Chapter : 08
“So what Selena means is that yellow suits Grace better than blue, right? Different skin tones suit different colors.”
Grace, who had looked hurt, glanced at Selena. Selena flinched, then answered haughtily.
“That’s right.”
Why is she so tsundere? To her own sister, of all people. I wish Rochester were a bit tsundere too. He can be cold to me if he wants—just stop clinging so much.
“Grace really does look good in yellow. Yellow isn’t an easy color to pull off. If you’re not careful, it can make your face look sallow. That kind of thing is innate, so I’m honestly jealous.”
“…It seems Reina knows a thing or two. When Grace wears yellow, she looks especially lovely. Sometimes she even looks like a ray of human sunshine— ahem.”
Selena, who had been excitedly bragging about Grace, blushed and abruptly turned her head away. At Selena’s words, Grace’s eyes widened.
“M-Me? Really… me?”
“…Yes. Did you seriously not know that? Honestly.”
Selena snapped at her, but Grace’s eyes were already shimmering with tears. She’s moved by just that? No, really—are they all Fs here? Smiling awkwardly, I stepped in between the overly emotional sisters.
“…Still, Grace’s opinion matters too. Grace, what color do you like?”
“I-I actually like blue, but…”
Selena looked like she was about to say something, so I tightly grabbed her hand. This is not your turn to speak. Got it? While Selena was distracted by the hand I was holding, Grace continued.
“…I’ll go with yellow.”
This time, Selena’s eyes widened. She immediately forgot all about my hand.
“Sis… please choose for me. I honestly don’t really know much about dresses. Maybe because I grew up in the countryside.”
“Ahem! You really are something. Who’s good at this from the start? I didn’t know anything when I was young either.”
A faint smile spread across both Selena’s and Grace’s faces.
You two really are easy.
Seriously… who was it that tore these two apart?
＊ ＊ ＊
It had been a long time since Cesar last saw Reina. More precisely, Reina was inside the dress shop, and Cesar happened to notice her while patrolling with his fellow knights.
Cesar’s gaze naturally drifted toward her. It was completely unconscious.
Since leaving the Highboard estate, Cesar hadn’t met her at all. Their meetings had always happened because Reina forced her way into them, so it made sense. Still, he had seen her face at least every two or three days. Not seeing her now felt strangely off.
At this point, even Cesar had to admit it.
‘So she really meant it.’
Reina no longer loved Cesar. The Reina who had poured all her emotions and time into him was now in the process of finding her own life.
Reina was smiling brightly as she chatted with others. It had been a long time since he’d seen her spending time with girls her own age. In fact, it was the first time since she’d fallen for him.
At that moment, a conversation he’d once heard among senior knights came to mind.
‘Maybe she found another man. Girls that age are all like that. My sister changes the man she likes every week. Until recently, she was into Sir Regfield.’
But Reina wasn’t like that. She had liked only Cesar for a very long time. Whenever he looked back, Reina was always there.
‘Why do you like me so much? Lady Regfield, you could meet someone far better than me.’
‘How could I possibly explain that? It was like gravity pulling me in. First, I began to notice Your Highness’s eyes, then your kindness, and after that… I came to like you yourself. How do you define this feeling in a single word? If I can’t see you, it feels like my heart will be torn into ten thousand pieces and I’ll die. Do you think this terrible feeling is pleasant for me? And yet… Your Highness, I love you.’
She had always whispered her love to him while he shut his ears like a wall. Could someone really change so suddenly?
In truth, it wasn’t something Cesar needed to concern himself with. If anything, it was something he should be happy about. He was free from the shackle called Reina. So there was no reason for him to be looking at her now.
“What is it? What are you staring at?”
At fellow knight Hayman’s question, Cesar replied,
“No. It’s nothing.”
Cesar shook his head as he looked away. But his colleague was much quicker. After checking where Cesar had been looking, the knight spoke.
“Oh, isn’t that Lady Highboard? I heard Lady Regfield and Lady Highboard have been getting close lately. I guess pretty people naturally stick together.”
The knight joked and lightly hit Cesar’s shoulder. Cesar muttered quietly.
“…Pretty people? Is Lady Regfield pretty?”
“What’s with you? Are you saying you had Lady Regfield’s love all to yourself? Then who is pretty, exactly? Why do you think Sir Regfield goes berserk over his sister? If my sister were that pretty, I’d do the same.”
The knight laughed.
Cesar looked back into the dress shop. Reina was staring intently at something. Her slender platinum-blond hair rippled down her back. Beneath her long lashes were clear bluish-violet eyes, and pink lips that harmonized with her small nose.
A face he’d seen to the point of exhaustion.
And yet, he was seeing it anew. He had never once thought of her that way. To Cesar, Reina had simply been Rochester’s sister—an annoying presence.
“…Is she pretty…?”
Cesar murmured.
“What a ridiculously blessed thing to say. Your Highness, let’s get going. We’ll be late at this rate.”
Being pushed along by his colleague, Cesar mulled over Reina again—and the words she had once said.
“Do you think Lady Highboard is pretty too?”
At Cesar’s question, the knight laughed in disbelief.
“If I were you, I’d have already married Lady Highboard. You know how many of us were jealous of you? If Lady Highboard is like a goddess, then Lady Highboard is more like… a fairy.”
Cesar grabbed the knight by the shoulder and growled,
“In your eyes too—she’s pretty?”
“Hey! I said yes! What’s wrong with you?”
Cesar let out a sigh, released his grip, and ran a hand irritably through his hair.
Yeah. Why am I even caring?
＊ ＊ ＊
I picked out Selena’s birthday present together with Rochester. When I first suggested we go out to buy it, he was ridiculously moved.
‘Reina… do you know how long it’s been since you asked me to go out with you? A full 355 days. My greatest wish was to go buy a friend’s present with you.’
Ugh. What a stalker. Rochester was the one who deserved to be called a miserable obsessive—though no one here could ever say that.
Anyway, thanks to shopping with an overjoyed Rochester, we were able to order something quite nice.
Selena’s birthday banquet was being held in the main hall of the Highboard estate. A banquet just for a birthday… I don’t think I’ve ever even blown out birthday candles before.
Rochester said he’d be late because of work, and my parents had gone down to the territory for business. So I arrived alone.
Ugh, I don’t know a single person here. Should I try to strike up a conversation?
Maybe I should look for Grace. Where’s Selena? Since she’s the star of the banquet, she’s probably still getting ready.
I quietly edged toward the wall and stood there.
Reina really had no close friends at all.
In her life, there had only ever been Cesar.
End Of Chapter : 08
