TCMGF 39

Chapter 39

What did I answer back again?

“I didn’t answer until I woke from the dream.”

I had only been trying to gauge whether he wanted a divorce by watching Ezekiel’s reaction, not really thinking deeply about my own feelings.

I resolved, once again, that I would slowly find the answer I couldn’t speak that day in the dream.

Ezekiel’s blue eyes still shone with a clear, transparent light.

“An interesting exhibition,” he said.
“Beautiful,” I murmured absentmindedly.

The last of the three halls was the Fantastic Creatures Exhibition.

Spirits, fairies, monsters, unicorns, and creatures like Lorelei were depicted in paintings and illusions.

“Wizards…”

I was inherently unqualified in that field.

If I had magical talent, maybe I would have been treated as someone more precious in this world…

“No. You’ve never really wanted magic before.”

Wanting magic just for that? Stop with the low self-esteem thoughts.

Somehow, I had gained the ability to cut off negative thoughts.

“This is the final course,” I said.

At the tree shaped like the World Tree, visitors could hang small papers with wishes written on them.

Holding the fountain pen placed in the corner, I pondered what wish I should write on the small, stiff paper.

Unlike me, Ezekiel scribbled quickly, then hung his paper on the World Tree model.

“That was fast. What did you wish for?” I asked.
“I wrote that you achieve what you desire,” he replied.

Ugh… What should I write?

After a long moment of thought, I finally wrote a single line:

[Please let the world not come at me.]

It was my wish for a peaceful life.

Meanwhile, Ezekiel tapped the wire-formed branch of the World Tree.

“Interesting. Even so, it’s a fake World Tree… will the wish really work—”
“No romance at all,” I said.
“…If you truly believe, maybe the wish will come true. It’s all about the mindset,” he said, casually changing his words.

I held back a laugh at his sudden shift.

“Right. It’s all about mindset.”

Who knows, if you wish sincerely, maybe even a fake World Tree will grant your wish. There’s nothing to lose.

Though the outing was short, a breath of fresh air made me feel good.

Before heading home, Ezekiel went to wash his hands alone while I rested on a bench near the entrance.

Perhaps because he was anxious, hoping the day would go well, his hands were sweaty.

After washing away the traces of tension, he returned to where I was sitting—and froze.

A man stood in front of me from afar.

“Who’s that?”

The stranger approached me and started talking. Ezekiel leaned against the wall, deciding to watch rather than intervene immediately.

“Huh?”

The man didn’t just speak to me. He handed me a single, red, luscious rose!

“Why… that?!”

That idiot must have eyes like knobs. Did he not recognize his own wife?

Ezekiel was about to rush over and snatch the rose, but he hesitated—the expression on my face while talking to the man looked bright.

Watching their never-ending yet unresolved interaction, Ezekiel’s breath almost caught in his chest.

Finally, when the fool disappeared, Ezekiel hurried to me.

Sensing his slight irritation, I leapt up from my seat like a cat.

“Eek! Ezekiel…!”

I even hid the rose behind my back like someone caught in the act.

“What’s that?”
“It’s not… I didn’t expect to receive it either!”
“Why did he give you a flower?”

I glanced around before answering carefully.

“He probably thought I was unmarried since I was alone…”

My head spun. He had predicted it correctly.

“I refused politely, and I only ended up taking it by accident! I’ll throw it away right away, so… don’t be mad!”

By the end, my voice had dropped.

Seeing me like that snapped Ezekiel back to reality.

His desire to calm me and his own displeasure got tangled up.

Because of that, he blurted out the first sincere thing that came to mind, almost like his mind short-circuited.

“You haven’t done anything wrong. It’s my fault for leaving such a beautiful woman alone.”

My eyes widened like full moons. Only then did Ezekiel realize what he had just said.

I was shocked, nearly popping my eyes out.

“Beautiful woman… what?”

“I’m… not beautiful! That’s ridiculous!”

I set the rose down and waved my hands freely. Ezekiel snorted, looking displeased.

“That idiot didn’t even tell Viola she’s beautiful in front of her. Are you going to accept a confession from someone with such squinty eyes?”
“No! We have a contract; I can’t accept any confession. No way. Absolutely not.”
“What if there were no contract?”
“Eh?”

His angry gaze deepened.

“If there were no contract, would you have accepted a confession?”
“No! There’s no other man who matters when you’re in front of me!”

I answered immediately.

Ezekiel tilted his head and smirked crookedly.

“I’ll throw that rose away. Give it to me.”

He accepted the flower politely and escorted me as if he hadn’t just made a bombshell statement.

“Let’s go home and rest properly. The maid selection is coming soon, so we have to manage our fatigue.”

Is that it? Really over?

What about the ‘beautiful’ comment earlier?

I didn’t have the type of personality to casually ask him about it.

So we both pretended not to hear it, letting it sink beneath the surface.

“Beneath the surface, my foot!”

Let me correct myself. It was only buried outwardly.

In the carriage on the way home, Ezekiel shamelessly crossed his arms and kept silent, eyes closed. He seemed at a loss himself.

I fiddled with my skirt absentmindedly, staring out the window with my mind half-absent. The scenery passed without registering on my retina.

We were both struggling with our aftereffects.

“Ezekiel Betra… to grin like that and call me beautiful.”

The strange dissonance between his expression and words somehow made my heart flutter.

Was it just a line to soothe his contracted wife, or…

“Could he have really thought I’m beautiful?”

I had never heard those words in my life.

Even though he often told Camilla in the family house that she was pretty, he had never said that to me.

“So maybe his eyes were crooked, or he said it sarcastically to make me angry?”

My self-esteem, about to plummet, suddenly stopped.

No, that couldn’t be it. He didn’t have the uncomfortable expression he always makes when lying.

Then his words must have been sincere.

“Alright. If someone you live with says something nice, just enjoy it!”

That happy little question curled up inside me. It became a lighthearted memory I could recall whenever I felt down.

I forced myself to suppress a smile, planning to write it in my diary once I got home.

A day to commemorate the day my contracted husband said something nice to me.

It had truly been a strange and fun day.

Ezekiel squinted to gauge my reaction. The hands he had just washed seemed to sweat again from tension.

Luckily, I smiled.

What would he say if I asked for clarification later?

He had spent all night with Michele discussing a confession, but when he actually blurted it out, I pretended not to notice.

Embarrassed by his clumsy recovery, he pressed his lips together. Blood rushed to the lips with each heartbeat, and his heart thumped in rhythm.

He suddenly realized that being around me often made him this unsettled.

From some point on, I had begun to unsettle Ezekiel Betra.

A mysterious, indefinable emotion lingered in his heart and mind, sending a flush to the back of his neck.

He closed his eyes again and sighed deeply.

This kind of thing just didn’t suit him.