One afternoon, I was passing time as usual in Phil’s room at House Lawrenson’s manor when the door suddenly swung open with a loud bang. I turned in its direction, curious as to what was going on, and saw a familiar pair standing there.
“Ray... Amelia...”
They were Phil’s cousins, a pair of twins with bright red hair. At fifteen, they were just three years younger than us. Since they lived in a distant territory, the last time I saw them was about half a year ago. In particular, Ray, who was the eldest, looked much taller than I remembered him. We’d spent time together often as children, but those meetings grew less and less frequent after we started school.
“Viola, I wanted to see you!”
Ray rushed toward me and gave me a tight hug. He’d always been attached to me.
“Long time no see. I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”
“You too, Viola. You’re as pretty as I remember you.”
“Oh my. Just where did you learn to talk like that?”
As we talked, I felt a piercing gaze from across the room. When I looked in that direction, I saw Phil staring at us with a pout on his face.
“Get away from Viola.”
“Huh? What are you acting like her fiancé for?” Ray asked.
“I am her fiancé,” Phil shot back.
He was so blunt that it took the twins by surprise. They only knew about the past versions of us, so I couldn’t blame them for such a reaction. The two apparently had errands they needed to run nearby, so they decided to pay House Lawrenson a visit.
“Speaking of which, it’s rare to see the two of you reading together. What’s up with this weird book anyway? Oh, could you prepare tea for us?” Amelia asked, turning to look at one of the maids. Then she sat down next to Phil, acting as if she was right at home.
The “weird book” she mentioned was A Princess Just for You ♡, which was a new spin-off of A Prince Just for Me ♡. Before we had our tea, I made sure to correct her on that.
✦ ✦ ✦
The four of us—the twins, a grumpy Phil, and I—sat around the table and had some tea. I could feel the twins staring at us every time Phil and I had a normal conversation like they couldn’t believe their eyes.
“The two of you used to never talk with each other. What in the world happened?” Amelia asked.
I remembered that back when the hellish silence that stretched on between Phillip and me became too painful for me, their presence was a relief that kept things from getting too awkward. It would be Ray, Amelia, and me talking with each other while Phil stared at us in silence. In retrospect, it must’ve made for a bizarre sight.
“It was more like Phil didn’t talk rather than the both of them. He only ever said ‘Yeah’ or ‘Uh-huh.’ I always felt bad for you, Viola,” Ray said.
“Right? I wouldn’t have been able to endure that. It was so bad that I even thought that I’d ask my father to break off the engagement if I were you, Viola,” Amelia said.
“Right?”
I could see Phil’s face getting paler at their merciless words. It was true that at the time it had been painful to deal with, but I didn’t mind it anymore. Besides, it wasn’t as if Phillip was the only one to blame.
“Um...we just had a little fight...I guess. It was more of a misunderstanding. That’s all. We cleared things up and now we’re really close,” I said.
“I see. That’s good. It was painful to see how you always forced yourself to smile because you were trying to be considerate of Phillip,” Ray said.
“Yeah. You always looked so relieved whenever we came over. I felt so bad for you,” Amelia agreed.
Though I tried to give Phil a helping hand, his face turned even whiter at the nonstop thorns the twins were hurling his way. Sometimes, words like “I’m truly sorry” and “I’m the worst” came out of his beautiful mouth.
“Um, I’m really all right so please don’t worry about it,” I said to him.
“I’m sorry...”
After that, though we didn’t say anything about the fake amnesia, we told them that Phillip and I loved each other. The two of them looked like they couldn’t believe the fact that I had feelings for him.
“I never thought you’d end up liking him, Viola,” Ray said.
“Yeah. You always looked like you didn’t want to spend time with him,” Amelia added.
Phil couldn’t say anything. He was completely down in the dumps. The twins looked at him and then each other with matching grins. The two of them had always enjoyed teasing Phillip.
“But, wow! Useless Phillip being able to confess his feelings? That’s impressive.”
“Huh?” Upon hearing Ray’s praise, I tilted my head to the side. “Did you know about Phil’s feelings?”
“Oh please, anyone could tell just by looking at him,” Amelia said. “No matter where he was or who he was with, he only had eyes for you, Viola.”
