“I hear that the princess ambassador of Samarind is as beautiful as a goddess, and that she’s very trendy. Everything she wears is from the latest styles abroad.”
“Oh, my, I didn’t know that. Maybe I should ask my husband to buy me some of the same clothes as Her Highness.”
That was the conversation I overheard from the table next to us. Selma and I were in a café that we’d decided to rest in after shopping one afternoon. It seemed that the topic of the conversation was the foreign princess.
“I hear that she’s very smart, as well as being a shrewd politician. But despite everything, she’s still incredibly humble.”
“She sounds like a wonderful woman.”
The women next to us weren’t the only people interested in gossip about the princess. She was the talk of high society lately as well. Everyone in the kingdom had their eyes on the beautiful, noble, and perfect lady.
“Apparently, she’s still single. Perhaps she’ll find someone for her in the kingdom.”
When I heard one of the women next to us say that, I felt my heart skip a beat. I wasn’t doubting Phil’s feelings. However, the thought of him spending so much time with such a beautiful and perfect woman—a woman who had a very high opinion of Phil as well—made an uncomfortable feeling churn in my chest.
Selma must’ve noticed something wrong because she smiled at me and said, “Lady Viola, would you like to go look at some new dresses after this? Tomorrow’s your long-awaited date with Lord Phillip, so why don’t we doll you up even more than usual?”
“Yes, thank you. To tell the truth, there’s a new dress I’m interested in looking at.”
Tomorrow, Phil would finally have a day off, and we’d decided to go on a date. He must’ve been tired after so many days straight of work, but he insisted that he wanted to see me on his break. That wish made me happier than anything else.
I’ll only think about Phil tomorrow and enjoy our time together.
With that resolve in mind, I stabbed my fork into the cake, garnished with a large strawberry.
✦ ✦ ✦
The following day, Phil came by the manor to pick me up, and we sat in House Lawrenson’s carriage together. As soon as he saw me, he repeated “You look so cute today” so many times that I flushed with embarrassment. Even so, it made me happy, and glad that I’d put in extra effort in my makeup and clothing.
“I feel like I haven’t seen you in years,” Phil said.
“I feel the same way. Thank you for coming to see me, even though you’ve been so busy.”
“Whether I can see you or not is a life-or-death matter for me. I truly missed you.” After he said that, Phil pushed his face against my shoulder.
Though it wasn’t proper, my hand had been resting on the chair, but he picked it up and enveloped it in his large, warm hand. My heart skipped a beat at the sensation. It was rare of Phil to seek affection like this. I was a little curious about his relationship with the princess, but it didn’t seem like a good idea to talk about work on his day off, so I held my tongue.
Instead, I gently threaded our fingers together and Phil huffed out a quiet laugh.
“You’ve cured my exhaustion,” he said.
“But, you really are tired, aren’t you? Wouldn’t it be better if we relaxed together in the mansion as usual...?”
“Thank you for your consideration. But there’s somewhere I’d like to visit today.”
On my end, I obviously enjoyed going out with Phil. But more than that, I was worried about his body, since he’d been working for so long without a single rest day I wondered where he wanted to go that was so important he’d push himself like this.
Despite my curiosity, Phil didn’t answer any of my questions about our destination. Though I thought it weird, I simply turned my attention to the changing scenery outside the window.
✦ ✦ ✦
“You wanted to come here?” I asked after a short silence.
“Yes, that’s right,” Phil replied.
We’d ended up somewhere called a menagerie. It was built in the capital’s largest park, and it was a place where you could see a variety of animals. I’d heard that this was a popular spot among the nobles, but this was my first time actually coming here.
“I figured you’d enjoy visiting here,” Phil continued.
I wondered why he would think of that, until I realized something.
“You really enjoy Vio’s company.”
“LITTLE VIO!!!”
“You...really enjoy Little Vio’s company.”
“I really like Little Vio because of how cute she is, and I’ve always been partial to animals. Dogs are a particular favorite of mine, but my mother’s allergic to them and so we can’t keep any in the house...”
It must’ve been because we had that conversation the other day. In Phil’s mind, I was always his first priority. I was so happy and filled with my love for him that I couldn’t stop my lips from stretching in a smile.
“Yes, I’m really happy you took me here. Thank you so much.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Shall we go in?”
“Let’s.”
And so, we walked in, side by side. There was a surprising number of couples in the menagerie. All of them were holding hands or linking arms with each other, and they were physically very close. As for Phil and I, though, we were so far apart that you could fit a kid between us, and we weren’t touching each other at all. It felt like my empty right hand wanted something to hold.
Until now, I’d almost never reached out myself to hold his hand. The last time I did so was probably right after I started pretending to have amnesia.
Back then, I’d been embarrassed about touching him too. But it was incomparable to how flustered I felt about it now. Now that I was romantically interested in Phil as a man, the thought of touching him was far more embarrassing and nerve-racking. But he was always the one doing his best for us. So I decided that I should try being more assertive too.
In saying that though, I had no clue as to the timing. Would it be all right to touch him out of the blue? I was such a novice in terms of romance that all I could do was reach out slightly with my right hand and then pull it back. Rinse and repeat.
If I don’t do something soon, the day’s going to end. With that thought, I took a small but deep breath, and then slowly scooped up his left hand in my right. My heart was pounding so fast from nerves that it felt like it’d pop right out of my chest. I was sure that Phil wouldn’t dislike his hand being held, but I was still anxious.
As soon as I squeezed the hand I was holding, Phil stopped walking. I stopped as well and looked up at him. His mouth was hanging agape as his eyes darted from my face to our joined hands.
“Did I unconsciously hold your hand just now?” he asked.
“No. I was the one who held your hand. I wanted to walk with you like this.”
How could you make that misunderstanding? I couldn’t help but giggle a little at how silly Phil was. In contrast, Phil’s face started getting redder and redder. Eventually, he used his free hand to cover up his mouth.
“I cannot describe how happy I am right now,” he said after a beat. “If you don’t mind, I would like you to hold my hand in yours for the rest of our lives.”
“Hee hee, is this a newfangled way of proposing to someone?”
It was just a joke, but Phil looked incredibly shocked for some reason and made a choked sound. “Actually, forget I said anything... Well, that’s not right either...”
Though he’d looked taken aback for a while, it seemed that holding his hand made him happy. We started to walk off together, sharing each other’s warmth.