Chapter 186
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 186
Chapter Title: The First Confession is a Challenge
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I'm not the kind of clueless idiot who can't anticipate what might happen on a trip.
Not with another woman, but with Chloe.
When she mustered up the courage to come find me, harboring feelings for me, and suggested we go on a trip together.
Of course, it wasn't because I was tempted by the details of her proposal and really wanted to go traveling that I nodded my head.
If I hadn't already made up my mind from the start, I wouldn't have set out with her.
During the time Chloe was deliberately keeping her distance from me, I spent a lot of time reflecting too.
Even on the way to the count's territory, I coldly examined the true direction of my anger.
I...
Was I angry because an incident that would make Eclair sad nearly erupted?
Or was it because Chloe, whom I think of as a cute little sister, almost developed a trauma from something utterly absurd?
Finding the answer took me some time too.
Since I'd already predetermined the response depending on the situation, the moment I nodded in the reception room, the outcome was set.
Still, this timing was a bit unexpected.
"Um...!"
There's a certain aura or distinctive atmosphere that emerges when someone is about to take action.
'Now...?'
Chloe had always shown a shy side,
but the air stimulating my senses right now made me confident I'd accurately detected what was coming.
Th-that, um! I-I mean...!"
"..."
I quietly watched Chloe shuddering like a broken machine, her shoulders heaving.
Her face was flushed beyond belief, her eyes starting to spin.
She looked like she was about to short-circuit from overload.
Thud.
I pulled out a bottle of cold water and gently pressed it to her cheek, startling her back to her senses.
"Eek!"
"Calm down. Drink this."
Chloe's lips were parched and dry. Her hands trembled as tension overtook her, but she took the water and gulped it down.
"Haa...! Th-thank you."
She wasn't exercising, yet her breathing was ragged. Seeing that told me just how intensely nervous she'd been in that moment.
"Chloe. Feeling a bit calmer now?"
I placed my hand on her ash-gray hair.
She nodded slowly, her eyes wide and round.
"Y-yes..."
After soothing her, I glanced around.
Apart from the old man dozing at the counter far away, there was no one else.
'Do bookstores have peak hours too?'
I wondered if a shop this size could cover its costs with no customers.
Whatever the case for the owner, it was perfect timing for us to talk undisturbed.
I decided to have it out properly with Chloe here, where she seemed pressed for time.
"Want to sit down?"
"..."
The space between towering bookshelves felt like a narrow path.
I pulled over a chair that had been abandoned mid-duty from somewhere and sat Chloe down.
Warm sunlight streamed through the window, carrying the calming scent of books.
Her shoulders rose and fell dramatically with irregular, heavy breaths.
Once enough time had passed for her tension to ease and she seemed settled, I spoke up.
"Feeling calmer now?"
"Hoo... Yes."
Unlike her drawn-out sigh, her voice carried a firm resolve.
She'd calmed down, but her determination to settle things here in this shabby bookstore hadn't wavered.
Her blue eyes charged at me with piercing intensity.
As expected of the Dreitna sisters—the resolute glint in her eyes resembled Eclair's.
Tick-tock... Tick-tock...
In the silence, the second hand's sound drilled into my ears.
"..."
Confessing feelings to someone whose heart you don't yet know.
I know how much courage that takes.
'Even if it's not perfect, that plucky, bold attitude...'
Something I no longer possess.
A first confession born from initial feelings is a pure challenge.
This moment for Chloe might be a precious scene allowed only once in a lifetime.
Humans are cowardly creatures, foxes at heart. If that first challenge of confession fails, impatience and fear take root.
That's why.
After a few romances, confession stops being a challenge.
It becomes a step to confirm emotional exchange before the relationship advances—a final verification procedure.
Personally, I'd say it's the savvy that demands clear results,
but more bluntly, it's fine to call it cowardice.
As someone who's lived through that dark history,
I feel obligated to pave an easier path for her, even just a little.
"Chloe. What do you think the reason is that I came here with you?"
"...Ah?!"
The stern aura reminiscent of Eclair shook violently.
Even after repeated denials, she seemed to mull over my words until she understood.
She looked ready to hang her head and burst into tears any second.
"It's not over yet. I want to hear Chloe's true feelings, honestly."
Tears nearly spilled, but she cut them off with a sniff! Biting her lower lip, she spent a long time like that.
Gulp—
She drained the half-full bottle of cold water to wet her parched throat, then bowed her head slightly.
In a small voice fitting the setting, she began her story.
"S-sudden, but... do you know that in romance novels, people often can't hold back their feelings, confess before truly knowing each other, and ruin the relationship?"
"Hmm~ I've never properly read one, so I'm not sure. But it happens in real life plenty."
"I could never understand those parts when I read them..."
"Why's that?"
The smile on Chloe's face carried a tinge of self-mockery.
"No matter what, couldn't they just suppress their feelings, hunker down, and wait for a better chance...? But I realized that's something only people who haven't experienced it can say."
