Chapter 285: I Love You
“…Huh?”
Just now, the person standing right in front of me.
What exactly did Elizalina-sama, the Second Princess of this country, just say to me?
The first person who was unpredictable.
The first person she ever loved.
“Lux Rodwell-kun… would you become engaged to me?”
“…!?”
The words didn’t sink in when I heard them just once, but as I replayed them again in my head, I finally understood what they meant.
And only then, after a brief pause, did the shock come crashing down on me.
As if to turn that shock into words, I opened my mouth and said,
“M-me and Elizalina-sama… engaged!? What do you mean by that!? Or am I just misunderstanding, and there’s actually some other deeper meaning or intention behind those words…?”
Otherwise, there’s no way the phrase “engaged to me” could’ve come from Elizalina-sama’s mouth.
Thinking that, I asked, but.
Elizalina-sama kept looking at me with a smile filled with affection and a warm gaze.
“No, it means exactly what it sounds like. I love you, Lux. I love you so much it hurts.”
“L-love…!?”
“Yeah. I love you, Lux.”
“…!”
Th-that Elizalina-sama loves me… loves me that much?
I’d received words of love from Florence-san and Felisiana-sama before, but.
This was the first time anyone had told me they loved me so directly, so I couldn’t help feeling embarrassed as heat rushed to my face.
Even so, with my face burning, I still had too many questions, so I opened my mouth again.
“P-please wait. Earlier, when Elizalina-sama proposed an engagement to me, you said I was the first unpredictable boy, didn’t you?”
“That’s right. I also said you were the first boy I ever loved.”
“That’s…!”
No matter how many times I heard it, I still wasn’t used to being told something like that by someone so beautiful, and I ended up choking on my words.
Still, I forced myself to continue.
“If that unpredictable boy is the same person you were talking about earlier, then does that mean the boy in your story… was me?”
“That’s exactly right.”
Elizalina-sama answered with a smile.
…My head was in unbelievable turmoil, but even so, I somehow managed to squeeze out the words.
“But I only placed second in both the academic exam and the swordsmanship tournament at the noble academy, and aside from that, I don’t have any particularly outstanding achievements. There’s no way I could be someone unpredictable to Elizalina-sama.”
If anything, in that sense, Felisiana-sama and Rezamiliana-sama, your sisters, or even Florence-san, would be far more fitting.
That’s what I thought, but Elizalina-sama gently shook her head and spoke in a soft voice.
“When I say unpredictable, I don’t mean visible things like that. I mean your heart, your mindset, that kind of thing. I love those parts of you, Lux.”
“…!”
I’d said all kinds of things because I couldn’t believe Elizalina-sama could love me, but.
There was no way her affectionate smile and warm gaze were fake.
Once I finally managed to calm down a little, I opened my mouth and said,
“I’m sorry, Elizalina-sama. Even though you clearly said you want to be engaged to me, I kept questioning the meaning behind your words over and over again.”
“If a Second Princess suddenly says something like that to you, it’s only natural to panic. You didn’t do anything wrong, Lux.”
“Th-thank you very much…”
I expressed my gratitude for Elizalina-sama’s kindness.
At last, I was able to regain, just a little, my composure.
And finally, I could properly take Elizalina-sama’s words in.
Just as I started to think about Elizalina-sama and me…
I remembered something and spoke up.
“W-wait a moment!! If the person Elizalina-sama wants to be engaged to is me, then the next king you mentioned at today’s gathering is…?”
“Ah, yeah!”
As she said that, Elizalina-sama gently took my left hand in both of hers and spoke without the slightest hesitation.
“I want to make you the next king of this country, Lux!”