Chapter 56: Confession (3)

We were eating in a soundproof and secure room. I never imagined that such a space existed until I had a meal with the royal siblings, but now it has become useful. However, the price was quite expensive, almost equivalent to two weeks' living expenses.

Perhaps due to the structure of the room, it was priced this high, and I couldn't help but feel it was a bit expensive.

I don't know if it was to prevent food theft or because of the price, but it was prepaid. I was prepared to pay the price with tears in my eyes.

"Let me pay for it."

Marie, who had been holding my hand since we entered the restaurant, stepped forward as if she intended to pay.

I looked at her with my eyes wide open.

"Marie?"

"It's okay. Have you forgotten what my family is? This is nothing."

The words that came out of her pride couldn't be any cooler. When I looked at her with a moved expression, Marie shrugged and gave more strength to the hand she held.

Then Mari paid, and the staff led the way. We followed the staff, still holding hands.

'It's embarrassing...'

One might think that I'm an inexperienced person who has never even held a woman's hand, but I actually had a girlfriend in my past life.

We broke up naturally when my parents passed away while we were dating. However, this is my second life and my second time having a girlfriend.

In my second life, it was actually Cecily who held my hand first, but she did so half-forcedly, so the feeling was quite different. Moreover, compared to Cecily's rough and calloused hands that had been trained through hard work, Marie's hands were soft and gentle to the touch, almost to the point where I wanted to playfully tease her about it.

"When you go in here, please ring the bell if you want to order."

"Thank you."

"Have a good time then."

The employee politely greeted us and closed the door with good manners. As soon as the door closed, I looked around the room.

The last time we came, it was a very spacious four-person room, but the room we entered now was relatively small as it was a two-person room.

Of course, I say "relatively small" because it was still quite large for a two-person room. There was a reason why the price was set so high.

'First of all...'

I looked around the room and then stole a glance at Marie.

She was blushing and lowering her head, looking nothing like the confident person who had cooly paid for the bill. Nonetheless, she still held onto my hand tightly, which was adorable.

However, in order to eat, I had to let go of her hand. In my heart, I wanted to sit next to her and have a proper meal, but the conditions were not right for that.

As I watched Marie quietly, I called out her name.

"Marie."

"...Yes?"

"Now let's let go of our hands and have a seat."

As soon as I spoke, Marie's head, which had been lowered, lifted up and she stared straight at me with her blue, flowing eyes filled with intense regret and a hint of desperation.

Then she looked directly into my eyes, pursed her lips, and responded with difficulty.

"...can't we just stay like this?"

"..."

This is too dangerous. Marie's appearance was so different from her usual lively and carefree personality that my heart raced with anxiety.

As she looked at me with moist eyes and spoke with a slightly trembling voice, I didn't know what to say. It was a sudden change in charm, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I quietly replied, looking up at Marie's cute face.

"...let's wait until our order arrives."

"Okay!"

Marie responded energetically with a bright smile. I couldn't help but laugh at how good that felt.

Before we sat down, we each chose our orders and rang the bell that was hanging on the door as instructed by the staff. It wasn't long before the staff knocked on the door and entered.

"What can I help you with?"

"I want to place an order. I will..."

After we finished placing our orders, we stood and waited for our meals without sitting down, holding hands and chatting with each other.

"... ..."

I felt a thousand different thoughts swirling in my head. I don't know if Marie feels the same way as I do, but she lowered her head and blushed, only showing her hair.

Although my earlier comment was a mistake, if I had brought up the subject without realizing the situation, the good atmosphere we had would have been ruined. Honestly, I wasn't feeling too bad either.

Above all, Marie doesn't seem to dislike me at all. Until recently, Marie was just a simple female friend, but after realizing that she had some romantic feelings for me, I felt different about her.

'...Do I like Marie too?'

Honestly, I'm not sure. But it's certain that my heart has been fluttering since I held her hand.

I didn't know what to say in the subtle silence that had settled in the room, so I looked at Marie again. She happened to be looking at me at that moment.

Our eyes met, and I smiled like a fool, looking at her eyes shining like sapphires.

Then Marie also smiled happily, expressing her feelings indirectly.

"Isaac."

"Yeah."

"Isaac. Isaac."

"Yeah, I'm here."

"Hehehe."

Marie kept calling my name, and every time she did, I responded in a soft voice. She seemed to be happy just by calling my name, and her smile was so bright that her pearly white teeth showed. It seems like she really liked me.

If such a beautiful girl shows that she likes me, what man would dislike it? While looking at Marie's innocent smile, I spoke up.

"Marie."

"Yeah?"

"Marie."

"Why?"

When I called her name this time, Marie answered with a playful tone, shaking her body a little to express her feelings. I held her hand tightly as she swayed, and I noticed that her face became a little redder.

'This is really embarrassing...'

This meeting was not intended to be like this, but somehow the situation has changed. However, the bigger problem is my own feelings. Since holding hands with Marie, she has looked more and more beautiful and cute to me.

However, when I think back to how she looked during the gathering, that's not it. Marie is undoubtedly a woman overflowing with charm in many ways.

'If Xenon's Biography really has such great value...'

Would there be no problem with me dating Marie? Of course, from an external perspective, it would look like the daughter of a duke and the son of a baron are dating each other, which is inadequate.

There will surely be negative rumors about us. But everything changes from the moment I reveal that I am the author of Xenon's Biography.

