If You Cheat, Just Don’t Tell Me - Chapter 27

“I like you too, Dicca. Let’s stay together forever!”

One day, my father spoke to me inside the house. How long had it been since he initiated conversation with me? I realized I couldn’t remember the last time he’d spoken to me first when that thought crossed my mind.

Thinking he must have some business with me, I listened to what he had to say, but it didn’t seem to be anything particular.

“It seems you’ve been through quite an ordeal. Is your body better now?”

“Well, as you can see. My shoulder still gives me some trouble, but I’m fine enough for daily life.”

We stood facing each other in the hallway as we talked. My right shoulder was still the same, but aside from that, I didn’t feel any particular pain anymore. My right shoulder should regain its freedom soon too.

“…I don’t know the details,”

…After all the moving around I’d done, there was no way the head of this household, my father wouldn’t know the reasons. This preface was his way of declaring that he would pretend not to know, respecting both the Spirits family’s intentions and my own will to not say anything to the family.

“Well, anyway. I did similar things when I was young too. …I guess blood will tell.”

“That’s…”

“Because of that ridiculous title of Sword Saint that was forced upon me as a result of my recklessness, I didn’t know how to interact with you properly. Unlike me, you were a clever child, so you grew up watching your surroundings even when I said nothing.”

Even if I was hearing my father’s monologue now, honestly speaking, I didn’t know what expression to make while listening. My feelings toward my parents were complicated. I neither liked nor disliked them, but that didn’t mean I was completely indifferent either, nor was I expecting anything from them.

They were strangers connected only by blood. That might be too harsh, but it was something close to that.

“You probably don’t feel good about being told something by me now. So, I don’t intend to tell you this or that. But since you’re also part of this family, if you ever have any troubles, feel free to tell me without hesitation. Once your married life begins in the near future, there will probably be things that are hard to talk about with outsiders.”

…Well, I suppose that’s true. Married life isn’t something you talk about with others. But about something that hasn’t even started yet, like this… what? What exactly are you trying to say?

As I struggled to grasp my father’s intention, perhaps noticing my confusion, my father took a breath before wrapping up his thoughts.

“I’ve had the chance to speak with Freya a few times, that girl is exactly like your mother when she was young. Not in appearance, but in personality. —Be prepared to be henpecked.”

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

The raw way of speaking slipped out unintentionally. Hearing that, my father laughed.

It’s not like this exchange brought us closer. But it certainly became an opportunity to slightly reconsider my previous categorization of him as just a stranger connected by blood.

Even after all that, my daily life hadn’t changed much. Though I wasn’t working for now due to my injury, I still went to the meeting place and showed my face at school.

After Freya settled things with her family, she started attending school seriously again without any absences, just like before. Lucius, now free of debt and his connection to the Spirits family, stopped coming to see Freya after that incident. Well, he was never really obsessed with Freya herself to begin with, so once he realized she was unattainable, he probably quickly moved on to the next target.

When Lucius frequently visited our classroom, our classmates looked at us differently, but after things settled down, everything returned to how it was before. Well, it didn’t directly concern them anyway.

So like that, Freya and I were back to being engaged and attending the same classroom as usual. And naturally, we started spending time together like before.

“Somehow, being in the classroom with just you at this time feels like it’s been a while.”

“…Really? Well, we’ve been through a lot.”

It was after school, when all classes had ended for the day. The classroom, dyed crimson by the setting sun streaming through the windows, had chairs and desks neatly arranged, with only Freya and me there.

Me sitting at my desk, and Freya sitting in front of my desk. That same composition from before—now that she mentioned it, it did feel like it had been a while.

“A lot… yes. It feels like so much has happened.”

“Well, but that’s all in the past now.”

“…I’m grateful to you. And of course to your friends too. I’ve incurred a debt I can never repay.”

“Don’t worry about it. Both I and those guys did it because we were okay with it. …Well, if you get the chance, bringing them some treats would probably make them happy.”

Heck, they’d probably be overjoyed just by Freya visiting the meeting place. “Freya’s big sis! Freya’s big sis!” What’s up with those guys? Well, whatever.

“If it’s treats, there will be plenty of opportunities to give them from now on. After all, I’m going to be your wife.”

“…Yeah.”

I gave a brief reply to Freya, who was smiling cheerfully.

When Freya first appeared before me as my fiancée, all I could think about was how to break off the engagement. But before I knew it, I’d become able to nod honestly at words like these from Freya.

It hasn’t been that long since I met Freya. Even so, she’s changed me this much. Probably, it’ll continue to be like that from now on too.

We’ll clash opinions, fight, help each other. I think that’s how we’ll live our lives.

“Freya.”

I gazed at Freya’s face, dyed red by the sunset. Her deeply lustrous crimson hair and her fiercely red, spirited eyes. She always thinks of others, and faces someone like me head-on.

She’s the first person I’ve ever loved in my life, and I’m certain I’ll never meet anyone like her again.

“What is it?”

I know there will be plenty of opportunities to tell her this from now on, and it doesn’t have to be right here, right now. But I wanted to tell her here. I’m sure there will be times like this in the future too, and when those times come, I’ll probably tell her then too.

“I’m glad you’re my fiancée. —I love you, Freya. Please stay with me forever.”

Whether the redness on Freya’s face after hearing my words was from the sunset, or from something else.

“I like you too, Dicca. Let’s stay together forever!”

The end.