Chapter 90
Kirine found herself at a loss for words as Ares looked straight into her eyes.
She hadn’t avoided him to hurt his feelings. She had just needed to run away for a while because she couldn’t face Ares normally until she figured out exactly what her own feelings were.
“I didn’t mean to.”
“Whether you meant to or not, you still made me feel horrible.”
“That’s…”
At his firm tone, Kirine scratched her cheek.
Though she felt somewhat wronged, she had to admit he was right.
“I’m sorry.”
Finally, Kirine apologized weakly. Even she knew she was in the wrong.
Fortunately, Ares’s expression softened as if she had given the right answer. But he hadn’t completely let it go.
“Then promise you won’t avoid me anymore.”
“Right now?”
“Yes, right now.”
“Alright. I won’t avoid you anymore.”
“Good.”
Only then did Ares show a relaxed smile.
Watching him quietly, Kirine carefully asked.
“Are you okay with it?”
“With what?”
“That those kinds of rumors are spreading about us.”
Somehow feeling uncomfortable saying words like ‘engagement’ or ‘marriage’ directly, she spoke in roundabout terms.
Ares, immediately understanding what she meant, showed an unconcerned reaction.
“I don’t mind.”
“I thought you’d hate it. This is unexpected.”
“I have no reason to hate it.”
Ares shrugged his shoulders lightly and gave a picture-perfect smile.
“It’ll happen eventually anyway.”
“…?”
Even as Kirine stared at him in disbelief at his brazen attitude, Ares didn’t so much as blink.
“Who decided that!”
“I did.”
Though Kirine immediately confronted him, Ares only smiled more deeply in response.
***
“So you two are like that, right?”
“Like what?”
After her brief argument with Ares, when Kirine entered the laboratory, her colleague asked as if they had been waiting for her.
Though she understood the sudden question, Kirine played dumb.
Her colleague frowned slightly.
“You and Lord Arensis.”
“It’s not like that.”
“What do you mean it’s not? More than a few people saw you two walking together intimately today.”
“I told you it’s not like that.”
It seemed the rumors had already spread.
Though she felt a twinge of discomfort inside, Kirine sat down as if nothing was wrong.
But her colleague sat close beside her and asked carefully.
“Be honest. You have feelings for Lord Arensis, don’t you?”
“Just do your work. Planning to pull another all-nighter today?”
“That’s my business. Anyway, what about you? Aren’t you interested?”
“No. Not at all.”
“Oh, come on, you’re lying.”
Her colleague pressed her to be honest, then broke into a grin.
“You know what?”
“What?”
“You always deny things twice when you’re lying.”
“What are you talking about? That’s not true.”
Even as Kirine strongly denied it, her colleague ignored her protests. They just sat there snickering, getting on Kirine’s nerves.
“Oh right, I just remembered. The High Priest was looking for you today.”
“High Priest? Ah…”
For a moment, Kirine blinked in confusion, not understanding, then let out a belated sigh.
‘Vincent…’
Even though they had parted that way, hearing that he had come to see her again made her feel guilty and bitter.
‘I should meet him though…’
Actually, she didn’t know what to say when they met. Her answer hadn’t changed, and she didn’t want to hurt him again by rejecting him once more.
“Yeah, he said to make sure to tell you he came looking for you.”
“…”
After hearing that, there was no way she could avoid meeting him.
“Alright, thanks.”
Kirine smiled awkwardly while letting out a deep internal sigh.
This was the first time she had ever wanted to avoid meeting Vincent so badly.
***
“Haah…”
After tidying up the laboratory somewhat, Kirine let out a long sigh as if she had been holding it in.
It was right to meet him since she didn’t know when she’d be able to see Vincent again. He had even sent a note saying he would wait in the cafeteria, so she couldn’t possibly ignore it.
‘What should I say when I meet him…’
Not knowing what to say made it even more awkward.
But knowing that avoiding him would only hurt Vincent more, Kirine finally forced herself to enter the cafeteria.
As soon as she entered, her eyes met Vincent’s. He was already there, sitting quietly in his seat.
“Hi.”
“Hi.”
“…”
“…”
They exchanged awkward greetings, but silence quickly followed. Sitting across from Vincent, Kirine clasped her hands together and darted her eyes around.
“Am I making you uncomfortable now?”
“Huh?”
Kirine’s eyes widened in surprise, not expecting such a direct question.
“Ah, no. That’s not it.”
“…”
Though she strongly denied it, Vincent clearly didn’t believe her.
Even she thought it would be stupid to believe such a denial.
‘This is driving me crazy.’
Biting her lip, Kirine spoke with a whatever-goes attitude.
“You want me to be honest? Fine, I am uncomfortable. Wouldn’t it be strange if I wasn’t?”
It would be a lie to say she wasn’t uncomfortable after finding out that a friend she had been close with had romantic feelings for her.
“So what do you want to do from now on?”
Part of her felt resentful toward Vincent. But knowing that matters of the heart couldn’t be controlled at will, she couldn’t help but feel sympathy as well.
“I just wanted you to understand my feelings a little.”
“…”
Kirine fell silent at his sad words. Somehow, his request to understand his feelings sounded like he was asking her to like him back.
“Let’s keep our distance for a while. Maybe then these feelings will fade.”
Kirine spoke with a sigh in her voice as she slowly stood up.
Though their relationship was already broken, she couldn’t bring herself to cut Vincent off completely.
She believed things could quickly return to normal if only Vincent could let go of his feelings for her.
But Vincent said something unexpected.
“Do you like him?”
Kirine froze at the voice that reached her just as she was about to turn away. She had a feeling she knew who “him” referred to.
“I don’t understand why you’re asking that. Do I have to answer?”
“Then shall I ask something else? Did he say he likes you?”
“…”
As the questions increasingly crossed the line, Kirine could no longer maintain her composure.
Unable to contain her displeasure, a bitter smile escaped her lips.
“I don’t understand what you’re trying to achieve by asking. What difference would it make if I told you?”
“I want to know how you feel.”
“…”
That made it even more impossible to answer.
She couldn’t even be sure of her own feelings yet.
“I don’t know. But he said he likes me.”
Though it might sound insincere, it was the best answer she could give right now.
But Vincent remained persistent.
“So how did you feel? Were you happy to hear it? Or…”
“Let’s stop here. I think this will only make you more uncomfortable.”
“…”
With those final words, Kirine left without any further hesitation. Though she could feel his gaze on her back, she didn’t look back.
‘Was I happy?’
As soon as she left the cafeteria, Vincent’s words kept echoing in her mind.
Truth be told, when she learned of Ares’s feelings, she hadn’t felt uncomfortable at all. It was completely different from how she had felt when Vincent confessed.
While Vincent’s confession had made her feel troubled and awkward, with Ares it was more like…
Surprising and fascinating. And though she didn’t want to admit it, she had felt a little excited too.
[“Do you like him?”]
Remembering his calm but anxious-sounding voice, Kirine tilted her head back with a long sigh.
Above her stretched the night sky, looking like salt scattered across black paper.
‘I…’
She still didn’t want to admit it. Especially since it was Ares of all people.
‘Yes, that’s right.’
Kirine let out a weak, resigned laugh.
The emotion she had felt when she learned of Ares’s feelings was definitely euphoria.
