Chapter 304 - Guilt (2/2)
'I don't know what Marie like, so I just got some of each'
Mercury returned to the workshop and walked in without knocking, he, however, stopped before he walked out into the backyard and knocked on the door and called out
”Marie! I got some food”
After waiting for a bit Marie walked into the workshop, she had put on a shirt instead of her apron and her face was clear of sot
”What did you get?”
”Some this, some of that”
”I see, go wash up, I'll be right here waiting”
”Okay, go ahead and eat while it's warm”
Marie nodded, Mercury walked out and took off his shirt (which he had only put on to go shopping) and began washing off the sot, while he did he felt a gaze from the workshop and suddenly turned around and spotted Maire in the doorway, seemingly spying on him while he washed, she quickly hid away though and Mercury didn't feel the need to bust her for spying on him so he simply continued washing up after he was done he dried his body and put on his shirt and walked back into the workshop where he found Maire sitting and waiting on him, she had a slight blush on her face which betrayed her spying, she however tired to act indifferent, Mercury, however, wasn't buying that and decided to play with her a bit and walked over to her, when she looked up he poked her small nose and spoke
”There~”
Marie seemed to short circuit as she didn't know what to do, so she just blushed something fierce before she eventually managed to stammer
”W-W-W-What are you doing Mercury!”
Mercury showed a teasing smile and leaned forwards and whispered into her long ear
”Punishment for spying on me~”
Maire's body shivered slightly as her blush went deeper and she looked away while trying to stammer out an excuse
”T-T-T-That was just to see if you were washing up properly!”
Mercury's smile widened slightly before he poked her nose again which only made her blush deeper then he ever so slowly took her chin and raised it before he bent down slightly, but just as he was about to kiss her Julia's face flashed through his head and he was suddenly hit by guilt and paused mid-motion before he took a step back and muttered
”I am the worst kind of man”
Then without waiting for Marie to respond, he walked out of the workshop, he was filled to the brim with guilt and disgust over his own behavior
'I am such a scumbag… Is this really who I am?'
Mercury didn't quite remember how he got home after that, he only knew that he had forgotten his cane at Marie's workshop and that his right leg ached something fierce from all that walking without his cane, Mercury sat down on the bed and began massaging his leg as he thought about Julia, this made his disgust at himself only go deeper and deeper, after all, he didn't know how she was doing only that she had told him to come for her
”...Shit, what am I doing here, wasting my time…”
He laid down and looked into the ceiling for a while until he heard a knock on the door, he ignored it for a bit before he once again got angry at himself for being such a coward and stood up before he walked downstairs and opened the door, there he didn't find Marie as expected but Evelin that seemed to be fuming as she spoke
”Bend down a bit”
Mercury did as she asked and bend down a bit, then she slapped him on the face once before she asked
”What are you doing Mercury? Leaving Maire like that!? Do you know how she feels right now?”
Mercury stood stunned before he sat down on the doorstep and spoke
”I am the worst kind of man…”
Evelin sighed before she asked
”What are you talking about?”
Mercury looked up at her before he confessed
”I already have a girlfriend, she was taken from me… And here I am seducing another woman instead of looking for her…”
Evelin 'looked' at Mercury for a bit before she sighed and asked
”Are you going to get off that self-pity dick you are riding so hard? Or do I have to slap you again?”
”Eh..?”
Evelin sighed before she asked
”Why are you telling this to me and not Marie?”
Mercury looked at her blankly before he nodded and stood up before he began walking in the direction of Maire's workshop, he didn't know when but gradually he began running while ignoring the pain in his leg, when he arrived at the workshop he opened the door and ran in, the first thing he saw was Maire in the back room, she was forging something, for a bit he looked at her back, it looked so small and lonely right now, Mercury felt like a knife was being twisted in his heart so before he realized he was hugging her tightly muttering
”I am sorry”
Maire put down the hammer, she dropped it from her hands as she began speaking in a quiet voice, almost like a whisper
”Why..?”
Mercury tightened his hug and spoke again
”I am so sorry”
Maire slowly began sobbing before she began full-on crying as she yelled
”You jerk! You big Jerk!”
Then Mercury turned her around and lifted her chin before he kissed her, Marie was stunned for a bit before she kissed him back with all her might, muttering his name in between the kisses, from there things got… Shall we say, heated? As Mercury suddenly picked her up and ran upstairs to the bedroom