Falling To Paradise

While Anje was lost in thought, Aiden also opened his eyes. He, too, was visibly surprised to see the person lying next to him.

 

After hesitating for a moment, he lightly shook her shoulder.

 

“…Anje?”

 

“Mmm…”

 

Anje pretended to still be half-asleep, hoping to delay the awkwardness of facing him.

 

Without shaking her further, he quietly got up and moved away from the bed. Soon, after washing up, he returned and gently tapped her cheek.

 

“Anje, it’s already midday. It’s time to go home.”

 

“I’m sleepy…”

 

Aiden easily fell for Anje’s all-out performance. Stroking his chin, he murmured to himself.

 

“…Should I just take her like this?”

 

Like this? As if to answer Anje’s question, he slid his arms under her body. Apparently, “like this” meant he intended to carry her in his arms.

 

Startled, Anje jumped up from her spot and, somewhat awkwardly, freed herself from his arms.

 

“Oh, I slept so well for the first time in a while. Did you sleep well too?”

 

It was already awkward enough to leave the inn room together, but if someone were to see her being carried out like a new bride, she’d want to hide in a mouse hole.

 

Aiden, surprised that she suddenly opened her eyes after not waking no matter how much he tried, responded a beat late.

 

“…Yes, and you?”

 

“Oh, I’m as lively as ever. Haha.”

 

Unlike the moonlit night when they had been swept away by the romantic atmosphere without resistance, the sunlight now shone far too brightly. Her green eyes wavered awkwardly, unable to properly meet Aiden’s gaze.

 

Aiden, also infected by her stiffness, moved clumsily like a wooden puppet and handed her a towel and soap.

 

“I’ve already washed, so take your time and use these.”

 

“Alright. I’ll be back soon.”

 

Thanks to him having filled the bathtub with warm water, Anje was able to wash quickly and without much trouble. However, it took a bit of courage to put on the dress she had worn yesterday.

 

‘At this rate, it’s practically like announcing to the whole town that we spent the night out together.’

 

Let’s hurry back home without running into anyone. Resolving herself, she opened the door with all her strength.

 

“I’m done washing, so let’s go quickly.”

 

“Oh, yes.”

 

“You’ve packed everything, right?”

 

“Yes, I only had my bag to begin with… Is it okay if we skip breakfast? We can eat if we go downstairs.”

 

“Let’s eat comfortably at home. After eating out so much yesterday, I miss our home-cooked meals.”

 

Aiden was a little taken aback by Anje’s urgency but brushed it off, thinking she might be very tired and just wanted to get home quickly to rest.

 

‘Sleeping in an unfamiliar place can be tiring.’

 

Unlike himself, who could sleep soundly even on a hard floor, Anje was more delicate.

 

On top of that, there was the burden of himself being by her side… No, not just beside her—he had held her as if she were a doll.

 

Seeing Anje nestled in his arms, softly breathing in her sleep, he had been so startled, even in his half-asleep state.

 

‘And because I didn’t let go of her, she probably didn’t fall asleep until dawn…’

 

Recalling the events of last night, he rubbed the area around his lips with his palm, which had grown hot. It still felt like a dream that they had done ‘that’ yesterday.

 

It was good that he had mustered his courage. As he followed her down the stairs to the first floor, a satisfied smile spread across his face.

 

‘I gave her the ring and even hinted at my feelings… Wait a moment.’

 

Thud—

 

Startled by the loud noise, Anje turned around. Aiden, who had missed a step, was sitting on the stairs with a dazed expression.

 

“Oh no, Aiden, are you okay? I rushed too much, didn’t I?”

 

“N-No, it’s nothing. I was just lost in thought—. Don’t worry about it.”

 

As he dusted himself off and stood up, his back was drenched with cold sweat.

 

‘Now that I think about it, I only gave her the ring and didn’t say anything.’

 

Originally, he had prepared several different versions of lines to use, depending on the mood and situation.

 

Things like, ‘I’ll work hard to become a better husband, so please take care of me,’ or ‘I can’t express how lucky I am to have you as my wife,’ or even ‘I feel an irresistible attraction toward you.’

 

Perhaps even ‘I love you.’

 

From lighthearted “friendship” or “camaraderie” versions to ones he thought “isn’t this a bit too cheesy?”—he had agonized over various lines.

 

But in the end…

 

‘I… was too busy using my mouth for something…other than talking.’

 

He pressed down on his eyelids with his thumb and index finger. How could he be so stupid?

 

It wasn’t the time to be grinning about having had deep physical affection with her. He had to say the things he hadn’t managed to say yesterday, even if it was late.

 

“Um, Anje.”

 

“Yes?”

 

Seeing her innocent face, his heart started pounding again. He wasn’t sure if it was okay to suddenly bring this up like this when the mood wasn’t even right.

