Chapter 123: The Stomachache Margrave’s Opening Ceremony 2
*
It was noon the day after we returned to Hecate.
Erika and I were having lunch at a diner near the Adventurers Guild.
It had been a while since Erika and I had eaten alone together.
I was certain that if I let my guard down for even a moment, a creepy smile would appear on my face, so today, I put my Guts into maintaining a gentlemanly face.
Incidentally, a “gentlemanly face,” as taught to me by my academy classmate Eguchi-kun, is a face revealing an iron will that doesn’t even twitch an eyebrow should a woman’s skirt flip up right before one’s eyes.
It can’t be helped if one’s gaze wanders, he’d said, but that too was part of being a gentleman.
I wonder how that pervert is doing?
Tossing aside pointless memories of a pervert, I observed Erika sipping her post-meal Tea with elegant grace.
Somehow, I felt that Erika wasn’t her usual cheerful self.
Not cheerful, or perhaps absentminded.
Like her heart wasn’t in it, or anyway, Erika seemed adrift.
She had been normal on the way back to Hecate.
She was cheerful when we talked about my family over dinner, too. This started suddenly this morning.
She was rolling the jewel—now just a black stone since Elza had left Hecate early this morning—between her fingertips, occasionally letting out sighs.
And sometimes, she would glance my way.
Her expression seemed to be asking something, yet also seemed to want me to ask something.
To put it plainly, it was a difficult problem.
In times like these, is it okay to just straightforwardly ask, “What’s wrong?”
If I ask and she tells me I’m annoying or something, I swear I’ll bite my tongue off.
As I agonized over what to do, Erika let out a small sigh.
Then, she suddenly put on a serious face and spoke.
“As long as the ring existed in physical form, I could deceive myself, but…”
Erika looked at me.
“Once it loses its form, it’s no good, is it? I can’t help but feel regret.”
Erika spoke with an expression like she was swallowing something.
With the face she makes when swallowing the Iniquity directed at her. With the face she makes when laughing it off, discarding it along with all her own emotions.
“I have received more than enough from you. I suppose I should think that just one ring is…”
That’s why there’s no need for you to worry with such a face, Shin.
“I believe I understand your feelings.”
What’s this? Has Erika-san awakened a hobby of verbally teasing me?
My gentlemanly face almost crumbled under Erika’s sudden verbal assault of, You like me, don’t you?
I almost started to understand a little how Eguchi-kun felt when he seemed pleased after a junior female student called him creepy.
No, I mustn’t open that door.
“The Maiden of Light… she is coming to Hecate. We will meet under undesirable circumstances. I will give up on something like a single ring.”
At Erika’s words, my gentlemanly face collapsed into a bewildered expression.
What does the Maiden of Light have to do with Erika’s ring?
Unable to find any connection between the ring and the Maiden of Light, I tilted my head significantly.
For some reason, Erika tilted her head too.
“What does the Maiden of Light have to do with the ring I’m giving you?”
Unable to think of a reason even after pondering, I voiced my question directly.
Erika, still tilting her head, widened her eyes.
“Won’t it cause trouble for you?”
Trouble for me? Only when asked did I finally understand.
In other words, after one year, when the time duly passes, the Farce will end, and I will become known as the pathetic noble who even gave a ring to his partner in the Farce.
To those who know the circumstances, I’m the mistaken fool who used the Farce as an excuse to give a ring to the unattainable flower.
And noble society is a place where such stories spread easily.
It would likely follow me around for the rest of my life.
Noble society is where a scandal from a hundred years ago becomes fodder for sarcasm among nobles a hundred years later.
In other words.
“I made peace with that level of resolve long, long ago.”
If my great love for Erika is conveyed even a hundred years from now, I’d be happy, though it is embarrassing.
Realistically, what would be passed down is Erika’s beauty that drove me to such lengths, so effectively, I take no damage.
Yes! Erika’s beauty transcends time.
But I do have one worry.
“Well… if you say you don’t need the ring, I’d be disappointed, but…”
This is it.
If she really tells me she doesn’t want a ring made with a plain black jewel, I’ll have no choice but to cry.
No, really, it’s disappointing, disappointing enough to make me feel like coughing up blood, but if Erika says she doesn’t want a ring given by me, I have no choice but to accept it.
In that case, I’ll just secretly slip it into Erika’s jewelry box… damn, I really am creepy.
“That’s not true at all!”
Thank you, God. Under the table, I made a small, tight fist pump.
“But are you sure about this?”
Erika straightened her tilted head and asked.
In response, I shook my head.
Frankly, I didn’t understand what she was asking.
But if denying it was the only way she’d accept the ring, then denial was the only option.
“Shin… Ahh, that’s right. You were always like this. You are that kind of person.”
For me to have failed to grasp the resolve you showed.
Erika bit her lip lightly as if regretting something.
“Despite saying time and again that I would no longer underestimate you, look at this sorry state. It is sheer luck on my part that Shin hasn’t given up on me.”
“Me giving up on Erika? That won’t happen unless the continent splits apart and the sky comes falling down.”
Though even if that actually happened, I wouldn’t give up on her.
Seeing Erika reflecting on something, though I wasn’t sure what, I shrugged my shoulders playfully.
“In that case, let us be careful not to split the continent. As for the sky, I cannot imagine how one might make it fall, so we likely need not worry about that.”
Erika responded to my retort with a joke.
Once you talk about it, the worries clear up. Conversation between husband and wife truly is important, isn’t it, Erika muttered as if in a Soliloquy.
The usual radiance returned to Erika’s face, which had seemed somewhat anxious.
Eyes harboring a will strong enough to make those who face her shrink back; well-shaped, assertive lips that could even seem arrogant.
Beautiful red hair, as if her inner intensity had manifested itself, coloring the beautiful line from her forehead to her chin.
Who, looking at her now, would possibly think?
That Erika Solntsalri was a former Marquise exiled from her homeland.
Relieved that the usual Erika had returned, I drank my Tea.
A question suddenly surfaced.
That was a joke, right?
Perhaps my doubt carried in my gaze, as Erika met my eyes and smiled.
With her Golden Magicka glittering, she offered a truly challenging smile.
＊＊＊＊Author’s Note＊＊＊＊
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