Proposal
“Eh…!? M-Me, holding hands with Felisiana-sama…!?”
“Yes… Among royalty and nobility, it’s quite common to hold hands with a member of the opposite sex when attending a party together, so I thought I’d like to hold hands with you too, Lux-kun.”
In truth, it had nothing to do with being at the party. The real reason was simply that she wanted to hold Lux’s hand. However, suddenly saying that out of nowhere might confuse him, so the third princess Felisiana gave that explanation instead.
Then, Lux opened his mouth with a troubled expression.
“O-Opposite sex… But if someone saw me holding hands with someone like you, Felisiana-sama…”
“I think you’re a truly wonderful man, Lux-kun… So what matters here is whether you want to hold hands with me or not… Won’t you hold my hand?”
Saying that, Siana extended her hand to Lux.
A pure approach from the third princess Felisiana to Lux. If he were to reject her, Siana would suffer a significant emotional blow. But if Lux were to accept, their relationship would surely deepen more than ever before.
During the few seconds of silence that followed, Siana was filled with nervous tension. After those few seconds passed, Lux took Siana’s hand.
Lux-kun…!
“Thank you, Lux-kun.”
“N-No! I should be the one thanking you! It’s the first time we’ve touched hands like this since the dance, right?”
Truthfully, even as a maid, I’ve held hands with Lux-kun… but for now, I’ll just leave it at that.
“Yes… Well then, shall we walk?”
“Yes…!”
Holding hands, the two began walking again through the luxury cruise ship.
“…”
Siana thought that interlacing fingers like lovers might be a bit bold here. However, she decided that if she was going to confess her feelings to Lux later, she couldn’t be hesitant. She then shifted their clasped hands into a lovers’ handhold.
“Eh…!?”
Surprised by the change in how their hands were joined, Lux let out a voice of shock and then spoke.
“F-Felisiana-sama, this way of holding hands is…”
“If you don’t like it, you can let go… but I want to hold hands with you like this, Lux-kun.”
“I-I don’t intend to say I don’t like it! If that’s what you want, Felisiana-sama, then I’m fine with this way too…!”
Hearing Siana’s words, Lux responded with a slightly embarrassed expression. He tried to suppress it as best he could.
He really is such a kind boy… Kind, hardworking, earnest… I want to stay by Lux-kun’s side more than anyone else and support him forever.
“Lux-kun… Would you like to go out on the deck together and feel the night breeze?”
“Got it! Let’s go!”
“Thank you.”
In response to Siana’s suggestion, Lux replied with a smile.
Feeling happy as she looked at Lux’s expression, Siana walked together with him. They climbed the stairs to reach the deck.
“Here we are.”
When Siana said that to Lux, he looked at the deck and spoke up in surprise.
“T-This is the deck!? There are things like a water play area, beautiful lamps, chairs and tables… it looks like there’s all sorts of stuff here…”
“On the deck of a luxury cruise ship, people spend time in places like this while enjoying the night sea. It looks like no one is here right now, but it’s a bit too lively around here, so let’s head over there.”
“Y-Yes!”
As Siana said that, the two of them moved away from the prominent part of the deck and headed to a space designed for viewing the night sea, where they quietly gazed at the water together.
“The beautiful moonlight reflecting off the sea surface… It’s really stunning.”
“It is…”
For a while, the two silently gazed at the beautiful night sea, feeling the night wind.
Then, after a bit of time had passed, Siana let go of Lux’s hand and turned to face him.
“Felisiana-sama…?”
Wondering why Siana had done that, Lux turned to face her, still filled with questions, and Siana spoke with a gentle expression.
“Lux-kun… I really love spending time with you… and today, there’s something I want to tell you.”
“Something… you want to tell me?”
Lux had no idea what Siana was about to say, but even so, Siana clearly conveyed her feelings.
“Lux-kun, I… Would you become engaged to me, the third princess Felisiana…?”