CH 75

I was speechless for a while.

The single flower that the 10-year-old boy offered while trembling had now turned into a dazzling diamond ring.

The man in front of me looked as if he could pull out his heart.

However…

For me, it was a little sudden.

Kyle carefully observed the change in the girl’s expression.

Soon, I closed my eyes and opened my mouth.

“Kyle, I—”

“I know. I know this proposal is sudden.”

He smiled so that I wouldn’t feel burdened, very kindly.

“I mean nothing to you. So,”

Suddenly, the forlorn smile disappeared, leaving only eager eyes.

“Could you give me a chance?”

“…….”

“A chance for me to be of any ‘meaning’ to you.”

Instead of putting the ring on my finger, Kyle pressed the ring case into my hands.

Then he wrapped his hot hand around the back of that little hand, pressed it to his forehead, and whispered.

“At that time, I want to be your man.”

“…….”

The light of the sunset gently hovered over his hair that resembled autumn, and the lake was calmly beautiful.

―The scent of lilac was still breathtakingly thick in the afternoon.

A man ‘proposed’ to me.

It was an unexpected sweet accident.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

The accident has been messing with my head for a while.

After closing the business the next day, until the afternoon of a late lunch.

Swiik, swiik.

I sliced onions into the stew and scooped out a spoonful from the simmering cast iron pot.

‘Hmm, perfect.’

“Noah, let’s eat!”

“Thank you, Annette.”

Today after <Little Bakery> closed, Noah came to this place saying he was worried that the gas lamp would not be fixed.

This time, holding a rather sturdy stick.

I decided to eat with Noah.

There was nothing like baking and cooking to organize my thoughts.

As I ate warm bread and stew, I pondered.

‘…It’s a sudden proposal.’

I had heard all the facts, but honestly, I was a little embarrassed.

Actually, I didn’t even know who I got the proposal from.

I guess I got it from the shy bread fan of <Little Bakery>.

Or maybe it was from the son of an ‘aspiring father-in-law’ who once trembled and offered flowers from behind the sofa.

Or maybe it was given by the leader of Larva, the heinous killer, Kine.

Even the last one, a pervert who romantically laid out red roses to beat someone… Ah, right! That’s not it (he blushed as he said no, they were the remnants of Delphi).

‘It’s shocking that it’s all one person.’

Ah, the variety of life.

“It’s delicious, Annette.”

Noah ate the bread with his watery eyes shining.

‘Heuk-heuk, cute guy.’

It was healing just looking at it.

“Is it delicious? Eat a lot, Noah. I am so reassured that you came to protect me today!”

As I smiled, Noah’s cheeks turned red.

Looking at Noah somehow reminded me of that shy little chestnut Kyle.

The little boy was also really, really cute.

“After I become an adult, can I formally propose to the Lady?”

He was like a baby bulldozer.

So I replied to make the baby happy, but…

“Okay, gentleman!”

I rubbed my forehead and grabbed the spoon.

“Ah. I shouldn’t have made a promise!”

Some babies grow up and keep their promises from 10 years ago!

Stupid Annette, why didn’t you know?

Noah asked, tilting his head.

“What promise are you talking about? Annette.”

“…Nothing.”

I thought as I ate the bread mechanically.

—I never thought of getting married.

To be honest, there were many men who courted me while I was running this little bakery, so I was not unfamiliar with this kind of feeling, but it was my first marriage proposal.

Of course, I always wanted to have my own family someday.

My future dream of being a bakery owner had come true.

Now all I needed to do was have a family (I was pretty goal oriented).

Nevertheless, if he had asked for an answer to the proposal on the spot, it would have been ‘no’.

‘I don’t know him well yet.’

However.

“Could you give me a chance?”

“…….”

“A chance for me to be of any ‘meaning’ to you.”

What he wanted was a simple opportunity.

‘…It is cruel to refuse even that.’

I took a quick bite of rye bread, and brought a pen and paper to the table, where we were still eating.

‘Anyway, I have to convey the message I was thinking of yesterday. To Mr. Kyle.’

Following Circe’s work, it was a little burdensome for Larva to escort me so closely.

So, first, I asked him to remove the escorts around <Little Bakery>.

It’s been more than 10 years now, and Gerard’s pursuit didn’t seem like a big threat.

Due to his respectful nature, he would probably bite it immediately upon receiving this message.

“And this…”

I took the ring case out of my pocket and placed it lightly on the table.

