I didn’t know whether Rastan and that woman were lovers at this point, or whether he was still in a one-sided crush.
But either way, it was something that could become a problem.
‘If they are currently lovers, or even just in the flirting stage, then entering into an engagement like this with me would practically be cheating.’
Even if the woman didn’t know and it was only Rastan harboring those feelings on his own, it was still an issue.
If later on Rastan wanted to pursue things properly with her, our engagement could become an obstacle.
‘Her family might even reject Rastan after seeing a history of a broken engagement.’
After all, it really did seem like this was something Rastan himself needed to think over carefully before the engagement.
I asked cautiously.
“Then should this engagement not be something you think over more carefully?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It could become something you regret later with the person you like.”
I explained it kindly, but Rastan looked even more confused.
“I am sorry, but could you explain a bit more? I feel like I am not quite understanding.”
“Um… the woman you like. That person…”
As I was continuing carefully, Rastan lightly raised one hand and stopped me.
“Wait.”
“Who are you saying I like?”
“Uh, well, I would not know that…? But you spoke with the nuance that there was someone you liked.”
“That was… haa.”
Rastan let out a long sigh, almost like a groan, and ran a hand through his hair.
“I will state this clearly. Other than you, there is no lady with whom I have had a proper marriage discussion, nor any lady with whom I have a personal relationship. You are the person with whom I have the most private relationship, regardless of gender.”
My mouth fell slightly open without me realizing it.
‘It sounds like he’s saying the woman he likes is me…?’
But the first time he said he had someone he liked was only the second day we met in this life.
As doubt crept in, the excitement that had begun to rise immediately cooled.
“Unless it was love at first sight, it does not make sense. Besides, you are not someone who falls in love so lightly…”
Rastan seemed momentarily at a loss for words, as if choosing what to say, then asked back.
“…How are you so certain that I am not that type?”
This time, I was the one left speechless.
After all, I couldn’t say that I knew because I had watched him by my side as a friend for over two years in my previous life.
“Well… it is just that you seem that way.”
It couldn’t have been a more awkward answer.
Lowering my head in self-reproach, I felt Rastan gently take hold of my chin and guide me to look at him.
“Why do you think the one I like is not you? You are someone so lovely, so captivating that it makes me want to support everything you want to do.”
His blue eyes, so deep it felt like I could be pulled into them, met mine earnestly. There wasn’t the slightest hint of playfulness in that gaze.
Dizzy at what felt like a sudden confession that wasn’t quite a confession, I tried to think calmly.
‘Still, what if, on the off chance, I’m misunderstanding?’
I wanted to be absolutely certain, without any room for misinterpretation, of what his words meant.
“Then, really, back then already… the woman you said you had feelings for was, that is…”
Rastan gave a small nod and spoke softly.
“It has never been anyone other than you.”
“…!”
He looked down at my confused face and continued in a solemn tone.
Even in a moment like this, his eyes carried a depth that made it hard to look away.
“I did not say it outright because I did not want to burden you. I did try, in my own way, hoping you would notice my feelings…”
If that was the case….
“Does that mean all those looks and actions I thought were ‘maybe’ or ‘confusing’ were actually meant to let me know how he felt?”
Several strange memories surfaced all at once.
‘The way he looked at me back then, asking me to hold his hand, deliberately coming to my room again and again.’
It felt dizzying, like small fireworks going off one after another inside my head.
Seeing my dazed expression, Rastan’s gaze softened slightly.
“Evelyn. You do not need to give an answer right now. Especially if that answer is a rejection.”
“Ah, well…”
“I was not trying to confess right now. I only answered honestly because you asked.”
That was true.
If he had planned to confess at a specific time, being made to say his feelings like this might have flustered him as well.
“I would not dare ask for your heart too. Just being able to see you like this every day is already more happiness than I deserve.”
Rastan gently took my hand and met my eyes. The earnest emotion in his gaze came through so clearly that my chest ached.
“Even if it is only because of a contract, I want to stay with you like this every day.”
The conversation returned once more to our engagement.
I felt relieved knowing that I didn’t have to answer his confession immediately.
‘If Rastan doesn’t have another woman he likes…’
Then there truly was nothing left to hesitate over regarding this engagement. I had kept avoiding giving an answer, but now there was no longer any need to evade or postpone it.
‘I clearly confirmed that Rosie doesn’t exist in this world.’
Earlier, I had brushed it off by saying “I don’t know, I’ll think about it,” but in truth, while I had been lying in bed for those few days, I had also sorted my thoughts about the engagement.
Rastan seemed to be gauging my mood, then asked in a serious voice while holding my hand.
“Evelyn. Will you enter into a contract engagement with me?”
It was the most direct and proper request for engagement he had made so far.
‘Then I should give him a proper answer in return.’
I met Rastan’s gaze.
Those beautiful eyes that made me sigh in admiration every time I saw them were, in this moment, filled with only me.
Looking into those eyes, I was once again able to be certain of the answer I wanted to give.
Keeping my eyes fixed on his, I replied in a clear voice.
“…I will.”
At that, Rastan’s eyes widened.
Because I had always avoided answering before, it seemed he hadn’t expected me to agree so readily.
‘I think this is the first time I’ve seen him look this shocked in this life.’
He looked almost as surprised as he had the moment I died in my previous life.
“What is it, mmph….”
Just as I awkwardly tried to say something out of embarrassment, Rastan immediately covered my lips.
The contact was rushed, but this time, it was a gentle, delicate kiss, like one shared between loving partners.
Taking advantage of the moment when our joined lips parted slightly, I quickly spoke.
“Why are you stopping me from talking?”
He lifted the corner of his lips as if he had expected that reaction and answered readily.
“I deliberately covered your mouth right away. I was worried you might say it and then change your mind and cancel it.”
“Who covers someone’s mouth with their mouth?”
I protested weakly in disbelief, but Rastan didn’t seem to care. He simply met my eyes straight on, filling his with nothing but me.
Just as one of his hands seemed to wrap around the back of my head—
“It was a verbal promise, but you cannot back out now.”
Holding my head, he leaned in and kissed me again.
Even as my vision gradually grew hazy, one thought struck me as odd.
‘A ‘verbal promise’ means doing it with a kiss, not words?’
After a long while, when he finally pulled his lips away, Rastan suddenly smiled with a playful look.
“When I asked earlier, I was worried you might back out of the engagement. I was planning to insist you take responsibility since you jumped on my lips.”
This man’s choice of words had been strange for a while now.
“Jumped on you? Take responsibility?!”
Outraged, I immediately protested.
“Kissing was because of your dreams. You asked me to help.”
“For the first one, that was part of it.”
Which meant the second one wasn’t just for that reason.
Seeing the way he looked at me intently as he said it, I felt like I would only get more tangled up if I stayed like this, so I quickly stood up.
“W-we need to see how your dreams are now. Let us sleep.”
And with that, I immediately turned away from Rastan and, making a bit of a fuss, went to my bed and lay down.
After all, I had shown him what I looked like lying in bed for days while I was ill, so lying down in front of him now didn’t feel particularly embarrassing anymore.
Thinking it was time for him to sleep as well, I lay there and glanced toward the door, assuming he would return the way he came.
However, he was walking toward the bed instead.
