4. Summer Rain (Part 2)

After a moment of hesitation, Cecilia slowly nodded.  

“All right. I’ll trust in the young gentleman’s honor.”  

“Ah, thank you for permitting it.”  

The face of the young gentleman from the Marquis of Blake’s household lit up instantly. It was the unmistakable expression of a man deeply in love, unable to contain himself. Cecilia glanced back and forth between him and Merilyn with a peculiar expression.  

‘Could it really make her that happy?’  

Cecilia gently held Merilyn’s arm and whispered softly,  

“I’ll ask Madame Russet to keep an eye on you. I’ll also ask her to look after you and Evelyn together.”  

“Got it. Don’t worry. And Cecile…”  

Merilyn blushed faintly and smiled. In a small voice audible only to Cecilia, she whispered,  

“Thank you for allowing it. Let’s talk later.”  

Having entrusted Merilyn’s care to a familiar lady, Cecilia left the banquet hall. While the attendant went to fetch her carriage, Cecilia slowly descended the stone steps.  

It was then that a sudden downpour began with a loud rushing sound. The heavy raindrops pounded against the ground, creating a deafening noise. No one had expected such a sudden shower.  

Cecilia quickly raised her hands to shield her head, but the thick raindrops soaked her before she could react. In an instant, she was drenched, looking like a wet mouse. Cecilia bit her lip as she brushed aside the strands of hair clinging to her forehead.  

‘Why now, of all times…’  

Summer weather was always unpredictable. A sudden downpour wasn’t exactly surprising. It wasn’t as though she had never been caught in the rain before, nor was she the type to fret over getting wet.  

Yet, for some reason, she felt as though she might burst into tears. The raindrops falling against her cheeks made her angry. She couldn’t bear how pitiful and wretched she looked. Her slender shoulders slumped as the strength drained from her.  

“Today is the worst, truly.”  

***  

Scratch, scratch.  

With each movement of the knife, small wood shavings and sawdust fell to the ground at Ethan’s feet. Sitting on the steps with his long legs folded, Ethan worked tirelessly with his hands. After some time, a small wooden model of a carriage took shape.  

“…”  

Having completed another carving, his knife finally came to a stop. At the same time, a brief sigh escaped from between Ethan’s lips. He had tried to focus on this pastime to distract himself, but his thoughts were entirely consumed by Cecilia. He muttered softly to himself,  

“When will she come back?”  

By now, the sky had long since grown dark. Thick clouds had gathered, and before he knew it, rain had begun to pour. The fierce downpour struck the ground as though drilling into it. Ethan stared at the rain pooling into the earth, lost in thought.  

In his mind, he saw Cecilia as she had appeared earlier. Dressed for the banquet, she had been stunningly beautiful. The moment he saw her, it felt as though his breath had stopped. A vivid sensation of all the light and color in the world concentrating on her coursed through his spine.  

‘I want to see her again.’  

Ethan envisioned the grand ballroom in his mind. The light from the chandeliers would illuminate her bare shoulders above her sapphire dress. As she spun, the midnight-blue fabric of her skirt would flare out and settle gracefully. She would move her delicate feet elegantly to the rhythm of the music.  

And the man standing beside such a Cecilia would not be Ethan. It would likely be the man who had visited the Godwin Estate before.  

‘Matthias, was it?’  

He had seemed like a man of great splendor. From his gleaming silver hair to his eyes, which turned red under the sunlight, and even the luxurious clothes embroidered with silver and gold thread—it was as though he wore his wealth as a badge.  

Ethan vividly remembered how despondent Cecilia had seemed the day that man visited. He also recalled how she frowned at the name scrawled hastily in his letter. Ethan knew Cecilia didn’t like that man, yet he still felt jealous. Unlike Ethan, Matthias was a man who could confidently stand by Cecilia’s side.  

Ethan clenched his jaw. He knew that Cecilia harbored some feelings for him. He could sense it in the fleeting glances she cast when she thought he wasn’t looking, in the way her cheeks flushed when their eyes met.  

‘She must have decided it was impractical.’  

Ethan understood Cecilia’s reasoning. That was why he had accepted her plea to forget everything and pretend it had never happened.  

But it was a promise in words only. Ethan realized he could never return to how things were before that night, nor could he suppress his feelings for Cecilia. He had said he would forget, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t erase the memory of how endearing Cecilia’s flushed face had been, how her chest had felt in his hands, or how intoxicating her scent had grown in the heat of the moment.  

‘Why is time moving so quickly… Summers always felt long and tedious.’  

Now, Ethan had only about a month left to stay at the Godwin Estate. As the sun climbed higher in the sky with each passing day, Ethan felt as though he were slowly melting away. After the summer heat subsided, Cecilia would erase him from her life entirely—it wasn’t just a feeling.  

