A Saint Who Was Adopted by the Grand Duke

Side Story 12: More Than Friends (VII)

“…Why can’t it be anyone else?”

“There is no one who can replace Noah. Noah is very special to me.”

It didn’t matter when they met.

‘Noah is someone no one can replace.’

“There is no one who can replace him? That’s not true. You may not have met His Highness.”

“It can’t be.”

Esther’s eyes were so clear and steadfast. They did not waver.

“At some point in time, we will definitely meet. And we would have recognized each other.”

This time, Noah recognized her first, but she was sure that even if they had met elsewhere, one of them would have recognized the other.

Leo was very cool, but even if someone more attractive than him appeared, it would be the same.

“I really envy that heart.”

Listening to Esther’s answer, Leo confirmed that her feelings for Noah were much deeper than he thought.

It was a pity, but it was a heart he couldn’t sway.

“I was quite confident.”

The young ladies who had confessed to Leo so far were so numerous that if they were to form a line, they would be able to circle around the gymnasium.

Since Esther was the first person Leo fell in love with, it was natural that he was confident.

Leo’s eyes reddened as he experienced his first broken heart.

“Is there an eyelash in your eye?”

Leo scrunched his nose shyly and raised his head toward the sky.

“May I take a look? It stings a lot when an eyelash gets into the eye. I can never take it off alone.”

“No! I can do it alone…”

Unaware of Leo’s intent to hide his tears, Esther moved closer to him.

She then slightly grabbed his shoulder to correct his posture and look into his eyes.

The distance between their faces was far, but depending on the viewing angle, their postures could be quite misleading.

“What are you two doing? Get away now!!”

Esther, who wasn’t thinking much and was about to pluck Leo’s eyelashes, felt like she was floating.

“Huh?”

Suddenly suspended in the air, Esther was lowered back to the floor before she had time to grasp the situation.

Now, she was far away from Leo, and she could see Noah’s broad back in front.

Noah, who had been watching from afar, misunderstood the situation and rushed to separate the two.

“I saw everything. Just the two of you… ah. Esther, it’s not me?”

Noah looked like he was about to cry.

“Is that why you couldn’t answer my confession right away?”

“Your Highness? You seem to have misunderstood something.”

Leo, who apparently really had an eyelash in his eyes, was pinching the eyelash he had successfully removed with his thumb and index finger.

“When did you come? But what did you see?”

Esther and Leo only blinked with bewildered expressions, wondering what the situation was.

“That eyelash… Ah, you got close to get that thing out?”

“Yes. It’s hard to take it out alone.”

“Oh, then finish what you were doing. I was on a walk. I’ll go again.”

Realizing that he had misunderstood, Noah turned around stiffly, shouting ‘It’s ruined!’ inwardly.

★★★

Just now.

“What are they talking about? It’s so far away that I can’t hear at all.”

Noah followed them out, but could not hear the conversation.

However, judging from Leo’s serious expression and Esther’s bewildered face, he could roughly guess what they were talking about.

“What can I do?”

The impatient and anxious Noah saw their posture became strange, and tightly gripped the bark of the tree.

“This is nonsense.”

He wanted to respect Esther’s choice, but he couldn’t bring himself to really do so.

The thought of seeing Esther kissing someone other than himself drove him mad with jealousy.

Blindly, his head was full of the thought that he had to stop the two.

In an instant, he ran over and put Esther away from Leo, but…

When he came to his senses, he realized that it was all his misunderstanding.

“Oh, then finish what you were doing. I was on a walk. I’ll go again.”

Turning around, Noah covered his face with his hand to hide his burning cheeks.

“…I am so ashamed I could die.”

He tried to get away from Esther and Leo, but the latter called him from behind.

“Your Highness, our conversation is over. The two of you can talk comfortably.”

“You’re done?”

Leo’s eyes were filled with envy as he stared at Noah, who turned back.

“Esther, can the drawing still continue?”

“Sure. See you next week.”

Knowing that Leo deliberately said all this for her sake, Esther smiled and thanked him.

★★★

Thanks to Leo, Esther and Noah were left alone. There was an awkward air between them, and they couldn’t look at the other.

Esther feared that Noah might have heard her confession, while Noah was simply ashamed.

“Come and sit down.”

“Umm… I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to disturb you… I was too surprised.”

Noah hesitantly took the seat next to Esther.

“It’s okay. But did you hear what we were talking about?”

As Esther asked, she gripped the hem of her dress with anxiety.

