❦❦❦
THE balcony had fallen completely silent after Riche and Leonard left. Unable to stand the silence for long, Yuuri felt she had to say something.
“…Uhm, don’t you think we should just let them go ahead and break up?” Yuuri meant it. Between listening to Ernest and the viscount, Leonard meant well. But she failed to see his appeal.
“I don’t exactly disagree. I mean, I have no trouble telling a beautiful woman she’s beautiful, but he can’t seem to manage it for the woman he loves most. It’s embarrassing to watch.”
They might have been friends, but Ernest and Leonard were polar opposites. Yuuri suspected their differences were what made them so close. Though being friends with someone so incapable of being genuine likely led to plenty of arguments.
“If they went their separate ways, I bet Lady Riche could find someone much better.”
“Miss Yuuri, do I detect a hint of bitterness? Ah, well, he always seemed more in love with her than she with him. …Maybe that’s why she always gets annoyed?”
If Riche, who was a noble on the same level as Leonard, wanted out of the marriage, she could easily break things off. But if she didn’t love him, she wouldn’t have cared so much that Leonard didn’t compliment her.
For his part, the reason Leonard could compliment other girls and not the woman he loved was likely because he cared too much. He loved her so much, it was beyond what he could express in words. Though his failure ended in hurt feelings and misunderstandings.
It still didn’t seem right, but at least now, Yuuri could see their problem.
“…So, can you finally give me some room to breathe?”
Realizing he was still holding onto her, Yuuri yanked herself free.
“Sorry about that. So, do you have any suggestions on how we might help Leonard and Riche out?”
“Not at all. I already tried to tell you I’m not well-versed in human relationships.”
“Yes, but I thought you might have some insight into how Leonard was feeling, considering how similar you are.”
Leonard loved Riche. And he had no trouble shouting it to the winds, as long as he was alone. He was indeed like Yuuri, who could never seem to tell Ernest how she truly felt.
Her defenses only ever seemed to drop when she was drunk on his blood.
“What about alcohol…?”
“No, that wouldn’t work. He’s uncannily hard to get drunk. And who wants to hear romantic overtures from a drunk man anyway?”
Yuuri had hoped giving him alcohol would do the trick, but things were never that simple. She was racking her brain for ideas when she noticed someone walk out onto the balcony from the shadows. It was a middle-aged gentleman with olive-brown hair. He had a woman with him, likely his wife, with flaxen hair and blue-grey eyes.
Any normal person wouldn’t have been able to make out those details in the dark, but as a vampire, Yuuri could.
Why did they have to be here of all places…?!
They were two people Yuuri knew very well. They were, after all, her parents.
Her mother only acted unhinged when Yuuri was around. Beyond that, she was perfect at playing the part of the merchant’s dutiful wife. So it was only natural that she would be in attendance at a party thrown by one of her husband’s business associates. As long as her daughter wasn’t around, she was the perfect wife and mother.
Yuuri began to sweat and clung to Ernest.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, only worrying Yuuri more that her mother would hear them. What if her mother heard him say her rare Hinomotoese name? She was so afraid, she couldn’t speak.
“…Is that them?” Ernest’s grip on Yuuri tightened and he pushed her against the wall, completely blocking her view of the couple.
✦ ✦ ✦
“I’m sorry. I should have checked to make sure they wouldn’t be in attendance,” he said in a whisper so quiet only she could hear. He could see the fear in her eyes.
He had never met Yuuri’s mother, but he was well-acquainted with her father.
Ernest was tall enough to keep Yuuri and her distinctive black hair hidden from view. To anyone else, they would merely appear to be a girl in a blue dress and a young man with blond hair whispering sweet nothings to one another.
Yuuri threw her arms around Ernest, trying desperately to calm down. What must he think of her, only opening up to him at times like this?
“My, how enviable it is to be young!” the woman remarked, her voice growing further away by the second.
The woman left without disturbing the young couple. Whatever she might think of such behavior, she was certainly more tolerant than if she had known it was Yuuri that Ernest was looming over. It was the first time Yuuri had ever heard her mother speak with such restraint.
Yuuri’s parents swept into the hallway, leaving the pair in that position for several moments.
“Miss Yuuri, I’m sorry.”
“As am I. I shouldn’t have gotten so upset. I’m not a child.”
The pair pulled apart enough that they could see each other’s faces, but Ernest’s usual confidence was gone. Yuuri didn’t like the look that had seized his face.
“Please smile, Lord Ernest. I don’t like to see you like that.”
He forced a grin for her benefit.
“Shall we be going?”
“Yes.”
As long as she was with Ernest, Yuuri could muster up the courage to manage an awkward smile. The thought warmed her heart.