Taking the Next Step
One of the territories managed by the Rebellion Grand Duchy, Beritz. Cynthia stood waiting after Rian’s sudden invitation for a date.
“A date out of nowhere…”
“Did you dislike the idea?”
“No, it’s not that I dislike it…”
For some reason Rian looked twice as bright as usual. The sight of him smiling the way he used to left Cynthia momentarily dazed, but she quickly caught herself and turned her eyes away.
“It’s just… it was too sudden. The mood wasn’t exactly right for a date, either.”
“Mm… that’s true, but don’t you think we need to check something?”
“Check? What do you mean?”
“This ambiguous relationship of ours. Whether we should keep going or not.”
“…So you’re saying you’ll decide after today’s date?”
Cynthia narrowed her eyes and glared at him, clearly displeased. Rian, however, refused to shrink back. In the past he would have wilted under her reaction alone, but after hearing her true feelings he had begun to find a little courage.
“Yes. I believe this is something both of us need.”
“Why do you think so?”
“I feel romantic attraction toward you, my lady. And you said you feel the same toward me, correct?”
“…How many times are you going to ask?”
Cynthia’s cheeks flushed faintly as she answered in a prickly tone. The fresh reaction made Rian’s shoulders tremble; he hurriedly hid his embarrassment.
Wow, she’s cute.
“Even if we maintain our engagement, what happened last time will keep bothering us. So let’s go on this date today and decide later.”
“Whether we’ll get married or not?”
“Ahem… Y-yes, that’s right.”
Rian had spoken confidently until now, but the moment the word “marriage” left his lips he coughed awkwardly and changed the subject. He seemed to be trying to look manly, yet from Cynthia’s perspective his embarrassed fidgeting made him appear anything but.
Cute.
A small smile escaped her. He wasn’t exactly the dependable type, but his earnest effort was endearing. At the very least, it proved he was thinking seriously about their relationship. Feeling her own heart begin to flutter, Cynthia spoke.
“Then we should try a date that’s a little different from usual.”
“Pardon?”
“We’ve done plenty of ordinary dates. Let’s build a relationship that’s different from what we’ve had until now.”
“For example?”
“Hmm……”
Cynthia, who had been pondering, glanced at Rian’s face. She had considered it several times before, but since he had taken the initiative this time, she decided it was fine to suggest.
“Let’s start using casual speech.”
“Casual speech?”
“We’ve already been engaged for nearly seven months. At this point we might actually get married, so keeping up honorifics feels strange, doesn’t it?”
“Ah, y-yes… Then you start first, Cynthia.”
“Got it, Rian.”
“!?”
The casual tone came far more easily than he expected—and hit him far harder. He had simply heard her speak to him without honorifics, yet his heart was suddenly hammering and his face grew hot.
She switched so easily… Now that I think about it, she is two years older than me, isn’t she?
“I’ll speak comfortably too, so you do the same. Rian.”
“Uh… yeah… Nice to be close, Cynthia… my lady…”
“Drop the title. Just call me Cynthia.”
“R-right. Cynthia!”
Wow, I’m losing it…!
Unable to endure the embarrassment any longer, Rian whipped his head away. A small laugh slipped from Cynthia’s lips—like someone watching an adorable little animal. Feeling as if he had lost some contest of pride, Rian strode forward first.
“S-shall we go? Where would be good?”
“Wait a moment, Rian. Do you even know what’s here or where we should go?”
“……I don’t.”
Only then did he remember this was Beritz, a territory under the Grand Duchy’s management. He had passed through once or twice, but that was hardly enough to plan a proper date course.
“You told me not to come here before, Cynthia…”
“I did, didn’t I… Sorry.”
“Huh? No, I didn’t say it hoping for an apology.”
“Then today I’ll take the lead. I’ve never planned a date course before, so I’m not sure how well I’ll do.”
Cynthia stepped forward to guide him through the town. Watching her back, Rian felt a strange awkwardness. It wasn’t because of the casual speech; rather, the sight of her walking alone somehow tugged at his nerves.
Now that I think about it, Anna said…
(You still haven’t even held hands!? No way!!!)
She had practically screamed when she learned they hadn’t progressed past holding hands, let alone any other skinship. She had lamented in a heartbroken voice that her young master was far too shy.
Holding hands should be fine, right?
“Rian? Why aren’t you coming?”
“Ah, sorry. I’m coming.”
Cynthia paused when she noticed him standing there blankly. Rian felt his pulse thunder as he moved to her side. Then, slowly—so she wouldn’t be startled—he reached out.
Squeeze—
“!?”
He took her hand.
“I-I wanted to walk while holding hands.”
“……”
“Is it too fast after all?”
“…No.”
“!”
Squeeze! A gentle strength returned from within her palm. Their hands naturally overlapped. Cynthia’s face began to flush as well; even for her, the first attempt at such intimacy was nerve-wracking.
