Soft crackling sounds came from the bonfire as the flames burned brilliantly, larger than any I’d ever seen. Around the fire, people went about enjoying their evening at the summer camp. The light from the flames and the starry sky above reflected off the surface of the hot spring, giving the landscape a fantastic, dreamlike feel.
As I gazed at the beautiful scene, I let out a melancholic sigh. After this comes the test of courage...
I’d resolved in my heart that once the bonfire was out, I’d hide at the inn before Lady Europa and the others could find me. My spine was already constantly tested in daily life—if I tested it any further, I’d end up with a hernia.
“Are you ready, everyone?!” Lady Europa shouted as she beat a tambourine with enough force to destroy the quiet of the firelit night. “Nothing beats a good folk dance around a bonfire!”
A band following behind her began to place chairs and prepare their instruments for the upcoming dance and live music.
I panicked internally. I haven’t gotten any practice dancing yet!
Kira, who’d been enjoying some Evelyn summarshmallows, said, “It’s all right, Evelyn. Folk dancing is easy. Even kids can do it.”
“What, really?”
“Yes,” Karin confirmed. “We did it at school. It’s not that difficult. Um, the song goes, E-E-Evelyn, E-E-Evelyn...”
What the heck is that? I wanted to ask, but Karin was so cute, chanting so earnestly, that I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.
While continuing to chant, “E-E-Evelyn,” Karin took Kira’s and Mary’s hands.
“H-Hey!” Mary protested. “What are you doing, Karin?!”
“What, I have to do this too?” Kira asked.
“We’ll show Ms. Saint how to do it!” Karin said, paying no mind to the pair’s lack of enthusiasm. She joined hands with them in a circle. “E-E-Evelyn, E-E-Evelyn...”
The three rotated clockwise as they hopped forward, sideways, and backward, then advanced and stepped back again. They drew close and raised their hands high, then returned to the initial steps, clapped their hands, and high-fived one another.
It was so cute that the crowd cheered.
“This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!”
“Start an idol group!”
“I want fan service!”
Kira, embarrassed, muttered, “Shut up,” but Karin and Mary didn’t seem to mind and even added a flourish and made a heart together.
Th-That looks fun!
The band finished their preparations and began to play a lively tune I’d never heard before—the same one Karin had been chanting.
“What’s the name of this song?” I asked Lady Europa.
Her face lit up. “It’s a composition of my own, the Ode to Lady Evelyn! It’s a song about my joy at happening upon a vision of you in the desert! I’m honored beyond measure at your effusive praise, Lady Evelyn!”
I hadn’t really praised her at all.
“Now then, everyone! Form a circle! Here we go!”
Everyone formed a wide circle and began to step in time to the cheerful tune of the Ode to Lady Evelyn.
Let’s see. Forward, sideways, back, forward, sideways, back...
Though I was a bit lost at first, I gradually got used to it the more I moved.
“You look like you’re having fun, Evelyn.”
I looked toward the source of the voice—the person whose left hand I was holding. “Lord Theodore!”
It seemed I’d been so focused on dancing that I hadn’t noticed him at all! I gave him a bashful smile.
At the clapping part of the choreography, the crowd sang in unison, “Evelyn! Evelyn! Evelyn! Evelyn!”
Amid the loud chanting, Lord Theodore whispered in my ear, “Evelyn, what were you talking to Prince Oz about earlier?”
“Huh?” I mumbled, puzzled. Did I talk to Prince Oz earlier?
I felt like I had, but everything since had been so intense that I’d completely forgotten about it.
Lord Theodore gently shook his head. “Why don’t we slip away from the crowd?”
“Huh?”
My heart pounded as Lord Theodore led me by the hand away from the dance circle.
Perhaps because the night had grown darker, we didn’t go very far. He took me a little ways away from the bonfire, in the direction of the lake, and stopped.
“Evelyn, I need to clear something up,” he said.
“Y-Yes?”
What was this about? My body felt hot, and not just because of the nearby flames.
Looking directly at my flustered face, Lord Theodore said, “Evelyn, you’re not bumbling.”
Ah. This was about our exchange yesterday.
“Lord Theodore...”
“Neither am I, of course.”
That was probably a joke, so I let it slide.
