102 – Breaking the Marriage
Actually, I knew. There is no point in saying this to him. However, after listening to Eri’s advice and thinking about it for a while, I realized one thing.
Something I want to protect.
It’s my heart.
My heart is….
“…… Mr. Minsu.”
“Oh, yes.”
He sat down on the sofa in the living room and looked out the window.
“…… It’s raining.”
“Oh my. Yes.”
Me and Minsu in the living room. There was no one there except two people.
Is it because Elena was so considerate that she passed on everything and took her place?
Then she had a complicated feeling that she really couldn’t hide anything.
Well… Before she could hide it, she had already told it all.
Because she is quiet and does not easily reveal her true feelings, she felt free to tell me her story at any time.
There are probably only two people who truly understand me.
Elena and
“…… “What do you have to say?”
Before your eyes….
“Oh… Oh hoho… “Minsu has an impatient personality.”
“Oh, no…” “It doesn’t matter if you speak slowly.”
He scratched the back of his neck and made an embarrassed expression.
It is late at night, so it would be polite to quickly see him off and send him back.
“That… “It’s no big deal.”
My desire to continue being with you will definitely only be a nuisance.
“About engagement… “I want to apologize for not telling you.”
I quietly lowered my head.
The man was embarrassed and waved his hands.
“Oh, no… There’s no need to tell me everything about you… ?”
“……… ….”
“So… If it’s something Shiraishi doesn’t want to talk about… There’s no need to say it….”
I knew the intention behind those words was to be considerate of me. Strangely enough, that consideration pierces my heart.
Because it hurts.
I wanted to ask him not to say such unpleasant things, but I didn’t want to see his troubled expression again, so I struggled to raise my head.
“I see… Thank you so much for your understanding… !”
“Yes.”
Raindrops quietly hit the window, and silence flows between me and him once more.
“…… Ah… So… !”
“Yes.”
It can’t be like this. You need to cheer up.
“Actually, I was at the party where I asked Minsu to be an escort… “The fiancé and their parents are also attending.”
“Ah… huh. I see.”
I swallow my saliva.
“…… I am… On the spot… “I am thinking of formally rejecting the engagement.”
“……… ….”
That is my decision.
For the first time, I decided to stand up for what I wanted to protect after just running away.
“…… I see.”
“Yes. Of course, your father will be quite surprised… Those people might be confused too….”
But I decided to face it head on.
No matter what the consequences are, even if my actions put pressure on the family and cause trouble for my father and their family.
I decided to be faithful to my heart.
“I will speak confidently. “I’m just saying that for the sake of my family and my father, I can’t have a ceremony with someone I don’t like.”
“……… ….”
Because the person I like is… ….
But I couldn’t say it that far and I kept my mouth shut.
The person who was silent for a while soon spoke carefully.
“…… I see At that party….”
“Yes.”
“Then…” “Is there anything I can do to help that day?”
“Ah… ….”
His eyes seemed extremely sincere.
“What’s wrong, Shiraishi?”
“Oh, no…” I am….”
I wasn’t particularly asking for help.
However, I wanted to convey that decision.
And I want him to see me like that….
I muster the courage to protect my heart… I wanted to show that I was willing to go my own way.
I want to show the person who introduced me to a new world and unfamiliar emotions that I have changed at least a little.
I thought it was a way to return even a little of the grace I deserved from him.
“I……….”
That’s all.
I had no other thoughts.
No… It would be a lie if I said there isn’t one.
It is greed.
I don’t want to act selfishly, even to the point of hurting my precious friend….
“There is.”
Wow! It was Minsu who shouted.
After hesitating, I quickly raised my head.
***
At one point, Elena was standing behind Shiraishi.
As if there was instantaneous transportation.
No, that’s not right.
It was clear that he had been secretly listening from behind and came out at the right time.
“Boy. “There are other things you can do besides being an escort.”
“Now, wait a minute…” .”
That means Elena also heard Shiraishi’s confession just now.
“Elena. “Did you hear everything?”
There she didn’t even nod her head. She felt like even that action was a waste.
“If you are refusing a marriage, you need a corresponding reason. Miss. “Have you thought about that?”
