Episode 15
From that day on, Eileen would often hand Floran a bundle of papers, telling him that they should be the perfect window couple.
“What is this?”
I read the text while waving the paper… … .
[First Encounter: He came down to the south to relax and fell in love at first sight when he saw me swimming under the moonlight in a nearby river.
Second meeting: Our first official meeting. We greeted each other and inspected the area together, but the horse I was riding suddenly started to buck, and I helped him.
Until we got married: From that day on, we exchanged letters with good intentions, but when I was proposed to by the Northern Grand Duke, I became anxious. However, I thought I couldn’t interfere, so I held back tears and tried to give up, but I proposed to Floan first, and Floan accepted.
“……Is this a synopsis of the new opera?”
Floran looked at Eileen with a puzzled expression, wondering if she wanted to see a new opera, as the writing seemed to be some kind of romance novel.
“This is a rough sketch of our love story.”
“Is this it?”
“Well, with a little fiction thrown in? I don’t care. The truth isn’t important. What matters is your and my image-making.”
Eileen, with a meaningful smile, spoke faster than before.
“Haha. I went with the concept of Floan, who’s laid-back and warm, with a Southern flair, a nice physique, and a style that’s easy on the ladies. Being too patriarchal isn’t necessarily trendy.”
“…….”
“It’s like this. A man strong enough to beat up a bull, but warm as sunshine to his woman!”
“……What does that mean?”
“Oh, of course it makes sense! You get the image of a great person who listens to whatever I do, and I get the image of an ambitious Grand Duchess who’s revitalizing the South.”
“I know you have ambition, but I wonder if it’s really necessary to go this far.”
I’m not feeling very good.
I knew that Eileen’s plan included acting as a show window couple, and that the show window couple had to continue in order to maintain their contract…
“Is it really necessary to go as far as to act?”
“People don’t like it when you’re too overt. No matter what you want, if you show it too strongly, you’ll get a backlash. It’s the subtle things that tend to seep into people’s hearts.”
“So what does this have to do with us practicing pretending to love each other now?”
“I have to tell the story, and I’m sure people would rather hear it from you than from me.”
“…….”
“That doesn’t mean you have to kiss each other. It’s easier if you just think of it as acting. Like you said earlier—well, you can think of it as practicing for an opera.”
“It’s not that difficult, is it?” Eileen said, and something deep inside Floran felt a surge of emotion welling up inside him.
No, rather than feeling like I’m suddenly crying, it’s more like I feel like something is slightly twisted.
It’s not that hard to keep up with this girl’s rhythm.
“Ah, I understand what you mean.”
Something feels… dirty, shall we say.
“We need to kiss.”
“……? that’s right.”
Eileen felt slightly uneasy at the sight of him suddenly flashing a bright smile.
“What is it? Why are you smiling so beautifully? It makes my heart flutter.”
It was a moment of thought.
In the blink of an eye, Floran tilted his head slightly and approached me.
It was so close that our lips could almost touch.
‘I have to push it out… …!’
A flustered Eileen unconsciously pushed his chest away and tightened her arms.
“omg……!”
However, contrary to her intention, she ended up grabbing Floran by the collar.
There was a thud, a thud, and the sound of something falling to the floor.
What rolled in front of Eileen’s shoes was a brooch.
“…….”
That brooch was attached to Floran’s cravat just a moment ago.
“……I didn’t know you liked things rough, ma’am.”
“…….”
When I turned my gaze, all I could see was his forehead, which was swollen shut as the brooch fell off.
No, to be more precise, his shirt was hanging down, and his chest was clearly visible before his eyes.
“This, this is it, you first.”
“What about me? It was Eileen who took my clothes off.”
“No, I didn’t take it off.”
“Look. Even now, he’s holding onto my clothes and not letting go.”
Floran chuckled as he wrapped his arms around Eileen’s hand, which was still holding her collar.
Eileen quickly takes her hand away at those words.
“You were going to kiss me first—!”
“Oh, I thought you were talking about that kiss again.”
“What?!”
It was clear that the sound was funny.
When he smiled with only one corner of his mouth raised, the sunken dimples clearly showed a lot of ‘intention’.
The intention was clearly not to kiss—no, to tease.
This guy is making fun of me right now.
“I thought it would be nice to do it once to get to know each other better. Since we’re going to act anyway, it’d be nice to feel it.”
Without saying anything, she watched his back as he walked away with a blank expression.
“……Are you, are you crazy, really?”
How can someone be so sly and shameless without being truly crazy?
Eileen muttered in a disgusted tone, but quietly raised her hand and touched her lips.
I definitely felt it earlier… … I think I touched it… … .
It definitely feels like something clean has just brushed past me… … .
It’s normal to hate it.
No, it’s normal to hate it.
A man who suddenly sticks his lips into mine.
This is harassment, yes. It is harassment, yes.
“……But why am I so excited and making such a fuss? Am I crazy?”
In fact, rather than being disgusted with Floran, I was more disgusted with myself for not disliking his behavior.
It’s my first time seeing such a handsome face, so I wonder if my old ‘foolish’ side is about to come back to me.
Eileen shook her head firmly, as if to say that it absolutely could not be done.
“Come to your senses, Eileen. Has your rational mind, which remained unmoved even at the sight of the Northern Grand Duke, become indecisive just because the weather is a little warmer? Absolutely not. No matter what, you can’t let that lingering gaze and smile get your heart racing.”
The more excited she was for him, the more Eileen would suffer in the future.
In order to take over the entire South, it was not worth being swayed by a mere handsome man.
From that day on, Eileen’s perfect window dressing performance continued.
Of course, the days of pretending not to notice and ignoring Floran, who was teasing me with such slyness, continued.
He often looked at Eileen with a seductive look, as if teasing her, but Eileen knew very well.
That there is no sincerity in those eyes.
So I had to do the same.
* * *
Before opening, not only the newly hired staff but also the aide Dalton were worried about the Archduchess’s reputation.
Their fears were justified, for if no one came, the sparks would surely fly to them.
“So how can you, a person from the East, promise to revive the South?”
“I don’t know what kind of business a woman can do.”
There were even some who questioned whether the aristocracy would do something that would lower their status and be something that only the bourgeoisie would do.
So, some people tried to find fault with Eileen, while others were full of curiosity―.
Eileen’s cafe, Kawa, has opened.
How many people would have gathered?
Of course, it’s not that she lacks confidence in her personality, but it’s not that she’s arrogant either.
She seemed nervous and wiped her sweaty palms on the hem of her dress.
I pretended not to notice, but I was nervous, and no matter how much I wiped the sweat off my palms, they were still wet.
‘This damn hyperhidrosis, whenever I get nervous I sweat like this.’
While she was clicking her tongue, Floran came up to her and affectionately grabbed her hand.
Eileen was so surprised that she unconsciously pulled her hand away.
The reason was clear.
If your hands are sweaty and you suddenly grab it, wouldn’t it feel uncomfortable?
The phrase that seems to be the fate of those with hyperhidrosis: “Your hands are so wet they feel uncomfortable.”
No matter how many times I heard that, it was still hurtful to hear it again.
Anyway, I wonder if he was surprised that his hands suddenly became wet.
I looked at her quietly.
“Oh, that’s because my hands are a little wet.”
“So what?”
“I said it was awkward.”
“You?”
“No, you!”
Then, Floran smiled brightly and naturally took Eileen’s hand again.
A firm hand penetrated between her fingers.
Eileen’s body flinched at the movement.
“If that’s the case, then I don’t mind. It doesn’t make me uncomfortable.”
