Unexpectedly, I Became the Emperor’s Fiancé

It was a gentle tone, but the meaning it contained was unmistakably firm.

Adult circumstances.

I mulled over the phrase that stopped me from saying anything more and wrinkled my nose.
Suddenly, I remembered a conversation I had with Ruth before.

“When you grow up, you get wrinkles here and here. Plus, you get gray hair.”

“But with each gray hair, you gain more knowledge. And with each wrinkle, your capacity for understanding grows.”

At that time, I couldn’t understand what Ruth meant, but now, I finally could.

He was right. Adults really do gain knowledge as they get gray hair, and their capacity for understanding grows with their wrinkles.

That’s probably why there are things called adult circumstances, which are beyond my reach, still being young.

While I was thinking such thoughts and swallowing down a gloomy feeling, my mother put down her teacup with a click.

“Speaking of which, Seri.”

“Yes, yes?”

Pulled from my thoughts by her calling me, I looked at my mother, who asked with a voice full of laughter.

“It’s your birthday in three weeks, isn’t there something you want?”

Time has already flown so quickly.

I was surprised to realize that my birthday had swiftly approached once again as if in the blink of an eye. Precisely, I was surprised that I had momentarily forgotten about my birthday.

Once my astonishment had settled, I belatedly remembered a question my mother had asked just a moment ago.

If there’s something I want for my birthday… a music box, a jewelry box, a telescope…

“Um.”

Several options came to mind, but none of them really appealed to me.

In the end, I couldn’t make up my mind and awkwardly lifted the corners of my mouth.

“Um. Can I tell you later? I don’t really want anything right now.”

“Of course, that’s fine. You can answer when you do want something.”

Noticing my dilemma, my mother chuckled softly and nodded her head.

Following my mother, I picked up the cup I had set down earlier.

Sip.

“…”

The milk that had been warm was now cold.

***

In the end, I couldn’t visit Ruth that week. One of the reasons was the tightened security, but the most significant reason was that I had no time to care about Ruth because I was interested in the changes happening in the mansion.

After letting that opportunity pass, it was only after another week that I was able to visit Ruth.

Even though it was unusual for a Wednesday, I was wary of the watchful eyes of my sister and the dedicated maids who remained in the mansion, but I managed to buy some time by making the excuse that I was going to take a nap.

Though, that wasn’t much time.

I wondered how long I would have before I had to return, and then I looked at Ruth, who was reading a book in front of me.

Even though I knocked several times, there was no response, so I assumed once again that they were outside the cabin.

Thus, without much thought, I opened the door and entered, only to find Ruth engrossed in a book, sitting in the armchair. It seemed that He was so absorbed in his reading that He hadn’t heard the knocking at all.

I pondered for a moment whether to call out to him and make my presence known, but I decided against it. The reason was that Ruth, bathed in the lazy sunlight and engrossed in his book, looked as beautiful as a painting.

He was buried in the silence of his reading, and I was watching his. It was quite a pleasant time, so much so that I didn’t feel like it was a waste of time in the slightest.

With the slightly open window letting in the sweet sound of the wind, all the anxious and troubled feelings seemed to melt away in an instant.

Indeed, though there are times when it’s scary and times when we bicker, the time spent with Ruth is what I love the most.

Lost in various thoughts, I slowly let my heavy eyelids fall.

Just as I was about to fully close my eyes, intoxicated by the fuzzy atmosphere, Ruth’s voice, finally noticing my existence, chased away the deep sleep.

“Serbia?”

“Ruth.”

His mellifluous voice wrapped around my ears, and a smile bloomed with the warmth of spring naturally flowed from me.

“Have you finished the book?”

Leaning against the armrest of the chair, I looked at him and gave a faint smile. Then, Ruth, putting down his book, came over and squatted down to meet my eye level.

“If you’re here, you should call out, why are you just sitting here like this?”

“I forgot to call because it was nice to see Ruth reading.”

When I honestly shared my thoughts, the tips of Ruth’s ears turned a soft pink. It was covered by his bright platinum hair soon after, but it was definitely pink.

He sighed deeply and brushed his hair up. Then, playing with a few strands of my hair that had fallen down, he muttered.

“Still, it’s a waste of precious time, isn’t it?”

“It wasn’t a waste at all. It’s been a bit, just a bit tough these days.”

The time I was scolded severely by my father for the first time to the point of losing my composure. The day after I learned that Robe had disappeared, I was wary of the maid assigned to me. The time Ian told me to be wary of Tommy. And a few days ago, during a conversation with my mother, I felt the barrier called ‘adulthood’.

