Chapter 18
(Lately, Julius-san has been standing really close to me...)
Julius-san glanced through the mail the butler handed him, gave an instruction, and returned it.
Then he sat back down in the chair beside me as if nothing had happened.
"Was that a letter? There sure were a lot of them..."
"Yeah. Invitations to dinner parties, exhibitions, things like that. I'll turn them all down."
"Wait, is it really okay to turn down that many?"
"There's no need to go out of my way to attend events where their ulterior motives are so obvious."
Ulterior motives? Maybe they wanted to get closer to Julius-san.
When I tilted my head slightly, Julius-san chuckled.
"They say, 'I'd like to introduce my daughter to you that day.'
Now that the ban on choosing a fiancée has been lifted thanks to the Saint-sama, after all."
"A fiancée...!!"
That's right. Now that the role of a collaborator had been reevaluated, there was nothing strange about Julius-san marrying someone.
He was the heir to a ducal house, a kind and handsome man... Of course he'd be flooded with invitations!
"I wish they'd just leave me alone like before."
Since he was turning them down, I figured he had no intention of getting engaged for now.
For some reason, I felt a little relieved.
"Being popular must be hard..."
It was probably a problem I would never have to deal with in my entire life.
"...Will you help me, Riko?"
"Huh?"
I raised my face from my tea, blinked, and looked toward Julius-san, wondering if there was anything I could do.
"...If you got engaged to me, Riko, I think invitations like those would stop coming."
He lifted my chin, and his honey-colored eyes, soft with affection, met mine. I felt my face grow hot.
"W-what... are you... saying? You're joking..."
After managing to say that much, my face bright red, Julius-san gave a soft laugh, picked up a small macaron from the table, and pressed it to my lips.
"You can take me seriously, you know."
The macaron in my mouth was sweet, and so was Julius-san's gaze...!!!
(He really is getting closer and closer to meee...!!)
◇
The daily tea time with Julius-san had started out of nowhere the day after that accidental wine-drinking incident.
Today's tea time was over, and I wandered out into the garden with my maid, Agnes-san.
(He doesn't sit me on his lap, at least, but every day he has me open my mouth and feeds me as if it's the most natural thing in the world...!)
The day Julius-san wiped jam from the corner of my mouth with his finger and licked it, my mind froze up until nighttime.
(Even if I'm just his pet, I'm a young woman...! Even if Julius-san doesn't mean anything by it, at this rate I'll die of embarrassment...!!)
With the gardener's permission, I vented my feelings by yanking up weeds one by one.
Agnes-san watched me, looking puzzled as she asked, "Is that fun?" But the weeds could be sacrificed for the sake of my peace of mind.
(...With that many invitations coming in, he'll have a fiancée in no time.
Once he has a fiancée, this closeness will come to an end, right...?)
I was technically under the country's care, so I didn't think they'd kick me out, but his fiancée probably wouldn't be happy about it.
(Maybe she'd even bully me...
But I'm just a pet!! I'm not someone worth being jealous of!!)
I even pulled out a flower that must have been planted there. I thought I heard the gardener cry, "Oh!" from a distance, but it didn't register.
(—A pet...? Someone not worth being jealous of?)
"...Could it really...?"
The warm hand that gently stroked me, the strong arms that held me securely, and those sweet, melting honey-colored eyes...
—Just remember, there's an unmarried nobleman with the holy attribute right in front of you, too.
"U-uuugh..."
I don't know. I don't know.
How serious Julius-san was, or what these feelings of mine even were...
I was moaning softly, apparently unaware that I'd gathered the flower I'd plucked against my chest. Agnes-san's voice—"Did you take a liking to that flower?"—snapped me back to my senses.
"That's yellow cosmos. It blooms from summer through autumn. If you like it, I can cut some for you, so, um, please don't pluck them so roughly..."
The gardener explained what the flower was, then muttered something, but I couldn't quite make it out.
"Cosmos... I didn't know they came in colors like this."
A color like yellow mixed with orange, just like someone's eyes... As I gazed at it, Agnes-san added:
"I've heard of yellow cosmos. I believe the language of flowers is 'wild beauty,' 'natural beauty,' and... 'young love.'"
Agnes-san's calm voice saying so seemed to pass right through me.
"Young... love..."
Those words echoed deep in my heart, and something clicked into place.
As I realized the truth, I felt warmth gradually spread across my face.
"W-wait, what...? Wha... w-wha... Aaaaaaah!"
"Lady Riko? Your face is bright red... You may have heatstroke! We need to get you indoors, quickly!"
"N-no, no... That's not it! Aaaaaah, why am I...?!!"
Confusion flooded me as I became aware of my feelings.
In front of the two of them, who were peering at me with concern, I flapped my hands and fidgeted, unable to hide my agitation.
Perhaps my panic had been so intense that, despite the cool weather of early autumn, I was forcibly sent to bed on suspicion of heatstroke.
(—He's the future duke, and I'm just a mob character...! I have no business falling in love with him... I'm so out of my league...!!)
I gazed at the yellow cosmos decorating my bedside table and kicked my legs beneath the covers.
—A visitor arrived like a storm three days later.