RLPE Chapter 55

“Uh… Ah?”

I wanted to ask if he hadn’t gone to Lady Rose. But I was so shocked that instead of words, only incoherent sounds tumbled out of my mouth.

Yet, Armin understood what I was trying to ask and answered,

“I didn’t go. Vivian, where would I go, leaving you behind?”

With a complicated expression, Armin pulled out a handkerchief and wiped my tear-streaked face.

“If being left behind makes you cry like this, don’t say such things. Even if it was just for a moment, I was genuinely angry.”

“Why…”

“Why? Are you asking why I didn’t leave? Then should I go back now?”

Despite the way he spoke, his hands were gentle as they wiped my face.

“I don’t know what a jellyfish, sea cucumber, or sea anemone is, but one thing’s for sure—you are a fool. But what can I do? I’m the weaker one for liking such a fool.”

He repeated the words I had muttered earlier while crying, proving that he had been watching me the entire time. Fool. It was an embarrassing label, but the words that followed hit me like a shockwave, making me blurt out,

“W-what…? What did you just say?”

I sounded utterly dazed, like a complete idiot.

Instead of answering, Armin pulled me into a tight embrace, as if he feared I might run away the moment he let go.

“Wait! What did you just—hic—say?”

“Are you really going to make me say it in such an unromantic way?”

“What?”

“Are you seriously that oblivious?”

“…?”

“Vivian Roha.”

My full name echoed in his voice, sending shivers down my spine.

“I like you. A lot.”

“Ah…”

I stammered, completely at a loss for words.

Armin spoke again, his voice as soft as a whisper.

“I’ve liked you since the very first time we met.”

“From the… first time? But I was really weird back then.”

Thinking about how disastrous our first meeting was, Armin’s confession made no sense. He must have strange tastes.

Seeing my hiccuping, confused state, Armin chuckled.

“That weirdness is part of your charm, Vivian. I never expected to fall so hard for the girl who shamelessly claimed she looked like a Popori.”

“Hic…!”

“The medal you got from the swordsmanship tournament. Do you still have it?”

The medal? Was he talking about that medal—the one that should have been a family heirloom but was instead given to me as collateral in place of money?

Ever since I saw the Duchess’s medal, I had stored mine in the very center of my jewelry box, a place even higher than where I kept my honors and decorations.

“Why do you think I gave that to you? You saw my mother’s jewelry box, yet you still don’t understand?”

“Hic… sniff…! Waaaah!”

“You kept stubbornly asking why I was giving it to you, even pestering me about how I kept running out of money despite supposedly having enough allowance. Do you remember that?”

“Hic… T-that was because I really thought you were broke…!”

Suddenly, all the scattered puzzle pieces of past memories started clicking into place.

“When I talked about building separate rooms in our houses, you kept bringing up Lewin and Abyss. Seriously, how could you be so oblivious?”

Armin’s voice brushed against my ear like a gentle breeze, making me shiver.

An entire year.

I had only recently realized my feelings for Armin, and even then, it had been suffocating and agonizing. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how frustrated he must have felt all this time.

As his words sank in, I felt a distant ringing in my ears, like the chime of a bell. It wasn’t the grand, romantic confession scene of a novel, but the sensation it brought was just as powerful.

The arms holding me tightened. I could feel the rapid, strong pulse of his heartbeat, as if his entire body had turned into one giant heart.

“But… there are prettier, better women than me…”

“In my eyes, you’re the prettiest. And you’re the one I love the most.”

His words were far from the truth. And yet, an overwhelming emotion welled up from the depths of my heart, spilling over as tears.

“If that’s the case, then the same goes for me. I’m just a dull man who only knows work and swordsmanship. I can’t even promise you the comfortable life you want.”

The heir of a ducal family—an enviable position for anyone—yet he called himself inadequate because he couldn’t promise me an easy life. Feeling the sincerity in his words, I could only shake my head.

“Ha… This isn’t how I planned to say this.”

“Hic… sniff…”

“I wanted to propose properly with a grand ring. But, Vivi, you always manage to get ahead of my plans.”

His voice was closer than usual—so close that I could feel his sigh brush against my ear.

