Avalon's Dungeon

Fransisca is very upset when she heard this.

「Eh— T-Tonight...?」

「Yes, it is.」

Alexis said and walked away.

It was late in the evening, in the hallway, when Alexis asked her to come to his room on the night. But today was already an intense play.

Judging from the time of the day and the place, Fransisca guessed that it was probably a 'doing' that, but as expected, even she was sometimes tempted to refuse the invitation.

（Besides, I would like to see Fatima...）

She thinks so, but the fact is that she can't see Fatima.

The medical staff brought from Krangal must refuse her entry to the doctor office because Fatima's resistance is weakened during the treatment and it would be dangerous for her to catch any kind of infectious disease.

So, Fransisca instead asked how she was doing, even if she couldn't see her face.

（Well... Alexis-sama, you'll forgive me if I'm a little late, right...?）

Fransisca decided to follow Alexis's order, even though it would be a little late.

* * *

At night, after taking a late bath, Fransisca visited Alexis' room wearing only a light one-piece dress and a light gown, since there was nothing to dress for.

At this time of the day, Alexis had also taken a bath and was sitting on the bed in a tunic and pants.

He gave Fransisca a quick kiss and said, "You're late".

When Fransisca turned to go towards him, Alexis pointed towards a chair in the room and asked her to sit there.

Fransisca was a little surprised at the unusual movement, but she nodded and sat down there.

「Why don't you stay the night for the first time in a while?」

Alexis suddenly said this to Fransisca, which caused her to panic.

「Eh... But... That's a bit...」

Fransisca's cheeks flushed vermilion and she shook her head.

「Do you dislike sharing a bed with me so much?」

Alexis asks, and Fransisca shakes her head again.

「Well, it's not that... but we are an unmarried man and woman.」

Seeing Fransisca's refusal, Alexis thinks that she is serious.

「So, are you going to marry me?」

Alexis asks, and Fransisca's cheeks become reddish.

「T-That's... It's not that...」

Fransisca's eyes drifted and she denied it in an uncertain tone.

「But you've said something like that many times, haven't you?」

When Alexis asked for confirmation, Fransisca blushed more and more.

「Well... That's... Uhhh... I mean... It was a bit of momentum or something...」

Alexis is very poking and prodding today, and it makes Fransisca feel very awkward and awkward.

Normally he would talk about naughty things and behave in a sexual way, but he would not seriously explore the relationship like this. This makes Fransisca feel tremendously uneasy.

「Okay. Let's change the question.」

Alexis prefaces his question with a question to Fransisca.

「Do you like me?」

「Hwehh—」

Fransisca's body jerked up.

Then she turned her head down, even her ears were red, and nodded her head slightly.

「Yes... Yes... I... like... you.」

Her voice sounded as if it was about to fade away, but she managed to answer.

Even though she had already told him her true feelings many times, she felt embarrassed when he asked her again at such a calm time.

However, Fransisca somehow managed to answer because of the expectation that they would start a conversation about love.

But Alexis' answer to that question was.

「Does that mean you like me as a man?」

The question was too much—too much plain.

Fransisca finally lost her patience and lifted her face.

「A-Alexis-sama is funny... The current Alexis-sama is... S-Somehow, strange...」

She let out in a trembling voice, and then her amethyst eyes stared at Alexis with tears in them.

Alexis, however, does not even show any sign of being moved by this, and replies, "Well, I'm fine".

「I just want you to give me the facts right now. S-So... Do you want to marry me or not? Do you like me as a man? That's what I want to know.」

「...—!」

Fransisca wanted to think that he was joking, but seeing Alexis' serious expression on his face, she was at a loss for words.

Still barely able to suppress her rising emotions, she asks, her voice trembling.

「...What do you want to say?」

「Ah, yes. That's right. I guess I should get to the point first.」

Alexis prefaced his speech as if coming back to himself and then said, "You, marry me as a daughter-in-law, and join the Sagrado royal family," he told her straight out. But, Fransisca's reply is.

「—...My answer is 'no'. I refuse. I absolutely refuse! That's impossible, Alexis-sama!」

After her surprisingly firm refusal, perhaps what aggravated her mood, she suddenly turns sharp and asks, "Is this all you want?" She asked.

「Hmm? ...Ah, yeah...」

Alexis was taken aback by Fransisca's unusual vigor and nodded his head in dumbfounded amazement. Fransisca stood up from the chair she was sitting in, "If so," she said.

「Excuse me, Alexis-sama.」

Fransisca left the room so easily that he was taken aback. Moreover, she was angry. She was unusually furious.

（What, what's going on? What happened...?）

Alexis could do nothing but stare at her, feeling that he had just witnessed something too unexpected.

Soon, however, he sits up on the bed and ponders.

「...No, wait a minute. What's wrong with me? Was it the way I said it? What the hell was wrong with me...?」

He was thinking as hard as he could.

The affection Fransisca had always shown Alexis. It was hard to believe that it was a lie or an assumption. In the first place, he believes that he has confirmed her feelings many times. Therefore, he thought that Fransisca would be willing to nod her head this time, too.

In fact, she even said that she wanted to be a member of the royal family. So, he had expected that she would be delighted if he mentioned marriage to her.

Besides, she was always very obedient, wasn't she? Wasn't she supposed to nod her head to whatever he said?

（I-I don't know... I don't understand women's mind...）

Alexis held his head with his hands.

It was really necessary for the Avalon case to move forward.

（Damn... I'll have to start all over again. This development is so annoying...）

While he was thinking so, he suddenly realized that he was more depressed than he thought.

「Oh... so does that mean I've been dumped...」

He blurted out in a muffled voice.

No, being dumped by a girl is not an uncommon occurrence for Alexis.

But it's more than he expected, Alexis thinks, and sighs deeply.