“……… I-I… Because I don’t like Ryosuke….”
“That alone is not enough.”
Elena shook her head firmly.
“A corresponding performance is needed to definitely break up the relationship between the two families, which has been going well so far.”
“Pa, pato… ?”
A scary word pops out.
“Yes. The engagement is suddenly and unilaterally terminated without any consultation… “You don’t know the repercussions of that decision, right?”
Elena asked Shiraishi.
She lowered her head, keeping her mouth shut.
“Of course, the boy is an outsider with no connection to our family… “I can’t force it on him.”
“……… ….”
There is help I can give… I was willing to do anything if I could help Shiraishi, who had the courage.
On the other hand, I was afraid.
“…… “What can I do?”
On her day, all she was asked to do was escort her as her butler.
Even that was too much for me, but Elena turned to me and said.
“Please become her lover.”
“……… ‧ Yes?”
Shiraishi and I looked at her at the same time.
“She has someone else she likes, so please refuse her engagement to Ryosuke.”
“Eh, Elena….”
“Then, old man Itsuya will ask who your favorite person is. At that time….”
I, a young butler who joined the party as the lady’s escort, step forward.
“Show everyone the boy.”
“That…… Case….”
“If anything, you can link your arms or hold hands. If you want to give an even bigger shock, the key….”
“Eh, Elena… ! “You can’t do something like that!”
Shiraishi jumped up from her seat, her face blushing.
In fact, Elena calmly opened her mouth without blinking.
“It’s just a show. “Remain calm, lady.”
“Yeah, but if you did something like that, not only me but Minsu… !”
Shiraishi looked at me with hesitant eyes.
Why am I… ?
“That’s why I asked the boy about his determination.”
Elena closed her eyes and spoke quietly.
Resolution….
I was silent for a moment, unable to understand what they were saying, but then I realized.
Just the Shiraishi family’s butler… No, I, who was just an ordinary student, seduced the young lady of the Shiraishi family.
The daughter of a noble family who even has a fiancé.
From the Shiraishi family’s perspective, there was a high possibility that it would look that way. No, there is nothing else to it.
If that happens, you could be captured and dragged away by unidentified men in black suits… My groundless delusion could have become reality.
Even if that weren’t the case, my presence would be a thorn in the side of Shiraishi’s family.
It was clear that it would be dealt with in some way.
“But don’t worry.”
Elena said as she looked at me shaking with anxiety.
“I will protect the boy.”
“Mr. Elena… ….”
“No matter what happens. So don’t worry too much.”
“……… ….”
So, the help that Elena is talking about is… The plan was for me to become Shiraishi’s lover.
At the party that day. Her exclusive butler and lover.
It would come as a huge shock and betrayal to tell this to the other family that I had been betrothed to for a long time.
With Shiraishi’s arbitrary performance, the relationship between the two families is destroyed.
That was Elena’s plan.
“And… “Once the situation calms down, you can stop playing around with your partner.”
Elena said coldly.
“Both the lady and the boy. Of course you want that, right?”
“……… ….”
Shiraishi looked at me with her trembling eyes.
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That’s right, she wanted to give Shiraishi any help.
“But… jeon….”
She tried to say that she had a girlfriend.
At the same time, Shiraishi turned to Elena and shouted.
“Minsu has a lover with whom he has promised a future…” !”
“I know.”
“So please don’t cause trouble!”
I was representing Elena on my behalf.
“Then is there a man you would like to ask differently?”
“…… That… case….”
I was the only one who knew Shiraishi’s situation.
No one but me knew why she ran away from home, the details of her story, and their relationship.
“It’s just a show. “It is nothing more than a double to deceive the eyes of the owner and the main family.”
Elena looked at me quietly.
“Boy.”
“……… ….”
I recalled the promise I shared with Elena.
I hope you will be by my side as a precious person.
I had already accepted it.
“…… All right.”
I nodded.
Shiraishi looked this way with his eyes wide open.
I sighed as I looked at Elena with a faint smile.
“…… As long as I get permission from Haruna. “I will do that.”
I would like to introduce myself to everyone as Shiraishi’s lover.
I nodded, feeling that somehow the pieces of the puzzle were naturally falling into place one by one.