ISMCFC 15

Episode 15

To be completely honest, Hares wanted to give Lize an answer to her confession right away.

And yet, paradoxically, because she was so precious to him, he couldn’t simply act on whatever came to mind.

He couldn’t shake the thought that, depending on how he responded to her confession, their relationship might change completely.

It had only been a single day.

Lize also seemed to be having a hard time emotionally, but that only made it more difficult for him to reach a decision quickly for her sake.

He had to consider everything, even how they would have to act toward each other from then on if their relationship changed.

His desire to protect Rize, to cherish her above anyone else, remained exactly the same.

He needed more time to think.

But, absurdly enough, what made the decision even harder was—

‘Killian.’

That man seemed as though he might seize the opportunity to slip into Rize’s vulnerable heart like a venomous snake and claim it for himself at any moment.

Hares was afraid he might rush into making a decision when he hadn’t even sorted out his own thoughts yet.

He was also worried that either Lize or he himself—or perhaps both of them—would end up getting hurt by that decision.

Even so, he should have told her that she was the most important person to him.

It wasn’t because of her confession that he was acting this way. Strangely, ever since then, whenever he looked at Lize, a burning heat rose inside him.

His heart was becoming unbearably unsettled.

Hares ran his remaining hand roughly through his hair.

‘I don’t even know what’s going on with me, damn it.’

That was when Riven approached him with a broad, carefree grin.

Hares had been standing motionless, still holding the glass of lemonade he’d brought for Rize.

Riven might have been as lightheaded and frivolous as a balloon, but he was a decent fellow.

“Hey, did you have a fight with Miss Chelsier?”

Hares didn’t even bother answering the question. He merely looked annoyed as Riven approached him without the slightest sense of the atmosphere.

Soon, Riven asked with a cheeky grin,

“By the way, did you see Miss Chelsier crying today? She literally went ‘Bwaaa!’ and suddenly started crying like a little kid. She was so cute. Is something going on at home? I really wanted to comfort her.”

“……What?”

“I told you before that Miss Chelsier is genuinely my type and asked you to introduce us, remember? I’m serious. I want to date her with marriage in mind, you know? I’m not some creep who makes dirty jokes or casually fools around with women.”

Hares knew that. He knew Riven was quite serious about Rize.

But he had refused to introduce them because, in his opinion, Riven was nowhere near good enough for her.

“She’s not dating that guy, is she? Honestly, when it comes to looks and physique, I’m definitely better than him, but I still want to give it a shot. You know I’ve been keeping an eye on her for quite a while, right?”

Hares curled his lips into a sneer and muttered under his breath,

“……Why is it always one guy after another? Ha.”

“What?”

“Didn’t I tell you I wouldn’t introduce Rize to you? I said the matter was settled. Stop coming over here without reading the room and pestering me to introduce you to her.”

At Hares’s biting, aggressive words, Riven immediately looked awkward.

Then he muttered something under his breath.

“Whenever it has anything to do with Miss Chelsier, this bastard really turns into a complete pain in the ass.”

He then continued,

“Come on, weren’t you the one who said you wouldn’t get married until after Miss Chelsier got married? Hey, things are going well between you and Lady Lotesie, aren’t they? Greedy bastard.”

“Things are going well between Lady Lotesie and me? What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Besides, you’re the reason Miss Chelsier can’t get into a relationship! If it weren’t for you, she would have already been dating some decent man and gotten married by now! Look at that! A good man showed up in no time!”

Hares unconsciously tightened his grip on the glass he was holding.

He didn’t even care when the thin glass began to crack and crumble in his hand.

Crash!

The glass shattered completely.

The lemonade inside spilled onto the floor, mixing with the blood in a sticky stream.

Once again, everyone’s attention turned toward Hares.

People had already been quietly watching him after he’d suddenly followed Lize when she burst into tears just moments earlier.

Hares placed the broken glass on the tray a servant had brought over, then took a napkin and roughly wrapped it around his palm.

