Sincerely, Vanessa [EN]: Chapter 108

To Teacher, From Vanessa 108

“E, Evan is really just a friend now. Cesare is just being kind! He gave me flowers because my desk looked too bare.”

“Giving flowers is kindness.”

Vanessa felt a dizzy spell at his displeased expression. The heat from the fireplace felt excessively strong today. Did Cesare have other intentions? That couldn’t be.

“Gide refused the second daughter of the Count’s family, and I’m just… Last time, some woman tried to jump and hug him. I’ve been through a lot of heartache too.”

Vanessa tried to turn the conversation back to him, and Gideon smiled.

“You didn’t like that. If you want, it’s not difficult to spread the word throughout the city that I have a lover.”

Vanessa snapped her mouth shut at the sweet whisper. This was clearly a disadvantageous topic.

Gide chuckled softly as he watched Vanessa suddenly avoid his gaze.

“Let me know anytime if you change your mind. I’m always ready.”

“Oh, um… I’m sorry. It’s not that I want to hide it, but I’m scared of being the center of rumors.”

Vanessa apologized, fidgeting with her fingertips.

She didn’t know why the topic suddenly went here, but she was really sorry anyway. Vanessa had also heard the story of ‘the Duke of Freesia who doesn’t marry’.

She also knew that many people were pressuring him about this issue. Attacks disguised as advice, telling him to get engaged, if not married, soon.

Still, she couldn’t easily find the courage. Someone would probably curse him for having no taste. They might laugh at him for being so picky and finally choosing an orphan.

She wasn’t afraid of being cursed at, but she was very afraid of the bad reviews that would be poured on Gideon.

As Vanessa looked gloomily at her fingertips, Gide tapped his forehead against hers. Gideon tilted his head, looking at her wide, blue eyes.

He comforted her by pressing his cheek against hers, lightly nibbling at her lips. The sound of their lips [mucous membranes] touching was repeated.

The eyelashes of the two people brushed against each other several times at the excessively close distance. Vanessa’s cheeks now burned as if they would ripen in the golden eyes she met.

Gideon, who had been looking at her for a while, gently lowered his eyes. Vanessa was distracted by his long eyelashes.

Funnily enough, he looked somehow pathetic. Vanessa felt like shouting to everyone right now to let them know about our relationship.

“I didn’t mean for you to be sorry. And I understand enough. You’re always the powerful one in our relationship, so don’t worry about things like this.”

“Why am I the powerful one?”

“I can’t help it because I like you more.”

He smiled, drawing out the end of his words, and straightened his body. Vanessa knew that her friends would click their tongues if they saw this game, but she was still a little upset. I’ve been suffering from unrequited love for a long time, too!

“Like me more, what’s that? And I’ve liked you longer, at least.”

“Hmm.”

Vanessa glared at the skeptical voice. Come to think of it.

“Come to think of it, when did you start liking me?”

Gideon tilted his head silently. Vanessa stared into his eyes without giving in. His golden eyes blinked several times, and somehow the tips of his ears seemed to be turning red.

The moment he opened his mouth, hesitating, someone knocked on the drawing room door about twice, opened it abruptly, and then quickly closed it again. And apologized loudly from outside.

“I’m sorry. I’ll come back later!”

Vanessa finally realized her posture and screamed silently. Unfortunately, if someone saw it, it looked like she was attacking him.

“Oh, what do I do!”

“It’s okay.”

“What about my reputation! It looks like I attacked you!”

“Ah, is that what you meant? I didn’t know you were worried because you were sitting so comfortably.”

She staggered as she quickly got off his body. Gideon chuckled and smoothed out Vanessa’s crumpled dress.

While Vanessa was covering her red face, Gideon strode over and opened the drawing room door. Perez was standing in front of it, clearing his throat, and Ramona was looking at Perez with a pathetic expression from behind.

“Of course, you two are happy even in here, but you can’t be in the castle today. Get out of here! The weather is very nice, so it will be perfect for a stroll.”

Gideon nodded lightly at Ramona’s firm voice.

Gideon turned around and held out his hand to Vanessa. Vanessa put her other hand on top of it, unable to take one hand off her flushed face.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

Vanessa opened her eyes after being held in his arms. As the saying goes, it’s okay once you get used to it, the headache didn’t last long even when using space movement magic now.

“Wow!”

Vanessa ran out excitedly.

She didn’t know exactly where it was, but it must have been in the south, judging by the much warmer weather than Phydom.

The sight of a large tree drooping near a very small lake reminded her of Bamberg Academy. The grass with flower stalks rising everywhere was lush.

“This place is just like Bamberg Academy! That tree shade is really similar.”

