Chapter 76: Conversation (3)

“Huh?”

Rachel looked at Emily with wide eyes. Then she slowly shook her head.

“No. I didn’t fall for him at first sight.”

Emily clenched her fists. The corners of her mouth trembled. And she recalled what she had heard from the priest.

[There are two moments when people fall in love. The first is falling in love at first sight, and the second is falling in love while spending time together. …

And when you fall in love for the second reason, you have a much stronger love than the first.]

It was something like that.

So, it’s only natural that she clenches her fists.

If she didn’t fall in love with the prince at first sight and is laughing like that, it must be the second.

While dancing and talking, they must have fallen for each other.

Emily asked with a last hope.

“Then did you fall in love while dancing? What part of him did you like that made you have feelings for him?”

At that question, Rachel tilted her head.

“What are you talking about? Me, liking the prince? Me?”

She pointed at herself with her finger and lowered the corners of her mouth. It’s an expression that sometimes comes out when she’s not in a good mood.

Emily was flustered.

Clearly, when talking about a loved one, one’s mood improves and the corners of the mouth go up.

If someone asked her what she thought of Rachel, Emily would unknowingly raise the corners of her mouth and smile.

“Uh… Didn’t you like Heimer?”

“What are you talking about~? Me liking Heimer. I don’t like the prince!”

“You don’t like the prince?”

At that moment, Emily felt a feeling that could not be described in one sentence.

Anger, resentment, and sadness were instantly changed into positive energy.

This gave her a chance to enter her heart.

Of course, she doesn’t know what she thinks about a woman liking a woman.

She’s satisfied just knowing that she doesn’t like anyone.

But a question suddenly arose.

The reason she thought Rachel liked Heimer was because she danced with him while smiling.

If Rachel doesn’t like him, as she says, there would be no reason to smile.

‘Well, if she said she smiled because of etiquette, I understand, but it didn’t look like that.’

Emily has put a lot of effort into reading people’s expressions since she was young.

Adding her talent to that, she could tell even the slightest change in emotions.

In her eyes, Rachel’s eyes were truly those of a lover who loved Heimer.

“Then why did you smile at Heimer like that?”

“Oh… Heimer said he would kill all the maids and staff who dressed him if I didn’t smile. I smiled because I had no choice~”

She really is kind-hearted.

If Emily were in that position, she would never have smiled so genuinely.

Her feelings for Rachel deepened a little more.

“Phew. That’s a relief. The reason you danced was not because you liked the prince, but because you couldn’t overcome the prince’s pressure. Right?”

At Emily’s words, Rachel shook her head again.

“That’s part of it… but it’s not just that.”

“Hmm? Then what’s the reason?”

It wasn’t love at first sight, nor was it dancing due to a coercive attitude.

Rachel slowly opened her mouth.

“Actually… Emily. It’s because I was afraid you’d fall for the prince.”

“I would fall for the prince? Why?”

“Objectively speaking, he’s handsome. And if you fall in love with the prince and get married, you’ll become the next empress, and then the Muelia will grow one step further.”

“No…”

After thinking about it for a moment, she could see how Rachel could think that way.

Marriages of noble families are often used politically.

For example, when two noble families need to carry out a very important task, they may marry their daughter and son as a sign of trust.

Not only that, but they may also hold the child of another noble family hostage under the pretext of marriage for fear of betrayal.

In other words, if Delkarmen Muelia wasn’t a doting father, Emily could have had such a political marriage.

But as long as Delkarmen is a doting father, such a thing will never happen.

Rachel continued.

“You may not know, but Prince Heimer is quite a bad guy? His hobbies are also unique, so if you fall in love with Heimer, he’ll play with you. So I danced instead to stop that.”

“There was… such a meaning.”

Emily’s legs suddenly lost strength. She was sitting, so she avoided falling, but she couldn’t help but be stunned.

What did she do to a friend who danced with a man she disliked, even giving a forced smile?

Pushing her away because she was embarrassed, pushing her away because it was strange, pushing her away because she was upset.

She had done nothing for her.

This is not right.

When Emily was about to apologize, Rachel asked first.

