Chapter 3
“Yeah. Is that not okay?”
“That’s not it! It’s your heart, after all.”
“What about Ret? Have you decided on a partner?”
“No. I don’t have anyone in mind yet.”
“I see.”
She doesn’t have anyone in mind. Is she hiding her true feelings out of embarrassment? I smiled slightly and casually tossed out what seemed like a passing comment.
“You two would make a good pair as partners.”
“I think Cedy probably has someone specific he wants to dance with.”
“No, I heard recently that he doesn’t have anyone particular he wants to dance with.”
Riette made a dismayed expression for a moment and pressed her lips tightly together. Then she swept her face with her palm. The girl who raised her head afterward smiled as if troubled.
“Eddie, do you really want to… with Lady Viola?”
“Huh?”
“Ah, well… I was thinking of dancing with someone else! If you don’t absolutely have to dance with Lady Viola, could you partner with her instead of me? So you two can get closer through this opportunity?”
…Ah, this is bad. Cedy, you poor guy.
Since Riette had taken Cedric’s hand instead of mine and continued acting like they were dating afterward, I thought they had feelings for each other early on, but judging from her reaction, that doesn’t seem to be the case either.
Perhaps Riette’s feelings changed from the moment she took Cedric’s hand. She had only treated him as a friend before, but after that, she became conscious of Cedric and romantic feelings bloomed.
‘…That might really be the case.’
Considering her usual demeanor toward us, the possibility is high.
Of course, I wasn’t trying to say I’d set my sights on Riette again or anything like that.
Even if an opportunity came, my feelings from the past and now have changed significantly, and I had already realized that my feelings toward Riette weren’t genuine.
It’s just… I feel a bit sorry for Cedric, who would be sincere toward her. Having to hear such words right in front of him.
“What. Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Like what?”
“You were looking at me with such pitying eyes.”
“No, nothing like that.”
Cedric glanced at me sulkily.
I smiled without saying anything, cheering for that poor friend who was in the midst of unrequited love to quickly win his love.
* * *
We had only been eating and chatting while admiring newly acquired artworks, but time had already passed quickly.
When the conversation reached a lull, Riette excused herself to the restroom, leaving me alone with Cedric.
“……”
“……”
The silence that came as soon as Riette left.
Being alone with Cedric like this… is still somewhat awkward.
I had never thought of Cedric in a particularly warm way, so I had no idea how to initiate conversation when we were left alone.
Usually, Cedric would be the first to speak or cling to me instead. But now Cedric was just staring at me with strange wariness…
‘Thank goodness we have the music box playing.’
The music automatically flowing from the Arcana music box, one of the commercialized magical devices, was at least keeping the quiet awkward silence at bay. I heard it’s frequently used at social gatherings these days, so our house got one too, and even though we couldn’t feel the rich melodies, it seemed good for changing the atmosphere in various ways.
Most of all, I wanted to give it a thumbs up for filling this silence…
Suddenly, Cedric, who had been sitting on the opposite sofa staring holes through me, abruptly stood up.
He approached the music box and turned off the music without warning, then whirled around to face me. The moment our eyes met, I unknowingly panicked and stiffened.
“Eddie.”
“Yeah?”
“What the hell are you thinking?”
“…What do you mean, what am I thinking?”
That’s actually the question I want to ask.
What did I do to deserve this?
“You like Ret, don’t you?”
“Huh?”
“Why do you keep acting like you won’t ask her to dance?”
Cedric’s low rebuke.
I blinked repeatedly.
‘Ah. So this is… that, right?’
He’s keeping me in check right now, isn’t he?
I finally understood why he’d been looking at me with those burning eyes. I tried hard to suppress the corners of my mouth from unconsciously curling up into a grin.
If I still had feelings for Riette, those words would have felt like provocation and made me angry, but now they seemed like something spat out in frustration from anxiety, making Cedric seem a bit cute.
“Ret is just a friend to me.”
“…Liar.”
“It’s true though.”
“Be honest. What exactly are you hiding?”
He looked like he couldn’t believe my words at all. I became annoyed at the constantly misaligned conversation.