“Evelyn, warmth spreads through my chest every time you smile. The thought of that smile gives me strength to endure any hardship. And...I want to keep you smiling by my side, forever. I want to be the reason for that smile. Genuinely.”
His own features shifted into a smile.
“You’re my sun, Evelyn.”
I couldn’t speak. What an unfair man my fiancé was! How can he say such embarrassing things so easily?
Actually, considering the fact that I could tell his cheeks were bright red even without the firelight, this clearly wasn’t easy for him. But still, his words filled me with joy, and I returned his smile with a shy one of my own.
Then he whispered hoarsely, “Can you close your eyes for a moment?”
I nodded and did so. I could feel him moving closer—very close—and pulling my left hand toward him.
I-Is he going to kiss me?!
My body grew rigid with tension. The music drifting from the direction of the bonfire had changed to something moody all of a sudden. The atmosphere was perfect. If we didn’t kiss now, when would we?
W-W-We’re going to kiss! I thought, trembling as I awaited that moment.
But...it never came.
“Okay, Evelyn,” Lord Theodore said. “Open your eyes.”
I did. An unfamiliar ring glittered on my finger.
“This...”
“Sorry it’s late, but...it’s an engagement ring,” he said. “The high priest finally agreed to accept our marriage registration.”
The design was simple, with a shining diamond set at its center. I held up my left hand, gazing upon the ring against the light of the distant flames. It fit perfectly, sparkling brilliantly on my finger.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Do you...not like it?” he asked tentatively. My silence must’ve had him anxious.
I shook my head and smiled. “I do. I’m very, very happy, Lord Theodore.”
This ring was even more beautiful than the Cradle of Jewels. It was my very own jewel.
Lord Theodore gently took me by the shoulders and brought me close. “Evelyn...may I kiss you?”
I trembled. “K-K-K-K-Kiss me, you say?”
Though I should’ve known it was coming, just the word had me on pins and needles.
“B-But Lord Theodore, I thought you didn’t want to...” I mumbled awkwardly.
He hadn’t kissed me when I turned into a sheep, after all.
Lord Theodore gazed at me lovingly, unblinking. “Because you’re just too lovely, Evelyn.”
I froze. What?
Lord Theodore brought a hand to his mouth and lowered his gaze, though the redness of his cheeks was still evident.
“You’re so lovely, Evelyn, that if I’d kissed you just once, I wouldn’t have been able to stop. Even if you’d asked me to, I wouldn’t have been able to do a thing, and besides—”
“H-Have mercy on my poor soul, please!!!”
If he said anything more, I’d melt on the spot! Wouldn’t even need the flames!
He gently pulled my left hand close and pressed his lips to the ring. A tingling sensation spread throughout my body like wildfire, further accelerating my beating heart.
“Evelyn...” he murmured, gazing up at me. I could see in his eyes how much he wanted to keep touching me.
“B-But it’s too early...!”
“Even though we’ve already done it?” he asked huskily, his fingertips gripping my chin.
“Lord Theodore...”
“Forgive me for this,” he whispered, and my resistance melted away.
I mean...I want it too.
I wanted him to touch me. To be tender with me. My eyes timidly fluttered shut.
Lord Theodore must’ve understood that was permission, and he closed the distance between us. Our lips slowly touched—
“Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”
An earsplitting shriek rent the air behind us.
Yeah, I had a feeling this would happen...
When I turned around, unsurprisingly, there they were—Lady Europa and the high priest, eyes bloodshot.
“This, th-th-th-this is unacceptable, Theodore! What lasciviousness, to claim Lady Evelyn’s lovely lips not once but twice!”
“Rupy, I will assist you! Let us trounce this youngster and beat the memory out of him!”
“We’re coming too, Your Eminence! For Lady Evelyn!”
The two lifted the hems of their vestments and charged, a large number of priests right on their heels.
“L-Lord Theodore! What shall we do?!”
He was at an overwhelming disadvantage near water. If Lady Europa reached him, he’d plunge into the hot spring.
But he didn’t respond.
I looked at him impatiently. “Lord Theodore! We must run, quick— Mmph!”
His lips silenced me.
Amid the startled shouts of Lady Europa and the high priests, illuminated by the flames, Lord Theodore and I made a display of sharing an especially sweet kiss.