Yes, You're Romantic

Chapter 106

A woman approached the table under the staff member's polite guidance.

Rrrk.

The moment I stood up from my seat to face her, I unconsciously drew in a faint breath.

Honestly, it's a little infuriating to admit, but...

'Beautiful.'

I really felt, in no uncertain terms, that she was gorgeous.

She had Lucius's slick, obnoxious facial features stamped on her perfectly, so how could the atmosphere be so strikingly different?

No, scientifically speaking, there should be a difference in testosterone and estrogen between men and women, so why do they look like a straight gene copy-paste?

And then, with those same features, once you let the hair grow long and soften the lines.

'She feels like a fragile version of Lucius, as if she'd break at any moment.'

That eerie, forlorn air that existed in Sophia but not in Lucius hooked my gaze.

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

She stood before me and carefully offered her greeting.

Even her voice was as light as a feather.

I gave a slight bow in return, then immediately moved to the side of the table and smoothly pulled out the chair for her.

Rrrk.

"Cassian del Farne of the Farne family. Please, have a seat."

"Ah... thank you. I'm Sophia von Rohanna."

Sophia quietly thanked me and settled delicately into her seat.

I returned to the opposite seat and sat down as well, and at just the right moment, the waiter who had been waiting came over and held out a fairly thick menu to us.

Swish.

"If you have any allergies or ingredients you need to avoid, please let me know in advance. I will inform the kitchen immediately."

The waiter spoke formally and stepped back a pace.

I casually unfolded my own menu and spoke to her across from me.

"Take your time looking it over."

"Thank you. Then... I'll read it over first."

With a slightly tense smile, Sophia lifted the heavy leather-covered menu with both hands.

I pretended to study the menu, and beyond it, carefully took in her face.

Bright spring sunlight poured through the large window.

When that warm sunlight broke over Sophia's white cheeks, to say her face was even a little...

would be too shameless. She shone quite dazzlingly.

'So this is what sickly beauty means?'

Pale skin, a slender neck, and clear blue eyes that strongly provoked the protective instinct.

It was such a precarious aesthetic, like she'd end up in the hospital for twelve weeks if you so much as tripped her by accident.

"...Mm."

Even if it's only a thought in my head.

I still feel guilty.

I muttered 'I'm sorry' inwardly while looking at the woman in front of me.

Anyway.

I instantly understood why Lucius kept shouting, 'My little sister's looks are number one in the world!!' and acting like some kind of doting dad.

I got it right away.

If she were this pretty and yet looked so fragile, even if she were my older sister or little sister...

Hmm.

I can't picture it.

Our older sister and little sister were both too sturdy.

But.

"...?"

Tremble-.

Sophia's arms, as she read through the menu line by line, were caught in my sight trembling pitifully like tree branches in a gale.

I raised my eyebrow slightly.

'What is it? Is she for real?'

Of course, the menu here did have a rather heavy leather cover that made it look expensive.

Still, there was absolutely no way it was insanely heavy enough that a grown woman couldn't even lift it.

'She's shaking because of that? Really?'

Just how weak do you have to be for your arm muscles to tremble from lifting one leather board?

I was getting so anxious I felt like her wrist might snap.

If this kept up, she'd run out of stamina just reading the menu and end up unable to swallow even a single spoonful of food.

If I'm unlucky, I might have come all the way out here to pay for dinner and end up footing medical bills too.

Then whose fault would that be?

Lucius, who spoiled his little sister so much he never even had her exercise?

The unknown creator who turned the menu into something like a pseudo-encyclopedia?

Or the past me who set up this table?

Ah, pointless.

I lowered the menu in my hand and spoke to Sophia in a low voice.

"Young Lady Rohanna."

"Ah... yes? Please go ahead, Young Master Farne."

"I happen to know a few dishes here that are pretty good."

When I asked while meeting her eyes with a gentle voice, her clear blue eyes looked back at me over the menu.

"If you don't have any particular allergies, I was thinking I might recommend today's meal myself. How does that sound?"

It was a suggestion I tossed out lightly to relieve the physically heavy load Sophia was holding.

Whether she had sensed my intention, or the menu had truly reached its limit.

Sophia let out a deep breath without a sound and gently set the heavy menu down on the table.

Even as her arms trembled at that moment, I just smiled as if I hadn't noticed.

Her red lips curved to mirror mine.

Sophia folded both hands neatly beneath the table and answered softly.

"I don't have any allergies, so may I ask you to recommend something, Young Master?"

"Of course."

I gave a light nod and shifted my gaze to the waiting waiter.

There was no need to worry about the menu selection in the first place.

Because our big brother Harun had already written down all the restaurant's signature dishes and a custom course for people with weak stomachs in yesterday's letter, and I had them perfectly memorized.

"We'll have the C course, with warm white asparagus soup as the choice. And for the main..."

I stole a sidelong glance at Sophia's slender frame and chose only dishes that would be as gentle on her as possible.

"Please make the sea bass steak, gently pan-seared in butter. Keep the sauce light, and ah, for the bread before the meal, please prepare soft brioche rather than anything hard."

"Yes, understood. How would you like the tea prepared?"

"Please serve warm chamomile tea in advance, before the meal."

The waiter quickly noted down my order, bowed politely, and moved off toward the kitchen.

Warm sunlight and a pleasant silence settled over the table once more.

......

I casually spread the napkin over my lap and looked at Sophia across from me.

She was looking quietly at me with round eyes.

"What's the matter?"

