While Ran was changing clothes beyond the partition, Sina said that she was so excited about the sled, the snow here is really good, and she want to ski or snowboard.
When Ran came out dressed as a thight man, Kara came back and said.
"The Duke is going to ride with you."
"Yes"
Ran nodded, held hands with Sina and went down. Sina said with a smile.
"Weren't we wearing too many layers? If someone pushes me down the stairs, I feel like I'm going to roll."
Ran nodded earnestly.
"Really. It doesn't hurt at all."
"Right? Right?"
Sina laughed out loud.
When I went down, Eustaf was already waiting.
Ran asked,
"How could you dress so thin?"
"I won't be able to walk if I dress like Ran."
"No, I can walk."
Ran grinned and said. When I came out of the front door, the bright winter sun was breaking over the snow.
'Let's play a little bit.'
You'll be blind if you do something wrong.
With that thought, Ran looked at the sled Lumiere was holding.
The streamlined sled was decorated with colorful geometric patterns, and the strap, which was made to be held on both sides, was full of walnuts.
"Pretty"
When Ran burst into small exclamations, Eustaf said.
"I think you enjoyed sledding before."
"I didn't know you would remember...."
Ran's voice trembled faintly. Eustaf kissed her on the top of her head and said.
"If it's about Ran, I remember anything."
Ran twisted slightly and fell from him. She quickly stood next to Lumie and said.
"Then You'll race with Eus! Let's make a bet on who comes first."
Lumie and Sina also had a stiff face for a moment. Eustaf gave a long sigh.
"No, I don't want to."
He said firmly. And he opened his eyes thin.
"I can't stand it anymore."
"Eu-, Eus....?"
When Ran stuttered in embarrassment, Eustaf approached her, picked up Ran, and put him on his shoulder.
"Eustaf!?"
Ran screamed. Ran struggled as a sack of potatoes lay on his shoulder. It didn't hurt because she was dressed thick, but in front of these people?
Eustaf said, holding her with one hand and taking a sled from Lumiere with the other.
"The rest of you play on your own."
Lumiere shrugged, and Sina quickly hid behind Lumiere.
When Ran said, "No way!", "Get me down!" She said to Lumi, looking at Eustaf, who was getting younger and younger.
"I think Ran Unnie is amazing."
"What?"
When Lumiere asked, Sina said, narrowing the forehead.
"How do you treat the Duke normally?"
Lumiere grinned at the words. Sina said,
"Then we'll go to the other side and play."
"That would be good."
Lumiere nodded.
*******
Ran finally gave up shouting and struggling.
I don't have energy because I haven't eaten properly these days, but I realized that there was no use in struggling like this.
Eustaf, carrying a limp Ran, climbed the mountain without much difficulty.
"Eus"
"Yes"
"Can't you let me go?"
"No, I don't want to."
"Eus"
"Yes"
She walked in with open arms and asked, looking back at him.
"Are you angry?"
"Not yet."
Eustaf said so and went up to the top of the hill and put Ran down. Even after walking so high, he didn't seem to lose a breath.
He put the sled on the snow and asked.
"Let's talk about what's wrong with you. And then I'll decide if I'll be angry."
"What ·····?"
Pretending not to know, Eustaf looked at Ran with his arms folded. His blue eyes stared straight at her as if he would not tolerate avoidance.
Ran couldn't face the gaze and shook her eyes.
"Eus"
"Yes"
"What if-"
"Yes"
"I ····."
Without answering, he waited for her backstabbing. Ran took a deep breath. The cold and sharp air seemed to clear her mind.
"What do you think if I said I'd leave Lazia?"
She uttered a question in a heartbeat.
"Be honest with me. I'm fine with any answer."
"Honestly."
"Yes"
Ran nodded and looked up at Eustaf.
I wanted an honest answer to any answer. In fact, you're starting to like Sina.....
So if I said I'd go, I'd feel a little light.
"I won't let you leave."
"As expected, yes-huh?"
Eustaf looked at her quietly.
