Side Story.12

“Do you remember?”

Noah had brought Ariel to a hill overlooking the bustling city. It was the place where Ariel had proposed to Noah, only to be turned down.

But what Ariel couldn’t forget about this place was the sunset—the look in Noah’s eyes and his smile were so beautiful she could never forget.

“‘Will you marry me?’”

Noah’s words made Ariel’s eyes widen in surprise.

“That’s what you said back then.”

Noah’s eyes were deep with thought.

“You’re doing all this… because of the proposal, aren’t you?”

Ariel was shocked. Her plan had failed, and she hadn’t said anything about marriage, yet Noah somehow knew. Did he have mind-reading powers?

“You’re doing this because of that.”

Ariel couldn’t speak, as if her lips were sealed, so Noah kept talking.

“Are you hesitating? About marrying me?”

“Huh? What?”

“I understand. People’s feelings change.”

“Wait, wait!”

“And since our relationship is so one-sided at first, it’s natural to have doubts before marriage.”

“What are you talking about!”

Ariel thought Noah had figured out she was going to propose, but instead, he was mistakenly assuming Ariel was having second thoughts about marrying him. As Ariel tried to clear up the misunderstanding, Noah spoke first.

“But it’s too late now.”

Noah’s grip on Ariel’s arm tightened.

“I’ll never let go.”

His grip was strong, yet his hand was trembling.

“You said you’d take responsibility for me. So take responsibility.”

Ariel looked into Noah’s eyes. The eyes showed firm resolve, but also held a great deal of fear. Seeing Noah’s state, Ariel frowned.

“So if you’d marry me… would that be okay?”

At Noah’s decisive words, Ariel frowned and said,

“No.”

This couldn’t be. It shouldn’t be.

“You’re not supposed to say that!”

“…Huh?”

“I can’t believe you beat me to it! That’s not fair!”

Noah looked bewildered at Ariel’s protests.

“I was supposed to do it! The proposal!”

Of course, the plan had gone awry, and calling this a proposal was a stretch, but Ariel still wanted to do it properly.

As Ariel grumbled loudly, Noah covered his face with one hand and let out a laughing sigh.

“What? Why?”

“You really are…”

Noah leaned into Ariel’s arms, burying his face in her shoulder.

“Whether I live or die, it’s all up to you.”

“What? Why would I k*ll you?”

“It’s just a saying… Actually, I thought I was really going to die just now. I’m sure my heart stopped.”

Noah sighed deeply, but somehow it was a sigh of relief. Seeing this unusual side of Noah, Ariel wrapped her arms around him and patted his back, hoping to comfort him.

“I was expecting a proposal, but you kept acting nervous and saying weird things… Do you know how worried I was that you’d say we should reconsider marriage?”

“No, it’s just because I messed up… Wait! What? Hold on! You already knew I was going to propose?”

“How could I not?”

Noah pulled away and began listing all the clues he’d noticed.

“About a month ago, you started running around busily. There wasn’t anything special going on, so I wondered if there was something I didn’t know about and asked you. You said it was nothing and I didn’t need to know. So I realized it must be something related to me.”

“Ugh…”

Ariel couldn’t deny being flustered when Noah asked, but she thought she’d hidden it well. Now she was embarrassed that she’d actually given Noah hints.

“And the Court Knight Order members started having lively conversations without me. The timing matched when you started acting strangely, so I figured they were in on it. The only thing you’d ask them for help with… well, I guessed.”

That meant Noah remembered Ariel asking for advice from the members before about marrying him, so he guessed this was similar.

“Still, that’s not enough to know I was going to propose!”

Noah replied,

“It was because of that person.”

“That person?”

“The informant.”

“Oh, Lloyd?”

When Ariel said Lloyd’s name, Noah frowned and clicked his tongue.

“You’re close with Lloyd?”

“Who would be close with that rascal?”

“Then how did you know? Did Lloyd tell you?”

“I ran into him on the street. He gave me a weird look and said something strange…”

Noah stopped explaining and sighed, looking thoroughly displeased.

“He said something ridiculous, and I figured it out.”

“What did he say?”

“…I’d rather not say. It’s not worth repeating.”

Ariel was curious, but Noah looked so annoyed that she didn’t ask.

“So in the end, it’s Lloyd’s fault I got caught.”

“I can’t deny it, but you made plenty of mistakes too.”

“What? Besides what you said earlier?”

“For the past two weeks, you kept telling me to keep today clear, no matter what. You insisted I not make any plans. You never do that for dates, so it was suspicious.”

Ariel realized dropping hints to Noah had been a big mistake.

“And dressing up and renting a famous place… no one could miss it.”

Ariel pouted.

“…I couldn’t help it. I wanted a cool proposal.”

“So I’m the problem. Because I said that to you back then…”

Noah took Ariel’s hand and continued,

“But I really meant it when I said I liked your proposal because it was so you.”

“No way. I even studied how to propose to you. Nobody ever did it like that.”

“Being ‘just like you’ means it’s your own unique way, something no one else can copy. And that’s what I love most.”

Noah slowly lifted Ariel’s hand.

“I love you for you.”

He brought her hand to his face and gently kissed the back.

“So, will you marry me?”

The soft touch on her hand, the warmth of his breath, the eyes half-hidden by his eyelids, the blue gaze meeting hers, and Noah’s face tinged with sunset—all of it was so wonderful Ariel couldn’t help but twitch her lips.

“…In the end, you’re the one who does all the cool stuff.”

“Then say it to me too. A proposal doesn’t need any formality.”

“But you already did it. Isn’t it meaningless if I do it too?”

“To me, it means more than anything.”

Seeing Noah’s smile, Ariel nodded. She cleared her throat, reached for the ring in her pocket… and remembered she hadn’t gotten it from the restaurant.

Looking around for a substitute, Ariel spotted a small wildflower at the edge of the hill. She picked one, split the stem, rolled it into a ring, and offered it to Noah.

“Noah, will you marry me?”

When she slipped the flower ring on Noah’s finger, she remembered people usually kneel for proposals. As Ariel hurriedly tried to kneel, Noah, looking flustered, hugged her waist.

“What? Why?”

“I was just catching you.”

“I was going to kneel.”

“…Huh?”

Nothing was perfect, nothing went as planned—it was a mess from start to finish. But this moment was so like them that Ariel and Noah looked at each other and laughed.

“I guess not. This proposal is invalid.”

“Are you going to do it again?”

“Of course! Don’t settle for this! Next time, I’ll really do it properly.”

“Then, I’ll look forward to it.”

Noah took Ariel’s hand, now wearing the flower ring. Ariel intertwined her fingers with his.

“I even prepared real rings! They look just like your eyes and are so pretty. Lloyd may look like a troublemaker, but he’s really reliable when needed.”

“Why are you bringing him up?”

“Lloyd? Oh, he gave me the rings.”

“…I’ll call the restaurant and ask them to throw them away.”

“What? Why would you do that! Are you serious?”

“I’m the one who should be asking if you’re serious. Why did you accept them? Do you know what Lloyd’s intentions were?”

“What do you mean? It was a wedding gift.”

“…Sigh.”

“There it is again! That sigh that says it’s pointless to talk to me! You’re treating me like an idiot again!”

“At least you understand. So do as I say.”

“No way! I refuse! Absolutely not!”

And so Ariel and Noah began to walk down the hill. They raised their voices and bickered, but walked side by side, hands still tightly clasped.

The delicate flower ring might have seemed fragile, but even if it withered, their relationship would remain unchanged, so they gripped each other’s hands even tighter.

― 『 Proposing Marriage to a Disliked Subordinate』

End of the untold story