Chapter 67 - I Didn’t Say The Most Important Thing (1/2)

Chapter 67 – I Didn’t Say The Most Important Thing

“…Ah,” I gasped.

Claude had suddenly placed his hand on my back and turned me in another direction. Startled by the sudden change, I stared at him with huge eyes. He looked back at me with a smile.

“Were you surprised?” he asked.

“…No.”

That sounded like a ‘yes’. The lie came out opposite of what it intended.

“I apologize. I didn’t show enough consideration,” he said.

“It’s fine,” I reassured in a somewhat trembling voice. “My mind was on someone else.”

“Really,” Claude said, his expression turning envious once more. “Who on earth were you thinking of when I’m right in front of you?”

“Ah.” I decided to answer Claude’s question with a question of my own. “Are you curious?” I replied with a mischievous grin.

“I’m curious,” he said with a nod. “Of course, I can’t believe you’re thinking of something else when your partner is in front of you. It makes me wonder if I’m such an unattractive man.”

“If you knew who I was thinking of, you would be shocked.”

“Who is it?” Claude’s face was visibly tense. I thought fleetingly that he looked cute like that.

I gave him my answer with a large smile. “I was thinking of you.”

It was the truth. I was thinking of how Claude was gentle, friendly, sensitive and handsome. Ah, come to think of it now, it was all compliments, so I felt a little embarrassed.

“What you said earlier…” he began.

I looked up at his eyes, and what I saw left me surprised. His face was scarlet red. All other thoughts flew out of my head.

“You Grace…?” I said tentatively.

Claude blinked himself back into awareness as the sound of my voice. However, as soon as he looked at me, his face turned ever redder.

“What’s wrong with you all of a sudden?” I asked curiously. “Your face is red.”

Seriously, he looked like a tomato that was about to burst. Why was Claude acting like this all of a sudden?

I found myself at a loss of how to continue the conversation, and I ended up making a joke out of the situation.

“Are you thinking of something dirty?”

Claude answered me half a beat late. “What?” he said, and shook his head with an embarrassed face. “N-no!”

“Ah, you just looked like you were thinking about something dirty.”

“No way!”

Fortunately, Claude’s cheeks soon began to cool off. Even though he wasn’t an adolescent boy, he was reacting to these jokes. I found it refreshing for him. I didn’t think it would be weird for me to throw out a joke like that.

“Then what were you thinking?” I asked with a smile.

“…”

Claude was silent at first, and doubt began to creep up in me. Wait, was he really thinking of something weird?

“I too…” Claude began, speaking as slowly as an ant crawled. “I’ve been thinking. Of you.”

I looked at Claude curiously, and his cheeks, which had been slightly pink, were turning red again. I was flustered by the change in his expression. What was this situation now…?

“What?” I blurted.

“I was thinking of you,” he said in a clearer voice and steadier expression than before. Inwardly I was freaking out, but outwardly I kept as calm as possible.

“Were you thinking about how I couldn’t dance?” I said, trying to play it off as a joke.

“No,” Claude replied, shaking his head and correcting my words. “I was thinking about how beautiful you are.”

“…”

Wait, he was talking about…

“Me?”

“Yes,” Claude said with a faint smile. “You’re beautiful, Lady Maristella.”

“…Thank you.” I awkwardly pulled up the corners of my mouth. “You’re being polite, but I’m flattered.”

“It’s not politeness,” Claude corrected again. “You are beautiful.”

“…”