I left my parents to head to my room, walking to the short hallway Ressa had disappeared into. The wooden floorboards creaked with each step I took, and I wondered once more if Mom and Dad would ever change it.

A theory popped into my mind. Perhaps I was the only one who could hear the creaking? I mean, Mom and Dad never seemed to mind, after all.

That would explain a lot of things, not gonna lie.

As I reached my door, I stopped. From the other side of this wooden door, I could hear Ressa’s presence, along with what sounded like her steadying her breathing.

Huh? Is unpacking my stuff that tiresome?

I slowly nudged the door open and stepped inside.

My bags were sitting silently in the middle of my old, familiar bed, completely unopened.

She didn’t even start yet??

Ressa had her back to me, staring silently out the paneless window to the village scenery beyond. She was, indeed, steadying her breath. It sounded less like her taking a breath of fresh air and more like she was prepping herself for battle.

“Umm, Miss Ressa?” I asked, stepping fully into the room. “Are you alright?”

She flinched, whipping around with wide, startled eyes. “S-Sir Feyt!” she squeaked, immediately spinning back to face the window as if she could hide in the view. Her breathing, if anything, became more frantic, a series of quick, sharp inhales and exhales.

I stood there, awkwardly waiting, slightly concerned. “…Is there a problem with the room?”

“No! T-The room is fine, Sir Feyt!” she practically shouted out the window.

Then, I heard her let out a pained sigh before muttering under her breath. “Ugh… Fine. Let’s just get this over with.”

Her shoulders raised as she took a deep breath. She then turned on her heel with a sudden motion. Her gaze locked onto mine with an unnerving intensity. She practically stomped her way to me.

“Uhh… Miss Ressa?” I instinctively took a step back, unsure what was going on.

She continued her march, and before long, I found myself pushing against the door I had just closed.

She stomped to a halt right in front of me, with a bright red blush visible across her face as her gaze finally flickered, darting everywhere but me. She quickly shook her head and then looked me dead in the eye once more, her hands clenching her dress.

“Sir Feyt…” she began, her words small. After another deep breath, she finally announced. “I-I love you! Please go out with me!!!” she shouted, swinging her head down into a bow.

…Haeh?

The world… was still.

For a moment, all I could hear was the running sound of water from the village well, the typical chirping of birds, and the creaking of my house’s beloved floorboards. Not a single human voice could be processed, as my brain was still busy with the words I just heard.

My ears… they’re failing me, right?

After all this time, it finally broke.

Talk about bad timing, haha!

With a warm, disassociated smile, I tilted my head as I asked politely. “Sorry, I didn’t catch that. Could you… repeat that?”

Ressa’s head shot up; her face was a mocking image of a ripe tomato. “Seriously?! Y-You want me to say that again?! U-Ugh, fine!” she said in frustration. She stomped her feet as she straightened herself, pouting slightly. “S-Sir Feyt! I…. I love you….” She extended her hand, closing her eyes as she forced herself to continue. “W-Would you go out with me?!”

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Her hands were trembling as I left it hanging.

My mind went blank.

I heard her right after all.

So… my selfish theory… was correct?

“I-I know it’s sudden!” she barreled on. “A-And I know that I haven’t talked to you much… B-But! Ever since I first met you, I… Uhh… I always—!!”

“W-Wait, hold on!” I finally managed to sputter, raising my hands as if they would shield me. “M-Miss Ressa! just… wait a minute! T-This is a lot to take in… Are you being serious?”

“Y-Yeah! Of course I am!” she insisted. “What else could I be?”

“B-But… why me?”

I wouldn’t say we barely knew each other. But I had never seen her as anything other than a friend, and I had never seen her treat me as anything else either.

Why this sudden change?

Before I could think further.

“I-If you’re thinking about Lady Carine…”

The sudden name drop caught my attention.

“S-She… She gave me permission to date you!” she shouted as if her life depended on it.

“…She WHAT?!”

W-Wait, I didn’t give no permission! Absolutely, positively, determinedly none! Nada! Not a cinch!

“L-Lady Carine would never do that!” I immediately refuted.

