Chapter 234: Chapter 117 (2) – It is Your Destiny
[Side Story: The Ninth Episode]
Rothesay continued to chew on those three syllables until he realized in utter shock that she was the older twin sister of Patrizia, who had recently become the Empress. She was the daughter of the Marquis of Grochester!
At that time Rothesay noticed that Petronilla started to make a move to leave after they had exchanged their names, and caught hold of her, even knowing that it was a rude action to take, “Excuse me, just a moment please.”
“…”
He had managed to stop her, but there was no excuse he could think of for his action. ‘What should I do? What kind of words should I bring up to her?’ He kept squeezing his cluttered head, as he tried to make up some kind of excuse. It was then, her wet dress came into his line of sight. He quickly grabbed on to that excuse, “Your dress is soaking so…”
“…”
“I would feel too bad if I sent you away in such a state.”
“No, I am alright…”
“I am the one that is not alright with it.”
“I am fine.”
“You seem to be a lady that is quite stubborn.”
“Yes, I believe that is so.”
“I am not a strange person…”
“I never said that you are a strange person, my Lord.”
“Then why do you keep avoiding me… I just feel so bad about this situation, my Lady.”
“… Alright, my Lord. What in the world do you want to do for me? I am now really curious!”
At Petronilla’s words, the smile on Rothesay’s mouth grew wider. ‘It is done! I found the link to connect us!’ He said to her while trying to hide his trembling voice, “First, I will compensate you for the dress you wore today.”
“… It is of a dark color so it is fi-… Never mind, yes. Then if you will send it to the Marquis of Grochester…”
“There is one more thing.”
“… What would that be?”
At Petronilla’s question, Rothesay knelt on one knee in front of Petronilla with a friendly smile. This helped lowered his eye level, and Rothesay was able to look up at her for the first time since she was now standing taller than he was. Rothesay smiled brightly as he asked her in a low tone, “Can you share a dance with me today, my Lady?”
“… I am sorry?”
Rothesay realized at once that Petronilla was taken aback. However, his interest in her was more important than his current feeling of embarrassment. He repeated what he had said to her, “I asked if you could share a dance with me, my Lady.”
“I have…” Petronilla hesitated, avoiding giving him an answer.
Rothesay was content to wait patiently for her response. Waiting was his specialty, after all. The important thing was how her answer would come out. If only a positive answer came out, he could wait a hundred, or even a thousand years!
“I have… I have no desire to do so.”
So this was clearly a rejection. But Rothesay did not give up! If he gave up at this point, everything would be over. His first love, his unrequited love, all of that. He asked as if he was pleading with her, “Can you not just grant me this one chance?”
If the Countess of Bradington saw this scene, she would have asked him if he was right in the head, due to how startling a sight it was.
Flustered by his persistent attitude, Petronilla asked, “No, why in the world are you acting like this to me?”
“I think…” Rothesay confessed as a small flush crept over his face, “I think I fell for you at first sight, my Lady.”
The problem arose from there. The woman’s face hardened quickly at that.
At her response, Rothesay recounted what mistakes he might have made in the process of confessing, but he had done nothing out of the ordinary except to confess. He nervously swallowed some dry saliva.
“Fell for me… did you say?”
“Yes.”
“For me?”
“Yes.”
“Why? I think you forgot, my Lord. This marks only our second encounter today. Even with that, the first moment was really but a split second.”
“The length of time does not matter when it comes to love. What is important is it being fated and the heart.”
“It is with regret that I tell you that I do not believe in such things very well…”
“I fell for you, at first sight, my Lady.”
“Now, just how in the world…”
“It would seem that you do not believe in love at first sight, my Lady.”
“It is due to the fact that I think all of that is a bit absurd.”
“I am living proof of that, because my parents got married due to such a thing.”
“… I am sorry, but I do not like things like that very much. Meeting for a long time and confirming the feelings for one another…”
“Ah, oh dear,” Rothesay muttered with a bewildered face. There had been a problem elsewhere. He rebuked himself for acting like such a bigot and apologized to her, “I am sorry, my Lady. It is due to my ignorance that I could not even think that the Lady would have an inclination such as that. I offer my apologies.”
“No, you do not need to go so far as to apologize…”
“If that is so, my Lady,” Rothesay drew a sweet smile on his mouth and looked up at Petronilla, “Would you be able to meet with me for a ‘long time’?”
“What, all of a sudden to…”
“I would like to engage in a formal courtship with my Lady.”
“…”
All of this exactly happened in less than an hour after they had first met, but Rothesay did not care. He had already fallen too deep in his feelings for her. The speed it took for all of this to happen was so fast that even he felt scared. But it did not matter. His beating heart was clearly telling him what to do. ‘This woman is your destiny. So make sure to hold onto this woman!’
“I am sorry, my Lord. I do not like you, my Lord.”
But all that came back to him was rejection. Still, Rothesay was not disappointed about that. It was only natural. This was barely the second time she had met him today, and in terms of duration, the whole time had amounted to less than an hour. That was why he could not give up even more. He beseeched her, “I hope that my Lady will grant me the opportunity to get to know me.”
“No, I do not know why you keep being so insistent with this. I already told you that I do not like it.”
“… Because I love you.”
“I am sorry?”
“I fell in love at first sight when I met my Lady.”
“…”
“And I am someone who will try hard for the one that I have in mind.” Rothesay asked Petronilla with his characteristic enchanting smile, “That is why my Lady, please…”
“…”
“Would you please share just one dance with me?”
“…”
“It is a request, my Lady.”
“… Haa,” Petronilla released a sigh.
Rothesay was very afraid that her following words would lead to another rejection.
Fortunately for him, she responded unexpectedly, as if she had some sympathy for him, “Fine. But it will only be for one song.”
At her response, Rothesay’s face broke into a big smile, as if he had earned the whole world. “Thank you, my Lady!” It was a little funny, but it was enough for those words to pour out of his mouth.
===========
Translated by Haeli
Edited by RED
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