Feeling restless, Ethan ran a rough hand over his face.  

It was then that he heard a voice right in front of him.  

“…Ethan?”  

Ethan sprang to his feet at the sound. In the darkness, her blue eyes shone like stars.  

“Cecilia.”  

Ethan’s gaze swept over Cecilia from head to toe, his eyes trembling. She was completely drenched from the rain. Her eyes were swollen, and her expression was far from good. She looked as though she might burst into tears at the slightest provocation.  

Cecilia climbed a few steps to take shelter from the rain. Forcing a faint smile, she asked,  

“What are you doing here in the rain…?”  

Ethan studied her face intently and remained silent. He wanted to say, ‘I’ve been waiting for you this whole time. A day without seeing you is meaningless to me, so I sat here for hours just to catch a glimpse of you.’  

Instead, he held out his left hand.  

“I have something for you.”  

What he handed her was the wooden carriage he had just finished carving. Having held it for so long, it was now warm with his body heat.

Cecilia held the carving in her palm, turning it this way and that as she examined it. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity.  

“It’s a carriage. Did you carve this yourself?”  

“Yes.”  

“Vivi would be impressed. You’re very skillful.”  

Cecilia’s gaze shifted from the carving to Ethan. She smiled, her eyes curving as she expressed her gratitude for the surprise gift.  

“I’ll treasure it. Thank you.”  

For a moment, the darkness on Cecilia’s face lifted, and she brightened. At that moment, Ethan’s pupils dilated. Her radiant smile, filled with genuine joy, was so beautiful it made his chest ache.  

‘I want to see more of this.’  

As if entranced, Ethan shoved one hand deep into his pocket. He pulled out a small carving and placed it on Cecilia’s hand.  

“A rabbit?”  

Cecilia let out a soft laugh when she saw it. She murmured quietly to herself,  

“It’s so cute.”  

Ethan reached into his pocket again and placed another carving in her hand. A bird, a cat… As the animals piled up on her palm like a small hill, Cecilia’s face grew brighter and brighter.  

After staring at her hand for a long time, Cecilia looked up and met Ethan’s gaze.  

“Giving me this many… Is this a bribe because you want something in return?”  

“Yes.”  

Cecilia’s eyes widened in surprise at Ethan’s straightforward nod. She smiled awkwardly and asked,  

“What is it that you want?”  

Ethan stared at her for a moment before speaking slowly.  

“I want you to keep smiling like that.”  

“…”  

“And not to cry.”  

Cecilia froze, startled by Ethan’s words. She hesitated, her lips parting slightly as if searching for an appropriate response, only to bite her lower lip gently with her teeth. For a brief moment, countless emotions flickered across her pale face.  

The cool air, refreshed by the earlier rain, seemed to carry an inexplicable heat. The sound of the rain falling quietly masked the pounding of their hearts. Ethan instinctively realized that now was the moment to confess his true feelings. His lips trembled as he began to speak.  

“The truth is, giving you these carvings was just an excuse.”  

“…”  

“I waited here because I wanted to see you, even if just for a moment. While waiting, I kept working with my hands and ended up making all of these.”  

By the time Ethan finished speaking, Cecilia’s face had turned as red as a ripe peach. She looked both happy and a little scared. She whispered as if sighing,  

“Ethan, please don’t shake me like this.”  

Ethan met Cecilia’s gaze with unwavering eyes. In a deep voice, he asked,  

“If I shake you, will you waver?”  

“Yes. That’s why it’s difficult. If you shake me, I’m not confident I won’t waver.”  

Cecilia did not avoid Ethan’s gaze and stared straight back at him. Her voice trembled as she continued,  

“But the truth is, I can’t promise you anything. Do you understand what I mean?”  

Ethan nodded.  

“I understand.”  

Ethan’s gaze remained steady as he spoke. At that moment, his heart pounded so fiercely it felt as if it might break through his chest.  

“If I say I’ll endure it, even though I know you’ll leave like the changing seasons… If I offer myself to you, like one of these carvings, to hold and discard as you please…”  

“…”  

“Would you then allow yourself to be shaken, just this once?”  

The tension between them thickened at Ethan’s words. Cecilia’s long lashes quivered faintly. Sensing her inner turmoil, Ethan played his final card.  

“Would you then pretend not to notice and come to me?”  

As Ethan’s trembling voice faded, the sound of the rain grew louder in its place. The two stood silently, facing each other. After what felt like an eternity of silence, Cecilia slowly closed her eyes. Her lips, tightly pressed together in nervousness, were soon covered by Ethan’s.  

The hesitation was over.