Chapter 127: A battle of sincerity
“May I have this dance?”
“….”
What was I supposed to do? It would be very cold-hearted to reject him. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
I glanced up at Sigren. He looked surprisingly calm. Seeing his face this close made my heart weaken again.
Yeah, there were too many eyes on us if I rejected him.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
In the end, I gently took his hand.
We slowly made our way to the dance hall.
I didn’t know whether I could dance well; at that moment, my heart was in turmoil. What if I stepped on Sigren’s feet? Contrary to my worries, when we stepped onto the dance floor, the music changed to a slow beat. Sigren’s escort was also skilled, so I didn’t make as many mistakes as I had feared.
However, even though I felt fortunate not to have stumbled much, my childish heart remained dissatisfied. I kept my gaze down, even though I knew it was against the rules. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“Fiona, raise your head.”
“….”
I slowly shook my head. I wanted to avoid Sigren’s gaze. If I looked into his eyes, I didn’t know how I would react.
“How’s your body?”
“It’s okay; everything is fine.”
I turned around, following the dance steps. The hem of my skirt swayed as I moved. The dance was almost over, and I couldn’t help but feel a bit panicked. What should I do when the dance ended?
“Ah.”
Because I was lost in thought, I accidentally stepped on Sigren’s foot. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“It’s okay.”
Sigren gently supported my back.
This was a dance I usually performed, so it felt strange to accidentally step on his foot.
“Let’s talk after dancing.”
“No….”
“Then shall we do it now?”
Sigren then tried to lift me up.
I screamed inwardly. What was he going to do?! Terrified, I quickly grabbed his arm.
“Okay, let’s talk.”
“Great.”
The tips of my toes, which had been slightly raised, immediately lowered.
My heart raced. Gosh, we were on the verge of creating new gossip on this dance floor.
After the dance was over, I looked at him with dissatisfaction. However, Sigren tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
I wondered what he was thinking. He didn’t wear his usual expression. I inadvertently tried to stroke his cheek but stopped immediately. We were in a cold war, so I let my hand fall.
“This way.”
Sigren wrapped his arm around my shoulders. He didn’t hold me tightly, but it was hard to break free from his grasp.
“It’s okay; you don’t have to hold me.”
“What if you run away like last time?”
Back then, he hadn’t even followed me.
“Where are we going?” I muttered.
“To a quiet place to talk.”
My mind raced with speculation about what he wanted to say.
Well, ever since I was in Fiona’s body, I had never been in a relationship, and Fiona had never had a romance plot—especially not one where her lover suddenly became serious like this. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“Cold?”
As I flinched, jolted from my ominous thoughts, Sigren took off his coat and draped it over my shoulders.
Did he plan to be nice to me when I was angry?
He muttered, embarrassed, “Do you want to go inside?”
“I’m not going to your room.”
“Well, that’s not where we’re heading.”
“…”
I sighed, and then we stopped in a quiet garden.
“What do you want to talk about?”
He looked troubled for a moment, then tried to guide me to a nearby bench. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“If you stand for too long, your feet will hurt.”
It seemed he remembered how I always complained about my shoes.
“Are you going to talk for long?”
“I don’t know.”
Sigren stood in front of me and gently cupped my cheeks, raising my face to meet his gaze. I finally locked eyes with those blue-gray orbs.
“Fiona, I’m only going to ask you once.”
“…?”
“Shall we stop?” he asked in a low voice.
I widened my eyes and blinked a few times. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
Stop?
Was this a breakup?
“Why?”
“You know better than anyone why.”
Wait, what did he mean? Did he want to break up because of the fight? Was that it?
Sigren whispered softly, “If my existence is a burden to you, we could end all of this.”
Burden? That word felt oddly familiar.
“Did you overhear my conversation with Gunther?”
“Right.”
I see. So that was what he meant. Just as I was hurt by him, I had also hurt him without realizing it.
“Well, then, what will happen after that?” I asked in a hoarse voice. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“Everything would go back to normal. We’d still be friends and share the same political goals.”
“…”
That might be fine, wouldn’t it? After all, I had acknowledged that this could happen when I accepted him in the first place. Hadn’t I always been preparing for this moment while reciprocating his feelings? He liked me, and then I liked him too. So now he wanted to break up—shouldn’t that be okay?
But really? Was that truly what I wanted? Could I really be alright with this?
“Fiona, shall we do that?”
Heat rushed to my eyes.
Sigren’s index finger lightly brushed my eyelid. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
Tears threatened to spill as I looked at him.
His expression was so blank that I had no idea what he was thinking.
Did he want to break up and remain friends comfortably? Or was it the opposite?
“Don’t let your feelings for me sway you—be honest.”
“Be honest?”
“Yeah, about what you want.”
What I wanted.
“But…”
I lowered my gaze.
Sigren’s hand was about to touch my cheek, but it stopped. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
Then I heard his deep sigh.
“…”
Sigren seemed to interpret my silence in a way that prompted him to take a step back.
“Am I just asking for an answer that’s already been decided?”
I clenched my fist.
It wasn’t like that.
But if I tried to explain, he would be completely fed up, and then our relationship would reach a point where we couldn’t even remain friends.
I covered my face with both hands.
Ugh… My brain couldn’t keep up with this.
“Alright. I understand. Please don’t worry too much about crying because of me.”
His hand lightly brushed my hair before falling away. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“Goodbye, Fiona.”
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