Chapter 10
If someone had offered to sell me a hole in the ground to hide in, I would’ve paid a thousand gold. That’s how embarrassed I was.
Sure, I don’t usually care what people think of me, but this was different. I was in front of my favorite person.
“…I wasn’t singing, really.”
“I understand.”
“I really wasn’t.”
“Yes, Miss Flora.”
Felix answered with a soft smile in his voice, pretending to believe me. That only made it more embarrassing. I should’ve just let it go.
I fiddled with the bouquet of flowers in my hand and tried to calm myself down. It was just a little humming, no need to be this embarrassed, I told myself. Basically brainwashing myself.
Then I looked up.
“Oh, by the way… if you were staying at the hotel, how did you get my letter? I sent it to the duke’s mansion.”
“Ah, my butler brought it to me right away. I meant to tell you that day, but I forgot. I was going to tell you when we met. I thought it might be too much to mention in a letter, so I left it out.”
…Isn’t that the kind of thing people usually mention in letters?
No wonder your reply sounded so formal and to-the-point.
How cute. Felix must’ve been worried about sounding too wordy if he added anything more.
I quickly forgot about being embarrassed and switched to teasing him.
“Hmmm… so if I added a bunch of side comments to my letters, would you not like it? Like telling you what I ate today, or how there’s a popular play and I want to go with you?”
“N-No! I wouldn’t mind that at all.”
Just as I expected, Felix quickly denied it when I pretended to sound a little sad.
Honestly, I kind of knew he’d react this way. I was also hoping he’d start writing more personal letters in return.
I mean, if I have the chance to exchange letters with my favorite person, I want to enjoy it!
“I don’t mind either.”
“…Pardon?”
“We’re not just exchanging reports, right? I’m saying I’d like it if you added extra things too.”
“Ah…”
Felix blinked, then let out a soft sigh.
“I’ll keep that in mind next time.”
He looked very serious as he promised. It made me want to laugh.
He’s so sweet and sincere… seriously.
“You don’t have to, though. If it’s a hassle, don’t feel pressured. I just meant that I’d enjoy it if you did.”
“…It’s not a hassle.”
“Hmm, really?”
“Truly.”
He answered with such sincerity again, I couldn’t help but smile. He watched me quietly, and for some reason, I liked that.
* * *
Hestia Lake wasn’t very far from our hotel since it was inside the capital city.
After riding in the carriage for about ten minutes, the noise of the city faded, and green nature appeared outside the window.
The lake was located inside Hestia Forest, which was called “the small forest in the city.”
Kind of like Central Park, I thought. Though this one was twice the size.
Maybe the author even used that as inspiration.
I looked away from the window and stared at Felix. He looked amazing with his partly styled hair—so good it made me wonder…
“…Is something wrong?”
He caught my gaze and shyly turned away before asking carefully.
Should I ask or not?
After a short pause, I asked seriously, “Did you do your hair yourself today?”
Felix blinked, clearly surprised by the question.
I mean, I’d been wondering since earlier!
“When we met on the stairs earlier, your hair was down…”
“Ah…”
“And now it’s tied up…”
I felt awkward once I finished speaking. Was I being too nosy?
“…I did it myself. Does it look strange?”
He looked a bit nervous as he glanced at the window. He really was wondering if it looked bad.
“N-No! It’s not strange at all! I was just curious…”
As I quickly reassured him, his face relaxed a little.
Sigh… he’s too soft, seriously.
“I haven’t styled it in a while, since I didn’t have time for that in the battlefield.”
Right, there wouldn’t be time for hairdos in war.
After that, we chatted casually until we arrived. The conversation wasn’t deep, but it was really fun.
* * *
The lake was much bigger than I expected for something inside the city.
There were lots of couples like us around, enjoying the warm spring weather.
“There are a lot of people, huh?”
“Yes, indeed.”
The empire was huge, and the capital was in the center, so it had a mild climate all year. Not summer-warm in winter, but better than the freezing north.
It was the perfect day to be out.
“That way,” Felix said, pointing to a smooth ivory building. It looked like where people rented boats.
“Wow… this looks really official.”
“Is this your first time here?”
“Yeah. I’ve never been.”
I had no reason to visit Hestia Forest before—it was known as a romantic spot.
And I didn’t avoid it because I was single! I just had other ways to enjoy nature.
Plus, when I first became Flora, the Diatri family kept me indoors a lot. And the old Flora wasn’t exactly friendly. Apparently, she hated being around commoners and treated her staff badly.
What a spoiled brat.
I thought about how hard it had been to get close to the mansion staff.
Then I overheard a couple nearby.
“Babe, they said the boat rentals are over…”
“Really? Are they all taken?”
“Yeah, they said the remaining ones are already reserved.”
“Aw man… I should’ve checked earlier.”
“It’s okay. We can come back another time.”
They looked disappointed and left.
I turned to Felix with a sad look.
“You heard that, right? They said the rentals are over…”
Now that I’d heard it once, I noticed other couples turning away too. Some spread picnic blankets, while others just left.
“I guess we should’ve come earlier.”
I sounded sad even to myself.
I was upset that our first date—especially the one Felix suggested—might be ruined.
I mean, I’ve never come to Hestia Lake with a guy before!
Sure, I passed by once with Kyle, but that’s family.
“Don’t worry, Miss Flora,” Felix said gently.
It wasn’t a worry, it was disappointment.
Still, his soft voice made me feel better… but only a little.
“Our first date can’t be ruined by one boat,” I mumbled, half-pouting.
Even though I knew Felix would be more disappointed than I was, I still complained.
But then, he chuckled and said, “I made a reservation.”
…Huh?
I blinked. “When?”
This date wasn’t even planned in advance. How did he know?
“Hmm… I actually made the reservation yesterday. I thought, if you wanted to go tomorrow, we could use it then.”
“…So the reservation is for tomorrow?”
“Well… I kind of accidentally reserved it for today too. I couldn’t cancel it, so I just left it. I guess we ended up coming today after all.”
He scratched his cheek and added sweetly, “Guess it worked out.”
“…You should’ve told me. I was so worried our date would be ruined.”
I muttered, feeling a bit embarrassed. Felix started to say something about “your ears” but stopped.
Wait, was he going to say it was too much trouble? No, no way. My favorite person would never say that!
“Ahem, anyway—let’s go get our boat!”
I quickly pushed aside the depressing thought and pulled myself together. Just looking at the calm, beautiful lake lifted my mood.
Felix watched me quietly and smiled like the warm spring breeze. But I missed it… because I had already turned away.