“It’s really true! I’m the person in question, so I would know!”
Eventually, my voice rose without me realizing it. Fortunately, I was able to quickly regain my composure and calm my mind.
‘Whew. Calm down, calm down.’
How long has it been since I decided to become friends with him? I gently shook my head while calmly collecting myself.
Around that time, Cedric, who had been keeping his mouth firmly shut in a straight line, strode forward and came close to me.
“……!”
I leaned back in surprise, but Cedric climbed onto the sofa, pressing one knee into the empty space, gripping the backrest and lowering his head.
Cedric’s deep, bright blue eyes were glaring at me right in front of my face. I also widened my eyes defiantly at that gaze that looked ready to grab me by the collar at any moment.
“Why are you looking at me so scary?”
“…Eddie.”
“What?”
“That woman won’t do.”
Cedric advised quietly.
Soon after… Cedric’s hand quietly reached out and gently swept back my fallen hair. It was an infinitely tender touch, contrary to his rigid expression.
“Don’t think about dancing with Lady Viola.”
While I was feeling cognitive dissonance from this, another cold warning fell. After being flustered, I became incredulous.
“Why do you get to decide that? Whoever I dance with…”
“Eddie, please.”
A suppressed rebuke came along with a familiar scent.
It was Cedric’s pheromone scent.
But I couldn’t understand why he had released his pheromones. Even betas can smell alpha and omega scents, but they aren’t affected by scents in any way.
Naturally, it was also impossible to read emotions mixed in pheromones.
Cedric, who had been grumbling for a while as if swallowing some emotion I couldn’t even guess at, moved his lips again.
“I’m asking you, just this once, please listen to me.”
I couldn’t properly see his bowed face as he murmured this.
Is this something to stop me from doing even while begging? What kind of expression are you making right now as you make such a request?
Viola was someone who got along well with everyone with her gentle personality and no rough edges, even during our days at the Imperial Academy.
There were no bad rumors about her, nor any problems, so no matter how much I thought about it, there was no reason I shouldn’t ask her to dance.
“What are you two doing?”
Just then, Riette’s bewildered voice came from the entrance. I unconsciously turned my head that way, then belatedly realized Cedric was positioned above my body and floundered.
“We were just talking! Hey, get off quickly.”
After promptly answering Riette, I whispered urgently to Cedric to get off and frantically hit his shoulder.
Alphas like Cedric, who were born with alpha traits, are called ‘dominant alphas,’ and they have superior physical abilities compared to betas and omegas regardless of gender.
With my beta strength, I couldn’t push him away.
Cedric glanced toward the entrance and silently pulled his body back, creating space between him and me. Only then could I breathe a little easier.
‘Phew.’
I scooted my bottom all the way to the sofa armrest and sat pressed against it, calming my heart that was fluttering from embarrassment for a moment.
During this time, Riette turned the music box back on and returned to sit on the opposite sofa… but Cedric didn’t return to his original seat next to Riette.
He sat next to me and stayed put.
…A very natural table-sharing.
When I stared intently at Cedric’s profile, he seemed to sense my gaze and turned his head to meet my eyes.
“Why are you looking?”
“…Nothing.”
“Eddie.”
“…Yeah?”
“I told you. That woman won’t do.”
“……”
A warning so small that only I could hear it.
Instead of answering, I withdrew my gaze from him.
Time passed, and when the sun hanging in the middle of the sky began to set, Cedric and Riette left. Somehow the tension completely drained away and I naturally sighed.
‘I’m tired.’
Much more than usual.
It seemed I had been on edge much more because of Cedric than I thought. As I went up to my room, I mulled over the advice I had heard from Cedric.
〈Don’t think about dancing with Lady Viola.〉
〈I told you. That woman won’t do.〉
Cedric acted as if he was wary of Viola. I’m not sure if that’s the accurate expression, but that’s how I felt.
…Why?
What’s certain is that Cedric doesn’t like the idea of me getting close to her. It was also a scene that didn’t exist in the novel, so I was confused.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