The calluses on his hand were thick enough that it didn’t even hurt. A little blood like this would stop flowing soon enough.

But unlike his chaotic thoughts—

‘I need some time alone with Rize.’

That was the only thought filling his mind.

I had considered the possibility that Hares might be waiting for me outside my house.

There had been only one time when Hares and I had ever had a serious fight.

Looking back, it had been over something utterly trivial. But at the time, I had been so upset that I vowed to myself I would never see Hares again.

Now that I thought about it, the reason we’d fought was so ridiculous that it was almost laughable. Yet why had it seemed so serious back then?

Hares had been the one to come to my room first and apologize.

When you thought about it, it hadn’t even been entirely his fault.

He had told me he was sorry for hurting me.

It was the same now. Hares…… even though this time, too, it wasn’t his fault, he was the one waiting outside my front door.

His quietly lowered eyes were dark, as though he were about to say something that could never be taken back.

Balls usually lasted until three in the morning, but I generally left around midnight.

And today, I’d left even earlier than usual, though it was still past ten at night.

I had declined Killian’s offer to escort me all the way inside and walked up to the front door on my own.

Because I had expected this.

I knew Hares would be the one to approach me first.

He had already turned toward me at the sound of my footsteps.

“……”

“……”

Silence hung between us, a stark contrast to the easy, playful relationship we’d always shared.

He stood in front of the entrance with an expression entirely devoid of his usual smile, looking at me as though he wanted to say something.

His eyes, slowly settling on me, seemed colder than usual tonight.

I awkwardly avoided his gaze and bit down hard on my lip.

I had known it would come to this.

But I also knew that unless I was the one to give up on my feelings first, this was an obstacle we would inevitably have to face.

To be honest, I regretted how quickly the distance between us had grown. But that didn’t mean I regretted confessing to him.

If I hadn’t done it, I would have continued suffering in silence, watching him smile happily in front of me as he talked about going on a date with Eve.

Even if we were both hurting just as much, at least now Hares would have to think about me and me alone for a while.

Even though he’d avoided my gaze and kept his distance today, and had even been lively and talkative with Eve.

‘I know I wasn’t out of your thoughts today.’

So I decided not to regret it.

All I could do was wait for whatever answer he chose to give me.

Hares looked at me without moving, his expression unreadable and dry. Eventually, he was the first to speak.

“……I’ve been thinking about what you said yesterday. About how you like me.”

“Yeah.”

I answered quietly.

Hares opened his lips several times, only to close them again, hesitating.

I could tell from his expression that he wasn’t about to cheerfully suggest taking our relationship to the next level. But by now, I almost wanted to hear his answer, whatever it might be.

At the same time, part of me wanted to run away.

Torn between these conflicting emotions that I couldn’t even control myself, I drew in a deep breath.

My heart was pounding.

But rather than finally speaking after all his hesitation, Hares chose to approach me.

He slowly came closer, then looked down at me.

He didn’t part his lips. His gaze was strangely unfamiliar, subdued in a way I’d never seen before.

Then, suddenly, Hares seemed to make up his mind.

He reached out toward me.

My attention was drawn to the firm palm approaching me.

A moment later, Hares cupped my cheek in his hand.

He had been looking at me, but then his gaze lowered as he bent his head toward mine.

At the sudden approach of his kiss, I froze in place, too startled to move.

Why was he trying to kiss me?

He was leaning down toward me without offering a single explanation. My eyes wavered as though they had been swept up in a violent storm.

Our warm, damp breaths mingled in an instant.

Our lips hadn’t even touched yet, but already, a ticklish sensation fluttered inside my chest. My heart raced wildly, and anticipation surged all the way to my head.

Hares was more cautious than he appeared.

He was persistent, but at the same time, like a beast lurking in the undergrowth, he was someone who could spend a long time waiting for the perfect opportunity.

So if he was trying to kiss me, perhaps it meant that he, too, had feelings for me……