“I know how much you love your peaceful life. If you stay by my side, you’ll have to become the Duchess. And I know… that’s not the life you want.”

He was right. Armin knew me better than I even knew myself.

“I would never sacrifice you for my own desires. So, Vivi, tell me—do you really want me to be with someone else? If you say yes again, I’ll truly give up this time. I swear… I won’t bring it up ever again.”

He meant he’d never ask to be more than friends.

I didn’t even have time to think. My head shook instinctively.

“No. I don’t want to see you with someone else. It’s okay if I have to become the Duchess. I don’t care. I don’t want to just be friends. So…”

A low chuckle escaped him.

“You’re finally being honest.”

He gently stroked my hair. Once the first confession broke through, the rest followed like fireworks bursting one after another.

“So only get along with me.”

“I will. For a lifetime, only you.”

“Smile only for me.”

“I will.”

“Be kind only to me.”

“Mm.”

Armin laughed, saying I was a much greedier woman than he thought. But still, he answered every single one of my demands.

I squeezed my eyes shut and hugged him tighter. His body tensed for a moment, but his arms didn’t let go.

“And love only me.”

At my words, Armin held his breath for just a moment.

Love. If I had to sum up the long, unwavering feelings he had described, it would be that one simple word.

“I will. For my entire life, forever—only you.”

“Me too.”

And the same went for me.

“Say it properly, Vivian.”

Even though he clearly understood my meaning, Armin still wanted to hear it said explicitly.

I could feel his body tense, his arms rigid, his heart pounding against mine, his breath uneven, and his temperature rising. His entire being radiated nervous anticipation.

It was embarrassing. But a love confession like this only comes once in a lifetime. Mustering my courage, I spoke.

“I love you too, Armin.”

“You have no idea how long I’ve waited to hear that.”

I heard Armin’s laugh, tinged with relief and a sigh.

“I’ll do it. Whether it’s being the Duchess or anything else, I’ll do it. If it means staying by your side, I have no other choice. So take responsibility. You’ve turned my life upside down.”

The words slipped out like a playful complaint.

It was done now. My quiet, peaceful life—gone. I had chosen to stay by Armin’s side. There was no turning back. The words I once spoke to the Duke now applied to me.

But instead of worrying or regretting what lay ahead, I felt overwhelmingly content that we had finally laid our feelings bare.

I had no idea how long we remained like that. Only that, for a very long time, I stayed nestled in Armin’s arms.

We had been holding each other for so long that the once-burning emotions had settled into a warm, gentle heat—like cooling bathwater. It was only then that I realized where we were: standing in the middle of a busy street, openly putting on a melodramatic display for passing pedestrians to see.

“Let go now…”

Feeling embarrassed, I pushed against Armin’s chest. I was flustered. Last time we met, I had thought of him as just a friend. Now, I can’t even comprehend how I had managed to stay so composed while being around him before.

But Armin didn’t let go. Instead, he pulled me even closer.

I was practically living inside a romance novel at this point. The author I admired the most, R.G, always wrote stories with strong autobiographical elements, and my favorite book, <The Demon Duke Is Obsessed With Me>, had even drawn inspiration from her own son—Armin himself.

Too embarrassed to even glance at Armin’s face, I kicked at the cobblestones beneath my feet with the toe of my shoe, shifting my attention to anything but him. Overhead, I heard the pleasant sound of his laughter.

“Let’s go. I’ll take you home.”

I could only manage a small nod. Walking beside Armin, I fidgeted awkwardly. He had always walked a step ahead of me, yet today, his pace was noticeably slower.

Before I knew it, the usual distance between us disappeared.

Step by step, we ended up walking side by side.

Once. Twice. Our hands brushed together more and more frequently. And then—

Clasp.

Like a snake slithering over a wall, his hand quietly, naturally, slid into mine.

“Don’t say anything.”

The ever-composed Armin was different today.

Startled, I looked down at our joined hands, then up at him. But Armin had turned his head away, deliberately avoiding my gaze. All I could see was the deep red flush of his ears.

I didn’t pull away.

Instead, I turned my face in the opposite direction.

It was too mortifying to let him see me right now.

After all, my face was probably just as red as his ears.