He Likes Me a Lot More Than I Thought!

“Are you crazy……?”

At the question, Shuel shook his head with his eyes shut, which trembled in disbelief.

“I’m perfectly sane.”

“If you didn’t go crazy……! What the hell is this sudden proposal?”

“But, Rwen said that if I still like you when I become an adult, you’ll marry me.”

Shuel said with a bright smile. At those words, a childish voice crossed my mind.

“Then, let’s get married when we grow up!”

“Okay. If you still like me then, I will marry you.”

“Yes!”

Be careful what you say in front of children, the old saying was right.

“No, you’re twenty years old now. Who keeps remembering the promise they made when they were seven!”

“I do……”

“That’s not what I meant!”

After feeling I was short of breath, I exhaled loudly. I didn’t know what on earth this was about.

“In the first place, what is this? I’m not even dating you, yet you proposed to me.”

I tried to persuade Shuel while organising my chaotic mind. But instead, Shuel’s eyes lit up at those words.

“Then, if I asked you out, would you accept it?”

Would I accept it?

Without realising, I looked down at Shuel with cold eyes.

He looked at me stiffly, but his cherry-coloured eyes trembled relentlessly.

When I gazed into those eyes, I could sense that Shuel was quite nervous.

He seemed to attempt to make it a joke, but he was trembling as if his heart had been shot.

It made my heart ache for some reason, and I felt strange that he liked me so much.

A seven years-long crush. It was unripe and new, so I thought it would disappear soon.

But now I’m receiving a proposal from a grown-up Shuel.

When I turned my focus away from my complicated mind, I saw a bouquet of flowers on the floor. It was the bouquet that Derick had given him.

When Derick, who had fled away eagerly, came to mind, my chaotic mind calmed down.

Marie. Rieta.

The Sebrirua Duchy.

Shuel, who was proposing to me, is the heir to the Duke of Sebrirua.

“I can’t.”

The answer came out before I could think further.

But even if I weighed the possibilities on a scale, the answer would still be the same.

The atmosphere, which had been gentle in its own way, subsided as if cold water had been poured on it. I continued to stammer.

“I’m really……sorry. Even if I was young, I shouldn’t have said such things carelessly. But……”

The people of the duke family who had been smiling at me crossed my vision. I didn’t want to see those smiles suddenly change.

Shortly after I left the house, the Viscount of Broschte perished. The entire family was nearly beheaded from getting caught up in a huge case such as treason.

All their assets were completely stolen, so they went into the slums with all their assets confiscated.

Wearing the Broschte surname, I was truly an infamous aristocrat.

Becoming a minister of the palace was also a benefit that came from the halo of being sponsored by the Sebrirua.

What would Marie, Derick and the Sebrirua Duchy think now that Shuel proposed to me?

“I can’t accept it.”

I understood why Shuel’s hand kept trembling so much earlier. I also understood the depth of the innocence he contained for 13 years.

I truly felt bad for him, but the gentle goodwill that I somehow managed to find was indescribably precious to me.

tl/n: she meant the kindness from the sebrirua couple. 

It was a selfish answer. I didn’t know how I should explain it to Shuel.

While I was clenching my cold fingertips, Shuel rose up from his kneeling form. The dark shadow that fell over my head made me startled for a moment.

Shuel brushed his knees and closed the box again.

With a bang, the box went back into his pockets again.

Haa, a small sigh was heard.

“I knew it.”

Shuel replied calmly.

I was taken aback for a moment. Shuel smiled as usual at my expression.

Like a habit, he said he liked me. Just like any other day.

I became so angry that my mind went blank for a moment.

“Y-You……!”

I raised my hand before lowering it again. If I hit that guy with my bare hands, it would only hurt my hand.

I looked around with an angry gaze, and without hesitation, I picked up the lavish bouquet of flowers lying beside Shuel and swung it at him.

Pak!

“Ack!”

“You, what the hell is this!”

A blunt sound echoed and rose petals fluttered wildly. Shuel covered his face with his arms timidly and winced.

His body was firm so it shouldn’t hurt at all, but I became even more irritated at his detestable appearance.

“Do you have nothing else to play around with?!”

“It’s not a joke!”

Pak, when I shouted and smacked the ruined bouquet, Shuel exclaimed with an aggrieved expression.

As soon as I was about to strike again with more anger, Shuel hurriedly opened his mouth.

“Rwen. All this time, you never believed that I liked you.”

“So, that’s why you’re using this method? You really……!”

