“…….”
I quietly looked at him.
Ares was at the center of the heated debate between Leia, Princess Ariel, and me. Undoubtedly, people in the banquet hall must be eagerly gossiping about this peculiar love triangle.
I should have been more attentive to Ares’ feelings. It was my fault.
Ares showed no intention of moving until he received the answer he wanted from me. The way he hugged my waist tighter, as if to prevent me from returning to the banquet hall, made that clear.
“……Alright.”
Phew, I’ll have to ask Metis later about how the atmosphere in the banquet hall changed after we left.
“Bianca.”
Ares’s face relaxed instantly at my response, and he cupped my face with his warm hands. I looked at him and smiled gently.
“Okay. Let’s go home, Ares.”
“…….”
Haah. He hesitated again.
We were supposed to leave because he said he wanted to go home, so what was the problem now?
I felt a bit frustrated, but I patiently waited for him to speak. However…….
“……!”
Ares wasn’t trying to speak to me.
He slowly covered my lips with his, still cupping my face. His lips parted mine, and he invaded my mouth.
It wasn’t the fierce intensity of earlier, as if he would devour me. Instead, it was gentle and loving, as if I were the most precious thing to him.
His warm tongue softly entwined with mine before pulling away, only to return again. The melting softness made my eyes close, heightening my other senses.
His lips were as hot as the hands that cradled my face. As I inhaled, his scent filled me. The sound of his slightly rough breathing and the entangling of our tongues was so enticing that my chest trembled lightly.
Gradually, the myriad of thoughts in my mind dissipated, leaving it empty. With a tickling sensation in my heart, my body twisted involuntarily.
“Huup……!”
Suddenly, Ares pressed his weight on me. I couldn’t withstand the strength of his sturdy frame. Inevitably, I was pushed down onto the bench.
Pinned beneath Ares, I couldn’t move. Yet, strangely, it wasn’t uncomfortable or distressing. Perhaps it was because I could feel our hearts pounding fiercely in unison. His breath and the rhythm of his heartbeat transmitted directly through our bodies.
I didn’t know how long we stayed like that. Finally, Ares’s tongue and lips, which had persistently explored me, withdrew slowly. He buried his face in my neck, panting heavily.
I lay there dazed, staring up at the sky. On this bench, filled with Ares’s scent, the stars in the night sky seemed to shine down upon us.
“Bianca.”
I turned my head slightly to look at Ares. His eyes, so close that our lips could almost touch, seemed to sparkle like the stars.
“……I love you.”
I could tell his words were sincere through the beating of our hearts. Knowing that I couldn’t share an eternal love with him made his confession even more precious at this moment.
“Ares, you promised you wouldn’t regret loving me, right?”
“Yes.”
“……Then that’s enough.”
I took a deep breath to control the surge of sadness. Even if it would hurt as much as dying to let him go, I mustn’t shrink away from the pain, knowing that I would soon leave this world.
How much longer could it be? For now, I should just trust in Ares’s feelings and focus entirely on savoring that love to its fullest.
If I let my thoughts linger, Ares would surely notice and become sensitive again. I laughed softly to change the mood.
“Hehe. Ares, if we keep this up, we won’t be able to go home until the banquet is over.”
“……Yeah. We do need to go home…….”
Ares answered with a voice that sounded genuinely reluctant. He got up from pressing down on me and extended his hand to help me up.
We didn’t go back inside the banquet hall but approached the attendant standing at the entrance.
“Please call the Stanley family’s carriage.”
At Ares’s words, the attendant nodded and disappeared somewhere. I looked at Ares and asked,
“Is it alright not to tell your parents?”
“It’s fine. They’ll just think we went home if we’re not there.”
Hmm, I had rarely disappeared silently in the middle of a banquet, so I wasn’t sure if this was really okay. But seeing Ares so unconcerned, I figured it should be fine.
The carriage arrived soon. I boarded with Ares’s escort. He followed me in and closed the door. As the carriage started moving, it quickly became a perfect private space for just the two of us.
Ah. I now understood why lovers in romance novels always kiss and hold each other as soon as they meet. Experiencing physical affection firsthand was vastly different from merely reading about it. Emotions that would have taken hundreds of words to convey were fully communicated with just one kiss. I clearly understood what it meant to not need words. Moreover, the dreamy feeling after a kiss, like drinking a delicious cocktail, was almost addictive.
It seemed I wasn’t the only one feeling this way. As soon as the carriage started moving, Ares moved closer to me, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me in.
“Ah, Ares…!”
Had he always been this clingy? The usually well-mannered Ares seemed to have become a completely different person after just a few kisses!
