ITMFYWCLBU 16

“Clarisse, you must be tired. Shall we take a short break?”

With Alexis leading her by the hand, Clarisse stepped into a café.

Today, she was out on a date with him. Though “date” might have been too grand a word—they were simply strolling through the royal capital’s shopping district together.

Two months had passed since the Flower Appreciation Gathering.

The Kingdom of Roberius was now fully adorned in summer, the sunlight pouring down with relentless strength. Even with a parasol, a short walk was enough to leave her faintly damp with sweat, so when a cold drink was set before her, she could not help but sigh in relief.

From the day of the gathering—when Alexis had begged her not to speak of breaking off their engagement—until now, he had kept his word and done everything he could for her sake.

Busy though he was, he always invited her out on his days off. He continued escorting her morning and evening. He had always been kind, but lately he was even more so, and since that day, Clarisse had found herself unable to say, “Please break off our engagement.”

Of course, the anxiety within her heart had not vanished.

The fear that, if she simply allowed herself to drift along and marry him, the same future would unfold again—that fear refused to fade.

And yet, whenever Alexis smiled gently at her, she could not bring herself to ask him to leave her. She was afraid to trust him—but there was also a part of her that wanted to believe. She no longer knew what she should do.

A sense of urgency would well up—This cannot go on like this—only to dissolve the moment she faced his tenderness. Again and again, the same cycle.

“By the way, you’re going to the summer retreat too, aren’t you?”

Fanning himself lightly with his hand, Alexis spoke. The iced tea in front of him was already empty; he was waiting for a refill. He tended to feel the heat more than she did, and seemed even thirstier.

“Yes, that’s the plan.”

The capital lay in a basin, and the summers were sweltering. Each year, when the heat reached its height, the king and his consorts relocated to a cooler retreat slightly north of here. They usually stayed there for about a month.

As one of Félicité’s ladies-in-waiting, Clarisse would accompany her. Alexis, of course, would attend Gracian.

“Lady Matilda will be going this year as well, won’t she?”

Gracian and Matilda’s wedding was scheduled for autumn—just over three months away. Matilda was in the midst of preparing for her move to the castle, already spending about half of each week there. Though not yet married, she and Gracian carried themselves almost like newlyweds.

“Yes. She’ll likely travel with His Highness. If Lady Matilda is there, will you be busier?”

“Only a little.”

Matilda would bring one maid from the Edison ducal household, but the rest would be appointed after her marriage to Gracian.

Until she grew accustomed to life at the castle, two of Félicité’s ladies would temporarily assist her. Clarisse, having previously declared her wish to remain in service, would continue as a lady-in-waiting—unless she could not, in which case she would resign at the time of Gracian and Matilda’s wedding. Bruette, too, would be leaving next month for her own marriage.

Clarisse would not become Matilda’s permanent attendant, but at Félicité’s request, she currently assisted Matilda during her stays at the castle. Nearly a third of her working hours were now devoted to serving Matilda.

That said, the Edison household’s maid is very capable, so there’s rarely much for me to do.

Mostly she explained small differences in custom, or stepped in where one attendant alone could not manage. Matilda was not the sort to make unreasonable demands.

As Alexis sipped his refilled iced tea, he smiled.

“Then you’ll have free time again this year. It sounds like we’ll have plenty of chances to spend time together.”

Even as a lady-in-waiting, Clarisse worked in shifts; outside of her assigned hours, she was free. So long as she did not behave improperly, there was no issue with strolling—or spending time with her fiancé who happened to be stationed there as well.

Though of course, bringing one’s fiancé along without any official duty would never be allowed…

Last year had been the same; Bruette would likely look at her with envy. Bruette’s fiancé would not be traveling to the retreat, meaning they would be separated for nearly a month.

“By the way, have you decided on the design for your wedding dress? Didn’t you have to settle on it before leaving for the retreat?”

The mention of the wedding made Clarisse’s heart jolt.

She still had not resolved whether she should truly marry Alexis.

And yet the date was set; preparations could not simply be ignored. Her parents knew nothing of her attempt to end the engagement. Standing before the Alexis she saw now, she could not say, “Please leave me.” If things continued as they were, the wedding would come.

If she intended to break things off, she had to do it soon. And if she could not, then she must accept that she would marry him.

She understood that logically—yet she still could not decide.

“The dress design… has been chosen.”

After much deliberation, she had chosen a design different from the one in her memories.

When she married Alexis in that lost future, she had agonized between two gowns until the very end. This time, she chose the one she had not selected back then.

“I won’t ask what it looks like. I’ll leave that as a surprise for the day itself.”

“Yes…”

Would that day come—when she stood at his side in that dress?

I have to decide soon… I can’t possibly cancel the wedding right before it happens.

If she was to end things, she would need to make her choice by the time they returned from the summer retreat.

One month…

Could she decide within that time?

Looking at Alexis—who was trying so earnestly to change her mind—could she truly say once more that she wished to part?

But I can’t go on like this. There’s no more time. …By the time we return from the retreat, I must have my answer.

To break off the engagement—

Or not.

She had one month.

She could no longer afford to remain indecisive.