“...I hope you know that you are far too softhearted. No, maybe I have it flipped around? You’re not even allowing me to apologize to you, after all.” Claudio smiled in a rather self-deprecating manner, but Rosemarie shook her head.
“You would call me by name on occasion before the wedding, but you haven’t called me by name once ever since.”
However, most likely because he couldn’t stand for this outcome, Claudio looked at Rosemarie with a sulky look in his eyes, leaving her at a loss for words.
(What should I do now...? Oh, I’ve got it.)
A brilliant idea popped into her mind.
“If you are not going to take no for an answer, then please call me by my name. Don’t call me ‘this one’ or ‘that one,’ but by my actual name.”
He would call her by name occasionally in the days leading up to the wedding, but not a single time after the proceedings were over. Just referring to her as “you” would be one thing, but using “this one” and “that one” and treating her like she was just some thing was, frankly, sad.
“Name?”
“Yes, I was quite happy when you said it earlier, so...” She smiled at Claudio, who looked as if she had caught him off-guard.
Earlier, when Claudio opened the carriage door, he had called her by name for the first time in ages. It not only came as a surprise, but it also made her feel warm on the inside.
“Your name, huh? I mean, what happened before, that was, yes... I was in the moment, you see, so...” Rosemarie felt the grip tighten in the hand Claudio had on hers, and he suddenly turned his face away.
She cocked her head in confusion as Claudio’s cheeks turned red and he put his hand over his mouth for some reason. It would appear to anyone with working eyes that he was embarrassed, but maybe it was a delayed feeling of shame, considering he hadn’t been calling her by name up until now.
Claudio glared at the floor as if he were in inner turmoil, but his eyes eventually came to stare straight at Rosemarie. His pair of blue eyes exuded a warmth as they stared at her, which caused her heart to skip a beat.
“—Rosemarie.”
Upon hearing his low voice call out her name cautiously, Rosemarie felt wrapped in a warm, fuzzy feeling. She had no idea that having someone say her name face-to-face in this manner would have been so embarrassing. A bashful smile adorned her face, to which Claudio tugged at her hand.
“Okay, I did it. Now, it’s your turn to say my name.”
“Huh? Me calling you by name would make you happy, Prince?”
“It’s not a matter of being happy or not; it’s more a matter of personally disliking being the only one forced into this torment.” He spat out the words like a sore loser. Even the dissatisfied expression on his face looked childlike, and made Rosemarie want to laugh.
“Very well, then. In that case...” She cleared her throat and gave saying his name a try, but it wouldn’t come out. She didn’t know what was going on, but her face stared to heat up in a matter of no time.
“What’s wrong? Can’t say it?”
“No, I can! Please, just give me a moment. I swear, I can say it.” She glared at Claudio as he smirked at her, then took a breath. Thinking back, she realized she hadn’t called Claudio just by his name even once. She let her eyes fall, shut them tight, and opened her mouth.
“Prince C...laudio.”
“Yeah, try again.” Claudio wasted zero time in critiquing her performance with dissatisfaction. Rosemarie lifted her head, miffed.
“But, why? I said it just fine.”
“You sure didn’t. You paused before saying the whole thing.”
“...You’re being far too picky, Prince.” Rosemarie slumped her shoulders in the rattling carriage, but seeing as how Claudio was smiling in such enjoyment at her, she tried again, staring him right in the eyes and saying his name properly.