If the story that Marie brought up is true, then I am a person with an invaluable worth that cannot be recklessly measured. A writer with an immense reputation that the country itself would want to keep close.

It's only been less than an hour, but who would have known that my feelings would change like this. While looking at Marie, who was smiling brightly, I remembered the first edition that was tucked under my armpit.

It was nice to just hold hands like this, but we still have things to do, don't we? With that in mind, I cautiously opened my mouth to Marie.

"...Marie?"

"Yeah, Isaac?"

"Should we sit down now? I have something to say."

"Can't you just say it like this? I think I know what you want to say."

No, that's not it. I barely managed to endure the urge to laugh at her cheerful tone.

"It's not what you think. It could be something bigger."

"...Something bigger?"

"Yeah. By the way, it's not what you're thinking, so don't misunderstand."

"Not like that..."

Marie tilted her head in doubt at my words, but then widened her eyes and turned her head completely in the opposite direction. It was a meaningless gesture due to her ear that was exposed through her hair, although she was trying to hide her embarrassment.

As I slowly released my hand that Marie had grabbed, she also let go with a soft pull. However, she seemed disappointed as she tried to grab my hand again just before I completely let go.

"So, shall we sit?"

"Yeah..."

And so, we sat down after holding hands for almost 20 minutes.

As soon as I sat down, I looked at Marie sitting across from me. She happened to be looking at me too.

"... ..."

"...Hee."

Marie gave me an awkward smile as if she were embarrassed when I looked at her. I smirked and asked her a question.

"Marie."

"Yeah, Isaac?

"How's your academy life?"

First, I asked a simple question, thinking about how to deal with this atmosphere. If we continued like this, it seemed like it wouldn't be good for either of us.

After hearing my question, Marie blinked her blue eyes and opened her mouth.

"Why do you ask?"

"Just curious."

"Well... at first, I thought it would be difficult..."

As she mumbled with her index finger tapping her cheek, she looked at my face. Then, with a wide smile, she spoke with sincerity overflowing from her words.

"But then I became fond of you."

"... ..."

She didn't seem to have any intention of hiding her feelings anymore. After all, I thought she might be thinking that they were already half in a romantic relationship, having given such a clear indication.

When my heart, which I had just managed to calm down, tried to race again, I suppressed it as much as possible. If I couldn't suppress it, my face would probably turn red like a burning flame.

"Cough... Ah, I see. That's good to hear. Is there anything uncomfortable about it?"

"As for anything uncomfortable... there isn't anything right now. As you know, literature students have fewer classes than non-humanities students and they have to keep up with the lessons every day. Well, it might be different when we become third years. How about you, Isaac?"

"I don't have any discomfort either, except for when we did the group project last time."

"Ah, the group project. It was really hard at that time..."

Fortunately, the conversation was able to continue smoothly without interruption even when the food came in between. There was no interruption in the conversation that flowed back and forth between us.

When I had a meal with the royal siblings, it made me feel like my blood was drying up, but now I was more comfortable than ever.

I didn't even notice the time passing as Marie and I laughed and chatted happily during the meal. It wasn't proper etiquette, but we didn't care.

And, of course.

"... ..."

As soon as we finished our meal and cleaned up, we both fell silent, as if we had made an unspoken agreement.

Marie probably sensed it too. That the real conversation was about to begin. I had planned for this moment, so I thought about what to say and how to build up to it rather than blurting it out all at once.

"...Marie."

"...Yeah?"

Marie answered quietly without looking at me, as if she didn't have the courage to meet my eyes. In the meantime, I had placed the first edition of Xenon's Biography on the table, which had been on my thigh.

Marie looked at the first edition on the table with a puzzled expression, wondering what it was since it looked like just a piece of mail.

She probably didn't even know that I was the author of Xenon's Biography unlike other people.

"Phew..."

However, when I actually tried to speak, I couldn't control my trembling heart. Even though I exhaled a deep breath to relax, my heart was pounding as if cold sweat would break out.

'It'll be okay.'

Well, whether or not it would be okay depended on Marie.

To gather my thoughts, I closed my eyes tightly and muttered.

"Isaac."

As I was trying to calm my nerves, Marie quietly called my name. I opened my eyes at that moment.

"What's wrong?"

When I opened my eyes, I was met with a confusing situation.

"...?"

Marie and I weren't very far apart from each other, but we weren't exactly close either. Yet, now Marie's face was right in front of my nose.

I was perplexed and wondered what was going on when I belatedly realized that she had gotten up from her seat and leaned forward.

"Earlier, you said it wasn't like that, right?"

Marie spoke to me while I was unable to say anything. Her voice was moist and mellow, unlike Cecily's.

"I have a rough idea of what you're trying to say... but it probably doesn't matter."

With those words, Marie slowly approached my face and...

smack-

She pressed her lips against mine, making a popping sound, and quickly pulled away.

It wasn't a deep kiss between lovers, just a light peck.

However, the feeling that was conveyed to my lips was anything but light. Though it was a light kiss, it was a kind of declaration.

Like planting a flag, it was an action that left no doubt in the mind of the other person.

Thanks to that, my thoughts came to a standstill. I never dreamed that Marie would be so bold, and it almost felt like we had skipped all the steps in between.

Meanwhile, Marie blushed deeply, and with a warm voice, she opened her mouth and said.

"I just like you, that's all."

Translators note:

Ahh... Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh... WHY IS IT SO ADORABLE.

Thank you, BaronNeckbeard, for you support on kofi. These 2 chapters have been brought to you by him.