“Thanks for walking with me… I thank you again.”
“No, I’m the one who offered to walk home with you, so you don’t have to worry about it.”
After a few minutes of walking and talking, we arrived at the mansion where Elena lived.
As of now, they were conversing in front of the gate.
“Also, thank you too, Elena.”
“Hmm? For what?”
“For the coffee. I probably should have paid you…”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s my father’s policy and I just took the liberty of leading you to a place where you can relax.”
Just as Beret followed up with the obvious look on his face, she wiggled her eyebrows as if she had just noticed something.
“…Hey, you’ve infected me with the way you say things.”
“Hahaha, that’s what I thought.”
“T-that’s not funny… Mou.”
“I’m the one who offered to walk home with you, so you don’t have to worry about it.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s my father’s policy and I just took the liberty of leading you to a place where you can relax.”
She was definitely affected, although her lines were longer, and she was not happy about being laughed at, so Elena slapped him on the back of the hand.
“I’ve told you before, my family teases me every day. ‘He’s your fiance,’ they say… If they ever find out about this, they are going to really get out of control…”
“What can I say, but it’s all your fault, Elena, isn’t it? You made jokes like, ‘I’m going to ask the man who helped my brother to marry me.'”
“Haaa… I wish it wasn’t you. The one who advised Alan.”
“Wh-what? Then whom did you wish for?”
I asked her as she narrowed her purple eyes at me accusingly.
If she answered, she would also be revealing the person she favored. It was such a trap, but it was easily dodged.
“Sorry to break up into the grin, but I’d have preferred anyone but you.”
“Wait a minute. Anyone? Does that mean I’m the bottom of the barrel in your eyes, Elena?”
“I-Isn’t it obvious. You are so mean. I don’t know what you would do to me if I went out with you…”
“I wouldn’t do something that bad.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Elena crossed her arms and took a high-handed attitude, but moved her eyes here and there.
In such a state, she continued her words with a raised voice.
“I don’t think there are any girls out there who would accept you? Too bad.”
“I suppose.”
“Right, absolutely.”
“But you would, Elena.”
“Wh-!? What are you saying…!! I told you that you are the bottom of the barrel in my eyes. I don’t like you at all, don’t get me wrong!”
“I’m not mistaken.”
I said it back to her right away.
She was talking fast and rambling on while her face turned bright red, but I had a solid counterargument.
“However, why don’t you use the ultimate weapon of ‘The daughter of a countess is not responsible for her own words~’? That way, Alan-kun will be on my side.”
“It’s not fair… You can’t take advantage of Alan.”
“Well, well.”
“You are trying to make some kind of leeway, but what if I say, ‘I’ll take responsibility’ or something like that? Wouldn’t you be in trouble?—”
“I don’t mind.”
“—You should think a little more carefully before you make jokes.”
“Ehh…?”
By coincidence, the words overlapped.
“…”
“…”
And then a second or two of silence envelopped us both.
“You… by “I don’t mind’…”
“I said it. Well, just as you have your political marriage, Elena, I have mine. And if I’m going to get engaged to someone I don’t even know what she looks like, one that I may not understand well enough, I would prefer to be with someone I’m close to.””
“….”
“I’m also a scaredy-cat at school, so if I’m going to choose someone as a partner, it should be someone I can joke around with. We get along well, and I think it’s going to work out.”
“D-don’t prompt me there…”
Elena, who was making a blabbering resistance, sniffed with her face reddened.
“Hm-mm. You don’t know me at all, that’s why you can talk so lightly to me. It’s ridiculous to think you’d be good at it.”
“And by that, you mean?”
“I’ll get upset if you don’t give me attention, I’ll get jealous. I get jealous when you talk to other girls in a friendly way. You didn’t know about this quality of mine.”
“Ahaha, that’s troublesome.”
Listening to her, I couldn’t help but laugh at her unique maiden-like character.
“…”
“…”
Here came the silence again. The air became somewhat tense.
It was at this point that I realized, belatedly, that this conversation had become unusual.
“You know? How did we get into this conversation?”
“I-it’s your fault… Because you said something weird.”
“I’m sorry. Maybe it was a little off topic.”
“It’s not ‘maybe.’ It’s totally off topic, you idiot.”
Elena, who was restlessly touching the choker around her neck, made a gesture of calling it a day with her other hand.
“Go home already… pervert. I’m getting embarrassed and it’s getting dark.”
“I’m sorry. Yes. You’re right. Well, it’s getting close to night, so I’ll do that.”
“Hmm.”
It was a messy goodbye, but the conversation was ending anyway, so there was nothing to be done.
When I waved my hand and turned away, Elena gave me the last word.
“…I’ll get you plenty of the chocolates I gave you last time… on the day of the meeting…”
“Oh! Thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Now, hurry up and disappear.”
“Uwaaa, I’m scared.”
“Hmph.”
For the first time today, Beret heard an irrational sniffling sound, and he parted from Elena with a frightened look on his face.
Then.
“…W-what the h**l. Right now…”
Just as he disappeared from sight, Elena slumped down as if her strength had been drained from her.
“Wh-what’s with you… being so mean…”
Elena felt her heart was thumping and beating wildly.
“That’s why I hate him…”
Elena put her hand on her chest and tried to calm down, but every time she remembered that conversation… she would force shut her lips.
∮
When Beret arrived at his home, he had no idea about it.
“Hey, Shea. Do you have a minute?”
“Yes!”
There was no problem in answering on the spot, however, she must have been trained as a maid of honor, and she walked up to him hurriedly.
“I’ve been thinking lately that Elena’s tone of voice is a little harsh, but only with me. She doesn’t say things like, ‘You’re an idiot,’ or anything around like that, does she?.”
“…Ah! That’s just how Elena-sama is.”
“Wh-what?”
Shea replied softly.
In fact, ‘that’s just how Elena-sama is,’ was an explanation that was not wrong.