“Did you already fall for him? Is that why you pushed me away? I’m a little upset.”

“No! It’s not that. It’s… I’m sorry. I didn’t know that was your intention.”

“Then you don’t like Heimer?”

“Of course not! The imperial family attacked our family and even you recently. There’s no way I would like Heimer, Chris’s brother.”

“Really?”

At Rachel’s question, who asked with her eyes wide open, Emily nodded vigorously.

Then Rachel smiled brightly.

“I’m glad.”

An awkward silence passed between the two.

With this, Emily’s misunderstanding was resolved. It was so absurd, thankful, and sorry that Emily couldn’t say anything.

Rachel was the same.

Her drowsy mind due to the intoxication kept bothering her. Sleepy yet not sleepy. That ambiguous state.

Rachel thought for a moment and asked.

“But why were you like that? Pushing me away in the bathroom, glaring at me when I was dancing, and not talking to me afterwards. Did I do something wrong?”

Emily shook her head vigorously at Rachel’s words, which were full of sadness.

“No! Absolutely not. What could you have done to upset me?”

“But… The look in your eyes when I was dancing was something I’ve never seen before, it felt like you were looking at an enemy.”

“That’s because of Heimer. I thought that trash-like guy was hitting on you.”

Only then did Rachel breathe a sigh of relief.

“But why were you like that in the bathroom? Are you really not sick? Your heart was beating irregularly.”

“Huh? In the bathroom? Ah.”

Emily couldn’t open her mouth at Rachel’s question.

She can’t say that it’s a symptom of her one-sided love for you.

But.

‘That’s what I drank alcohol to ask.’

Emily looked at Rachel.

Her face was flushed with alcohol. Her pupils were blurry, so it seems like she’s already blacked out. No matter what she asks now, she won’t remember.

Emily carefully opened her mouth.

“Um… Rachel?”

“Hmm?”

She was nervous.

In fact, her first love’s fate is decided by this one question and answer.

If she refuses, she can’t be with her, and if Rachel says she likes her too… gulp.

But Emily honestly doesn’t have high expectations.

A woman liking a woman is not normal love.

But you never know.

Emily asked Rachel with hope.

“Rachel. If you were to love, who would you want to love? A man? Or a woman?”

“Me ?… a woman.”

“Really?!”

“Yes.”

Emily’s eyes sparkled at Rachel’s words. She realized that now was her chance.

So, calming her pounding heart, she carefully asked.

“Rachel. I like you. What do you think of me?”

“…”

“Rachel?”

There was no answer.

Looks like it’s not going to happen.

I feel bad. No. It’s the worst.

She knew her answer would be negative, but still, hearing it makes her sigh.

Her chest aches.

But there’s nothing she can do.

You can’t force love.

She was about to turn to Rachel.

“Snore.”

Rachel was dozing off.

She couldn’t stand the intoxication and the warmth of the bath and fell asleep.

“Ha.”

A sigh came out of Emily’s mouth.

In that short time, her mood fluctuated too much like the waves of a stormy sea.

Tension on the way here, sadness when asking if she likes Heimer. Joy when she heard that she doesn’t like Heimer. Sadness when she was silent at the words of liking. Relief now.

Emily, who was gifted with a natural talent for politics, was too unfamiliar with emotional changes. She had never experienced this in her life.

“Is this love?”

A mysterious, nonsensical thing that makes even a normal person’s emotions turbulent.

“Rachel. Wake up. You’ll catch a cold if you sleep here.”

She shook Rachel to wake her up, but she didn’t wake up.

In the end, she has no choice but to carry Rachel on her back and go inside.

So she was about to carry Rachel, when Rachel’s chest suddenly came into Emily’s view.

White pajamas, soaked with water, revealing the inside.

It’s not much different from her own flesh that she sees every day. Nevertheless, thinking that it was Rachel’s, it was so pretty.

At that moment, a bad desire flashed in Emily’s mind.

Laying Rachel on the bed, and the pajamas that clung tightly…

“Argh! What am I thinking?!”

Emily slapped her own cheeks and took Rachel away.

So that day ended without any incident.