Chapter 116
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âWhy does everyone tell me to ask Arvina?â
It wasnât only today. I had heard it countless times throughout my life.
They said the same thing when I couldnât participate in residential training because I lacked travel expenses, and when I couldnât afford the cost of books.
I had even been told that since a fourth-rank had no prospects, I should ask Arvina to let me work as a maid for House Odriann.
Hardship had always followed my life like a shadow, and Arvina had never become my prince on a white horse.
âŚOf course, there had been a few times when I shamelessly asked Arvina for help.
But her help was, how should I put it. It was like handing a cup of water to a flood victim whose house had been washed away and telling them not to cry and to calm down. It was unclear whether she was mocking me or comforting me.
But her expression was always sincere. Every time, I accepted the cup of water, concealed my discomfort, and said, âThank you.â
Humans learned.
After experiencing it several times, I no longer asked Arvina for anything or expected anything from her.
This time was no different.
Once the sun set, the inside of the house felt as though it had been covered in ice from a snowy mountain.
After bathing, I shivered at the chill clinging to my wet body and hurriedly pulled on several layers of clothing.
âIâm definitely moving somewhere with a fireplace next time.â
Moving was a ridiculous fantasy in my current circumstances, but that was my wish, at least.
The moment I forced my eyes closed, the worries I had been putting off came rushing in, as though they had been waiting.
âWhat am I going to do about the banquet?â
Should I not have gone to see Priestess Lysandra today? It seemed like they might not have noticed if I simply didnât attend without saying anything.
ââŚBut would Arvina tell anyone about me?â
With those bright eyes of hers shining innocently in front of the priest, she might say, âWhy didnât you come to the banquet, Louize? I waited for you.â Mm. There was a fairly high chance of that too.
It seemed I couldnât simply skip it without permission.
Now that things had come to this, I had no choice but to place my hopes in the positive possibilities.
In any case, all I needed to do was avoid becoming involved in a romantic scandal with Gerard at the banquet, didnât I? That would be easy.
I only needed to stay as quiet as a dead mouse and behave myself.
âIâll have to go buy a dress.â
I had returned the dresses Gerard had gifted me before, and the ones I hadnât managed to return because he had been urgently deployed were hanging in storage.
I didnât want to wear those expensive clothes and attract attention I didnât even want. I had also lost a great deal of weight since then, so they probably wouldnât fit me. And after Gerard lost his memories, I no longer considered the dresses he had given me to be mine.
Hoping there would be an inexpensive dress at a secondhand clothing shop, I turned onto my side.
Knock, knock, knock.
My eyes snapped open.
Thinking it might be the wind, I listened again and heard a voice call, âLouize.â
âGerard?â
I got up and opened the door.
âWhoa.â
A box wrapped in cloth was thrust directly in front of my eyes. I instinctively reached out with both hands to take it, but the box was pulled above my head.
After entering and closing the door, he strode across the living room with long steps. The sight of his back as he entered like this was his own home made me let out an incredulous laugh.
âYou said you werenât coming today.â
âI wasnât going to.â
Gerard set down the box and perched on the armrest of the sofa. When he beckoned for me to come closer, I eventually moved my legs.
As the distance between us narrowed, Gerard grabbed my hand and yanked me toward him.
âBecause I missed you.â
Every time I inhaled, I could smell the cold autumn air on him.
He pulled off his leather gloves, carelessly stuffed them into his pocket, then suddenly began unfastening the buttons of my coat one by one.