“Really?” After hearing Amelia’s words, I turned to look at Phil, only to see a rather embarrassed look on his face.
“The biggest hint was the parrot. That was crazy.”
“I couldn’t stop laughing for an entire week.”
To my surprise, the two of them even knew of Little Vio. Apparently, there was a time in the past when they’d been wandering around the manor without permission and happened to come across her.
“There’s a lot more stories that you’re the only one unaware of, Viola,” Ray said.
“Yeah. Since you two love each other now, you don’t mind if we tell her some, right?” Amelia asked.
“Please, wait a second,” Phil said immediately, but the twins ignored him.
Though I felt sorry for Phil, my curiosity got the better of me.
“My favorite story is the birthday one,” Ray said. “Ever since we were kids, Phillip would spend days wondering what to get for your birthday present and he’d actually go buy it. But he never once managed to give it to you?”
“Huh?”
This was the first time I heard about this. I’d thought the first real presents I’d received from him were the dress and accessories from the other day.
“Oh, judging by that reaction, I guess he still hasn’t given you any of those gifts?”
“I’m begging you...please stop talking...”
“They should be piled up in one of the rooms here, so go take a look later,” Ray continued, ignoring Phil.
Ray and Amelia had always loved exploring, so the two of them were far more familiar with House Lawrenson’s manor than I was. I was really interested in the mountain of presents that supposedly existed. I would love to see what he picked out for me every year.
“I would like to see them,” I said.
“But, those are really...”
“Phil, please.”
Phillip didn’t say anything for a while before he finally said, “All right.”
Ray watched the two of us talk and then nodded with a satisfied smile. Then Amelia put down her teacup and opened her mouth.
“My favorite story is the one about the flower bed. I can’t remember when exactly, but when we were kids, you were reading a picture book and said, ‘This flower is so pretty. I’d love to see it.’ And then Phillip here got the seeds the very next day and planted them with the gardener’s help.”
“Huh?”
“I told him that he could leave that task to the gardener, but he wouldn’t listen to me because he wanted to do it himself. In the end, since the flower was a difficult one to grow, it took him about three years to actually produce anything.”
“Um... Could it be that you’re talking about a dark-blue flower?”
“Yes, yes, something like that.”
In that case, I did remember the flower. One day, I’d noticed an unfamiliar flower blooming in House Lawrenson’s garden, right where it would most easily catch one’s eye. Upon seeing it, I stopped walking and said, “That flower is so beautiful.” Lord Phillip’s face had always been expressionless, but the way he’d smiled so happily upon hearing me say that had left an impact, so I remembered it. I never would have thought that Phil had grown the flower himself.
“Seriously, please don’t say anything more,” Phillip said.
“I’m sorry, but I want to hear more,” I said.
“Yeah, sure. We have so many more stories to share,” Ray said.
Phillip didn’t say anything in response. After that, the two of them continued to tell me all about him, never seeming to run out of anecdotes. By the time they finished, Phil was covering his face with both of his hands. His ears, peeking out from his hair, were bright red.
On the other hand, I learned just how much he’d always loved me, and I could feel warmth spreading from my heart through my entire body.
“Now then, it’s about time for us to take our leave,” Ray said. “We had a great time bullying Phillip.”
“Yeah, it was delightful,” Amelia said.
“Never come back again,” Phil said.
The two of them left with satisfied smiles on their faces, but Phil looked exhausted.
“I’m glad that the two of you look so happy though,” Ray said.
“Right? I’m looking forward to your wedding,” Amelia giggled.
“Thank you,” I said.
“Phillip’s lame, but he’s a nice man. He loves you more than anyone, Viola, so I hope you take good care of him.”
“Hee hee, leave it to me.”
Though they often teased him, I could tell that the twins treasured Phillip dearly.
“Phillip, you should treat Viola even better than you do now to make up for your past. Give her lots of presents. And give me some while you’re at it! Use your authority as the next Duke Lawrenson to get me Madam Rico’s new dress,” Amelia said.
It took a long time before Phil said, “I’ll think about it.”
The two of them, who had the combined destructive potential of a hurricane, quickly left after that.