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Chapter 26
“……You said you had no friends, but you seem to have a lot.”
“Huh? Ah. You must have seen the noisy party at the count’s mansion.”
“They are mostly people I just met.”
Some young ladies seemed eager to get close to me, but by my standard, I couldn’t really call them friends.
Kylerus Dierne (Kyle) narrowed his eyes as if judging whether I was telling the truth.
“It’s true. My father randomly sent out the invitations. I only just learned the names of the people there.”
I shrugged and protested.
“Actually, I didn’t want to go back there… but I heard you came by, so I was glad I could sneak out.”
I could completely understand Darius Dierne’s behavior when he ran away from his own birthday party.
Kyle’s head turned slightly away when I smiled at him.
I placed the shopping bag filled with desserts from Rotiang on the table.
“Kyle, did you buy this yourself?”
“…Whether I went there myself or not doesn’t matter.”
His answer sounded like a small complaint, but it carried a positive feeling.
Imagining Kyle entering such a cute shop stiffly like a robot and choosing desserts almost made me laugh, but I held it in.
“It looks delicious! Thank you. I’ll eat it well.”
Kyle’s head, still facing the other direction, moved slightly up and down.
After that, an awkward silence flowed between us while the duke family’s butler placed Kyle’s tea on the table and left, glancing at us with a strangely satisfied look.
No matter how Kyle felt, I decided to say what I had wanted to say before.
“Kyle. I had something I wanted to tell you if I met you again.”
I took a breath.
“…I’m sorry. I want to apologize for the previous incident.”
Kyle suddenly turned his head toward me, his eyes widening twice as much as usual, clearly shocked.
Finally, he was looking at me.
“I was selfish and arrogant. I didn’t consider your situation or feelings and just kept asking things from you. Even though you kept saying you hated it.”
“….”
“The times I asked you to play with me were all my one-sided demands, but you adjusted to me. Thinking back, you must have been annoyed since you had your own schedule and plans. I reflected on it.”
After saying the simple apology, I smiled gently.
Kyle stood stiffly with his mouth slightly open.
“And even though we ended badly, thank you for coming to keep the promise.”
After saying that calmly, it felt like something blocking my throat was suddenly gone.
Kyle, who had been frozen like a statue, rubbed his face hard as if doing a dry wash.
His lips kept moving as if he had something to say but couldn’t organize it well.
I didn’t rush him and waited quietly for the sentence to form.
“…I also spoke harshly. I didn’t really think you were a lazy or useless person. Um… at that time… maybe my body was tired and I suddenly got emotional.”
Kyle couldn’t finish his sentence and spoke incoherently.
His pale yellow eyes wandered and couldn’t look directly at me.
“Well, I guess I wasn’t good either…”
Wow. That Kyle was apologizing right now. This means he wants to reconcile, right?!
I also opened my eyes wide and looked at Kyle in surprise.
“…I think I was a little… wrong…”
His voice gradually became softer and softer, almost like ASMR. It was smaller than a mosquito’s sound and didn’t even finish the sentence properly, but the feeling was fully conveyed.
That was enough.
You worked hard. I’ll count hearing the apology as enough.
“Kyle.”
I stretched out my hand while smiling, worried that his tomato-red cheeks would explode if I left him alone longer.
“Then are we reconciled now?”
Kyle clenched his molars, lowered his half-closed eyes, and nodded.
“You should give me a handshake of reconciliation.”
I urged him with my arm floating in the air.
Kyle opened his tightly clenched fist and gently grabbed my hand.
The temperature of his hand was very hot, which surprised me, but I didn’t show it and shook it up and down.
It was a historic day where our true feelings finally reached each other. I never thought it would be resolved this easily. I was deeply moved.
After that, I took out the box of desserts from Rotiang and opened it. The beautifully wrapped desserts emitted a sweet scent.
“Let’s eat this together.”
“…No.”
“Hmm, that’s a pity. It would taste better if we eat together.”
Since I decided not to force anything, I accepted the refusal and immediately closed the lid.
“…Okay. Let’s eat.”
Kyle changed his answer unexpectedly.
“Huh? Really?”
Kyle answered with a small breath, then opened the box I had closed and nodded his chin.
“Nice! Hmm, everything looks delicious, but which one first?”
After thinking seriously like deciding an important matter, I picked an earl grey scented madeleine.
I cut the madeleine in half — the smaller half went into my mouth, and the larger half I put into Kyle’s mouth.
Kyle’s eyes widened like big marbles in surprise, then he chewed the madeleine and complained.
“…I can eat it myself.”
“Ah. Sorry.”
I fed him naturally without thinking too much. Maybe I was too casual.
After a short apology, I put my own half of the madeleine into my mouth.
“Umm! There’s a reason why famous shops are famous! It melts in my mouth!”
“…That’s good.”
When I made a fuss while holding my cheeks, Kyle muttered while glancing at me.
Next, I broke another piece in half and placed it on his palm.
Kyle quietly chewed and ate the desserts without complaining.
When he ate especially sweet flavors like vanilla or chocolate, his lifeless eyes regained some vitality. He swallowed faster too.
‘As expected, you like sweets, Kyle! Admit it!’
Honestly, it was shocking how good it tasted.
Of course, the desserts I had tried in the Brant Count family or the Dierne Duke Family were already delicious, but Rotiang was on another level.
Even compared to famous dessert shops in Seoul, the flavor was not inferior.
While lost in tasting the food, I suddenly realized something important. If we reconciled, we should have a proper conversation!
“Kyle. How have you been lately?”
Were you lonely without me for a month?! Didn’t you feel sad without your chess opponent?!
It was a casual small talk, but I secretly meant that.
“…Just the same.”
“Training every day? From morning to evening?”
When I asked for confirmation, Kyle’s head moved slightly up and down.
Nothing changed at all. His daily life, and his short, indifferent answers.
“I see.”
I almost asked whether anything changed since his father, the Duke of the Selphius Dierne, was staying in the capital mansion, but I stopped because it might be a sensitive topic.
Instead, I started talking about myself.
“I was bored because I couldn’t play with you. Even the books I liked became less interesting.”
“….”
“After learning the fun of sharing time with a friend, playing alone feels lonely and dull. But talking with many strangers I barely know also drains my energy. I guess I have a really annoying personality.”
“….”
“Oh. My close maid, Millie, sometimes played with me, but she also has work to do, so I felt sorry. So I told my father I wanted a young horse as a birthday gift. If I have a companion horse, I won’t feel lonely, and I can practice riding.”
While I was pouring out random TMI, Kyle’s lips twitched a few times but no voice came out.
I stopped talking and waited quietly to give him a chance to speak.
Meanwhile, I carefully cut the next target — a lemon pound cake with a fresh scent.
“I won’t eat more. You can eat the rest later.”
I held out half of the lemon pound cake.
Kyle shot back in an angry tone.
Ah. Was it bad to eat several pieces of the gift in front of the person who gave it?
I wanted to share the taste, but I couldn’t stop.
“Okay. I’ll save it and eat slowly!”
After closing the box, I tied the ribbon again.
“It was totally my type of gift. Thank you.”
“…Compared to that bracelet?”
“Huh?”
Not understanding the question, I asked again.
Kyle glanced at the silver bracelet on my wrist.
“Are you saying it’s better than that bracelet?”