"I won't let you leave. Even if you left, you'd have to come back to Lazia."
In a daze, Ran looked at him.
"I've already given you a chance to run away. You're the one who dumped it. I won't let go of what I've grabbed once. It's no use regretting it now."
Growling low, Eustaf approached her one step. He grabbed her arm.
"You think I'm gonna let you run away like this?"
"Eus·····."
Ran's white breath came out of her mouth and collapsed.
"Didn't you like Sina?"
"That's not fair - Excuse me."
Without realizing it, Eustaf quickly fixed the words that popped out reflexively.
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
"No, even if it's not. But, but-"
But what if Eustaf goes wrong?
"Ran"
"I, I, I want Youth to be safe. So you're gonna get along with Sina-"
She gulped down her saliva.
"Sina's pretty, unlike me, she's athletic, she's cheerful, she's on the same wavelength as you, and she's having fun talking to you. Kindly say to Sina-"
"Ran Romia!"
In the end, it was Eustaf who shouted.
He spoke to her low and fast.
"My heart is mine. It's not like you're pushing someone else like a proper pack! Besides-"
He clenched his teeth and then said.
"My suspicions were real. So, did you hate it that much? To the point where you want to run away? If so, be honest with me! That's not how you behave!"
Ran opened her eyes wide in surprise.
"Eus-"
"That's how-"
He bit his teeth tightly.
Sweet as you like, sweet as you like, sweet as you like-
If the raindrops are just flowing as you want, what should we do with the forever perforated rock?
He let go of his hand in despair.
"And now you're pushing someone in moderation? Is that your cruel last kindness?"
Ran's eyes were burning. Tears rolled down her eyes.
"No, Eus. I'm not, I'm not-"
Tears flowing through her cheeks were stinging and frozen.
"I like Eustaf."
She wrapped her hands around her face.
"But I, don't know what to do-"
Eustaf took off his gloves, put them in his pocket, and pushed her hand away, wiping her eyes with a big hand. It was a hand gesture as if gold was dealing with ground glass.
"Don't cry. It's freezing."
Her wet eyes looked up at him. Eustaf kissed and whispered around the eyes.
"If you like me, stay with me."
"Yes, but maybe it's not a happy ending."
"Then if I fall, will it be a happy ending?"
"That's ·····."
Ran opened her mouth. Eustaf kissed her. It was a kiss after a long time.
'Oh, damn it.'
Eustaf made a growling sound.
I'm feeling too good -
When he barely finished kissing, Ran gasped and breathed. When he saw her red face, he couldn't stand it again and kissed her repeatedly.
Ran responded to his kiss while struggling, which made him more thrilled.
After the kiss, Eustaf hugged her tightly, and Ran whispered in his arms.
"Eus"
"Yes"
"Do you want to hear my story?"
"As much as you want," Eustaf replied.
Ran sighed and smiled awkwardly.
"You might think I'm crazy."
"Then I can go crazy with you."
"Eus"
"I mean it. Then-"
Eustaf said while holding a sled.
"We can't talk here, let's go to a nearby cabin."
"Is there a cabin?"
"Yes"
Ran nodded. If I went to the mansion, set up a formal seat, and talked, I thought my current courage would disappear.
I wanted to finish it as soon as I could.
As Eustaf said, shortly after walking, Ran found a cabin. The wooden log cabin looked quite sturdy.
Ran asked because the inside was also kept clean.
"Is it a hunting lodge?bOn the ice?"
Eustaf smirked and said.
"It's a dragon that rests during winter hunting."
"Oh, but it's small enough for all the knights to rest, I see. It's for Eustaf."
When Ran raised her voice like she was teasing, Eustaf answered calmly.
"It's for the wounded."
"Oh, sorry."
I misunderstood, and Ran blushed. Eustaf said, lighting a fire in the cabin.
"There are times when the weather suddenly doesn't get better. There are huts like this everywhere."
"I see"
Ran nodded.
It was a studio apartment with no walls.
Fortunately, the large oven was a new item that used ice crystals, so it quickly warmed up inside the cabin.
