Chapter 67
However, there wasn’t much I could say to her.
I twisted my body awkwardly and whispered softly.
“The kiss was something huge.”
“…Is that really all?”
“Yeah. Only those who’ve done it would know.”
When I winked playfully, Mei shot me a glare.
Her expression screamed jealousy, so I simply ignored it.
‘Now how am I supposed to face Alferen?’
All the excuses I’d made about it being a fake relationship felt meaningless now.
From the moment he’d realized my feelings, I could no longer claim it was pretend.
I decided to set a deadline.
I planned to tell him we’d end the fake relationship in a week.
Because it was impossible to keep up the act as fake lovers with these feelings anymore.
From the beginning, Alferen had suggested it just to avoid unnecessary complications before finding someone good, due to the incident at the Magic Tower.
If Nanael hadn’t misunderstood because of that, it would have been a non-event that never happened.
Yes, that’s all it was.
‘Continuing this ambiguous relationship isn’t good for Alferen or for me.’
I liked Alferen, sure, but it was obvious he saw me as nothing more than his friend’s little sister.
If I confessed my feelings, far from being accepted, it would only push us further apart.
If he’d had even a sliver of feelings for me to begin with, he wouldn’t have suggested a fake relationship at all.
Just like how I’d accepted the proposal without thinking I’d fall for him.
So, stopping here before my feelings grew any larger was the way for me to get hurt less.
The reason I wasn’t ending the contract right away was my lingering attachment.
‘Want to go to the sea together in mid-July? Thanks to the Goddess of Victory, I got a great vacation spot.’
Truthfully, when Alferen brought up the vacation, I wavered.
Thinking, wouldn’t it be okay to at least go on one couple’s trip before ending it?
But mid-July was well after Summer would have arrived.
So, going on the trip was impossible from the start, but I didn’t refuse outright.
‘Sounds good. Let’s go without Adrian. He’d just get in the way.’
‘Good idea, Delly.’
In that moment, those words were utterly sincere.
Once I realized my feelings, my drive to act became frighteningly swift.
With the deadline set, I wanted to make the most of the remaining time, squeezing every bit out of it.
‘Want to meet tomorrow too?’
‘Tomorrow as well?’
‘Yeah. And the day after, and the one after that. After you get off work is fine, or before you head in. I just want to see your face every day.’
‘It feels like you’re saying everything I wanted to say today.’
It was nothing more than a deadline to satisfy my own selfish desires.
Unaware of my intentions, Alferen readily agreed to date every day for the week.
I busily compiled a bucket list.
A week wasn’t even enough to cram in memories with Alferen at an accelerated pace before Summer arrived!
I jotted down all the famous spots I’d wanted to visit if I ever got a boyfriend.
I wanted to get couple items too, but I hated the idea of having physical reminders left behind.
It was obvious I’d end up pathetically fondling them, dripping with regret.
And so, on the fifth day of preparing for farewell all by myself.
I visited the Ainluk ducal residence for one final check.
‘Once we end the contract romance, it’ll be hard to come and go here anymore, right?’
Even so, I’d grown quite attached in just a month, and it felt a bit bittersweet.
Thanks to Isaac and Sophia believing in me, the Ainluk mansion had transformed beyond recognition.
All the drab, outdated furniture had been replaced, and even the merchants had been switched out, leaving nothing more to fix.
‘Now, even when Summer comes, it’ll run itself.’
I’d meticulously left guidelines with my absence in mind, so Sophia, being perceptive, would handle it well.
Having finished that final tidying up, I headed to the annex.
By the time I arrived with an armful of lilies that the previous duke had supposedly loved, the sunset was already setting.
After removing the dried lilies and replacing them with fresh ones.
I gazed at Daven Ainluk for a long while.
If Alferen aged, he’d probably look like this.
‘Even if I’m an ex, since it was fake, maybe we can keep things as they were.’
But knowing how straight-laced Alferen was, once things went well with Summer, he might draw a line himself.
I had no intention of lingering as an ambiguous female friend either, but the bitterness in my heart was unavoidable.
“This is my last greeting for today. I probably won’t be able to see you for a while.”
I bid farewell to the sleeping figure who couldn’t even hear it.
Come to think of it, the deadline for Sierra to bring the Fairy Bloom was approaching.
If the flower bloomed as I’d hoped and the fairy awakened, it might help Lord Daven.
I quietly suppressed my selfish desire to use that as an excuse to see Alferen one more time.
As always, fervently praying for Lord Daven to wake up.
* * *
Rodellia thought she hadn’t been caught, but Alferen had sensed it.
That she seemed oddly preparing for farewell.
It started with a tip from Sophia.
‘Lately, Lady Rodellia has been acting strange. She’s leaving all sorts of records as if she won’t be visiting Ainluk for several days.’
After that, Isaac, the gardener, and even Eden added their observations.
‘She suddenly gave gifts to each of the servants. She’s always so kind, so we accepted them gratefully, but it feels off. She acted as if she were leaving for far away…’
‘Several packages arrived at the Magic Tower addressed to Lady Rodellia. They were the new drip coffee bags from Winip! With this amount, we’ll be set for the year!’
It was unusual for Rodellia, who usually took joy in doing things herself, to suddenly shower everyone with gifts.
The gifts were one thing, but the dates they’d shared these past few days felt inescapably like checking off a list.
‘Want to share this as a couple item?’
‘Hmm? Not sure. I’m not really into it.’
Moreover, the oddly uncomfortable expression she made whenever he suggested couple items.
All of it resembled the behavior of a lover who’d grown weary and was preparing to break up.
It had even been mentioned in the book he’d studied diligently for real romance, [101 Ways to Keep Love Lasting Long].
It said that usually, a partner whose heart had wandered would be exceptionally kind right before breaking up.
‘Breaking up?’
Alferen didn’t want to believe it.
Hadn’t they just agreed to go on summer vacation together soon?
And it was she who’d first suggested they go just the two of them.
So, he planned to dismiss these minor signals as mere over-sensitivity.
The problem was that there was a signal he couldn’t overlook.
‘You know, once the fake relationship ends, it’d be natural to pretend we don’t know each other for a while, right?’
‘Why bring that up all of a sudden?’
‘Just because. Normal couples act like they’ll never see each other again after breaking up. It’d feel a bit sad for me to never see you at all…’
Why ask such an ominous question at the sweetest moment?
Alferen checked the calendar.
Tomorrow would be the last day of the week they’d promised.
It was also the day they’d agreed to have a late breakfast together and attend Nanael’s teatime in the afternoon.
‘Let’s not overthink it.’
He pressed his temples firmly, growing anxious.
‘Sounds good. Let’s go without Adrian. He’d just get in the way.’
Instead, he recalled once more how she’d suggested they travel alone as a couple.
It was a clear departure from the years when the two families vacationed together.
So, this must just be unnecessary worry.
‘Come to think of it, back then too, Delly was the one who suggested we go together first.’
The year after the previous Duke Ainluk fell into a coma.
It was Rodellia who’d grabbed Alferen when he was about to skip summer vacation and just work.
‘What are you doing for vacation?’
‘Working.’
‘Listen here, young Duke Ainluk. Don’t you know the basic common sense that you need good rest to work well? No arguments—just come on summer vacation with us.’
He’d realized early on that it was consideration for him, who had no family to vacation with.
She was that kind and good-hearted a person.
She wouldn’t deceive him with lies.
‘If she was tired of the fake relationship to begin with, she wouldn’t have made such a promise.’
