That night, Tistye waited for Gaizel to return to his chamber. The prepared room was a combination of a bedroom and a guestroom.
Tistye sat on a sofa on the guestroom side while reading a book about the history of Levaria.
I see… the rumors are correct…
It was as the jeweler said; the anecdote of spirits slumbering inside of jewels seemed to be a relatively famous story in Levaria.
There was a report that someone heard a spirit’s voice, but there was no evidence to back it up. As a matter of fact, the more widespread theory was that the mysterious charm of the jewels was simply being expressed as a ‘spirit’.
I wonder if the spirits don’t actually exist…
If the jewel was irrelevant, then what was the cause of that incident involving Gaizel and Van?
As Tistye leaned her head, she heard unobtrusive knocking on the door.
“So, you’re still awake.”
“Y, Your Majesty!”
Tistye stood up as soon as she saw Gaizel. Gaizel slightly loosened his expression as she received his coat.
“I’m sorry. I wish I had come home a little sooner.”
“N, not at all! I enjoy waiting for you!”
Gaizel smiled in relief. After sitting on the couch, drinking tea and calming down a little, Gaizel took out a small box.
Tistye received the box, and for some reason felt terrified as she opened it.
“L, Lord Gaizel, this…”
“What? You don’t want it?”
Within the box was a pair of earrings. The dark blue teardrop-shaped gems definitely belonged to the levanite she had seen in the gallery.
“B, but how…”
“After that, I talked to the jeweler. I thought it would go well with the tiara. Do you not like it?”
She finally understood what the discussion Gaizel had with the jeweler at the end entailed. Gaizel didn’t say too much about it, but she wondered how much it cost.
The small box that should have only contained earrings felt heavier and heavier in Tistye’s hands.
…But, indeed, I keep gazing at it, so…
He was going out of his way to make Tistye happy.
Just by remembering his initiative, Tistye thought that the earrings were worth the money.
“I’m very happy, thank you!”
Gaizel stared at the happy Tistye with a smile. With the box inside her hands, he tilted his head in front of the smiling Tistye.
“Won’t you wear them?”
“Eh!? B, but, I might accidentally break them…”
“Give them to me.”
Gaizel took the box back from Tistye, picked up one of the earrings, and extended his finger to Tistye’s ear. The touch of Gaizel’s finger felt very ticklish.
“L, Lord Gaizel…?”
“Sorry, is this how…?”
There was a swaying sound of silver, but Gaizel’s hand was still stuck to Tistye’s neck. It was true that she would have had difficulty fastening the earrings on her own.
Gaizel’s big hand, which was used to holding a sword, must had been unfamiliar with the whole process. She pictured a bear trying to pick a red berry.
“A little bit lower…”
“Wait… here?”
“Hya—I, it hurts a little…”
“I’ll pull it back a little, how about here?”
“…It’s alright, I think.”
[“Before anything else can happen, I might go crazy first…”]
After some trial and error, one earring shimmered next to Tistye’s cheek. Gaizel traced Tistye’s reddened outer ear.
“…Forgive me.”
“It isn’t your fault!”
Due to the embarrassment she had suffered, Tistye wondered if it’d had been for the best if she had fastened it herself after all. But, the slight weight which fell from her ear lifted her heart.
As she got up from the couch, she rushed to the dressing table and bent down. The beautiful blue stone glowed between her silver hair. Tistye turned around to Gaizel and smiled.
“Thank you, Lord Gaizel.”
“Yes. It’s already late, let’s retire, soon.”
Two beds were lined up in the bedroom separated by a door. One bed was wide enough for three to lie down.
Gaizel sat down on one of the beds while wearing a white shirt. Tistye followed suit and turned to the other bed.
—riin.
At that time, the high-pitched noise echoed again.
Akin to a bell, the noise rippled within Tistye’s ears and echoed in her head many times.
—w, what is this.
It wasn’t the usual ‘hearting’.
Tistye tried hard to resist the discomfort—it was as if someone was forcing her to listen. Gradually, her thought were filled, and Tistye turned to Gaizel to ask for help.
—w, what do I do…
Black and glossy hair. White skin. Tight lips. Above all, those cold, sharp, metallic, blue eyes. Just like before, she was in close contact with him.
However, at that moment, as soon as she saw Gaizel, Tistye felt a love so strong, she never felt everything like that before.
“Tistye?”
Gaizel tilted his head in confusion. After all, Tistye just kept standing there.
Then, instead of going to the vacant bed, Tistye joined Gaizel in his bed. She sat beside him. Tistye was the most surprised of the two.
M, my body won’t listen to me!?
Before she noticed it, the distance between her and Gaizel was almost zero. Tistye was snuggling up against Gaizel.
Perhaps noticing something was off, Gaizel furrowed his eyebrows deeply.
***T/N: I… I swear I’ve took 2 months break from this series and yet my brain somehow vividly recalled that many chapters started or at least contain Tistye waiting for Gaizel, be it during the day, the evening, the night……………………
Also what’s that drawn-out ear piercing scene, Author? If you can stretch that kind of thing then why can’t you make them have proper communication instead?
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