The Knight Who Broke Off Our Engagement and Told Me to Never Show My Face Again Still Clings to Me Today, Even Though I Was Possessed and Turned Into a Villainess for Ten Years - 34 - Change
“My lady, my lady! Please wake up quickly, Lord Gerald is here!”
“Mm… Gerald… huh?”
Still fast asleep from yesterday’s exhaustion, I was shaken awake by Haala. When I finally snapped out of it, I jumped to my feet in a hurry.
He had gone somewhere far from the royal capital, and I’d heard it would take at least two days for the round trip. So why is he here now? Still confused, I quickly got dressed and rushed to the parlor where he was waiting.
While walking down the hallway, I asked Haala, and she told me Norman and Eliza had also just woken up and were having breakfast in their room. Hearing that they were doing fine gave me some peace of mind.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“No, it’s fine. Actually, I’m the one who should apologize for coming so early.”
Gerald gave me his usual warm smile and even said, “You’re cute when you’ve just woken up.”
“But I thought it would take two days, so I was really surprised.”
“I turned back halfway.”
“Did something happen?”
“Yeah… a lot happened for me, I guess.”
Gerald said that with a small, self-mocking smile. Something must have happened that made him come back early.
That said, we were able to rescue both Norman and Eliza safely. And now that we didn’t need to use the vow spell on that man, maybe things turned out for the best after all.
“I read your letter. It sounds like it was really tough. Are the two of them here now?”
“Yeah. Should I call them?”
“No, not yet.”
“…Really?”
His “not yet” caught my attention, but I went on to tell Gerald everything I hadn’t been able to include in my letter.
I also told him that our top priority now is to take the magic tool from the woman named Mabel.
Gerald listened, nodding from time to time. He’s always been a good listener. Talking to him like this made me remember how often I used to go on and on to him in the past.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be there when you needed help the most.”
“No, you were doing everything you could for us too.”
He looked so apologetic, but the truth is, I had always relied on him and left everything to him. When I told him not to worry, he gave a troubled smile and lowered his brows.
“…But, you came to me first, right?”
“Huh? Yeah, I did.”
“That makes me really happy.”
Then Gerald looked straight into my eyes with his emerald-green ones. Before I knew it, his expression had turned completely serious.
“Hey, Sadie.”
“Yeah?”
“Once we get that magic tool back from Mabel, and everything is finally over… will you marry me?”
“…Huh?”
Such unbelievable words left me speechless. Gerald… marry me? Was I just… proposed to?
It was all so sudden. I didn’t know how to react. I forgot to even breathe. I could only stare back into his beautiful eyes.
“I love you. I’ve always loved you.”
“…!”
“I mean it. I’d really be happy if you’d think about it.”
And then he gave me the most beautiful smile of all.
◇◇◇
After that, Gerald met with Norman and Eliza, talked with them for a bit, and then left.
“See you, Sadie. I love you.”
He whispered that in my ear before leaving. Even now, as the three of us have tea in the garden, I still can’t calm down.
Neil had told me about Gerald’s feelings before, but I never expected him to actually confess or even propose. Why now of all times?
Still, whenever I remembered his confession, I could feel my face getting hot. It felt like the first time in my life that someone of the opposite s3x had told me they loved me like that.
“Still, Gerald really is so handsome, isn’t he? And you’re beautiful too, Sadie—I was shocked.”
“Y-Yeah…”
“People thought you were a villainess and Gerald was a womanizer, right? That must’ve been hard.”
“Yeah… just a little.”
It seemed like they still didn’t feel fully comfortable in this new life. And I completely understood how they felt.
It hurt that they couldn’t go back to their families just yet, but they said they were happy just to be able to live like this. By the way, Neil is coming to our house tomorrow around noon.
“And Lord Rufus is very charming too, don’t you think?”
“I think so too. He’s really kind.”
“Hey, is there really nothing going on between you two?”
“…Huh?”
I tilted my head, not understanding what they meant. Seeing that, the two of them laughed like they had figured something out.
“Well, that’s just like Sadie.”
“That’s what I thought too.”
When I asked what they meant, they just brushed it off. That whole day, I couldn’t get Gerald’s words out of my mind, and I couldn’t come up with a single good plan to take the magic tool back.
That night, I received a letter from Rufus.
He said there’s a place he wants to take me to, so he wants me to make time soon. He also wrote that he had visited the mansion where the archbishop used to live yesterday.
And, written in neat but strong handwriting, he added: “I believe the archbishop has returned to his original body.”