“Can you make me just one piece of clothing?”

“oh…”

The words that came out of Hayes’ mouth were very welcome.

Because I was wondering what to challenge next after the maid uniform.

But it wasn’t that pleasant.

There’s no reason for you to come to me just for a piece of clothing.

I shrugged and pointed to the tea table in the corner of the room.

“Let me hear the reason first.”

“Yeah… Leticia? Would it be okay if I stayed alone with you for a moment?”

“Yes, Miss, I’ll be waiting in the next room. Please call me whenever you need me.”

“is it so.”

“Emily, can I have a cup of tea, please?”

“yes.”

I also sent Emily out of the room, citing the car as an excuse, as Hayes was trying to talk about something sensitive.

A smart Emily would have taken her time and brought it leisurely.

We had about 30 minutes to be alone together.

“Tell me quickly.”

“Okay, so don’t rush me.”

After sending the two people away, I sat down at the tea table and immediately started talking. Hayes gave me a sharp look and spoke nervously.

And Hayes, who seemed to be gathering his thoughts for a moment and moved his lips a few times, swallowed hard and carefully opened his mouth.

“…There will be a small banquet at the Braybrook estate in a few weeks, and I plan to attend.”

“huh.”

“By the way, I’ve been having a bit of a good time with the second son lately.”

“Second?”

Unfortunately, it was someone I knew.

My mother had been secretly hinting at the appointment of the second son of the Viscount Braybrook as an imperial secretary a few months ago, so it stuck in my mind.

Personally, I think he’s a bad person.

Because I was the same age as him and he was competent, I got nagged for no reason.

But if you look at it objectively, he has a good personality and is capable, so if you can bring him along, he is a person that everyone would be satisfied with, regardless of his father or mother.

“Sounds good, but what’s the problem?”

“Should I say I want to take this opportunity to become closer to Confucius, or should I say I want to put an end to this ambiguous relationship that is neither friend nor lover… Anyway, there is something like that.”

“Hoo…”

It’s my younger sister’s relationship advice.

I felt like an interest that I had never had before was slowly welling up.

“You said it was an ambiguous relationship, but how far did you go with that boasting?”

I suppressed the corners of my mouth from rising and asked the question as calmly as possible.

Then, my younger sister, her cheeks flushed brightly, lowered her head slightly and muttered in a trembling voice.

“hand…”

“hand?”

“The two of us held hands…”

“Oh… and?”

“It was warm…”

The sight of Hayes cupping his flushed cheek with his hand, imagining Confucius’s warm hand, was very innocent.

“note…”

However, for me, who was expecting more than just hand-holding, the response was not very pleasant, as it was just a ‘good atmosphere’.

I wanted an episode that was sweet but didn’t cross the line, like holding hands or secretly putting an arm around someone.

Isn’t this not even a start, let alone a line?

“Is holding hands the end? Is there anything else?”

“huh…”

“note…”

Hayes nodded slightly, avoiding my eyes.

No episodes other than holding hands.

Is this a good atmosphere?

I was suspicious that it wasn’t a sweet romance between a man and a woman, but rather a one-sided crush on Hayes.

“So… you two have feelings for each other, right?”

“I’m sure, but he’s a little vague.”

“I think it’s not that ambiguous, just holding hands, but I think it’s okay to say there isn’t any.”

“That’s not it!”

As he narrowed his eyes and sneered at Hayes’ words, Hayes jumped up from his seat, glared, and shouted.

And he continued speaking in a voice full of resentment.

“We had tea time together once, and we even went out on the terrace to enjoy the breeze… Anyway, it was a good atmosphere!”

“Hmm~”

Just listening to you, it definitely seemed like there was a good atmosphere…

I wanted to hear a little more about what happened between the two.

“First, calm down and tell me in detail what happened on the terrace.”

“It happened on the anniversary of His Majesty the Emperor’s coronation…”

Hayes, whose face brightened noticeably as if something good had definitely happened on the terrace, sat down in his seat and began to recount the events of that time as if he had been waiting for them.

“I was feeling dizzy during the banquet and was going out on the terrace to get some fresh air. Leticia had left for a moment to find a blanket, and I had loosened my corset a little and was crouching down to rest.”

“huh.”

“But then suddenly the curtains opened and a man I didn’t know came into the terrace. I was so startled that I screamed, ‘Who is it!?’”

“But then I found out he was Confucius?”

“Yeah, Confucius looked flustered as he made eye contact with me and apologized, then he turned around in a hurry to leave the terrace again.”

“Is that the end?”

I frowned and questioned Hayes’s words.

Then Hayes shook his head and said with a solemn expression.