There was also a blanket on the bed and chair attached to the wall. I think it's 'Dasa'.
Ran took a deep breath and said.
"I don't know where to start, but it's a mess."
Eustaf raised his eyebrows.
Ran smiled awkwardly and talked about everything.
Meeting with the Spirit, growing up that she reads, coming from another world like Sina, or at first she misunderstood it as a book.
"That sounds weird, doesn't it? But in my dream, a spirit came out-"
At first, I couldn't speak properly. However, Eustaf was not at all uncomfortable, and he listened carefully.
Concentrate and be patient with every word.
If anyone listens like that, the speaker will become more and more calm.
Ran stopped shaking, and she talked more deeply about her inner story and what she had read.
Phanias, why she knows the name of the Spirit, what she thought.
And-
"Originally, you and Sina should be connected. Then, it's a happy ending, but...I'm nervous because the future is uncertain now....."
Ran said so and looked up. Eustaf was still looking at herself with an unwavering face.
"That's why it happened."
When her story ended, Eustaf sat next to her.
Ran's shoulders shivered small. The hand on my knee naturally gave me strength.
Eustaf turned his head and asked.
"Then can I have your original name?"
Ran opened her eyes wide and spoke quietly.
"Ran"
It's the same name.
As she whispered so, Eustaf laughed.
"Then at least I didn't confess my love by calling the wrong name."
Ran's cheeks were burning. He whispered.
"Ran"
"Huh?"
"Ran, Ran."
When he called her name like that, Ran seemed to melt in her heart.
I thought it didn't matter because it's the same name, but there's a big difference between "Ran" he calls know and he doesn't-
Ran hugged him tightly, feeling her eyes burning.
Unlike until now, the name he called was like that, calling her real from the inside of his heart.
"Ran, Ran"
It is the sweetest and most musical name in the world, Ran thought so without shame.
Eustaf hugged her and said.
"So it's from the moment I fell from the tree."
"Yes"
"As expected."
I thought it was weird since then.
And theRaan he loved was the Ran in front of him, so it's nice.
I liked it.
"Ran"
"Huh?"
"Are you going out with me for pity?"
I feel sorry for the boy in what I read.
"That can't be true. If I didn't like Eus, as I said earlier, I would have run away."
With such a murmur, Ran grabbed Eustaf by the shoulder and looked him in the face, pushing him away.
"Is that all?"
"Yes?"
"Anything else?"
"It's rather cool that the question has been solved."
It solved all the suspicious things about Ran, but then cover-up.
Suddenly, Eustaf asked a question that came to mind.
"Then you're not an old acquaintance of Lumiere's either."
"Yes"
Ran nodded, and Eustaf's face became brighter.
Ran also felt refreshed after telling all her secrets.
She realized one thing.
Real intimacy doesn't occur with secrets between them.
There is Eustaf who knows all about her now.
It was only then that she felt as if she had stepped on the ground. And I felt closer to Eustaf.
Eustaf sighed and said,
"And where did the misunderstanding come from that I like Sina?"
"However....at the New Year's meeting before--"
Ran murmured.
"You were dancing and laughing together....And Sina said she was cool when she saw Eus, and wouldn't it have been great without me?"
"Ran"
"Huh?"
When I peeked at him, Eustaf was smiling somehow.
I thought you'd get mad.
"I laughed because Sina complimented me like a proverb."
"Huh?"
His smile deepened.
"You're jealous."
Ran only blinked and he leaned toward her.
"Isn't it?"
Ran had no choice but to admit it by looking at her sparkling sapphire eyes.
"I did.....A little....."
He kissed her.
"I thought I was the only one jealous."
"Huh?"
Ran opened her eyes wide in surprise.
"Eus?"
"Of course I will. If there's someone who seems to touch mine. And so does Lumiere-"
I didn't want Blaine to be too close. Label, too.
But swallowing his backstabbing, Eustaf kissed her once more. I can't believe she's jealous.
It was a new discovery for him.