SFO CH 7

The Young Man Is on the Verge of Dying from Embarrassment

I awoke to the soft chirping of birds.

When I opened my eyes, there was a stunningly handsome man looking at me, his expression a mix of unease and concern.

“Finn? Are you awake?”

“…?!! H-Husband?!”

As soon as I realized who the handsome figure before me was, I shot upright.

“I’m sorry. You simply wouldn’t let go of my sleeve, so while I thought you might dislike it, I decided to rest beside you until you woke,” he explained, looking genuinely apologetic.

“Oh, n-not at all! If anything, I’m the one who should apologize… I behaved in such an improper way yesterday…”

Wait… What happened yesterday??

Yesterday, uh… Husband called me to this room, Mia and the others got me all dolled up, I waited for him with a drink when—

“…!”

The instant I recalled what actually happened, I could feel my face flush with heat as embarrassment flooded over me.

As I sat there frozen in bed, my husband floundered a little, clearly trying to start some kind of conversation.

“Finn, I’m truly sorry for… what happened out of the blue last night. I’m sure you must’ve felt uncomfortable. I have no excuse.”

“W-Wait, no, not at all!! It… felt good!”

“…Huh?”

“Huh?”

What did I just say…? I felt like steam was coming out of my head from sheer embarrassment. What was I, some shy schoolgirl? Reacting this way over a kiss, when I’m five years his senior… I must be coming off as pathetic. I need to pull myself together!

When I risked a glance at him, I saw that he, too, was blushing, completely frozen.

Curse that face! That… annoyingly perfect face. It’s far too good-looking, with a masculine edge and a magnetism that’s almost criminal. And, after three years of nothing but aloofness, he just walks up to me and kisses me like that—who could possibly be prepared for something like that?!

Well, we are married, so kissing should be perfectly normal. Even if he didn’t have strong feelings for me, we’ve been together for three years. Maybe he feels some level of affection, or maybe it was just a kiss he decided to give on a whim.

“W-Why… Why did you kiss me, husband?”

“Uh—”

“I thought you hated me…”

“That’s not true!”

“Huh?”

Since he seemed willing to talk, I decided to try asking how he really felt, but his answer was far from what I expected. So… he doesn’t hate me? Then why has he been so distant all these years? Why wouldn’t he even look at me?

“I… am well aware my behavior has made it easy to think I hate you, and I can’t deny that I haven’t treated you well. But please understand that my feelings for you aren’t those of hatred.”

“I… see.”

“Breakfast time has already passed, so I should leave for now. I called you here last night with the intent to speak honestly with you and apologize, but… I didn’t anticipate being so… tested.”

“…Pardon?”

“No, never mind that. If possible, could we try this again on my next day off?”

Seeing the intense look on his face, I couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

“Thank you. And… Could I ask you to rest a little more? You overwork yourself too much, Finn… I… I’d like you to take it a little easier.”

It was hard for him to find the words, but he had just expressed concern for my well-being.

He’s been watching me all along? That surprised me, but then I remembered I was already at risk of being late for work, so I hurried back to my room.

Inside, Mia was waiting, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Madam! How was it last night?!”

“Wh-what do you mean, how was it…”

“I’m sure that Master was absolutely smitten with you! Ah, if only you had worn that custom nightgown, he’d have had a nosebleed on the spot!”

“N-no! It was nothing like that! We just… talked!”

—Technically, this is not a lie. Kissing is normal for a married couple, and all we did was kiss. Yes, the kiss was so good my entire body nearly gave way, and I found myself murmuring stuff like ‘please don’t go’ with a pleading tone… But that’s as far as it went, honestly!

Goodness, this is mortifying… What was I doing, acting like that to a man five years my junior? He must’ve found it off-putting, but he still stayed with me until morning.

In these three years, I really haven’t understood much about him. However, I know that he’s deeply respected by the servants, as they treat him with nothing but loyalty. Otherwise, this highly professional staff would have never directed a single shred of resentment toward a newcomer like me.

Maybe his popularity comes from this kind of quiet kindness…

Did he treat Noah the same way? Did they share… kisses like the one we had last night?

No, stop it, Finn! Envy towards someone younger than me is very unbecoming!

I need to be the friendly big brother figure as usual.

No… wait. I already decided to stop doing that.

“Madam?”

Lost in thought, I was startled back to reality by Mia’s voice.

“Oh, right! I’m about to be late, I’ve got to hurry!”

Looking a bit puzzled, Mia quickly helped me get ready, and thanks to her, I managed to make it to work just in time.