“……!”

Then, Noah saw the ring and dropped his spoon.

“Noah, eat using a new one.”

“…….”

I gave him a new spoon and took the letter to the window.

And then, by the window, whee—

I whistled.

In the way Kyle taught me yesterday.

Soon, a cute squirrel ran towards me with its black eyes shining.

“Hi?”

I handed it some walnuts first, then stroked its hair, and handed the letter I had written to the chubby squirrel.

“Thank you.”

The squirrel took the letter, quickly climbed the tree and disappeared.

I came back with an audible exhale.

Then Noah commented with a very dark face.

“…Annette, it looks like you got a proposal. From that ‘uncle’ from last time.”

The water-colored eyes dimmed as if he had suffered a broken heart.

“That’s right.”

I replied offhandedly.

“Take… Will you accept it?”

“No. It’s still ‘pending’. The truth is, I don’t know him yet.”

‘He seemed to know me well though.’

“……!”

Noah’s eyes twinkled again.

Uh, what. This ominous feeling.

“Then I swear. When I become a good adult later, I will definitely ask Annette… yum.”

In Noah’s mouth sat a baguette, which I had placed in his mouth like a lightning bolt.

I smiled and winked.

“Shall we eat some more bread?”

‘I’m sorry, kid, I’ll refuse any further wedding proposals.’

Whew, it seemed that the trend of marriage proposals was circulating in the neighborhood like a plague.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

That night.

The moon in the night sky was red today.

‘When are they going to fix the gas light?’

Glancing out of the window and at the misty fog in the dim moonlight, I entered my house.

“They’re just taking taxes…”

The conscientious taxpayer was offended.

I muttered to myself as my cheeks became puffy.

“Damn it, this Fris Empire.”

In the end, I had to rely on the lamp fire again today.

I sighed and brought the World Daily to the table.

Finally got time to read this.

It’s been an eventful few days… 

It was thanks to the carnivorous stag that went back and forth between a murderer and a innocent deer for a few days.

‘Still, it was good to go out to Lake Thalys yesterday.’

If I didn’t go out—

‘I’d keep thinking he’s crazy.’

In truth, he was a grateful stag.

I opened the back page of <The World Daily>, and there were often ‘small and cute contents’ about the island of Bayonaire, the place of issue.

I had a habit of reading from there.

‘Is it like my little healing?’

「According to the available information, Larva declares war on Delphi, “You touched the bakery, so I will destroy your three tribes.”」

“…Crazy.”

‘Are you going to destroy their three tribes just because they touched a bakery?’

They touched a bakery…?

As the owner of that ‘bakery’, I really want to stop you, Kyle.

I shook my head.

“Certainly, to some extent, he seems crazy.”

Thank you, but it’s a bit of a dense(?) deer.

Let’s give up on healing.

Thinking that I should just read the first page of ‘World News’, I ripped off the paper that the salesman had pasted.

It was then.

Suddenly, a wind blew from somewhere and turned off the lamp.

“Huh?”

Darkness engulfed it in an instant.

At the same time, the headlines were revealed in the dim moonlight.

「Crown Prince of El Dorado- The Fris Empire was slaughtered and the battle was won. Who is the ‘Annette’ he is looking for? 」

“……?!”

My eyes widened as I read the article.

The moment I felt fate’s betrayal, who thought it was a happy ending and thought things had ended like this.

The door opened with a heavy crashing sound, as if it was about to break.

Thump thump, thump thump.

My heart started pounding.

A strange man stood at the door.

He was close to 190 centimeters tall, and his shoulders were wide enough to fit through the door.

The silhouette in the mist and moonlight was like a ‘beast’ that came to devour me.

I flinched in fear.

“…….”

Thud, thud.

He walked towards me like a graceful beast.

The man was wearing the crown prince’s garments, but the shirt inside was not fully buttoned.

A chest that looked like armor and a belly that clearly followed the shape of muscles.

There was also a scar that looked like it had been torn by an animal.

As the man got closer, his face was revealed under the moonlight.

“You are here, Annette.”

Under his black hair, like a night when no one was there, were his eyes, red to the point of being sore.

‘Sislin…!’

I swallowed a scream and looked at him. Without realizing it, I hesitated and took a step backwards.

At that moment, he approached quickly and grabbed my slender waist with a large hand.

He whispered In a voice full of deep thirst.

“…Caught.”

My heart sank.