There had been misunderstandings and confusion, but Zeke had drawn Cecily out of her shell and led her into a whole new world. The old Cecily, who’d whiled the days away, hoping for the second year of her journey to end so that she could finally go home, was no more. She had met wonderful people, and had smiled and laughed a lot. In that sense, the handkerchief that Zeke had given her on their first meeting was almost a physical representation of this new life.
“I’m sorry. I kept it as a memento to protect me, and never managed to return it. Then I figured I couldn’t just simply give it back after all this time, so I thought I’d embroider something on it for you. It’s not very good, so I hope you don’t hate it...”
“How could I hate it?” As Cecily’s voice started to deflate, Zeke couldn’t hold back these words. “I’m really happy, Cecily. I feel like I could do a little dance right here in this carriage!” He was all smiles as he gently caressed the handkerchief. “I’m over the moon, honestly. I’ll treasure it until the day I die—no, even after I die!”
“Don’t say that—I don’t want you to die, Zeke.”
“Then I won’t. I’ll be by your side forever, Cecily.”
The pair stared at each other for a few moments in impassioned silence. After a few seconds, Cecily looked away.
“This can’t even begin to make up for what I did,” she said, remembering her worries again.
“What do you mean?”
“I know it was temporary, but I was put under the illusion that I loved someone else! I even said that I loved him! I can’t believe I would say such things to someone who wasn’t you...”
As Cecily brought up the topic, Zeke raised his well-shaped eyebrows in an expression of concern.
“Zeke, you have every right to be mad at me. I know you must have hated seeing me like that. I mean, I was completely under the spell of thinking I loved someone else.”
Zeke was silent a moment before he spoke.
“Cecily, do you mind if I be honest with you right now?”
“Of course not. Say whatever you need to.”
Cecily prepared herself, sitting up properly. She had a responsibility to listen to what he had to say.
“I wanted to punch Cain’s lights out and steal you back by force. Those thoughts kept going through my head,” Zeke said, in a quiet voice. “I didn’t know that such fiery jealousy lurked inside my heart.”
“Zeke...” Cecily said. She had also been unaware of this.
Zeke was the captain of the Celestial Knight Brigade, a group that put their lives on the line to protect the Carzenia Kingdom—he was the absolute cream of an elite crop. It was well within Zeke’s ability to have chosen a more aggressive way of doing things. Cain may have been a talented wizard, but there was no way his slight frame could have stood up to Zeke’s well-honed brawn.
“But in the end, all I did was end up showing you my pathetic side,” Zeke said, with a self-deprecating grin.
“No, Zeke! That’s not the case at all!” Cecily said, furiously shaking her head. She then pulled her fists up in front of her. “You were gallant and brave. If anyone dares to call you pathetic, I’ll sock them good!”
Zeke let out a chuckle.
“You’d do that for me?”
“Of course! I’ll give them the ol’ one-two!”
Cecily couldn’t help but remember that moment in the assembly hall. Zeke had drawn his sword in a heated moment, but in the end he hadn’t resorted to force. Maybe one of the reasons why he had pushed that anger down and chosen a path of nonviolence stemmed from the desire not to make Cecily cry. Because, at the end of the day, Cain was still Cecily’s friend.
That was why, after Zeke had left the assembly hall that night, he had vented his feelings by swinging his sword until dawn, channeling his pain into exhaustion. When Cecily had found out about this, she’d felt a warmth deep within her chest.
Zeke really does love me...
The emotion that they shared now wasn’t merely a youthful notion of romance. They prayed for one another’s happiness; they treasured those whom their partner also treasured. It was true love.
That’s why he did what he did.
Enveloped by Zeke’s gentle kindness, Cecily cast her mind to another reality. A world where Zeke had knocked Cain out cold, swept Cecily up in his arms, showered her with kisses while giving her no room to object, and said something like, “I’ll never let you go until you finally remember me.”
“A part of me kind of wants to have seen you lose control like that, Zeke...” Cecily murmured to herself, as her cheeks flushed with the thought. She knew she was saying something terribly shameless. Zeke’s ears easily caught what she’d said, and his head twisted around to her with an almost audible sound. Her blush became a deeper shade of red.
“You sure about that, Cecily?”
“O-Of course I am!” she said with a squeak, as her face burned intensely.
Although Zeke was treated as a stoic, straitlaced sort by his fellow knights, he knew how to use humor to ease the situation. Not only that, Zeke understood what it was that Cecily wanted.
Shifting his weight and adjusting his position, Zeke stared intensely down at Cecily. Even this was enough to make Cecily’s heart race.
“My love for you is only accelerating, yet here you were, gallivanting around with another man! You know we can’t let this matter slide, can we?”
“Are you going to punish me?” Cecily said, looking up at Zeke, eyes swimming.
“Well, you’re looking at me with an expression that says, ‘Yes, please.’ What a naughty girl you are.” Zeke had seen right through her.
Cecily moved before Zeke even had a chance to pull her into him. She lifted herself up for a kiss, and...felt her teeth bash into his. It stung a little, and wasn’t exactly a perfect way for her to initiate a kiss for the first time, but she felt it was worthy (with some leeway) of a passing mark.
“You better be ready yourself, Zeke,” Cecily said. Zeke’s eyes were wide, and she smiled to have finally caught him unawares. “My love for you won’t stop for even one more second!”
Twigging the situation behind him, the coachman slowed the carriage down to a more relaxed pace than they’d kept for the journey to the village. There was still plenty of time before they returned to the royal capital.