We both had childhood friends we spent our youth with.
Both fell in love with someone who married a sibling.
Both clung to our first love and missed the prime age for marriage.
We’re far too alike…
“Um…”
Lord Kernes, clearly unable to hide his distress, seemed to be frantically searching for an explanation in his mind.
“Shall we return? It wouldn’t do for both of us, the main figures of the event, to be absent for too long,” I said with a calm smile, pretending nothing had happened.
Without waiting for his reply, I turned around and headed back to the hall.
I wondered, what kind of expression was he wearing now?
What did it feel like when the person you loved looked at someone else?
When it was decided that your beloved would marry your sibling?
How had he endured watching the two of them together?
As I thought about his unspoken feelings, I couldn’t help but see my own first love reflected in them…
◇◇◇◇
Several weeks had passed since our wedding. From that moment, I had never once brought up my sister-in-law when speaking with Lord Kernes.
“What good would it do to ask, ‘Is your beloved the wife of your brother?’”
Nothing. It would only deepen his wounds.
Surely, he wanted to keep those feelings hidden, known to no one.
…Truly, we have far too much in common. It’s exhausting.
“Hah,” I let out a self-deprecating laugh without meaning to.
“What’s so funny?”
Lord Kernes looked at me curiously.
Oh no, I’d forgotten we were in the middle of dinner.
“Oh, I was just thinking about the look on your face when I climbed that tree… pfft!” I quickly changed the topic, but as I recalled the incident, I started laughing for real.
It had happened just the morning before.
A maid had accidentally let some laundry fly onto the branches of the large tree outside my room.
I stepped out onto the balcony, leapt to the tree, and climbed up with ease to retrieve the laundry.
It was such a simple matter, yet it caused complete chaos below.
The butler, the maids, and other servants were running about in a panic.
They even called for my husband, who arrived in a flurry and looked up at me, his jaw dropped in utter disbelief.
“Pfft! The look on your face, Lord Kernes! Ahaha!”
The stark contrast between his usual composed expression and his stunned face… I couldn’t help laughing all over again.
“T-that’s because you were doing something so reckless!”
Flustered, Lord Kernes turned bright red as he tried to defend himself.
When we first met, I thought he was someone who rarely showed emotion, but that was far from the truth.
He was surprisingly honest about his feelings. How had he managed to hide his unrequited love so well? It was impressive, really.
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