I Wish You Well In Your Next Love, My Love

CRASH!

Blaaaargh—

Even though it was past midnight, drunkards carried away by the festival were running madly all over the alley.

Voices laughing in shrill tones that grated on the nerves, and even panting groans like animals crying.

For the drunk, night did not exist.

And because I lived right in the middle of it, the comfort and rest of night were not allowed to me either.

This is a white night. What else would a white night be?

I was so tired that I felt like I would die of sleepiness, but I absolutely couldn’t ignore this noise that made it feel as if the house would collapse.

Even if I briefly fell asleep, I would often wake up to the sound of a crowd shouting and singing like thunderbolts.

“Damn Foundation Day.”

I seriously considered throwing cold water out the window, then gave up.

I simply curled up inside the blanket and blocked my ears, soothing my mind and body that way.

“Will he come tomorrow?”

Longing suddenly raised its head without my realizing.

When I realized my mistake, I quietly bit my lip.

“Why did he have to make a promise.”

The promise was the problem.

Without a set date, longing was bound to have a blurred shape, but because a date had been set, didn’t that make me wait?

I blamed him for my weakened heart.

I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for tomorrow to come quickly.

It wasn’t because of Gerard.

I was simply waiting for this terrible noise to be pushed out by the rising sun.

As dawn began to break, the noise died down.

But in the end, he did not arrive.

Not until the sun set, and not even until it rose again.

And so, the five-day Foundation Day holiday came to an end.

* * *

“I knew House Odriann was rich, but I didn’t know people would come bursting out of the fountain. Two mermaid princes were swimming and leaping up like whales, and wow! Even getting splashed with water felt enchanting, you know? Ah, and choosing an orange dress was a good choice. Arvina only changed into white dresses. Like a bride.”

The heat of the festival had not yet ended in the temple’s training room.

It seemed the five-day banquet hosted by Arvina had ended successfully, because everywhere I turned, people were full of praise.

“It would have been nice if you had come too…”

Anna lightly elbowed Chelsea in the side as she chattered without thinking.

I had suffered something awful from Madam Odriann right before Foundation Day.

There was no way going to the Odriann villa would have been pleasant.

“Oh, right. You know the necklace Lord Castion gave Arvina yesterday? They say it cost 2,000 crowns.”

Knowing my mood might sour, Anna quickly changed the subject.

But if she was thinking solely of my mood, that was a bad move.

“Lord Castion did?”

“He hadn’t shown his face at Hartheon lately, so I thought he had cooled toward Arvina, but that wasn’t it.”

Anna lowered her voice as much as she could and whispered quickly.

“I see.”

I understood. The reason you did not come yesterday.

I could accept it.

Understanding was not my part, so I left that aside.

My understanding was not needed for everything you did.

I was simply bitter because I myself was unbearably foolish.

“Arvina!”

Chelsea called her in an excited voice.

It was my first time facing Arvina since that incident. Before I realized it, discomfort surfaced on my face, then quickly disappeared.

Arvina, who had just entered the training room, was as beautiful and clear as always.

Arvina liked letting her blue hair, soft as silk, hang long below her waist, but today, for once, she had tied it high in one ponytail.

Her slender, long neckline stood out.

And my gaze reached the necklace that harmoniously adorned her deer-like neck.

One day. It was the necklace I had seen beyond the display window in the shopping district.

The one whose light looked different depending on the angle.

“Look at her wearing it right away because her lover gave it to her.”

“How does Lord Castion even have such good taste? It suits Arvina so well.”

Arvina’s cheeks flushed shyly, like a flower that had yet to bloom.

“Really?”

“Maybe starting from yesterday, he’s trying to win your heart back with a barrage of gifts again? He’d been quiet for a while. What a capable and handsome man who even spends money well.”

“And what about his pure devotion? He only looks at Arvina.”