Moonlit Confessions
Heidricke definitely had a much more peaceful atmosphere than the inland regions.
I could see why so many people wanted to spend their later years here.
The night sky was studded with brilliant stars, the wind whispered gently, and the vast wilderness stretched out with breathtaking clarity.
Sitting atop the horse that Ash was leading, I lazily gazed up at the night sky.
A full moon hung overhead tonight, making the midnight hour feel as bright as dawn. Perhaps it seemed even quieter and more luminous because we were in the middle of an empty plain.
“This is nice…”
I muttered absentmindedly, then began humming a song that suddenly came to mind.
Having washed up properly, my mood was light, and even the gentle sway of the horse’s slow steps felt pleasant. This moment felt meaningful.
“Everyone in the world knows it. That the night is filled with beautiful things no one can ever hold onto.”
“The radiant moon and countless twinkling stars captivate us. Just like the lady by the river…”
Whether he knew the song or not, Ash soon began humming along in a soft voice.
Instead of riding with me, he walked one step ahead like a servant, holding the reins. When I stopped singing, he glanced back with cautious eyes.
His expression seemed to ask if he had overstepped by joining in, so I gave him a small smile and continued the song.
“Every night you visit my dreams and make it impossible to forget. You stay by my side yet leave without regard for me. But if I wait, you pass by me once more…”
“If I reach out, it feels like I could touch you. Could I? We are together, yet you shine without concern for me.”
“I know. Before you came to me, you were never mine. I know that.”
It was a song that suited the night sky perfectly, but it was also a famous courtship tune. That was why Ash’s embarrassed smile was clearly visible in the moonlight.
It would be nicer if he smiled with his original angelic face. Still, after seeing that plain face every day, I had grown somewhat fond of it.
We moved slowly and entered a small forest.
It was a place we had to pass through to reach the empty house by the lake. At this leisurely pace, it would only take about five minutes to cross the modest woodland.
It wasn’t the kind of dangerous forest where monsters might appear, thankfully.
I was humming peacefully as we passed through the woods when something suddenly darted past me with a rustling sound.
“Kyaa, a squirrel!”
“……?”
“A squirrel!”
It was such a harmless little creature that even the skittish horse didn’t bat an eye, but I pretended to be startled, clutching my cheeks and letting out a small shriek.
I waited for Ash’s reaction, but his expression was one of genuine disbelief.
He really was too serious for his own good.
“What… are you doing…?”
“What kind of reaction is that! You’re supposed to protect me!”
“Pardon?”
“I’m a weakling right now! Because of you people! You reduced me to something less useful than trash about to be thrown away! That’s why I’m like this! So you have to take responsibility and protect me until I recover! Stay alert! Pay attention! Do I really have to spell everything out for you?!”
Since I couldn’t even summon Undine, I couldn’t defeat a single wild animal.
Of course Rai was here, but the more guards the better! I demanded again, boldly.
“You have to repay kindness! Protect me with your life!”
The fact that this damn spirit was currently my only bodyguard was honestly worrying. I needed a smarter guard.
“……Jeanie, if it would help you, I will do anything. If not now, when else could I protect you? But… against a squirrel?”
“Stay alert even if the enemy is Lox!”
“……I see you consider Lox and a squirrel to be on the same level.”
“Wrong. The squirrel is cuter and has more value as a living being. If Lox weren’t your attendant, I would have killed him long ago.”
Ash let out a few low chuckles, then resumed leading the horse at a relaxed pace.
The fact that I could now stare openly at his profile as he walked meant he had grown so used to me that even my death threats no longer fazed him.
And because the moonlight that illuminated a person’s face was truly beautiful.
“It’s true that Lox has been far too rude to you. But that is probably… because of me.”
“Because of you? Isn’t it because his fantasy of the Saint has been shattered? I’m so different from what he imagined that he’s rebelling.”
Since it was just the two of us, there was nothing I couldn’t say.
I grumbled comfortably.
“I can’t say there isn’t any of that, but more than anything… the way I act toward someone like this… this…”
“This?”
“……Ahem. In any case, Lox’s attitude is unacceptable. I have spoken to him several times, but it was useless. I apologize on his behalf…”
“Come here.”
I beckoned Ash closer with a crooked finger. Not understanding why, he approached me.
I kept motioning for him to come even closer.
Since I was on the horse and he was standing on the ground, my eye level was higher than his for once.
It was a different dynamic than usual. When his face finally drew close enough to touch, I reached out without hesitation.
The mood was perfect for a kiss, but that had nothing to do with us. Instead, I grabbed his left cheek and stretched it out.
“So the reason Lox is acting like that is because you like me?”
“……!”
“I wondered why he was so strict with me! So it was because of you. My enemy of patience.”
