Chapter 54
I was walking down the street with Claude, laughing lightly.
It was then.
“As you said, it really is enjoyable. Do festivals normally try to recruit people?”
Claude asked me.
…Of course not. Naturally, they wouldn’t.
I wanted to say that.
The words even reached the back of my throat.
But I couldn’t speak.
Claude’s blue eyes were sparkling like light scattering brilliantly across the waves.
Bright enough to wash away all my fatigue.
Absolutely radiant.
After so much had happened, my stomach began to growl again.
‘As expected, maple leaf bread alone can’t fill me up.’
Then there was no choice.
I had to go eat something more exquisite!
“Shall we fill our stomachs again?”
It was still too early for dinner, so something light!
I grabbed Claude’s hand.
“Wait…!”
“This way!”
Claude called out in surprise, but I ignored him and pulled him toward the pub run by Fiona—the Green Giant.
Ding-a-ling.
Perhaps because it was a festival, the Green Giant was packed with people the moment we entered.
There were so many people that even if you knew someone’s face, you’d likely get swept away in the crowd.
But not Fiona, the owner of the Green Giant.
“Reina!”
Among all the people, her aura naturally drew attention.
“I’m here!”
I waved toward Fiona.
She handed the food she was carrying to another server and approached me.
“You usually don’t come at this hour because you hate seeing drunk people from the morning… What’s going on…? Oh?”
Fiona’s smiling eyes landed on Claude, standing behind me.
At the same moment, her eyes sparkled for an instant.
‘Ah, she must have recognized him.’
Truly fitting for a famous informant.
She couldn’t have learned anything just by me standing there, yet she seemed to recognize Claude’s identity just from seeing his face.
Still, Fiona wasn’t easy to read either.
As if nothing had happened, she skillfully hid her expression and asked me,
“Who’s that person you’re holding hands with?”
“…My hand?”
Holding hands? What’s she talking about?
I wouldn’t be holding Claude’s hand…
“Ah! I’m sorry!”
No, what is this!
I was holding Claude’s hand!
I had no idea when I started holding it.
And I said it so casually!
‘J-just judging by the fact that my hand is on top, I must have grabbed it first… Could it have been while I was guiding him to the pub earlier…? Wait. Now that I think about it, I feel like I held hands even before that…’
My head was spinning.
I had consciously avoided contact with him ever since the etiquette class.
Yet my subconscious had betrayed me like this!
‘Ugh! And now it feels like we’re in a private indoor space, doesn’t it?’
When we were walking, there were lots of people around and I didn’t think much.
But the pub… maybe because of the partitions separating seats, it felt like a secluded space.
It had a somewhat intimate feeling!
Ah, my vision went dark and my heart pounded so hard it felt like it would leap out of my chest.
I immediately let go of Claude’s hand and bowed my head to apologize.
“I’m sorry. You must have been startled. No, I’m not usually someone who grabs hands like this…”
They say if someone is too surprised, they can’t speak.
For me, too many words came out.
Words that didn’t even pass through my brain properly.
“I’m really sorry. I’m always the one receiving help, yet I grabbed your hand without permission, screamed right in front of you…”
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“No, it’s not. There was no crisis, yet I just grabbed your hand…”
“I really mean it. So calm yourself first.”
“Y-yes? Ah… okay…”
Claude held my shoulders to calm me.
Instantly, my foggy mind cleared.
“I truly mean it, so don’t worry. If holding hands had been uncomfortable, I would have spoken the moment you did it. So there’s no need to be embarrassed.”
He tapped my shoulder a few times.
“And after all, it’s just holding hands. I also put my hand on yours without asking.”
“…I acted foolishly.”
Claude removed his hand from my shoulder, and I bowed my head.
Perhaps because I had lived in a free, democratic country in my past life.
The rigid class system here was still difficult for me.
In my previous life, the people were the rulers. Even presidents or lawmakers could be criticized and removed for wrongdoing.
Here, it was different.
You couldn’t even offer reasonable criticism to someone of high rank, let alone insult them. Removing them from their position was unimaginable.
So approaching Claude was difficult.
Unlike me, a commoner, he was a noble.
I couldn’t know how far he would tolerate me.
‘And then that happened during etiquette class…’
For multiple reasons, I had been avoiding contact with him.
But now he knew I had held his hand first.
I couldn’t help but lose my composure and act foolishly.
“Phew. Are you finally calm?”
I kept my mouth shut and bowed my head.
Fiona’s voice reached me.
I nodded while still bowing.
I had calmed down thanks to Claude, but my face must have turned red from overreacting and feeling embarrassed.
“Good. Then can I guide you to your seats? Someone might take that spot if you wait too long.”
Fiona pointed to the corner of the pub.
“You can sit there.”
Claude walked ahead, and I followed two steps behind, when…
“Reina, wait a moment.”
Fiona grabbed my wrist from behind.
“Why?”
“I was curious why Peter isn’t with you, and why your face is so red.”
She whispered close to my ear.
“Eh? Peter?”
I was confused.
Why was Peter being mentioned? He would know where he was better than I would, so why ask me?
I tilted my head, puzzled.
“Why Peter? Wouldn’t you know better than me?”
“Oh? What… Oh my. I must have been mistaken. Sorry, it’s nothing.”
Fiona looked momentarily flustered, then seemed to realize something.
She shook her head and nudged me toward the seats, leaving me bewildered.
“Reina will have plum juice, of course. And your gentleman?”
“Same as hers.”
“Oh… I thought he’d naturally choose wine. Well, fine.”
Fiona looked surprised at Claude, and so did I.
‘Judging by his face, I thought he’d naturally choose wine. Interesting.’
Thinking about it, Claude never drank in the game either.
Even in scenes like balls or parties, there was never mention of him drinking.
‘I wonder if he can’t drink… but he has such a perfect image.’
What would he look like if he drank?
I was suddenly curious.
‘But why wonder? I’ll probably never see it in my lifetime.’
I shrugged, looked at Claude, and turned to Fiona.
“Ah, could you also recommend something light to eat?”
“Sure. Then I recommend the festival season special, pomegranate pie. The chef worked hard on it, and it tastes great.”
Fiona winked at me while taking my order, then walked to the kitchen.
The pub was noisy, but the corner seat with partitions made it feel suddenly quiet.
With Fiona gone, it felt even more secluded.
I fidgeted with the water glass in front of me and spoke.
“I thought you’d dislike places like this.”
“Bringing me here without asking where I wanted to go?”
“Ugh. Now that I think about it, you’re right.”
I had dragged him here without asking… and held his hand.
