Garett was away for some school matters. It was perfect timing since I wanted to discuss something important with Charlotte and Grace.
"I have truly fallen for Garett," I told them over tea.
Charlotte and Grace screamed off the top of their lungs.
"...Was it that surprising?" I asked them.
"I knew it was only a matter of time before you two would have mutual feelings!" Charlotte said. "He had an interest in you ever since you two first met."
I slightly choked on my drink.
"Was it really that long?" I asked Charlotte.
"It was obviously love at first sight from how he looked at you," Charlotte said said as she touched her cheek. "Poor Garett...to be in love with such an oblivious young lady."
"Am I that oblivious?" I asked Grace.
"Yes, quite so," Grace replied with her usual perky smile. "Your obliviousness is also one of your cute points, Lady Arielle."
I do not need that kind of compliment...
If this Garett fell in love with me at first sight, I imagine that it was the same for the Garett in his first life as well. I do not ever remember being such a sinful beauty before...I suppose my mother is quite beautiful. There was Garett's beautiful stalker Shia, but he did not seem very taken with her.
Am I thinking to highly of myself if I call myself special to Garett?
"Even though I have fallen for Garett, I still have feelings towards my first love," I said.
Grace does not know that I went back in time before I married. All she thinks is that I am in love with Prince Erik even after our engagement has broken up.
"I do not think Garett is after your complete heart...He just wants to love you as yourself. I think it is fine for now," Grace said.
My lack of sincerity and indecisiveness will end up hurting them both.
"I am considering them both seriously..."
"...If that does not end well, just date both of them," Charlotte said.
"Where is the sincerity in that?" I asked Charlotte.
"Arielle, out of everyone in the whole wide world, I think you deserve the most happiness," Charlotte said. "You have suffered enough under those intense feelings and memories."
I held my hand over my heart.
I can never let go of my feelings for Erik, neither can I stop loving Garett. This might be true even if I end up loving and marrying someone else. They both made me who I am today, but the person I want to respond to is...
"I want to love Garett with my all," I said to much of my embarrassment.
"With time!" Charlotte said as she hugged my head into her chest.
Grace joined in the hug with us and comforted me greatly.
I later went to visit Dolton's hospital room with yellow daisies.
"My Lady!" Dolton said as he quickly sat up.
"You could have stayed down," I said with a small chuckle. "I came to brighten your room with some flowers."
"I could not possibly...Are you only here to deliver flowers?" Dolton asked.
"I came to speed up your recovery with some short conversation as well," I said as I sat beside his bedside.
His face brightened up immediately like he was an overgrown child.
"I was getting rather tired of seeing the same faces."
"We lived in the cabin together for four days...I guess that you would get tired of me as well," I said as I placed a handkerchief underneath my right eye.
"I could never get tired of seeing you, My Lady!" Dolton quickly replied.
"That's good," I said with a smile.
"My Lady, I am sorry for not being there while you passed judgement onto Lady Kaya Ouchi."
"...No, I needed you to be gone to convict Kaya Ouchi of a heavier crime. If she is able to be absolved of her crimes, we can narrow the people backing her up and convict all of those people together...I need to apologize in making you a dead person to your family," I said as I lowered my head.
"My Lady, there is no reason to lower your head!" Dolton said.
"I already had Prince Erik explain everything to your parents, but I cannot apologize enough for your broken friendships and the hardships that you will encounter one day because of me...I am an awful person," I said.
Dolton held my scrunched up fists with his left hand and smiled gently towards me.
"I had already died once before. If you give me my second name, I would be very happy..."
"Vance...It means brave. When I was with you, I could be brave...When I cannot be brave anymore, please be brave for me," I said.
Dolton caressed my cheek with his right hand and tapped his forehead against mine.
"Vance...It's a lovely name."
Dolton used my dagger to cut off his long braided piece of hair and handed it to me.
"I would like you to keep a reminder of how I was once Dolton, My Lady. In the case I ever loose my body or I fall before you, please dump this in my grave," Dolton said. "When you take this from me, I will truly become Vance."
"...I accept," I said as I took the orange hair piece from him.
"This reminds me of when you cut off a lock of your hair when you prepared it on the bridge," Vance said with a small chuckle.
"Was it that surprising?"
"I have seen many women fret over their hair like their lifeline, but I have never seen someone so daringly cut off a piece of their hair."
I began peeling an apple for him.
"It's not like I did not have any qualms about my actions...I thought it was necessary to give up a little of something I found important for my cause. My mother would be devastated to see my hair go away, so I tried cutting off as little as possible," I said as I handed him the freshly cut slices.
"...With Lady Kaya Ouchi gone now, will you return to His Highness' side?"
"She is not gone...She will certainly return soon if she has powerful people backing her up. Even then, I do not plan on returning," I said.
"Why?"
"...Why?"
"There will never be a person more suitable than you to become Queen..."
"Every young lady in this country wants to become Queen. More than half of them have trained all of their lives to become proper people to stand by His side...I think you are a bit biased since you have known me for some time," I said coldly.
"You are the only lady I know who spends her pastime reviewing war strategies and law..."
I saw a bouquet of flowers to Vance's right.
"Those flowers? Did someone come here recently?"
"His Highness came by to inform me of what went on the other day. It is a bit disturbing to wake up and see flowers from a male, so I placed them on my right. I sleep on my left and knew that you would arrive with flowers, so I kept this spot open."
"Are you calling flowers from His Highness disturbing?"
"Flowers from a beautiful lady have a special place in a Knight's heart," Vance said jokingly.
"Aren't you just the charmer?" I replied lightheartedly.
"...Have you fallen out of love for His Highness?" Vance asked me seriously.
He just won't let this go...
"I still love him as much as I did back when we were married."
"You two were the perfect couple...I just find it strange that you would not want to restore your relationship with him. His young self seemed very concerned earlier when he interrogated my relationship with you during those days we spent together at the cabin."
"It was a regular relationship..."
"His Highness did not accept such a vague response and asked that I tell him in detail everything that happened with a time table."
"That does not sound too terrible?"
"It is easy for you to say because you were not on the receiving end of his glares."
"If he was glaring at you, he must be fond of you."
"Has he ever glared at you?"
"Never," I answered.
"Never, huh?"
Vance looked very distressed as he said that.
"...What Prince Erik has for me is just a passing fancy. He finds that my action of breaking off the engagement rather amusing. It will be a matter of time before he gets tired of me if I do not give him new content."
"You seem very intent on denying his feelings for you...He is clearly in love with you."
"You can tell?"
"Men are simple creatures, My Lady."
"I will not respond to his feelings."
"...Is it someone else then?"
"I cannot deny that either...I thought that no one else could have a place in my heart. A simple man with a humble background is still better than a simple man with a complex background. I am very happy with where I am."
"I see..."
"I hope that you will get well soon, Vance," I said as I waved him goodbye.