A harsh voice halted the footsteps of the three people following me.
Among them, one person extended their gloomy gaze to face the Marchioness.
“Sith. You must not disturb your sister.”
Not a single one of them greeted her. They didn’t even acknowledge her existence.
She had struggled just as much as I had and had finally managed to secure a vacation.
I stepped in front of my sister and stood my ground.
“She is not a disturbance. I want to rest with Sith.”
“You don’t have to be so nice. Your brother will surely disturb you.”
After glancing at Sith, the Marchioness continued in a stern voice.
“What are you doing, Sith!”
My older sister flinched and shifted her stance. It was as if her body had moved on instinct.
“She used to be stuck in the corner all day doing nothing! And now she’s doing this sh*t!”
The harsh words our father said before my sister disappeared flashed through my mind.
‘Are you still tied to the trauma from that time?’
“Well then, have a good time!”
The Marchioness took my sister away, leaving no room for any response.
Wendy gently nudged me from behind my dazed form.
This… This isn’t right.
“You don’t seem to be in a good mood.”
Vin looked down at my face and remarked.
……As he sat on my bed.
Why did the Marchioness pressure Wendy to let us ‘rest together’?
Even if we’re engaged, is it okay to put two adults in the same bedroom?
“This scent is really soothing! It suits you so well, miss. Oh, by the way, I planted some forget-me-nots in the garden this time. Have you seen them?”
I resented that Wendy’s chatter, which broke the awkward atmosphere, would only last as long as she arranged flowers in the vase.
I hope you don’t just leave and stay!
“Is it because you don’t like being with me?”
The downward gaze was steady. So, I couldn’t avoid it.
Yeah, that’s why. It’s not that I don’t want to avoid it.
“Well, I’m going out now!”
As if trying to get away quickly, Wendy roughly put the flowers in like throwing them away, and hurried out of the bedroom.
Vin, who had been staring at the door as it closed, slowly turned his head to face me.
Again. His persistent gaze stuck to me.
“Are you going to cry again?”
“……Why would I?”
“Because if I do as I please, you’ll cry.”
“What is it that you want to do?”
Under the slow blinking of his silvery eyelashes and the sweetly whispered voice, an undeniable desire welled up.
“Touch you.”
I feel the same way. I wanted to answer.
“But now is not the time for that.”
A sigh. The hand that had lightly brushed my hair withdrew.
So, I forced myself to the empty side.
“Let’s do what you want to do.”
“What I want to do?”
Touch you? The question lingered in my mouth.
I closed my mouth because I knew there was no turning back if I spoke it aloud.
And in his next words, I realized I had made the right decision.
“You want to get out of here.”
That’s what you meant.
I had been staring at the door for a while, but I had actually forgotten.
I nodded slowly.
“Let’s go out.”
“My mother told me to rest here.”
“Who was the one who told me to overturn?”
Come to think of it, I didn’t have to listen to the Marchioness.
Why had I pretended that I couldn’t defy him and gotten stuck in this room?
“I’m going out.”
I got up quickly. Whether Vin followed or not, I confidently opened the door and walked out without looking behind me.
“…….”
But when I heard no footsteps behind me, I unconsciously looked back.
Vin, who hadn’t gotten out of bed and was sitting with his legs crossed, was grinning at me.
“Are you going to come with me?”
For some reason, I felt a sense of déjà vu. Was it just my imagination?
“……Never mind if you don’t like it.”
I didn’t realize it was just my imagination until I spit it out.
Just before I ran away, we had a conversation about going to the fireworks.
“…I don’t mind.”
“Then hurry up and go out.”
A smile formed along Vin’s lips.
When I took a playful step forward, Vin jumped to his feet and then led me with his hand on my shoulder.
“Let’s go out.”
It seemed like a very natural gesture, but I couldn’t help but notice his ears turning red.
“Let’s go.”
As if trying to hide his embarrassment, Vin urged me on, his hand resting on my hair for no apparent reason.
He couldn’t meet my gaze as he hid the intensity I had seen in his eyes just moments before.
Suddenly, I felt like playing a prank.
Alright.”
I stubbornly chased his avoiding gaze and answered with a teasing smile.
In that moment, his hand, which had been gently stroking my hair, suddenly froze.
Now, it wasn’t just his ears that were red.
His cheeks, no, his entire being, radiated heat.
And even his breath.
Vin followed me wordlessly, not knowing where I was going.