I grabbed his right cheek as well and stretched that one too.
How much patience had I sacrificed because of Lox?
I recalled the sad past where I had seriously considered killing him but held back, afraid it would negatively affect Ash’s Crown Prince trial.
Lox had arbitrarily decided I was a romantic prospect for His Highness.
I didn’t even want to imagine how strict and demanding those standards must have been.
“You… knew how I felt? Since when? I thought you had no idea at all…”
Even though I was visibly angry, Ash only looked at me with wide, round eyes and asked again.
“I have eyes too, you know!”
Ugh. For a spirit, Rai was looking at me with eyes as dead as rotten fish.
I quickly added,
“……Fine! I admit I was probably the last one to notice!”
“I thought you would never realize it in your entire life.”
“I’m not that oblivious, okay?”
“That’s… a relief.”
Even with his cheeks being pulled, his hearty laugh looked genuinely happy.
His expression was filled with pure joy, like a young boy who had finally received the gift he wanted most.
Did he really like me that much?
I released his cheeks and muttered, unable to understand.
“……Is that all the reaction I get? I just found out you like me.”
“Yes. I’m very happy. What more could I need?”
“Other men who like me pester me endlessly—let’s date, let’s get married. They act like liking me is some special privilege only they deserve. You’re not like that?”
For example, Bright had proposed to me over a hundred times, and there were several nameless men who had chased after me claiming it was love at first sight.
What were they even saying to someone they had just met?
Of course, that seemed to be the culture in this world, but I found it distasteful.
“Isn’t that your answer?”
“What is?”
“Now that you know I like you, doesn’t it make you uncomfortable or anything?”
“Not really.”
“Then what does it feel like? When you realized I like you… how did you feel?”
His question was so serious and careful that I had to drop the teasing and answer sincerely. How I felt when I found out.
“Just…? I thought, ‘So your standards are pretty high.’ You have good taste in people, liking me. Well, maybe it’s only natural. How could anyone see me every day and not fall for me? In the end, everyone succumbs to my charm.”
I tried to stomp on him with the horse’s hoof, but he darted away like lightning. Rai definitely lived for the fun of teasing me.
But it was true that my charm was like a drug.
After all, I had turned a dragon, a king, and an academy dean all into my allies.
Was there anyone else on this land who possessed such charm?
Now that I had even brought down a prince who was a candidate for the imperial throne, my charm had reached the very core of the empire’s leadership.
“Jeanie, you’ve never been in a relationship, have you?”
“Correct.”
“You don’t want to, and you don’t even think you will.”
I nodded. Ash seemed to understand me better and better.
I wasn’t exactly an easy person to read, so it was probably more accurate to say he was that interested in me.
“Then I will respect that. Still, I will be the one closest to you. As the man who likes you.”
“……Ash.”
“If you could at least allow me that much…”
“Too late. Bright already said that line. So you’re…”
I held up two fingers.
“Second in line. There’s already one person ahead of you.”
“B-Bright… who is he?”
“A senior from the academy. The guy who hasn’t held anything back when it comes to me.”
His original specialty was communication magic, but after I kept ordering him to make refrigerators, heaters, and all sorts of things, he became capable of anything.
As a result, he gained outstanding abilities and got a job at the royal palace—all thanks to me.
“Not to mention, he was the first man to confess to me. Oh, that’s right.
Bright was also the first to give me flowers. On my birthday, he would come to the dormitory at dawn to give me a gift first. If the cafeteria food that day was something I disliked, he would go into town and buy the foods I liked.”
“Do you have feelings for him?”
“Not particularly? He can be annoying, but he’s my original servant, so it’s convenient to have him around. If I were to marry someone, I have thought that Bright would be convenient… no, that it would be nice.”
“……I will work harder too! I won’t lose. I can attend to you as well!”
Hmm. Did only nice guys end up falling for me?
It would never happen, but if I were to marry Ash, there would be plenty of people to attend to me. Probably enough to fill the entire castle.
“I’m serious. Order me to do anything. Please give me even the smallest chance to repay you. Jeanie, that would be the greatest joy for me.”
“Fine. First, focus on protecting me properly. As I said earlier, my internal injuries are severe, so I’ll be in a weakened state for a while. Got it? This time, it’s your turn to protect me, okay?”
“Yes, gladly.”
He really was gentle.
I stroked Ash’s cheek as if soothing a well-behaved large animal. He now accepted my touch obediently.
It wasn’t interesting to touch just any man’s face.
Ash’s face was special.
“Ash? We’re… alone right now…”
“Why do you always say things in such a sinister way?”
We were almost out of the forest. Just a little farther and we would reach the empty house.
“Take off your necklace. If you’re going to do anything for me, start with that.”