“If anything, it’s rather late. Let’s walk like this.”
“Y-yeah!”
“We’ll spend the whole day like this.”
“Wait, the entire time?”
“Yes. You’re the one who grabbed my hand first, aren’t you?”
“Ah… understood.”
And so the two began strolling through the streets hand in hand. Their steps were still awkward, their expressions stiff, yet their relationship was unmistakably moving forward.
My hand’s sweating…!
I’m so nervous I’m sweating…!
One week after Rian and Cynthia reconciled.
“Fufufufu! Fufufufu!”
“…Anna, that laugh is weird. You should fix it.”
Rian watched Anna pace around with a suspicious grin. Her face was faintly flushed with excitement as she pressed him for details.
“How does it feel, young master~?”
“…What do you mean, how does it feel?”
“Lady Cynthia is completely smitten with you~ I’m dying to know what it feels like to be loved by the empire’s greatest beauty.”
“Smitten… Well, things have improved a lot, I suppose.”
It was no wonder Anna was this thrilled. In the week since their reconciliation, Rian and Cynthia had met without missing a single day—and each meeting had been at Cynthia’s suggestion.
“Young master! Young master! Young master!”
“Why do you keep calling me?”
“How far have you gone?”
“…Anna, that’s a serious breach of manners.”
“That only applies to other people! I’m exempt. After all, more than ninety percent of your dating techniques were learned from this Anna!”
“That’s… not exactly wrong.”
It was true. Ever since the arranged meeting with Cynthia, Anna had actively helped him, even comforting him when the relationship grew difficult in the middle stages. In a way, reaching this point with Cynthia had only been possible thanks to Anna’s support.
“You’re still a novice at romance, young master, so you’re bound to make mistakes. Don’t get cocky and cause an accident—consult your big sister here.”
“No… No matter how you look at it, talking about this stuff is still embarrassing.”
“What’s there to be embarrassed about!? We’ve already seen each other at our best and worst!”
“It feels rude to Cynthia, too…”
“It’s fine, so hurry up! You know your big sister can keep a secret, right?”
“Your mouth is lighter than a feather, though?”
“Ugh, seriously! You’re treating me like this, young master?”
When Rian refused to speak, Anna puffed her cheeks and glared at him. Her expression clearly said, If you don’t tell me right now, I’m really going to sulk!
Can’t be helped. It’s not like there’s anything weird to say.
“Um… we linked arms.”
“……Pardon?”
“So, we’re going on dates arm-in-arm now.”
“……Are you joking?”
Anna’s expression turned fierce, as if something had gone terribly wrong.
“W-why are you looking at me like that, Anna?”
“Arm-in-arm? What kind of progress is that?”
“It’s definitely progress! A week ago we were only holding hands, and now we’re linking arms.”
“It’s been a whole week and you’re only at arm-in-arm!? What about kissing!”
“K-kissing!? There’s no way we did that!”
“A…… Aaaaaagh~!”
Anna suddenly clutched her head and let out a groan of agony. She looked as if a sweet potato had lodged in her throat.
“What are you even doing! Young master!”
“Y-yes?”
“If you’re a man, be a little bolder! Stop being so frustrating and take the lead! Arm-in-arm? We’re not children!”
“B-but compared to a week ago…”
“You’ve been engaged for seven months!”
“Ugh…!”
“This won’t do. Take out your notebook.”
Intimidated by Anna’s intensity, Rian obediently produced the “Romance Notebook.” The maid who had taught the young master of the Count’s house every trick in the book looked down at him with a domineering expression.
“Kiss her before the day is over.”
“!?”
A sudden kiss… Mm…
“Rian?”
“…Yes?”
“Why are you making such a blank face?”
Inside a café located in the Tursten Territory (Veilburg lands). After finishing a light meal, Cynthia and Rian were enjoying dessert.
“Are you worried about something?”
“No… it’s nothing.”
Ugh… I can’t stop thinking about it.
Despite his calm reply, Rian’s gaze remained fixed on one spot: Cynthia’s lips as she neatly bit into a small slice of cake. The pink lips stained with cream somehow looked especially seductive today.
“Cream…”
“Hm?”
“You have cream on your lips.”
“Do I?”
She darted her tongue out—lick.
“!”
Her pink tongue flicked out and stole the cream away. It was nothing more than a simple lick, yet why did it look so indecent?
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
Damn… She’s beautiful…!
“Why is your expression like that?”
“Um… Cynthia.”
She truly was a beautiful woman. Features so perfect they might have been sculpted, an elegant dignity that flowed from every movement, and an intense charm that threatened to pull him in. As a man, it was impossible not to have such thoughts while sitting across from a woman this captivating. He wanted to become even closer to the woman before him.
“Let’s go somewhere together.”
“?”