Anil was lying down on the grass under the shade of a tree. It seemed that today was his mother's tea party.
The gentle breeze soon lulled him to sleep.
"Hello~ Are you alive?"
"Mmmm..."
Anil stirred at the voice of a young girl.
"Nnn? Who are you?"
The girl had ordinary medium-length brown hair and dark brown eyes. She wore a pink dress along with a matching pair of shoes and a headband. She looked... normal, but there was some sort of mysterious charm to her.
"Astra Silvia Acquati. What about you?"
Astra stared at Anil which caused him to blush. He didn't know why his heart was beating so fast.
"... Anil Ellis Merci."
"Nice name! So, you're the second son of Marchioness Merci!"
"Y-yeah."
"Hey, are you sick or something? Let me check."
Astra's face was too close to Anil's. His face got hotter.
Astra stared at the Anil's bright red face.
"H-hey! Stop staring already!"
Anil was embarrassed. Deeply embarrassed.
"Okay?"
Astra tilted her head sideways.
(...Cute.)
For some reason, Anil actually thought that such a plain girl was actually cute.
"W-well, see you later!"
Anil ran away in a hurry.
(Just what is this feeling? What did that girl do to me?)
•••
During dinner, Anil was absentminded. He kept thinking about that girl for some reason.
Anil stabbed a carrot with his fork in irritation.
(Just what am I doing?!)
"Hey, Anil? Are you okay?)
His mother asked out of concern.
"Yeah, Anil. You're kind of acting strange today."
His father looked at him with worried eyes.
Anil knew that if he told his parents everything, then he'd feel better.
"You see... I met a girl today and my heart beated really fast for some reason."
Anil's parents were shocked. They were frozen stiff.
Anil's mother was the first to recover.
"To think that he'd grow up so early....."
"Now, now, dear."
"But, he's only eight!
Anil didn't understand why his parents were reacting like this. His father broke the news to him.
"Anil... it seems that you have fallen in love."
This time, it was Anil's turn to be shocked.
Fallen in love? Him?
Such a thing was too shocking for Anil. Anil decided to retire early and ponder over his feelings for that girl.
•••
When he woke up, he was refreshed and decided what he would do. He knew for sure that he was in love with her and decided to pursue her.