Gideon laughed softly at Vanessa’s words as she looked into the shallow, rippling lake.

“That’s right. I bought it because I thought of that.”

“…You bought it.”

“Yes. Because this area around here is private land.”

The refreshing answer was so natural.

Vanessa grumbled inwardly. Why are there so many wealthy people around me?

Gideon pointed to the back, hidden by the trees.

“One day, I was just tired of all the noise and came down to the south without telling anyone. I came too deep into the forest path, and there was this lake.”

He also sat down next to Vanessa, bending his knees, and splashed water. The ripples caused the appearance of the two people reflected in the lake water to sway.

“There’s a small house behind there. Shall we go together? I think you’ll like it.”

Vanessa took Gideon’s hand and walked along the path. The sound of stepping on the soil was crisp because the weather was nice.

They played around, pushing and pulling with their intertwined fingers. While the escaping thumb brushed against his skin, she felt a cracked spot.

When Vanessa lifted her intertwined hands, a small wound was visible on his wrist.

“What’s this? Are you hurt?”

Vanessa frowned slightly at the unfamiliar wound, and he said nonchalantly.

“I got scratched a little while ago. The bleeding has stopped, and it’s nothing serious.”

“What kind of wound has to be to become serious?”

Gideon avoided answering, talking nonsense about how beautiful the road was. As Vanessa’s blue eyes narrowed, she plucked a flower stalk blooming profusely and began to make something.

“Bribe.”

With those words, she put a grass flower ring on his hand. Vanessa laughed out loud.

“It’s been so long since I’ve done something like this! How does the Duke know all this?”

“Duke. My father used to do it often. The day after he was beaten by my mother and kicked out. He told me to learn it well.”

As he said, the bribe ring worked well. Vanessa spread her fingers and looked around, then smiled.

When she whispered in his ear that she would let it go, he also smiled, folding his eyes.

The small house hidden behind was very old and antique, and the round windows were fitted with stained glass, maintaining their colorful appearance. It was the kind of appearance that would have been called tacky if it had been in Phydom.

Nevertheless, it looked perfect surrounded by these trees and small flowers.

Inside, the walls were covered with wallpaper full of small patterns, and the furniture filling the room was small and simple.

So it seemed even more like a space just for the two of them. It was as beautiful as the dream house Vanessa had once imagined living in.

The servant, whom he had periodically asked to manage it, had cleaned the inside and left, and a basket woven from reeds was filled with sweet fruit.

“Do you want to be inside?”

Gideon asked with a smile as Vanessa admired the scenery outside the window.

After much deliberation, Vanessa shook her head. If seeing it through the window is this beautiful, it will be even more so when you face it directly. And you can see more of the house in the evening.

Vanessa and Gideon took a few small fruits and walked outside. As Ramona said, the weather was so nice that the combination of warm sunlight and cool breeze was excellent.

The Special Task Force was guessing the location where new magic circles might be. Just because ‘they’ had their hands and feet tied didn’t mean they could rest assured. There might still be things that are fading now.

Thanks to this, Vanessa will soon be given another dispatch mission, and Gideon will be dealing with the temple directly. And something behind it.

So she knew that after today, it would be quite some time before they could go out together again. Vanessa decided to fully enjoy this time so that she would have no regrets.

“It’s surprising that Gide came down here without telling anyone.”

Vanessa stretched her arms and legs at the sound of a beautiful bird chirping. Sunlight poured down on the two people lying on the wide spread. When Gideon raised his hand to block the directly falling sunlight, Vanessa smiled slightly.

Vanessa was worried that his arm would hurt, so she just turned her body and lay down towards Gideon. A smile formed on Gideon’s lips as he glanced at the sight, and soon he also turned over and their eyes met.

He brushed Vanessa’s hair behind her ear with his large hand. The affectionate touch started from the corner of her eyes, then her sharp nose, cheeks… and soon touched her lips.

His neat fingers gently caressed the slightly parted, plump lips. Vanessa couldn’t control her face, which was burning red.

Her cheeks must be flushed in a tacky way.

Vanessa lowered her eyes without realizing it, avoiding his gaze. A low laugh was heard….

The finger hovered dangerously along the red boundary, as if it would squeeze into her mouth, and then fell. Only then was Vanessa able to exhale the breath she had been holding.

She had forgotten what she had said in the precarious tension, but a slow answer came back from him.

“I think I wanted to run away at that time. I was tired of everything.”

“Did young Gideon not want to work?”

Gideon blinked silently at Vanessa’s question. It was almost 10 years ago since his parents passed away at the age of 16 and he immediately inherited the title of Duke. It took quite some time to retrace it.