this.”

Herace, sipping his coffee, turned his gaze to Brienne. The indifference on his face melted away instantly.

“I didn’t think that at all. Besides, there’s nothing for you to apologize for, Brienne.”

“But still…”

“There’s no need to worry. If you keep apologizing, it’ll make me uncomfortable too. But—”

“…?”

“If you’re going to keep skipping your meal while worrying about me, then I’ll have to accept your apology.”

With a playful smile, Herace gestured toward Brienne’s untouched soup. Even with his kind response, Brienne couldn’t bring herself to smile. She felt bad for making Herace wait for her answer and regretted missing the chance to speak her heart.

‘…Why am I always like this?’

Nothing ever seemed to go as she hoped.

Caught up in a dreamlike mood overnight, she’d started to believe she’d become someone wonderful, like Diashi.

But she was still Brienne Ford, who couldn’t do anything right.

“By the way, Brienne.”

“Yes?”

As Brienne sighed, lost in thought, Herace quietly leaned toward her.

“Your face has been red for a while. Are you feeling feverish?”

Herace, coming closer, placed his hand on her forehead. Startled by his touch, Brienne instinctively drew back.

Just then, Diashi was returning to the table. As their eyes met from afar, Diashi’s expression visibly hardened.

“He-Herace, um…”

Avoiding Diashi’s gaze, Brienne hurriedly brushed Herace’s hand away. Bowing her head and taking deep breaths, she couldn’t calm the loud pounding of her heart.

Whether it was because of Herace’s hand on her forehead or simply being startled, she didn’t know. What was certain was that she was now acutely aware of Diashi’s presence.

“Brienne, your temperature is quite high. You may have caught a cold—let’s get you to the infirmary for a checkup…”

“No, no, I’m really fine!”

Brienne shook her head, flustered, but Herace was firm.

“Diashi, sorry, but I’ll take Brienne and leave first.”

“Oh, yes! Go ahead!”

As Diashi returned to the table, her yellow eyes turned to Brienne. Brienne, rising awkwardly, hesitated before reaching out to take Herace’s offered hand.