"Chloe. No need to think of yourself as pathetic. Everyone's like that. Humans only learn through experience. Those without it are either geniuses or fools."
She asked permission to bring up one more out-of-left-field story,
then stood from her chair and took a step toward me.
I naturally brushed aside her sweat-dampened bangs.
Feeling my touch, she leaned her forehead lightly against my chest.
"Oppa... I love books so much. It's embarrassing, but not just reading—I even get the urge to record past stories or write down my fantasies..."
"That's cool."
"But I still feel like my heart's ahead of everything... Looking back, I don't have much worth writing about yet. My experiences and insights are narrow, so I think even one thin book couldn't hold my life."
From there, raw emotion trembled in Chloe's voice like an earthquake.
"B-but...! My dream might be too grand, but when I look back on my life, I want dozens or hundreds of thick volumes. Stories where everyone's happy, without a speck of sorrow or conflict..."
Sweat beaded on her brow, her eyes shook, and she couldn't lift the corners of her mouth before tears streamed down as she poured out her feelings.
"From the very next page after my life... could you appear for the rest of it?"
With those final words, at a distance where our breaths mingled, Chloe lifted her head to meet my gaze.
In a situation that somehow suited a gentle smile, her tear-streaked expression struck me with powerful force instead.
A unique confession that didn't appeal to what, how, or why she liked about me.
I didn't even have a chance to share my thoughts, but I felt like we could share and learn bit by bit going forward.
"If you'll allow it... gladly."
I spread my arms with a smile, and she pressed her body fully against mine in an embrace.
..
..
I stroked Chloe's hair as she used the cold water bottle to soothe her swollen eyes.
"All cried out?"
"Hic... It's embarrassing..."
After consoling her as she sobbed in my arms until I spoke, we left the bookstore.
The first date following our deepened relationship surprisingly unfolded under her lead.
To my words that we should do whatever she wanted without regrets,
she cautiously linked arms with me and pulled me along.
Her pent-up worries melted away, and with the reins loosened, Chloe took charge,
yet repeatedly grew shy midway through her own actions, leading me without a dull moment.
We enjoyed the trip to our hearts' content with carefree Chloe, forgetting our worries until the sun set and the moon rose.
-Thank you all for loving Del Arte today as always! Thanks to your support, we've been invited by nobles from various territories and will embark on a month-long tour!
The famous play that everyone says you must see when visiting Livrosia came to an end.
A middle-aged man who looked quite seasoned stepped out to announce future news.
It was a play you had to see in Livrosia regardless of enjoyment, yet it wouldn't be viewable for at least a month.
The actors all came out for bows amid applause and cheers.
"We got lucky."
"W-we...! Hehe—yeah."
As people rose and scattered, Chloe and I decided to linger until the very end.
Even those with similar ideas dispersed,
and seeing Chloe still clinging tightly to my arm, I asked,
"Was it fun?"
All the characters in the play were professionally trained.
I'd felt their vocal projection was impressively spot-on,
but for me, a small street performance seemed more entertaining.
"Uh... Not sure...! But it was good! Hic..."
To my question, she beamed and leaned her head diagonally on my shoulder.
'She seems drunk.'
It was just a feeling—no alcohol had touched her lips.
Rather, she was intoxicated by liberation and accomplishment.
I knew Chloe was staring holes into my face more than the play.
She'd subtly tried to steal my gaze a few times, and I'd obliged,
but each time she startled and averted her eyes.
Her fresh, innocent awkwardness in first love tickled me more.
Suddenly recalling something, Chloe lifted her head, blushed, and whispered,
"Ah... Oppa. Could you wait here just a moment? I'll be right back."
"Take your time."
We'd been sitting through drinks and a long play without leaving, so it made sense.
A little later.
Chloe returned with demure steps and reclaimed the seat beside me.
The outdoor venue was now empty, not a soul in sight.
A dark circular theater relying only on moonlight.
We stayed put there, facing the night breeze as we chatted at a leisurely pace.
Chloe, who'd checked her surroundings unnaturally often, pressed her body fully against mine.
'Huh...? This...?'
The overwhelming size of the chest pressing from Chloe, who clung to my arm as before.
The sensation through just one layer of fabric felt distinctly different from earlier.
Like one obstructing layer had vanished.
Chloe called to me in a whisper.
"Oppa."
"Hm?"
Click... Click...
'...?!'
I saw it with my own eyes but couldn't process it in my head.
Chloe had slightly undone her shirt buttons, revealing through the gap her inverted breasts, similar to her sister's shape.
But.
They were overwhelmingly massive, beyond even what Eclair could rival.
I couldn't tear my gaze away, utterly captivated.
Half-hiding her flushed face with the book I'd bought her at the bookstore on impulse,
she pleaded with me, her words brimming with hot intensity.
"Since it's a trip... couldn't we share a room?"
