SFO CH 14

The Young Man Comes to His Senses

After that, I was left to dawdle on the balcony until Mia, worried about me, came out to the balcony to take me out for a walk.

Ethan still… likes me…?

I had believed that a man like Ethan would quickly find someone more talented and attractive than me after we broke up. Ethan loved the frontier where he was born and raised more than anything else, so even though he said he liked me, he would eventually choose a wife who would be beneficial to his house…

That’s why I tearfully chose to part ways with him. I thought that if he ended up taking a second wife because we couldn’t have a child together, I wouldn’t be able to bear it.

But it turns out that Ethan had more feelings for me than I thought…?

I know it’s too late to say, but the feelings I had at the time were so vivid that I couldn’t quite sort them out.

Truth be told, I really adored him. Even though I know I shouldn’t, I can’t help but feel happy that he had been thinking of only me for more than 10 years.

That night, I slept in the same bed as my husband, but in the morning I did not feel embraced.

The next day, after a delicious breakfast, Margrave Venit prepared commoner’s clothes for the survey team to go to the morning market.

“You look great in those, Finn. You look good no matter what you wear.”

“Ethan.”

Ethan was wearing a worn white shirt and brown trousers, giving him the look of a trainee on his day off. Even through the white shirt, you can see his well-developed muscles. And for some reason, he looks like he’s used to wearing this kind of clothes.

“I’m dressed the same as I always am. I go downtown a lot.”

Ethan explains, as if my doubts were showing on his face.

Incidentally, because I have a face that is too aristocratic, I was prepared to dress like a servant at the Margrave’s mansion.

Would I look like a servant if I were standing side by side with Joshua, who was dressed in a similar outfit?

Well, we were surrounded by knights, including the company commander, wearing soldiers’ holiday costumes.

By the way, Joshua is a beautiful blonde boy, and the maids said, “I just can’t get rid of the aristocratic look…” as they held our heads to draw freckles on our faces and put wigs on us.

Finally, the maids gave us the OK, and after getting ready, we quickly went to the morning market. The market was extremely lively and clearly conveyed the strong sense of life of the people living in this remote area. We looked around each of the open-air stalls and found nothing out of the ordinary, and even when we casually asked the shopkeepers if they’ve had any problems recently, they were unable to provide us with any information.

The decline in sales should be a serious matter that directly affects the livelihood of retailers, but the topic was strangely not talked about at all.

I wonder why. It certainly felt off.

“Finn.”

“Whoa!”

Suddenly, a delicious-looking sandwich was placed in front of me.

“It’s already lunchtime. Let’s eat.

“T-thank you…”

Ethan seemed to have arranged lunch for everyone, so we all decided to take a break. He led us to a square with a fountain, and we each decided to have lunch on a bench.

“Sorry you had to get this for me, Ethan… I totally forgot about lunch…”

“No, I’m glad you’re working so hard for our territory. Don’t concern yourself with something as small as this.”

When we were students, I was usually the one to arrange these little details that Ethan, who was always rushing around, wouldn’t notice. So it was quite refreshing to have it the other way around.

It’s a ticklish feeling.

“Finn-senpai, you seem to get along well with the next Margrave, don’t you~”

“Oh, we were classmates when we were students. We were in the student council together.”

“Is that so~ No wonder you two are so close~”

I was shocked by Joshua-kun’s sudden question. ‘Why yes, he’s my ex-boyfriend, and he confessed to me yesterday!’ …Even if my mouth were torn, I would never be able to say that.

Joshua is a beautiful boy of 160 cm in height and looks like an angel, but he is actually a 25-year-old laid-back young man. No matter how busy the busy season is, he is able to work twice as fast without losing his laid-back attitude. He is the healer of our department. He is very dependable as a colleague because his mentality is always calm. Incidentally, he is married to a strong-looking boss from a previous department and is the father of two-year-old twins, a boy and a girl. Let me say it again, he is the father.

I was looking out at the crowd and saw a child fall to the ground, maybe 10 years old. I thought I could see pure white hair, skin, and bright red eyes through the hood that came off slightly when they fell.

In this country, it is rare to see a person with light-colored hair. Pitch black is also rare, though. Most of them have deep colors such as dark brown or dark blue, and many nobles and royalty have blonde hair. I also see a few silver-haired people here and there, like the aide. Incidentally, my platinum color is quite rare. However, there is at least one person in several generations with this color, so people look at me as if I am rare, but that’s about it. I’m wearing a brown wig today.

However, I get the impression that completely white is, to put it bluntly, strange. So the child caught my eye, but then I lost track of them in an instant. Eh? That child was there just now, weren’t they? I couldn’t have been mistaken… Could I?

I looked around again, but still couldn’t find them.

The day passed without any particular success.

That night, I reported to Al about what had happened today.

“A child with white hair and skin and red eyes…. I see.”

“I was sure I saw them, but I lost sight of them right away.”

“I see… By the way, Finn, you must be tired today. Should I go to bed now?”

“Yeah…”

I had just finished having dinner and taking a bath, and I was thinking that we could have a drink together. Since I had already decided to settle things on this trip, I might as well ask Al some questions this time.

But Al was already under the covers and I had no choice but to get into bed as well.

Al seemed to be acting a little strange since last night. Well, I was also weird about last night, but since this morning he hasn’t started trying to make advances on me. He greeted me and listened to me when I talked to him, but the sweet conversations we used to have yesterday were gone.

I wonder what’s wrong with him…

Huh, could it be… Has he gotten tired of me already? Maybe he found a cute new potential wife while I was at the morning market?

No, Al would never—!

Eh, is that so? Now that I think about it, I’m a man 5 years older than him, already past my prime, who has ignored him for 3 years, wouldn’t respond immediately to his confession… And likes to be the one in charge under the sheets…

Huh? But do I, really? What should I do? Maybe I was falling for him after all…

Well, it’s not like anything’s decided yet, though…

Yesterday I was so preoccupied with Ethan, but tonight I’ve been thinking about Al all night…

The next day, Al had left before breakfast.

I guess he went to see his new potential wife after all. Will I be divorced then? No, that would be impossible while my predecessor was still alive. But nothing can really stop him from surrounding himself with lovers. Will I have to share the mansion with those lovers? Oh, what should I do? I really hate the idea. It just won’t do for me. Will I have to spend my life watching Al whispering his love to his lovers? Even if they were considerate enough to not do that right in front of me, would I still have to spend my nights without Al, wondering if he had gone to his lovers…? I will not be able to put up with that…!

It’s hard to believe that just a few days ago I was even thinking of recommending a second wife and living separately from him, and now I loathe the idea of him having a lover.

“Finn? You don’t look so good. Are you okay?”

“Ethan.”

Ethan called out to me at the breakfast table.

What if Ethan had a sweetheart? Well, that would be a little sad, but I can put up with that.

Huh? I can…?

—I see.

Ten years ago, I broke up with him because I thought I wouldn’t be able to bear with that, but… Now, ten years later, I met Al, and my feelings for Ethan became memories.

I was happy to know that he was still thinking about me the same way, but I was also happy because it felt like my past self was being rewarded.

My feelings for Ethan were already a memory of the past.

Seeing things under this light, I felt as if my messed up feelings had been finally cleared up.

—Now, I have an intense desire to see Al.

But there was no note of where he had gone, and I had my own duties to fulfill.

So I forced myself to flip a switch in my head, and set off for today’s investigation.