Ares hugged me and rested his head on my shoulder. His sweet voice whispered in my ear.
“This is bad. I don’t want to let go.”
was secretly glad that I had taken care to look my best this morning, even in the parts that weren’t immediately visible. My mother’s foresight was indeed impressive.
Anyway, it seemed that his anxiety about me had lessened significantly, and that put my mind at ease. While we are lovers, I just hope that Ares will be happy.
“Bianca.”
Ares whispered softly into my ear.
“?”
“It’s okay to be a little more greedy about me.”
“…….”
Fortunately, he couldn’t see my face. I desperately opened my eyes wide to hold back the tears that were welling up.
“As you said, I am your man. So…”
He took a deep breath and continued.
“Don’t worry, don’t think about anything else, just focus on me. You think too much.”
I listened to him, barely breathing. Somehow, it felt like he had completely seen through my heart. Although my poker face often broke in front of Ares, this time I was truly breathless with surprise.
Other than knowing about the ‘writer’, Ares had completely understood my innermost thoughts.
Had he been focusing on me this intently? I had no idea.
I, too, had been secretly in love with him for over two years, but I hadn’t noticed anything about his true feelings. To be honest, even though I loved him, I didn’t have the energy to focus solely on my one-sided feelings. Rather than blindly chasing after someone I had a crush on, I pushed those feelings to a corner of my heart and focused more on establishing myself as the flower of the social circle.
But now that we’ve confirmed each other’s feelings, it’s not a situation where we can just sweetly fall in love. I am going to die soon, and I don’t know how much time I have left. There are still many things I need to do before I leave this world.
“Bianca.”
At some point, Ares lifted his head from my shoulder and looked at me. I made a conscious effort not to avoid his gaze.
“Yes. As you said, I won’t be anxious anymore.”
I barely managed to answer. He nodded but continued to stare at me.
I deliberately laughed softly and asked,
“Is saying it not enough?”
“……It might be a little lacking.”
Hmm. Seeing him say that with such a serious expression made me a bit flustered. I had asked half-jokingly, but hearing that it wasn’t enough made me wonder what else I should do.
As I rolled my eyes, he finally let out a small laugh.
“Hah. I really can’t win against you.”
“?”
“No, it’s nothing…”
He seemed like he had more to say, but he didn’t seem to want to say it anymore.
Well, what’s the point of talking about it? The anxiety in one’s heart can’t be easily dispelled with just a kiss.
Instead, I gently leaned against Ares. Sometimes, physical closeness communicates my feelings better than words. Soon, Ares held me tightly by the shoulder, allowing me to lean into him more comfortably.
When I looked up at him, he looked back at me and laughed out loud.
The carriage, which had been running hard, soon passed through the main gate of the count’s mansion and silently slid to a stop in front of the entrance.
To my surprise, my mother was there, greeting us with a smile. Startled, I quickly got out of the carriage. Ares followed me out slowly.
“You returned earlier than expected. Did you enjoy the banquet?”
At my mother’s question, Ares answered with a gentle smile instead of me.
“Yes. It was delightful, Countess.”
“Oh…”
My mother narrowed her eyes and looked back and forth between Ares and me. Feeling guilty, I lowered my head.
Are my lips swollen? Is my outfit disheveled? I should have checked more thoroughly before getting out of the carriage!
Ares lightly kissed the back of my hand as a farewell gesture.
“I’ll contact you soon.”
I gave a small nod at his words. Ares then got back into the carriage.
As I stood there dazedly watching his carriage move away, my mother’s voice came from behind.
“You must be tired after causing such a commotion. We’ll talk more about it tomorrow. For now, get some rest.”
“…I will.”
Though I hadn’t danced, I felt as if I had attended the most exhausting banquet in the world. I quietly returned to my room as my mother suggested.
Sitting in the bathtub, I pondered over what Ares had said in the carriage on our way home.
Ares’s words, asking me not to worry and to focus only on him, replayed in my mind.
My heart sank coldly. I’m sorry, but I couldn’t fulfill his wish.
I was going to die soon, and Ares was not the only one in my life. I loved my family and friends, and I had too little time left to say goodbye to all of them.
Of course, the most important issue for me was undoubtedly Ares.
Even if the ‘writer’ had set it up for Ares and Leia to have a happy ending, no one knew how long it would take for that happy ending to come after I died.
If I left this world before Ares could move on from me, how long would it take for him to forget his sorrow and find happiness with Leia?
Paradoxically, while I honestly wanted Ares to love only me, I also hoped he wouldn’t become too distant from Leia. Leia was the one who should make Ares happy after I was gone.