 

“I’d like to talk to you for a moment, just the two of us—.”

 

Even though they had almost reached the bottom of the stairs, his instincts were telling him that this was something he had to say before it was too late.

 

‘I have to be brave. Judging from her actions yesterday… it doesn’t seem like she has no feelings for me at all.’

 

For someone as cautious as he was in his relationship with Anje, this was an action that took every bit of courage he had.

 

“Yesterday, I got caught up in the mood, and with you—.”

 

—I couldn’t say anything because I was busy kissing you, but the truth is, I feel this and that about you. He wanted to quickly confess his true feelings to Anje.

 

However, Anje, misinterpreting his opening words as something negative, hurriedly cut him off.

 

“Oh, you don’t need to explain in detail. It’s fine.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“More importantly, shouldn’t we hurry to pick up Pa-Pi-Pu? Didn’t the competition organizers say we had to get them by noon at the latest?”

 

“…That’s true.”

 

“Let’s go now. At this rate, we’ll be late.”

 

Aiden, dumbfounded, could only stare at Anje’s back as she strode away. He didn’t know the exact reason, but it seemed like she didn’t want to talk about what had happened yesterday.

 

‘Could it be… she regrets what happened yesterday?’

 

His heart, which had been so elated that it soared to the clouds, crashed down to the depths of the earth.

 

Swept up in the festival atmosphere, she had allowed their lips to meet, but when she thought about it with a clear mind in the morning, she might have found it unpleasant to have done such a thing with someone like him. Hadn’t she firmly drawn a line by refusing to share a room with him from their first day of marriage?

 

He clenched his fist tightly. If she didn’t want to talk about what happened yesterday, he had to respect her feelings.

 

‘She probably just needs more time.’

 

The fact that she was wearing the ring he had given her was already a huge step forward. In time, she would gradually accept his feelings. Consoling himself with such thoughts, he followed Anje out of the inn.

 

“Let’s go together, Anje.”

 

Anje, fiddling with the ring on her fourth finger, looked at Aiden as he approached. Despite having been interrupted mid-sentence, his face remained calm and composed without much change in expression.

 

‘As expected, he must have been about to suggest we pretend it never happened.’

 

Somewhere inside her, she heard a voice mocking her, calling her a ‘coward’. She clenched her hand into a fist to hide the trembling of her fingers and took a deep breath.

 

She was curious about what kind of feelings had led him to kiss her and what he had been trying to say, but she didn’t have the confidence.

 

‘Could Aiden really like me?’

 

Her father, and even the servants who had known her since she was young, had not loved her. Even those she thought of as friends in society had quickly forgotten her.

 

If she left the lid of the box of truth unopened and kept it in an unknown state, she could avoid the greater pain that would come from knowing the undeniable truth.

 

“If you’re too slow, I’ll leave you behind, Aiden.”

 

Anje placed a smiling mask over her face. It had been easy to do back when she was in society, but it felt difficult to pull off after so long.

 

‘I really want to see Pa-Pi-Pu soon.’

 

Even though animals couldn’t speak, they returned pure, unadorned affection in response to the care she gave them.

 

The wagging tails and the flapping of small, soft pink ears—she suddenly missed the sight she had seen just yesterday.

 

And, on another note, she couldn’t help but wonder how nice it would be if Aiden had ears and a tail too, so she could easily understand his feelings.

 

* * *

 

“Do you not have an appetite?”

 

Anje, who had been staring blankly at her breakfast with a fork and knife in hand, quickly shook her head at Aiden’s question.

 

“No, it’s not that. I just didn’t sleep well, so I’m still sleepy.”

 

She hadn’t been able to sleep properly for the past few days. Even lying in bed with the blanket pulled up over her head, squeezing her eyes shut, counting up to a hundred pigs, or drinking hot milk didn’t make much difference.

 

The man who was the source of her worries looked at her with a concerned expression and handed her a glass of water. The water, drawn from a deep well, was cool even in the late summer weather.

 

“Could it be heat exhaustion? Should I call a doctor?”

 

“No! It’s not that bad. It’s just… I couldn’t calm down after the excitement of the festival.”

 

She couldn’t be honest with Aiden and say, “I couldn’t sleep because I was troubled about you.”

 

She poked the greenish fried dish on her plate with a fork and took a big bite to reassure him.

 

“Mmm, it’s delicious. As expected, your cooking is always the best.”

 

As she intended, his face lit up the moment he heard her compliment.

 

“Does it taste all right? I wasn’t confident since it’s my first time making it.”

 

“The tomato flavor and juices come out with every bite, and I love it. The buttery aroma is also rich. By the way, do we still have any raspberry jam left?”

 

“Here it is. Indeed, it would definitely taste great with some jam. I’ll also bring some arugula.”

 

* * * *

 

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