"It's been almost a week already but Hannah had not spoken to anyone like she used to." A group of young women carrying some supplies stopped to look at Hannah doing her work with a sad face.
They knew William and Hannah were close, they are also aware of the fact that Hannah is too close that she had left hints of her true feelings toward William. That is something that they have known for a long time but since William revealed something unbelievable during the previous test, they are confused about what made Hannah behave so passively in the last few days.
"Shouldn't we talk to her? People need to get it out of their system when there is something to say but there is no one to talk to." Sarah, an enthusiastic young woman said. She is known for her cheerfulness and understanding of the situation easily. She is also friendly to everyone around her to the point that it made things a bit awkward for others.
Without thinking too much about it, Sarah approached Hannah, "Hey, Hannah." The latter just stared at her briefly and returned to work. Hannah completely ignored her, something that she would not have done unless something is troubling her. "This is impossible!" Sarah exclaimed in her head.
It is truly an unbelievable experience. Hannah is not far from Sarah in terms of friendliness, even the others looking at them are confused and concerned at the same time. "Hannah- are you okay-?" she asked but all she got in return was a nod.
Sarah is left speechless. Nothing is coming out of her mouth, fearing that if she were to say something wrong and end up worsening Hannah's condition. "Surely there is something I can do. I can't just let the goddess be sad the entire time!" she said to herself. She is determined.
"First, I need her to open up to me. But- how do I do that?" it was an immediate problem that needs to be solved to move forward. Other than using William as a subject, Sarah doesn't see a chance of having a proper talk with Hannah without using William as the subject. "Okay, here goes."
Sarah took a deep breath and mustered all her courage and put all of her faith in what she is about to say, "Hannah, do you know that there are others that are aiming for William?" she asked filled with fear.
It is a dangerous road that Sarah chose. She knows it herself but it is the truth based on what she heard from the people around the town. Sarah thought that it failed, but when she saw Hannah stop working and starts turning to her, she saw a glimmer of hope.
Hannah's expression turned grim, she knew she screwed up. "Other girls are aiming for William?" Hannah asked despite having a grim look on her face that terrified Sarah.
"I felt my lifespan shortened for a second there." She told herself as she started sweating. "Yes-s, that is what I heard a couple of years back. Turns out that his persistence during the test every year captivated some of the maidens' hearts in our town." Hannah looked a bit concerned and Sarah can see that she might have stepped on a route that she should have not taken.
"I'm sorry, Hannah. But this is the only way that I can think of for your to open up!" she wanted to tell Hannah but seeing how sad she has been for the last few days, Sarah could not bring herself to make her even more miserable. "William, that idiot. How dare he break our Hannah's heart. I will kick his ass the moment I see him again." Sarah added.
Hannah immediately turned to her in surprise. Hannah's actions made Sarah surprised as well. "Wh-What did you just say? William broke my heart?" Hannah repeated. Sarah just nods her head as an answer. "What are you talking about? There is no way that loser broke my hea-"
"But aren't you in love with him as well?"
Hannah froze. Her eyes widened the instant Sarah spoke those words. She did not expect that at all, even Sarah is surprised to see her reaction. Hannah's face slowly turned red like a tomato and turned away while covering her face.
"Eh? What the heck was that? For a moment there, Hannah looked cute!" Sarah could not help but look at Hannah that way, seeing someone get flustered is sometimes a confirmation of something that the other party is not aware of. And in this case, Hannah is not aware that Sarah knows that she likes William.
"Wait- are you- don't you know that most of us here know that?"
Hannah immediately turned to the others upon hearing that. They instantly read the atmosphere and walked away after seeing Hannah's face. "Let's go. Leave it to Sarah. We must trust her in times like this."
Hannah watched them walk crudely as if they know exactly what happened. "Did they know? Were they aware of it from the beginning?!" Hannah felt like she is about to die in embarrassment. She thought that she hid that fact properly but there is one thing that she overlooked, a fellow maiden's intuition.
Sarah is speechless. She was not aware that Hannah was showing hints about her feelings and just said that out of nowhere without even considering that Hannah must be ignorant about it. "Did no one ever talk to her about it?!"
It was awkward for both of them. They don't know how to face each other after revealing something at the same time.
"NO WAY! How in the world did I not notice them!? AH!" Hannah wants to let it all out but that would make her look like a weirdo, screaming out of nowhere. "Sorry about that, Hannah. I didn't know that you-"
"Who are the ones that are aiming for William?" Hannah cuts in.
Sarah is surprised again, Hannah is able to recover from the shock that fast. "Amazing. To think that she recovered that fast." Sarah mumbled in admiration. "Ah- eh….."
She ended up telling her all the names of the maidens that she knows are aiming for William and Hannah is surprised that some of them are working in their workshop as well.
"Jane, Isabela, and Vea, huh? To think that they like William as well." Hannah said to herself feeling down. They do not lose in terms of beauty against Hannah and they are also sought out by men as well. Hannah can feel that there will be competition for William's heart when he returns to the town and it made her feel uneasy.
"Honestly speaking, I think they don't stand a chance to you," Sarah said. It was her own opinion but it was understandable.
They know that Hannah is close to William and that they meet almost on a daily basis. That alone is already a big determining factor for one's success before establishing a relationship. To get a breather, Sarah pulled some strings to get her and Hannah a time to talk.
They both sat on the bench under a tree while drinking tea, it is something that Hannah did not experience before, drinking tea with her workmate. Due to her busy schedule and giving time to visit William in their house, she did not get to spend her time relaxing.
"Thanks." She told Sarah. "Thanks for letting me know about it. If I was not aware of it, I might have continued making a fool of myself." Hannah added which Sarah immediately denies.
"Fool? Only a real fool will laugh at someone who is in love. And don't worry, that's now how it looks. It's normal, right? Falling in love in our age? I can understand why you learned to like William. He is smart, kind, persistent, and handsome on top of that. That is what I know without being close to him but you, you must have seen something in him that made you like him, right? That's a privilege that your competitors don't have." Hannah is surprised, she did not know that Sarah has that side of her. She did not see Sarah as a person who understand romantic things so Hannah figured that it must have been rooted in every female to be like that.
Her face blushed as she somehow hides her face while drinking her tea. "Yes. There is something like that indeed." Talking about William made her heart race as she remembers the moment she shared with William alone.
"Hannah- looks like she is head over heels for William, after all," Sarah said to herself as she bitterly smiles and drinks her tea as well.