Recalling the events of the past two weeks, I gazed intently into Ruth’s clear eyes. I was being consumed by a primal instinct to drown in those deep lakes.

“But watching you read, it felt like… I don’t know.”

It was like resting after running hard. The words I couldn’t bring myself to say out loud disappeared below my throat.

Thinking about it, the day I met Ruth was the beginning of the distortion of my peaceful daily life.

No, to be precise, I began to realize. What I considered my peaceful daily life was actually a blindfold covering my eyes.

It wasn’t Ruth who made me realize this. Meeting Ruth was just the starting point.

But what’s the use of just realizing? I am incapable of doing anything.

“The outside is dangerous for you, Seri, so always be careful! Is this simple request so hard to follow?”

“It’s the adults’ business, baby. You don’t have to worry about it.”

“……”

Suddenly feeling gloomy, I buried my face in my arms.

“Serbia, if you’re feeling down, how about taking a short walk to get some air? The trail we went to last time was quite nice to walk.”

Ruth, who somehow always understood my feelings, suggested this as he stroked my head.

Lifting my face slightly from my arms at his suggestion, our eyes met.

Our gazes intertwined for a while, and after seeing the sweet purple fruit, I burst into a broad smile.

“Okay.”

It was a smile that came from the heart.

***

The trail we rediscovered together gave a different emotion from before.

When I first walked here with Ruth, my mind was a mess, being swayed by the elusive Ruth.

But now, it was comfortable. My heart opened to Ruth, who treated me the same despite inadvertently showing my worst side.

At the moment of crying by the lake, I felt embarrassed, but looking back, it seemed like a good thing. Thanks to that, Ruth became more comfortable.

I’m not yet sure if it’s just comfort.

Recalling the drum sound I heard while returning from the lake to the mansion, I kept in mind the possibility that my conclusion might be wrong, just in case.

“What are you thinking about so deeply?”

Just as I was wrapping up my thoughts, Ruth, who had been silently walking beside me, spoke.

“Just… I was reminded of when we first met.”

“Ah, that time.”

Ruth quietly giggled, adding that he also vividly remembers our first meeting.

The first meeting he recalled might be different from what I know, but it didn’t matter. It was enough to keep our real first meeting as my own memory.

“I thought you were someone sent by my brother at that time. Even though it’s unlikely for my brother to send a girl as small as an acorn.”
(TL/N: Lol, she got labeled as a acorn)

Ruth playfully recounted a ridiculous memory as if bringing it up again.

But to me, it didn’t sound funny at all.

“Acorn?”

“You have a problem with that?”

“Yeah. A big one.”

Acorns are those small brown nuts, aren’t they? The ones squirrels gather and eat.

And yet, to describe me as such a nut.

I shot Ruth a not-so-angry glance, and he tilted her head in confusion.

“Why? You’re short and have brown hair, aren’t you just like an acorn?”

“Huh. And you’re like a tomato.”

I snorted in laughter and shot back, and this time, he got annoyed.

“What? A tomato? Did you just run out of words?”

“Yeah, I did. If you’re calling me an acorn because I’m short and have brown hair, then you’re a tomato because your ears turn red all the time.”

“That’s…!”

Ruth trailed off, seemingly at a loss for words, and then pressed his lips tightly together. We walked in that state for quite a while.

“…”

“…”
(TL/N: To all single people don’t get triggered by this lovey dovey fight)

I glanced at his expressionless face and then rolled my eyes.

“Was I too harsh?”

Ruth seemed more lost in thought than upset.
Trying to break the awkward silence, I happened to notice a pendant dangling near Ruth’s collarbone. It was a serendipitous discovery.

“Speaking of which, what’s that pendant about?”

I asked as if I was seeing his pendant for the first time.

Ruth glanced down at his pendant and pointed at it with his index finger.

“This?”

“Yeah. It’s so shiny, I’ve been curious about it for a while.”

“It’s…”

Ruth’s voice trailed off and hesitated as his gaze quickly darkened.

“It’s the last keepsake from my mother.”

His voice came after a long pause, sounding forced and gloomy.

A keepsake from his mother.

I lightly bit my lower lip.

Regret for asking mixed with the question of why it was specifically the “last” keepsake.

The prolonged conflict ultimately concluded with the decision to resolve this question once and for all.

“…Why is it the last one?”

I cautiously posed the question, and one side of Ruth’s mouth curled up cynically.

Seeing that instantly filled me with a small sigh of disappointment.

Ah. I made a mistake. I shouldn’t have asked. Why did I even ask…

Just as I was regretting my question, his answer came.

“Because I burned all of the other mementos.”
(TL/N: Wait, what…)