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“…WHAT’S that fragrance?” croaked a dry, groggy voice.
Vincent had repositioned himself, taking the seat directly in front of her as he read silently to himself. When he heard her, he glanced up.
Bleary-eyed, Oriana righted herself and peered around. “Vincent?”
“Finally woke up, have you?”
“I…guess I fell asleep…”
“You must have been exhausted.”
Oriana groaned, pressing her fingers over her eyes.
“Do they hurt?” Vincent asked, worried.
“Hm? No. But my makeup will smear if I rub my eyes, so I do this instead.”
“Does that really work?”
“It does.” As he studied her, he felt a familiar sadness well up inside. He often experienced this loneliness any time he saw parts of her he didn’t know or felt her pushing him away, keeping him at arm’s length.
Couldn’t she at least act a little more at ease in our conversations and not be so stiff? Vincent wondered. He hoped she would eventually do so of her own accord.
It’s not because of my status that she acts more polite with me than the others. After all, she was close friends with a baron’s daughter. It frustrated him beyond words, and to make it worse, she spoke casually with Miguel. If she really was that worried about status, then she would act as formal and distant with the neighboring country’s princess as she did with him. I hope eventually you’ll get used to me and feel as comfortable in my presence as if you belong there.
The previous year had ended with that vain hope going unfulfilled, and even now, Oriana showed no signs of being any more open around Vincent. It invoked a twinge of sadness in him, one that he was growing increasingly unable to ignore. Each time she acted formal and polite around him, his loneliness swelled and jealousy reared its ugly head.
“Ouch…” Oriana mumbled.
“What’s the matter?” Vincent jumped to his feet and circled around the table, rushing to her side.
Oriana blinked several times. “Seems I managed to get a lash in my eye.”
“Let me see.”
“No, no, no! I can’t show you. Absolutely not.”
The moment Vincent tried to sneak a peek, Oriana hurriedly refused him. Left with no other recourse, he gave up.
“Can’t you cry and get it out?” he asked.
“Not on cue, I can’t.”
“Yes, well, I suppose not.”
Come to think of it, she doesn’t cry much. Vincent hadn’t seen her tears in a long time. She used to cry all the time. Though, I suppose the biggest reason was Vince.
The Oriana in his previous timeline was always sobbing. She would do it when she was happy and when she was sad, to the point he almost wondered if her tear ducts were broken.
But the Oriana before me now doesn’t cry at all. He paused. No, that’s not it. It’s not that she won’t cry. It’s that she won’t let me see her cry anymore. I’m not close enough to her now for her to be that vulnerable with me.
“…I want to make you cry.” The words spilled out of Vincent’s lips before he even knew he was speaking them.
“Wh-What?! I-I don’t know what to…” Oriana was so flustered she stuttered, even as she kept her hand over her eyes.
I miss her tears.
Unable to resist his own emotions, Vincent stretched his hand out toward her, intending to pry hers away from her face. “For the moment, it might be best not to touch—”
Smack!
A dry sound echoed as she slapped his hand away. She gasped when she realized what she’d done, and he was no less shocked than her.
“S-Sorry, but um…I’m all right,” she insisted, flatly rebuffing him.
This is the first time she’s ever been this blunt about turning me away. Vincent had thought, more or less, that she’d come to accept him. Somewhere deep down, I figured she would let anything fly with me. That, even if she wouldn’t show me her tears, she wouldn’t complain even if I touched her a little without getting her consent first. Now he realized how conceited he had been.
Vincent stared vacantly, at a complete loss for words.
Oriana turned away from him and continued blinking. After a bit, she finally said, “Ah…I managed to get it.” She turned back toward him, the offending eyelash balanced on the tip of her index finger. “I’m sorry again about how I acted a moment ago. I probably ruined my makeup in the whole process, so I didn’t want you to look at me.” Still hiding her eyes behind her hand, she quietly added, “Oh, this is embarrassing…”
Even though he’d crossed the line as her friend, Oriana tacked on an excuse to her apology, as a way for him to save face.
After hesitating, he asked, “Do you require a mirror?”
“No, that won’t be necessary. I’ll just be on my way back to the dormitory…” As Oriana stood, something fell from her shoulders. “Huh?” she squeaked in surprise, glancing down at her feet. Vincent’s robe was strewn in front of her, part of it still caught on her chair. Oriana picked it up. “Is…this yours?”
“That’s right. I figured you must be cold.” Vincent had draped it over her shoulders on the assumption that a friend would be permitted that much, but he was feeling much less confident now.
If she shoves that back at me too, I’m honestly not sure whether I’ll be able to recover. Vincent admonished himself for doing something so unnecessary. Having lost his nerve, he was now waiting on tenterhooks to see how things would play out.
Oriana’s lips curled as she stared down at his robe. “So that’s where that lovely fragrance came from.”
Her voice was so soft and gentle, as if she were talking about finding a blooming rose in the middle of winter. It made his heart hammer. He’d been stranded in a forest of anxiety on the brink of his dying breath moments ago, but thanks to those few words, he was now floating on high, glad he’d decided to lend her his robe after all.
“Thank you,” said Oriana. “But you shouldn’t do these kinds of things with girls.”
No sooner had the relief washed over him than a bucket of cold water soon followed, dowsing his spirits once more.
Oriana held the robe out to him. He avoided her gaze for the most part as he took it.
But why? he wondered. She said it had a lovely fragrance. Vincent slipped his robe back on. The scent of Oriana’s shampoo soon teased at his nose. He kept his gaze glued to the ground. It makes sense now. I really can’t be doing these kinds of things.
Not for whatever reasons Oriana had in her mind, but more so because her smell made him feel like her face was right beside his.
“All right,” Vincent said meekly, though this time he’d lost his nerve for a very different reason.