I was still captivated by his golden eyes, blinking. The Grand Duke let out a laugh that sounded like a sigh.
“It was my first.”
“…What was?”
“Kissing someone.”
Though I examined him carefully in disbelief, his face was more serious and sincere than ever.
“I like you, Lora.”
“What?”
“I have come to adore you.”
“What?”
“I apologize for kissing you without permission. But it wasn’t a momentary impulse.”
The golden eyes meeting mine released emotions that had been deeply hidden. Eyes like waves that rippled with the movement of light.
They contained an endless affection that seemed about to overflow.
This was why.
Instead of rejecting him with a refusal, I blurted out something completely different.
“Why do you like me?”
I was curious. About the reason for his feelings. Was it because of Lora’s beauty that made even common wheat-colored hair look brilliant, or was it because I saved his life? Or perhaps both?
And since when?
At my question, he lowered his eyes, seemingly deep in thought.
I, too, fell into quiet thought while waiting for his answer.
From the beginning, neither of us had good feelings toward the other. I still thought the Kalschmitz people were troublesome. Especially him, their leader, was more awkward.
He, too, had thought of me as a meaningless existence. It was evident in his attitude that made things difficult for me and tested me.
Even when we talked by the campfire on the way from Eslina to Kalschmitz, and when he jokingly proposed later, his eyes were just dry.
When did those emotionless eyes begin to ripple like they do now?
When we departed for Adelbalk?
When we escaped over the castle walls, just the two of us?
Ah, when I mercilessly slapped his cheek as he lay fallen, and he woke up.
Yes, it seemed to be from that time.
But if that was the reason, wouldn’t he have fallen in love with anyone else who saved him?
Before becoming Lora, I was an illegitimate child. I was always starved for affection. I would waver without principle at a single word from my family members, and I would get hurt.
Later, I promised myself that I could live well alone, and I kept that promise. And that’s how I lived.
Eventually, I hardened. Just the surface.
I appeared resolute, but at crucial moments like now, I became indecisive. I could never easily push people away.
Perhaps it was because I lacked a solid core to support my immature self.
Until now, the only people I had resolutely cut off were Lora’s family and my own family.
I had no regrets about my family because I had given them all my devotion, and I was able to cut off Lora’s family because I wasn’t the real Lora.
But why did he…
“Please answer me, Your Highness.”
Why did he look at me like that?
If it were a feeling that could be replaced by anyone else, then… it sounds ridiculous, but I think I would be disappointed.
I would rather he said he liked me because I was pretty, or because I saved his life. So I could easily reject him.
When I raised my head to look up at him, he was looking down at me with a subtle expression. It was a troubled expression, as if he had never thought about it before.
I knew it.
Along with relief, an inexplicable bitterness washed over me. At that moment, the Grand Duke’s well-shaped lips curved symmetrically and slowly opened.
“Because it’s you.”
I froze at his answer, unable to say anything.
“I like you because you are you. So.”
“……”
“…Please give me a chance.”
“What kind of chance?”
“When everything is over, I will formally propose to you.”
“Wait a moment, Your Highness.”
You seem to be rushing too much. What about my position?
My mind, deeply immersed in confusion, suddenly awoke with a start.
This guy’s proposals really come out at the most random times.
The Grand Duke smiled gently, waiting for me to catch my breath. I calmed my startled heart and demanded an explanation from him.
“Your Highness, your explanation is insufficient.”
At my words, he began to explain kindly, one by one, with the patience of someone teaching a child.
That is, the reason why he liked me.
I had dug my own grave. The Grand Duke lowered his eyes, contemplating something profound. Soon his red lips opened.
“I found it amusing how you say everything on your mind to me.”
“Amusing?”
My eyes immediately narrowed. I knew it, this person was just enjoying himself. Usually, he would laugh when I reacted like this, but today he was serious.
“Later, you saved my life.”
“Yes.”
“At first, I thought it was just gratitude.”
“……”
“Then I felt pathetic and angry at my inability to protect you.”
He and I both took a breath at the same time. The Grand Duke looked at me directly and smiled bitterly.
“I became afraid of losing you.”
I wish he would stop because it’s embarrassing to listen to all this, but despite my awkward expression, the Grand Duke continued.
“That’s when I realized. That I had come to adore you.”
“……”
“I don’t know when it began. However.”
He cleared his throat, uncharacteristically. Then he faced me tenderly again.
“Looking back, it was the first time that such absurd situations seemed so pleasant.”
Memories flashed through my mind: the Kalschmitz knights who lost their memory along with their consciousness, our household members who tore through the garden and feigned illness. And his face, not getting angry at those sights.
…It was absurd indeed.
“When you entered, even things that were originally unpleasant became somewhat bearable.”
He gazed at my eyes quietly, then smiled, his eyes forming crescents.
“Sometimes they even became enjoyable.”
He took my hand as I moved my lips and placed a ring on the ring finger of my left hand. It was on the opposite hand from the ring that changed my hair and eye color.
“Your Highness, you’re being sneaky…”
“It’s a defensive artifact.”
“Ah, yes.”
“What were you thinking?”
“…Well.”
I thought it was an engagement ring.
As I fidgeted with my fingers in embarrassment, the Grand Duke smiled with crescent eyes and continued his confession.
“So I will try to win your heart.”
After putting the ring on, he lifted my hand and kissed the back of it.
“Your Highness.”
“To make up for my past mistakes.”
He held my hand and looked up at me, the corners of his eyes curving. It was clearly a smile designed to enchant anyone who saw it.