“I called Confucius who was about to leave and stopped him.”

“Hey…”

“It just so happened that there were only two of us, it was a place where no one else would be, and I was a little tipsy, so I had some courage… If not now, when else would I be alone with Confucius?”

“yes.”

“At that time, I said, ‘The terrace is spacious, so if you don’t mind, let’s share it.’”

“So? What did Confucius say?”

“At first he hesitated, but soon he took his hand away from the curtain and walked quietly to the railing, and Confucius said, ‘Thank you, Miss Hayes, for your consideration.’”

“Young-ae, did you say Hayes, not Princess?”

“Yeah, yeah! Confucius knew my name?! When he called me ‘Miss Hayes’ in a deep voice, my heart pounded so hard! I thought my heart was going to burst.”

Hayes still felt the afterglow of those moments, as he closed his eyes slightly and clutched his chest.

“ha…”

Hayes, who had been breathing heavily as his emotions rose, continued speaking with a sigh.

“But I couldn’t act frivolously in front of Confucius, so I suppressed my pounding heart and stood up as if nothing had happened. I wanted to stand side by side with Confucius and have a conversation.”

“huh.”

“But then, of all times, I suddenly felt dizzy. I was squatting down, my heart was racing, the air was cold, and everything went black. I couldn’t even make a sound and just fell down, but then I suddenly felt a firm hand on my waist and hand.

And after a while, the dizziness gradually subsided and my vision became clear, and Confucius’ face was right in front of me, and he said with a worried expression, ‘Are you okay?’ Gyaaaaaaaaaa…!”

Hayes let out a short, girlish scream, flapping her hands near her chest.

And Hayes held both hands tightly, placed them near his right cheek, and with his eyes sparkling brightly, he imagined Confucius’ appearance at that time.

“How wonderful! I can’t breathe properly, and all I can see is Confucius’ face. And so, the two of us are lost in a world of our own, with me in Confucius’s eyes and Confucius in mine.

We stood there for a few seconds? No, dozens of seconds, staring blankly at each other… No, should I say we were embracing? Confucius’s hand was wrapped around my waist, and I was gently placing my hand on his chest.

Then, suddenly, I realized that Confucius’s gaze was not on my eyes, but somewhere else.”

“where?”

“Lips… Confucius stared blankly at his lips and moved them a few times. At that moment, I felt, ‘Isn’t this my chance?’

“I carefully placed my hand on Confucius’s waist, worried that it might seem too bright if I got my face right up close. I watched Confucius’ reaction for a few seconds, feeling uneasy. Instead, Confucius’s hand wrapped tightly around my waist, as if he was telling me it was okay for me to come closer. So I slowly brought my head closer to Confucius’ face.”

“……”

“We were so close that I couldn’t tell whose breath was touching my skin or whose ragged breath was exhaling, and now all we had to do was lift our lips…”

“So? So what happened?”

Hayes stopped talking at the crucial moment and stared blankly into space.

Then he lowered his head with a sullen expression and spoke in a hoarse voice.

“It just so happened that Leticia came back at that time…”

“ah……”

The timing was so exquisite that I felt resentful as I listened.

I remembered that the progress of Hayes and Confucius, which I had momentarily forgotten, ended with them holding hands.

“That day ended so amicably that we parted ways, and later, during my brief stay in the Imperial City, we had tea as an apology, held hands, and… that was the end of it.”

“I guess they were both looking out for each other because it ended ambiguously?”

“huh…”

“It’s also a problem that Miss Leticia is too competent.”

“Leticia did nothing wrong, but I hated her a little.”

“That makes sense.”

“yes?”

Hayes’ expression brightened slightly as he gave a little applause.

I apologized to Miss Leticia in my heart for being such a capable maid that she was resented by her servant.

“I can’t keep this awkward atmosphere going on, so I want to change things up this time.”

“Um… So what were you thinking about? Clothes?”

“Yeah, I think it might be a good idea to change my image a bit, and if I show a bit of a more proactive side, maybe Confucius will feel less awkward…”

“What style do you want?”

“Rather than a specific style, what kind of clothes would men like? My brother and I are about the same age, and since my brother makes clothes these days, I thought he might know a lot about them, so I came here…”

“hmm…”

“Can’t it be done?”

I groaned softly and rubbed the back of my neck.

Then Hayes wiggled his fingers and looked at me carefully.

“It’s not that it’s not possible…”

Since it was my sister’s request, I thought about it together with her, but I wasn’t very confident.

That would be true, I’ve never been in love in my life…

“Haa… First… Shall we talk after Emily brings the car?”

“huh…”

First, I needed some time to think.