According to Liz, everyone in the palace was whispering this rumor. That meant a lot of people knew it. That was embarrassing, sure, but if only people I didn’t know had been talking about it, I wouldn’t have cared so much. Even if people I did know were talking about it… Well, even if that was the case, I could probably get over it.
But my heart twisted whenever I thought about what would happen if a certain guy heard these rumors. It made me unbearably anxious.
By “certain guy,” I meant the knight commander. I had only realized it recently, but I was pretty sure I was in love with Albert.
I was always happy to see him, and I became giddy when we conversed, even if it was just idle small talk. I had never felt that way about anyone else. That was why I was pretty sure that I was in love. On the other hand, I had never been in love in this world or the one I’d come from, so I wasn’t entirely sure.
Our current relationship was wonderful. But what would Albert think if he heard those rumors? If he heard them like Liz had and thought that Yuri and I were going to be engaged, would he start to distance himself from me?
The Kingdom of Salutania and Japan had similar social mores in that it was generally taboo to befriend someone of the opposite sex besides your betrothed. Albert was such an earnest and serious person, so I doubted he would break those rules. In short, the genial time we spent together would definitely come to an end. When I thought about that possibility, I could hardly contain myself.
It was no use crying over spilled milk, but that was exactly what I was doing. Why, oh why, had I said yes to Yuri’s invitation? The relationships between people were always a subject of gossip among the nobility as well as the commonfolk.
If I’d thought about it, I could have predicted that if two people went somewhere together, everyone would start to whisper that they were close—or even dating. Yet this hadn’t occurred to me at the time. I mean, in my defense, I’d never imagined that I might become the target of relationship-centric rumors.
Weren’t these kinds of rumors just supposed to be a junior high thing? Then again, I had never been the subject of gossip, even at that age… For one thing, as a girl who had never been popular with the guys, no one had ever spread rumors about me in the first place.
Ahh, but Liz was right. It really was stupid of me.
“What should I do?” I unconsciously murmured my thoughts out loud. Excuses and guilt churned through my mind, leaving me in cognitive disarray.
Then someone called my name. “Sei?”
“Huh?” I yelped at the voice—especially since it belonged to the very person I was thinking about. I quickly rose and turned around to find Albert standing before me.
“Sir Hawke?” I was completely freaked out by his arrival and too stunned to remember to say hello.
Albert seemed unbothered by this, though. If anything, he was worried. “What’s the matter? You look like something’s bothering you.”
I couldn’t say it. There was absolutely no way I could say it. If I didn’t want this specific person to know about a rumor, how could I ask if he’d heard it?
Instead, I forced myself to smile to hide my anxiety. “Oh, uh, ummm—I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? I mean, if you are, that’s all right, but if not…” Albert trailed off, still wearing a worried look. He seemed a touch despondent as he gazed at me.
Guilt prickled in my chest, but I didn’t have it in me to tell him what was troubling me. “What are you doing here today?”
“I was wondering if you’d like to go out with me the next time you have a day off.”
“Go out?”
“Yes. To a certain park in the capital.”
There were several parks in the capital, but one was particularly large, and it also functioned as a gathering place for the nobility. Even those who lived in mansions with vast gardens liked to take walks in that park and socialize with anyone they ran into. Some even liked to have picnics there during the warmer months.
Now Albert was asking me to go there with him.
“I know it’s not really the season for taking walks, but there’s something I’d like to show you,” he said.
“There is? What?”
“You’ll have to come along with me to find out.” Albert smiled with his index finger raised. I could practically see his radiance.
I squinted a bit as I peered up at him. He was a feast for the eyes, just as usual.
But what could he want to show me? I really want to know. If I can’t find out unless I go, then I should do so. Anyway, an outing with Albert is sure to be fun.
Just as I was thinking of saying “yes,” I suddenly remembered Liz’s frustrated expression.
Oh… If I go out with Albert, will people just start more rumors about me?
When I thought of how cross she had been with me just two days prior, I reconsidered my response.
Although I wouldn’t mind if people were talking about me and Albert. He’s my h-heart’s desire after all—I think. So I don’t imagine I’d dislike there being rumors about us. I would find it embarrassing. What about Albert, though? I’d feel just awful if that kind of rumor would bother him. Maybe the right thing to do here would be to say no, especially after what happened with Yuri.
However, I was reluctant to turn Albert down. It had been a while since we’d last gone out together.
My desire to go and my sense that I shouldn’t warred with one another, and just as I slowly opened my mouth, Albert said in an uncharacteristically fainthearted tone, “Do you not want to?”
Albert’s shoulders drooped, and it felt like I could see animal ears on his head droop in disappointment as well. He looked at me with a plea in his eyes, and my voice died in my throat.
Ugh… How am I supposed to say no when you look at me like that?!
“I do want to.” I couldn’t deny him! I didn’t have it in me to turn him down when he used that face on me. Besides, part of me wanted to go. So I gave in—I said yes.
Albert’s expression instantly brightened, which made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Oh well. I’ll just leave the regret for later.
I forced myself to smile as well as we continued talking and planned out our future fun.