After I returned home, I went straight to my room. Cedric immediately walked in with Vio in hand. I often left my brother or the servants in charge of Vio while I was away so that she didn’t get lonely. She was popular with the maids and butlers, and they told me that they even argued over who got to feed her or take her on walks.
“Welcome home, Phil.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“I’M SO STUPID...” Vio suddenly interrupted. I stared at her in shock.
“Little Vio’s been saying stuff like that all day,” Cedric said with a laugh as he placed Vio onto my arm. The bird looked a little upset.
It looked like she’d picked up the words I’d unconsciously mutter to myself every time I failed in my proposal. She had trouble remembering the things I wanted her to say and yet, she often memorized my random murmurings and repeated them despite my attempts to stop her. Training a parrot was so difficult.
But I’d heard that it was thanks to Vio that Viola finally believed in my feelings for her. I gratefully ran my fingers over Vio’s warm and soft feathers.
“Oh, yeah, Little Vio was going on about marriage. What have you two been talking about?”
“Is that any of your business?”
“Considering it’s you we’re talking about, I’m guessing that you’ve been practicing how to propose to someone by yourself.” I didn’t say anything, and my sharp little brother took that as a confirmation. He sighed as if weary of my hopelessness. “‘Will you marry me?’ It’s that simple. Just say it.”
“If I could, then things wouldn’t be so complicated, would they?”
A proposal wasn’t the same as telling Viola I loved her. I unconsciously tensed up with nerves every time I thought about it.
Cedric lightly shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. “You’re as pathetic as ever. Whenever you’re not around Viola, you’re so cool. I remember how you were able to stand up to those old men at the soiree the other night.”
“How could you expect me to ignore what they were saying?”
There were plenty of people in the upper echelons of nobility who valued their bloodline more than anything else in the world. This was especially prominent in families with a long history. A lot of people among them truly believed that high-ranking nobles should only marry other high-ranking nobles.
The other night, while I was at a soiree, an old man complained to me about my upcoming marriage with Viola. He was of the opinion that we weren’t suitable for each other, as I was the son of a duke and Viola was the daughter of a viscount. The man seemed drunk. But not only did he insult House Westley, he also tried to pair me up with his own granddaughter. I could no longer hold my tongue at that.
“Shut up,” I’d said.
I’d always been the type to quietly listen to my elders, so as soon as the words came out of my mouth, the hall fell silent. But how could I stand by idly while they spoke badly of Viola? When I told the man that I would not stand for further criticism of my fiancée, with no room to misinterpret my words, he looked like he sobered in an instant and tried to play it off as a joke before he scurried off.
“‘Joke or not, I will never forgive anyone who insults the most important person in my life,’ right? Man, I wish I could show Viola how cool you looked that night.”
“I’m glad she wasn’t there.”
Viola had always seemed self-conscious about the gap in our statuses. There was no need for her to hear what the man said, since it would only hurt her in the end.
“Well, that’s what I like about you, Phil. I’m sure Viola would agree with me.” Cedric smiled after he said that and then he stroked Vio on the head. He bid us good night and then left the room.
Vio reacted to Cedric’s “good night” and tilted her head to the side. “Has Viola gone to sleep? Good night!”
“When did you learn how to say that?”
The fact that she could remember things I unconsciously muttered was scary, especially since I couldn’t predict when she would repeat them. I gave Vio a few more pets before I returned her to her cage.
Next time, I’ll learn from my mistakes and Rex’s teachings, and give Viola a proper proposal.
With that thought in mind, I picked up Volume 34 of A Prince Just for Me ♡ and sat down in my chair.