“It’s not like I was going to publicise it. If Rwen had accepted it, we would just get married.”

The pink eyes that responded were incredibly determined.

Shuel smiled when I became speechless and shut my mouth. It was a bitter smile.

“I already knew that Rwen would refuse. But I wanted you to believe me.”

He looked like a broken-hearted boy for a moment but soon smiled brightly.

“Can you believe that I like you now?”

That slight laugh broke me a little. I mumbled helplessly as my body was losing its strength.

“Yes…I believe you. It’s engraved in my head that I think it’ll appear in my dreams later.”

“Really?”

“I don’t like it. It’s a nightmare!”

I picked up the bouquet that had fallen on the floor and smacked Shuel again.

When I thought about how my heart was pounding earlier, it felt as if my lifespan was shortened by 10 years. His smiling face was so bright that my head hurt even more.

I take everything I said about being all grown-up back. How are you going to live in this dangerous world naively like that?

You can’t live your life just through love.

Occasionally, there were cases where people would disregard their differences in status, fall in love and run away at night or get married, but they wouldn’t meet a good ending.

It was such a young and foolish bright proposal.

“Come on. Let’s go home.”

With the face of a man in love, he reached out to me with a smile.

After staring at those eyes that were overflowing with blatant affection for a while, I lowered my head and avoided his gaze.

I walked past him without taking his hand.

＊  ＊  ＊

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“Right. Shuel. Don’t tell Marie and Derick that you proposed to me.”

“Huh? Why?”

We were currently in a carriage on our way to the duke’s residence. Shuel made a puzzled face at my sudden words.

Seeing his expression, I let out a deep sigh.

What do you mean why? Of course, they’ll get mad.

If they found out their son had proposed to the little kid they were sponsoring, they are bound to get mad……

That was what I should have said, but for a moment, I became tongue-tied.

“……Well, you’re going to be ridiculed a lot. Reita won’t let it go.”

An excuse slipped out of my tongue. I bit my lip as I spoke.

“Oh……”

At my words, Shuel shrunk down as if he was embarrassed.

The sight felt very unsettling.

“……Right?”

Shuel simply laughed at my words. As the corners of his lips that struggled to rise gradually went down, Shuel said pitifully.

“Um, they already knew……”

I could hear a bell ringing in my head. I was sure it was the sound of my life flashing.

Why were there so much shocking news these days?

With trembling hands, I looked at Shuel in disbelief, but there was no turning back.

A growl leaked from my teeth before I could stop it.

“Why you little……”

Was he laughing?

I really wanted to punch that bright kid on the head.

I felt like splitting his brain to see what on earth he was thinking when he told that to Kendrick and Marius.

I remembered the sword that Marius used to polish every day and the teacup that Kendrick cherished. Wouldn’t those go flying as soon as I got off the carriage?

No, it would be better if that was the case.

I bit my lips gently.

Will they be mad at me? Will they turn away from me with frosty eyes?

I felt like the blood in my whole body was getting cold.

“I-I want to get off.”

I didn’t have the guts to go straight to the duke’s residence and face them.

I hurriedly requested to pull over the carriage, which fortunately stopped right away. But when I got out of the carriage, I looked around bewilderedly and froze.

Shuel, who came out right after me, sneaked a glance.

A white, grand mansion. The pattern engraved in the middle of the door was all too familiar to me.

The duke’s mansion stood right in front of me.

I hastily tried to get back into the carriage, but the front door had slammed open first.

It was Marie who appeared through the opened door. With a very frightening expression.

Marie, whose hair was slightly dishevelled as if she had jumped down, looked alternately between Shuel and me, and her face grew darker.

“You!”

Marius roared with a ferocious look. The direction was facing Shuel.

“You finally!”

She must be angry.

My heart sank.

It didn’t matter if I was being hated, I didn’t ever want to separate Shuel and his family. 

If that happens, I would feel terribly guilty to the point I could hardly breathe.

I managed to take one step with my trembling body. My head was all cluttered with words.

Of course, I don’t intend on getting married. I am well aware of my own rank. I’m telling you, please believe me.

“Well done!”

As soon as I was about to open my mouth, Marius shouted so loudly that the duchy vibrated.

I blinked in astonishment for a while and Marius disappeared from my view.

Shortly after, from Marius’ room located on the 3rd floor, a voice was heard shouting, ‘Aahhhh!’.

I looked up with a bewildered face.

I’ve never heard Marius make such a happy sound.

W-What happened?