“So, how far have you gone with Phillip?”
“We haven’t seen each other in so long and that’s seriously the first thing you ask?”
Rex suddenly dropped by House Westley’s manor in the afternoon without any prior warning. He sat down on the sofa in my room, looking completely at home. As soon as he made himself comfortable, he asked me that question. He was as insensitive as ever.
“Well, considering it’s you two we’re talking about, I know that nothing happened.”
“You need to find better hobbies.”
“I get that a lot.”
“I figured.”
He offered a uselessly cheery smile and then picked up the teacup from the table. It was impossible to tell that the man before me was the most popular among the ladies of high society.
About two months had passed since Phil and I confessed to each other. We started to meet each other more, but of course, we hadn’t experienced the kind of change that Rex brought up. Our relationship was still very chaste. We mostly went out on dates around town or attended parties held by our mutual acquaintances. Fishing had been a surprisingly fun activity, so we went again as well.
At times, Phil still did or said some weird things. But I loved that part of him. Our days passed by in peaceful bliss.
“I ran into Phillip the other day and we were chatting over a meal.”
“Oh, I think he mentioned that to me.”
I remembered the letter he’d sent me the other day brought up the fact he’d be going to eat with Rex soon. All of the letters he sent me were five times the length of mine, so I always had trouble deciding what to write in response. Despite how long they were, I reread them almost every day. This was a secret I’d take to my grave.
“Phillip looked as happy as always. He couldn’t stop going on about how cute you are that it practically became a catchphrase.”
“I see...”
“He really loves you, Vivi.”
“That makes me really happy to hear.”
“Mm-hm.”
Even when talking directly to me, Phil never hesitated to call me “cute.” I loved hearing him say that. I started putting in more time and effort into my appearance so that he would never stop complimenting me.
Rex smiled as if he was satisfied and continued, “Oh yeah, that reminds me. I asked him how far you two’ve gone, and do you know how he answered me?”
“You asked Phil that too? Stop that.”
“It’s fine. There’s nothing to get mad about.” After he said that, Rex started to laugh as if he could no longer contain his mirth. I had a bad feeling about it and stared coldly at him.
“When I asked how far he’s gone with you, he said that he took you to the neighboring town. Ha ha ha ha ha! O-Oh no, just remembering what he said is making my stomach hurt... I really love that guy. Y-You two should try taking a trip a bit farther away, ah ha ha ha!”
I ignored Rex as he continued to laugh at his own story and took a bite of the cake he’d brought as a gift. This was my favorite dessert in the world. Considering Rex had been talking to Phil, I already figured that he would give the incorrect response.
It was almost unnatural how little he knew about love. Didn’t he read through the entire A Prince Just for Me ♡ series? How could he still be so clueless? It sometimes made me a little mad. Even after we confessed our feelings to each other, the air between us remained the same as always. We’d hugged countless times, but we hadn’t progressed beyond that. I felt like he had been more assertive back when I was pretending to have amnesia.
“Lord Phillip must’ve never thought the day would come when you’d reciprocate his feelings, so he’s probably feeling completely out of sorts. How adorable of him,” my friend Jamie had said the other day. His feelings had been one-sided for so long that he must be unsure of what to do now that they were mutual.
I loved Phil, so I too wanted to know more about him than I do now. But not only was it much too embarrassing a sentiment to convey, it was also something that would only cause him more stress. So I was doing my best to keep it out of not just my words, but my attitude as well. We had all the time we needed. I didn’t mind proceeding at his pace, no matter how slow he wanted to take it.
As those thoughts swirled in my mind, Rex’s shapely lips suddenly formed a beautiful crescent. No matter how many times I saw him smile, it only filled me with dread.
“Don’t worry. I gave Phillip a few things to think about.”
“What did you say?” I asked after a pause, too worried about what I’d hear.
“I gave him some advice. I’m sure he’ll show you his more reliable side the next time you’re together.”
“Here you go again with your unnecessary help...”
“That’s not very nice. And here I was being so considerate of you two...”
I knew that Rex’s intentions when it came to helping Phil and me with our relationship were pure. But I also knew that he viewed us as entertainment. In this particular situation, the latter was probably his main motive.
“So, make sure you tell me everything. That’s a promise.”
Rex’s words were so exasperating that I responded with yet another heavy sigh.