“No. I couldn’t hear it because I was too far away. Why? Did Leo confess?”

Letting out a sigh of relief, Esther smiled.

“That’s right. I got a confession.”

“So? Did you accept it?”

Noah, who had yet to receive an answer to his confession, gazed at Esther with a very nervous expression.

“Noah, do you still not know?”

With a face expressing ‘What kind of question is that’, Esther lightly flicked Noah’s forehead.

“There’s no way I would have accepted someone else’s confession.”

“So, now… that means… Am… Am I allowed to misunderstand? Am I…?”

Noah, who had been contemplating Esther’s words with a blank face, gulped and put his clasped hands together in front of his chest.

How bright were his eyes?

Esther held back her laughter and said,

“Before I answer, I have a question for you.”

“Ask away. I will answer anything.”

“Did you think about who you would dance with at your debutante?”

“Debutante? Of course, it’s you.”

The answer was expected.

Although Esther had never asked Noah to become her debutante partner, she knew he would answer like this.

“Didn’t we already make a promise to be partners when we were 12?”

“That’s right. That’s a given.”

From a very long time ago, it had already been very natural for Esther and Noah to be together.

“The only people who will be my partners are my dad and older brothers.”

“And?”

Noah blinked expectantly at Esther.

“You.”

Realizing what this meant, Noah hopped in place with a big smile on his face.

“Then will you accept my confession?”

At the lack of an immediate answer, his excitement died down and he trembled.

“That…”

Esther deliberately paused, wanting to tease Noah.

“Please answer me quickly. I’ve waited a long time.”

Unable to wait even for a second more, Noah grunted like a puppy, opening and squeezing his fists repeatedly.

“Even if I said that when I was young, how did it take five years for you to confess again?”

Esther laughed teasingly as she glanced at Noah.

When she was young, she couldn’t accept him because she didn’t open her heart completely, but she secretly suffered because he didn’t confess again for over five years.

There were many times when she wondered if, maybe… he really only thought of her as a friend.

As a result, she suppressed her feelings as much as possible and locked herself into thinking that he was just a friend.

“I like you too. It’s always the same.”

After telling him what she had been hiding in her heart, she was relieved.

Astoundingly… Noah, who was assumed to run wild at the answer, was rather calm. He simply stared at Esther.

“Am I not dreaming right now?”

Before Noah knew it, a smiling Esther occupied the entirety of his view.

She nodded, thinking that it would be nice if time stopped like this.

“Of course not.”

“Tell me one more time.”

“I like you.”

“one more time.”

“How many times are you making me say it? Do you like… Huh?”

Noah hugged Esther as she puffed out her cheeks.

He leaned his face against her shoulder and sighed. She could feel him trembling.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

Noah kept saying thank you over and over again.

Sensing the desperation yet relief in his voice. Esther put her hand on Noah’s back and patted him slowly.

“Esther, do you know? You are the reason I am living.”

“Why is it so grand?”

“Really. Knowing you changed my life. It made me look forward to the next day instead of waiting for death. You made me want to live.”

Esther’s eyes turned warm and red.

Having walked out of a passage full of darkness, she knew better than anyone how precious a little light was.

She was moved that she could be that kind of person to Noah.

“Me too. Without you, I wouldn’t be able to be this happy right now.”

Noah was the only person who watched everything Esther went through, making him someone who could fully understand.

As she had said to Leo, she wouldn’t have been able to open up and like any other person if he was not Noah.

“When I was young, I thought it was my misfortune to get sick and be confined to the sanctuary, but not now. It was the luck of my life.”

Noah slowly lifted his face which was buried in Esther’s shoulder.

Then he reached out and touched Esther’s cheeks with his fingers, like touching fragile glass.

“Wouldn’t it have been better if you hadn’t gotten sick? Then you wouldn’t even know the pain.”

“If so, then I would not have met you. Even if given a chance to go back in time, I would rather go through the same thing. I am rather grateful for it now.”

The gazes of Esther and Noah were directed only at each other.

Strangely, the surroundings were erased. It felt like only the two of them were left in the world.

Noah slowly lowered his face, still caressing Esther’s cheek.

He parted his lips slightly and murmured in a low, locked voice. He didn’t sound like his usual playful sound.

“I won’t count to three this time.”

“…You shouldn’t have counted last time.”

Esther pretended to be calm, but her voice trembled slightly in anticipation and nervousness.

Noah slowly lowered his face and placed his lips on Esther’s forehead.

Ame: I feel like I’m intruding heheheh *blushes* my babies are all grown up!

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