“B-But it’s true!” she pleaded. “S-She said she wanted to see you happy! She even said how uhh… good of a match we are!”

I didn’t say ANY of those things!!!

“W-We could start small! We could uhh… we could head out for food together! Do morning exercises together! Y-You don’t have to put everything into me all at once…” Ressa swallowed hard, her fingers twisting the fabric of her dress so tightly it looked like it might tear. “S-So please—! A-Answer me, right now…”

Her breath slowed.

“D-Do you… want to go out with me… or not?”

I stood there, frozen against the door, heart hammering loud enough that I was sure even the birds outside could hear it.

But then, slowly, my mind finally began to catch up.

Her wavering voice.

Her trembling eyes.

Her shaking hands.

…It was clear, from the moment she raised her voice, that she was forcing herself.

Every single word she had said had sounded like she dragged them out of her throat like it was torture. She had even lied about “me” to convince me.

My breath and heart steadied without me realizing it.

A calm washed over me, not because the situation was any less intense, but because I realized something quite important.

Whatever she was saying…

She wanted no part in it.

That left me with only one choice.

“Miss Ressa,” I said quietly, slowly lowering my shoulders. “I’m… honored, really. It’s the first time I was ever confessed to.”

She jerked instantly, her shoulders withdrawing.

“But, I… couldn’t see myself having you as anything more than a friend… I’m sorry, but… I can’t go out with you.”

The world was still once more.

I braced myself for tears, for a trembling acceptance, or for a cry of rejection.

But instead—

“Oh, thank GOODNESS!!”

She let out an explosive sigh of relief, stumbling back until she sat on my bed.

I blinked.

…Hoeh?

“My—I thought my heart was going to explode!” she gasped, holding her chest tight. “I swear I almost dove out the window myself, I hated every second of that!”

She stood upright again, her face now drained of the tomato-red blush, and replaced with her usual, confident smirk as she stretched herself. Then, she turned to me, pressing her palms together as she offered an awkward smile.

“I-I’m so sorry for that, Sir Feyt! It must’ve been a real shock, huh?” she said, as if it was an apology.

“W-Whu… Wha… Huh?”

A small chuckle escaped her as she lowered her arms. She sat back down on my bed, her posture more relaxed than it had ever been this whole day.

“I think it’s obvious now. That… was my secret mission.”

“S-Secret… mission?”

She nodded. “From the Duke himself. He wanted to test a theory or… something. Not sure, really.”

“S-So… that confession was… a lie?”

“Well, duh,” she affirmed, her arms crossed. Then, realizing something, her eyes widened as she shot her hands up in a frantic wave. “O-Oh, that doesn’t mean I don’t like you or anything! Not like… like you, but you’re a great friend, that’s all!”

I stood silently before my door. My mind, a frantic mess just moments ago, was now wallowing in despair.

Great… just as I thought someone other than “me” had fallen in love with me.

I let out a sigh. There was nothing that could be helped. Besides, what was I complaining about? I was the one who rejected her.

“Well, I guess that’s that… But why did the instructor give you this mission?”

Is Father trying to see if I will stay loyal to Carine or something?

“Don’t know~” She shrugged. “I was just following orders, really.”

“…But why did he give that mission to you?”

“Yeah, I know, right?!” She held a hand to her head as if distraught. “Giving it to Eliza would make much more sense, y’know?”

With how often Eliza and I were together, it would at least be less sudden than Ressa’s confession.

Ressa began mumbling under her breath in frustration. “Seriously, that was so frickin’ embarrassing… I even took his first confession… if Lady Carine ever finds out what I did… Ugh…” she shivered in fear.

Ressa was busy mumbling to herself.

So, I shifted my focus to another presence. I turned towards the door, slowly pulling it open.

Dad was standing there.

I knew it, the floorboards I heard earlier were him eavesdropping.

“…Hey.”

“…Hey.”

We both stared at each other in silence, Ressa still mumbling to herself on my bed.

“…Please leave,” I said, deadpan.

“…Got it.”

Dad respectfully turned, retreating into the main room as I closed the door.

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