101st Confession

ha, sorry, sorry.
That’s so different from your usual image.”

Bianca took a moment to wipe the tears from her eyes before a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

“If you want to avoid the people, do you want me to take you somewhere else?”

“……Elsewhere?”

“Yes.
I’ll take you somewhere no one can come.
There’s only one place I’ve ever kept people out of.”

Herwin rolled his eyes and considered for a moment, then nodded hastily at the sound of people getting closer and closer.

“Where is that?”

* * *

Lucia couldn’t calm down.

With each passing minute, each passing second, her nervousness slowly increased along with her heartbeat.

Her lips were trembling unnecessarily and her hands were clammy.
Why was she so nervous, even though this wasn’t her first confession?

“……It’s okay, it’s going to be okay.”

Rustle-

Lucia’s closed eyes snapped open at the sound behind her.

She spun around quickly, and there stood the person she’d been waiting for.

“Huh? Lucia.”

“Herwin…….”

“What, did you come here to avoid people too?”

Herwin looked around and came straight to Lucia.

Lucia paused for a moment at her exhaustion, but she couldn’t let such a beautiful day go to waste.

As he unbuttoned his neatly pressed shirt and ruffled his hair, Lucia approached him cautiously.

“Herwin.”

“Yes?”

His hair was disheveled, and a small gift box appeared in front of him.

Herwin stared at it in surprise for a moment, then turned to look at Lucia, who held it out to him.

Lucia’s beautifully dressed face was flushed red.

“This is…….”

“I saw it on the street the other day and thought it looked good on you, so I bought it.
I haven’t given you a present yet.”

Lucia, who bowed her head, suddenly showed her face.

“I like you.”

Surprised, Herwin stiffened.

“Even when you’re like this…….”

“You’re not saying that for sure!”

Seeing him trying to brush it off as usual, Lucia hastened to add an afterthought.

“I’ve confessed before that I’ve been overcome by my feelings, but not today.”

Despite her trembling, her face was serious, as if she had made up her mind.

“From the age of eight until now, there has never been a moment when I have not been true to you.
I love you, Herwin.”

Lucia bowed her head again, holding out her gift.

“Please go out with me.”

Herwin was unconsciously mesmerized.

The girl had confessed again today.

However, this one was much different from the previous ones.
It wasn’t a joke that could be laughed off, and it wasn’t something Lucia said with confidence.

This was a serious confession.

His heart was pounding a little.

The darkness of the night sky made it difficult to see Lucia’s face, but the scattered lights made it clear.

Her lashes were fluttering, her lips were pursed, and the hand holding out the gift was trembling.

Herwin clapped his mouth and carefully took his hand at the gift she gave him.

“I’m…….”

Just as Herwin’s mouth was about to open, a bright light suddenly flooded in.

Herwin frowned involuntarily.
So did Lucia, whose eyes were closed.

Turning his head to the source of the light, Herwin felt his heart sink.

“Oh, what? Were you two like that?”

“Oh, my God, you pretended you didn’t.
You did that behind the scenes?”

“And not just once or twice.
She’s had a crush on him since she was eight.”

The light shone brightly on Herwin and Lucia.

It was coming from the hall, where many people were gathered.

The hall was connected to the place by a huge glass door.
However, all the windows in the hall were curtained, so they couldn’t see out.

But now, as if by some sort of tugging and pulling, all the curtains had been pulled back, giving a clear view of the garden and the gazebo where Herwin and Lucia were standing.

And somehow, everyone in the hall was looking at the side of the garden.

“Kuhh! Even if you’re a childhood friend, you should know where you are.
Don’t you think it’s a bit out of place for you to confess your love to Phoenaeus?”

The laughter that erupted from one person soon spread in all directions.
Everyone laughed at Lucia’s confession to Herwin as if it were some sort of farce.

Herwin knew in his gut.
That someone had staged this.

“What the hell…….”

Lucia looked at the people standing in the hall in awe and horror.

“I’ve recognized you from the moment you didn’t introduce me to Phoenaeus!”

“I thought she was a nice, innocent girl, but she’s a sly person.”

“I feel sorry for Phoenaeus.
No matter how much I like him, I couldn’t have easily hit him because he’s a childhood friend.”

“You never know, she might have been targeting the Phoenaeus family for a long time before she confessed…….”

Even though there was quite a distance away from them, they could hear their slanderous speculations and sarcasm.

“I, I…….”

Lucia shuddered and shrank backward, her blue walls losing their light, her despair growing in real-time.

Without realizing it, Herwin reached out to her.

“Lucia, you…….”

Herwin called Lucia, and his voice echoed again.

Lucia’s head whipped around, shaking with fascination.

Her eyes locked with Herwin’s, and her face contorted.
Then she whispered, her voice barely audible over the echoing jeers and laughter.

I’m sorry….…

Tears fell down her cheeks within the blue walls, and the gift in her hand fell to the floor.

“Lucia!”

Someone called Lucia’s name as loudly as they could.
But Lucia had already left the room.