After searching in many places, he and I finally stopped at the Marquis’s office.
I heard the Marquis, the Marchioness’, and my sister’s voice.
“How pathetic! Why do you think I called you in the middle of all this business?”
“……What did I do wrong?”
“Don’t you know, you’re so shameless, coming in here to steal your sister’s fiancé!”
I can’t take this anymore.
She was just trying to protect me, and you’re making such ridiculous assumptions about that.
Even if you’re mistaking her for a homosexual…
I yanked the door open.
“Everyone…….”
I don’t know if I’m going to get dragged to Dr. Saint’s Hospital for helping ‘Sith Heather’ or not.
How can I pretend not to know when my sister is going through such embarrassment?
I’ve had enough.
“How presumptuous of you.”
At my words, the Marquis and Marchioness, as well as Vin and my sister, stiffened, their mouths agape.
I didn’t let up.
“Have I ever asked you to leave alone with Vin? No. So why are you locking me up under the guise of being supportive, and imprisoning a Sith who only wanted to be with me?”
“Irillin. There’s no way Sith would want to be with you…….”
“It’s a stereotype.”
“…….”
“Why can’t you realize that even if we were enemies when we were younger, we would have gotten along during our time in the Knights together, why do you only see us back then, why!”
“Irillin. I’m sorry, yes. You’re right. We did judge you too quickly.”
“Apologize to Sith, too. What do you mean he tried to take Vin away?”
“But Sith and men…….”
The Marquis was conscious of Vin and trailed off
Are you under any illusions that just because she likes men, she’ll like anyone?
How stupid this is.
The truth is, whether you’re straight or not, you’re a person, and you love the same way everyone else does.
“Brother, Do you want to steal me away from Irillin?”
Vin asked, stepping in front of her and grabbing her by the shoulders. She rolled her eyes and gave a short answer.
“Yes.”
“……What?”
“Technically, I want to take Irillin away from you, because it’s a waste for Irillin to have(?) you. You know, she likes men who are stronger than her, right?”
Vin wrinkled his face for a while like at my sister, then sighed, raised his eyebrows and looked back at the Marquis and his wife.
“Did you hear that? He doesn’t like me.”
“Now you know, you’ve misunderstood and accused Sith with your flimsy delusions.”
At my words, the Marquis lowered his head, his expression sinking.
Soon he raised his head again and said.
“……Yes. I’ll admit it. I’ll even apologize. But don’t forget, Sith. The moment this misunderstanding becomes the truth, I will not stand still, no matter how many times Irene circles around you.”
Are these people really out of their minds!
“So-“
I swept my bangs roughly in anger and frustration that threatened to explode.
With an irritated sigh, I said it out again.
“You’re being presumptuous.”
There was silence, just like the first time I said it.
Why do you keep making me say the same thing?
One minute I’m telling him what’s wrong, the next minute he’s saying something that doesn’t even make sense.
He’s just like my dad, damn it!
“Whether or not Sith is really trying to steal my fiancé, that’s between me and Sith, and it never happened in the first place.”
“…….”
“Right, Sith?”
If I’m the only one making a scene like this, chances are the Marquis and Marchioness won’t believe you.
So be brave and fight back. Tell him he’s wrong even with your own mouth.
That’s what my call meant.
“..I “
After a seemingly endless silence, she finally spoke.
Her trembling hands showed me how traumatized she was.
I held her hand tightly.
The trembling stopped.
In a relatively calm tone, she continued.
“There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s only natural for people to love people.”
The chirp-chirp-chirp of grasshoppers echoed through the air.
I don’t know if it was the sound or the scent of forget-me-nots that filled the garden, but my mood sank endlessly.
Vin, my sister, and I were stuck in the silence of the garden for a while.
“Why won’t you say a word? Won’t you ask?”
My sister asked, her eyes red and swollen.
The sobbing that had begun as soon as she’d gotten away from the Marquis and Marchioness had finally stopped.
“Why, I know that it’s not easy.”
“Don’t you find me frustrating?”
“Not really. You should be frustrated with your mother and father, not with an innocent person.”
The Marquis and Marchioness didn’t immediately accept her even though she was speaking for herself.
Anyone could see that it was their fault, so they just mumbled a half-hearted apology.
T/n: The panic I felt in this chapter, the mtl made it look like Baek Mi-na was in love with Vin. The way I would’ve dropped this book with the speed of light. ヽ༼ ಠ益ಠ ༽ﾉ