At my question, Sophia gently narrowed her eyes and let out a very soft laugh.

"No, it's just... I found it a little curious."

"Curious?"

"According to Lucius, I heard that Young Master Farne prefers freedom over rules and rigid formality."

"Ah. So that Lucius bastard really did badmouth me properly."

Literally, that just means I'm a free spirit, doesn't it?

When I let out a dry chuckle, Sophia hurriedly waved both hands.

"Ah! That's not it! It wasn't badmouthing you at all. He praised you a lot, saying you're truly impressive."

"He praised me?"

"Yes. He said that while you may look blunt on the outside, you care more deeply about the people around you than anyone else, and you're very responsible."

I could see the forlorn atmosphere that had subtly hung around her when we first met melt away.

Clink.

Soon after, the staff member placed the steaming chamomile tea on the table.

A pleasant chrysanthemum scent drifted to the tip of my nose.

I lightly grasped the teacup handle and said to Sophia.

"Please have some tea first until the meal arrives. Even though the weather is nice, the riverside wind is still cold, so this is the best thing for warming you up inside."

"Thank you for your consideration, Young Master Farne."

Sophia carefully wrapped both hands around the teacup and savored the fragrance.

*

Swish.

Holding the teacup with both hands, Sophia took a small sip of the warm chamomile tea.

Then she turned her gaze and quietly began looking out at the sparkling riverside scenery beyond the large window.

I was about to drink my chamomile tea, but I caught myself staring at her absentmindedly and clicked my tongue inwardly.

"Wow."

Even her side profile was a work of art.

Even knowing she shared Lucius's obnoxious features perfectly, there was a living elegance to her that made it impossible to look away.

Every time I kept complimenting her face inwardly, it weirdly felt like I was praising Lucius himself, which was irritating.

'The alpha and omega of squinty-eyed characters really is the jawline, huh.'

Lucius also had that squinty-eyed gimmick, always narrowing his eyes and grinning.

Sophia, his twin sister, also had beautiful, graceful eyes.

More than anything, that delicate jawline dropping sharply beneath her ears was no joke at all.

Clink.

Just then, Sophia carefully set the teacup onto the saucer and met my eyes.

"Um, Young Master Farne. I have something I'd like to ask."

"Yes. Please ask away."

"Could it be..."

Sophia asked, a faint smile on her lips.

"Was there a particular reason you deliberately moved from the reserved fourth floor to the second floor?"

"There was a reason, yes."

I raised my eyebrow slightly.

"How did you know that?"

At my calm question, Sophia nodded with a bright smile.

"Yes. I heard that when you were being guided from the first-floor lobby to the fourth floor, you corrected the seating arrangement."

Hmm.

So that's how it was.

Honestly, it's a little awkward to say that outright.

The fourth-floor VVIP seats were surely like first class among first class if you think of airplanes, and a private space on the level of a three-star high-end omakase if you think of restaurants.

The air there would be so heavy you could barely breathe.

'There had better be a 200 percent butter concentration in the air.'

How disgustingly slick would the people showing off up there be acting?

And if I wanted to be as slick as them, how much butter would I have to smear on my mouth?

The kind of suffocating atmosphere where violin melodies play every time someone cuts into a piece of meat, and exaggerated praise flies around with the clink of wine glasses.

To be honest, I simply didn't have the confidence to force out a greasy smile in that butter-slick atmosphere.

At the very least, this second-floor hall wasn't some dreadful stage where rich idiots fought a battle over who had the better manners and refinement, so it was much better.

Still, on a first meeting, bluntly saying, "I changed it because greasy food disgusts me," isn't exactly proper table manners.

Nor could I use the first thing that came to mind either: "From the looks of you, you'd probably collapse from exhaustion on the way up to the fourth floor."

Not only was that an utterly rude provocation, but I'd only just learned after meeting her that she was a frail sickly-beauty girl who'd be out for twelve weeks if you tripped her.

I chose a plausible detour.

"It's not for any especially great reason."

"......"

"I just thought the second floor here lets you feel the scent of the river and the trees outside more clearly than the fourth floor does."

I gestured toward the beautiful southern riverside scenery spread out beyond the window.

"That's why I chose it."

At my answer, Sophia's blue eyes widened slightly.

Before long, a light smile spread softly across her face like spring flowers blooming.

"......How romantic."

"Romantic?"

"Yes. You're romantic."

Romantic, huh.

I snickered inwardly and waved my hand lightly.

"It's less that I'm romantic. Besides, after coming all the way out here, wouldn't it be a waste to be trapped inside walls, staring at each other's faces and talking about trivial things when that beautiful view outside is right there?"

"Is that so?"

"Yes, that's right."

The moment I nodded.

'Oh.'

Come to think of it, maybe what I just said wasn't all that different from romance after all.

Even so, Sophia didn't openly deny my words. She only nodded, a pleasant smile still resting at the corners of her lips.

Her face looked somehow more relaxed.

Clink, swish.

As we were exchanging such light conversation.

Right on cue, a dedicated staff member in a tuxedo approached and respectfully began setting the first dish at the center of the table.

"The warm white asparagus soup, your appetizer."

A pale soup served in a smooth white porcelain bowl.

A single pretty drop of truffle oil had been drizzled on top, filling the table with a luxurious, savory aroma that whetted the appetite.

"And here is the soft brioche bread to go with it. Please enjoy."

After the staff member left.

"Please enjoy your meal."

"Yes."

The two of us leisurely began our meal.