“Oh…right, yes.”
“Hmm?”
“Our wedding. We need to adjust some seats. I think we should move Professor Talley’s seat away from Baroness Sullivan’s.”
“Have negotiations broken down between them?”
“I went to the baroness’ party in the greenhouse as part of business. Professor Tally didn’t show up until the end.”
“I see. Then we’ll talk about seats.”
“Thank you.”
“Anything else I can help you with?”
“Please call Claire by her proper name tomorrow.”
“Mrs. Crissis?”
“You can just say her first name if you don’t like calling her that.”
“It’s not that I hate it. But I just love the look on Dean Crissis’ cute face when he gets mad.”
“Come to think of it, you’ve always been fond of Dean.”
The same was true when they were in the student council together. He made the foods Dean said he wanted to eat, and if Dean complained, Ian was willing to listen with an attentive ear.
“He’s a good guy.”
“I’m not sure I can completely agree to that.”
“I feel like a student again around Dean Crissis.”
Dean’s attitude towards Ian did not change after graduation. Even nowadays he would throw out an “Is the president crazy?” towards Ian. He liked that about Dean. Unchanged rudeness.
“I do feel like a student with him.”
“And he’s still your best chess partner.”
After they all graduated, the four of them made a tradition of holding a small chess tournament once every summer. Ian and Claire would win the championship in individual games, but in pairs of silent chess, Louise and Dean always won when they played as a team.
“Lord Hillard will come back from studying abroad this year, and he’ll also be able to participate in the chess tournament.”
“I’m not that worried. I’ve never lost to Simon before.”
“But that was before graduation.”
Those were cruel days when Simon could not hold on to victory.
“So maybe it’s different now.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Anyway, please call Claire by her proper name tomorrow.”
“Well. Only if you say my name properly.”
At his condition, Louise burst out into laughter.
She promised him long ago that after they were married, she would call him by his first name, not Mr. Audmonial. He was over the moon when she gave him that promise.
“I’ll say it properly. I practiced a few times. I don’t want to make a mistake.”
“Is saying my name so difficult that you need to practice?”
“Y-yes.”
Louise’s cheeks were flushed as she turned to look at him.
“It’s embarrassing for some reason.”
“Good. You and I need something like that.”
His arms tightened around her, and he bowed his head and kissed her. Louise, who had been standing in the chilly spring breeze, soaked in the warmth of Ian’s body.
His open lips moved down to her shoulders, leaving a hot path on her skin. His teeth grazed her flesh. On another day he would have bitten down and sucked in a bruise, but now he felt like restraining himself from that desire.
Perhaps it was because Louise’s wedding dress was off-shoulder. He moved to the middle of her back and smiled, knowing that she was sensitive there. His warm, wet mouth brushed against her skin, and the sensation caused Louise to shiver and partly drop her shawl.
“Haaa…”
His lips moved a little farther down.
“Mr. Aud—”
He didn’t answer, and instead of releasing his arm supporting her, he began to pull away the thin shawl with his fingertips. Louise gave sharp inhale.
“Please.”
Only after her earnest plea did he remove his lips from her back.
“…Please?”
“We did it earlier.”
“We did.”
Many times as soon as they got back from dinner.
“Sh-shouldn’t we take a break?”
Louise spoke carefully. If she was being honest, her physical condition was fine without further rest, but that was what she wanted…
“Alright. We’ll take a break.”
Ian sighed and leaned his chin on Louise’s shoulder. She didn’t miss the disappointment in his voice.
“Anyway after the wedding is over…”
Their marriage night. Louise was too embarrassed to say the words.
“That’s too far.”
“It’s only one day.”
“One day.”
Ian wanted to cry that his fiancée had such an unfeeling heart. Standing by the window with only a thin shawl, she looked like a goddess of the moon, and a weak man could not help but desire her beauty. However, the goddess seemed tired, so he managed to set aside his desire.
“Maybe we should have gotten married in the winter.”
“Why?”
“The sun sets quickly and rises late.”
“Since when did you start to become so simple-minded?”
“Basic human needs are, by nature, simple.”
Louise smiled at his grumbled reply.
“I’m looking forward to it anyway.”
“Which part?”
There were more than one or two such things to look forward to. And some things were too obscene to mention.
“You.”
But he could say with dignity what he anticipated most. It would be the most beautiful wedding gift above all.
“Calling me by my name.”
If he could hear Louise sing his name in the spring sunshine, he could smile forever.
“You’re so simple.”
Louise swung around in his arms, and the two finally came face-to-face. She had a shadow of tiredness in her eyes, and Ian, feeling guilty, gently brushed her cheeks.
“…I hope I’m not disturbing you too much.”
“You are disturbing me. Too bad.”
Louise lifted on her toes and kissed him jokingly, but Ian couldn’t bring himself to laugh.
“Sometimes I wonder…if I put you into a difficult position.”
“We agreed to take on misfortune together.”
Louise recalled the promise he had made a few years ago. The promise when he had held her foot and made the world’s finest proposal.
“I’m not unhappy.”
Louise spoke honestly from the bottom of her heart.
“With this tired look?”
“It’s not misfortune to be tired. Besides, we have a long vacation ahead of us. I’ll lie down and read the plant encyclopedia all day.”
She would make sure to stack delicious snacks around her as well. It would be a happy break.
“Then I’ll sleep on your lap if you let me.”
“Of course I will.”
“That will be great.”
The two leaned their foreheads against each other and laughed.
“Come here. I don’t want to see my bride doze off and forget her wedding vows. Sleep some more.”
Ian picked up Louise bridal style and carried her to bed. He gently deposited her onto it, then tucked the blanket all the way to her chin. Louise pouted from underneath the sheet.
“No matter how much sleep I get, my memory is not bad enough to forget my vows. I was the head of the student council and the top of the class.”
“Really? That’s a coincidence, I was the head of the student council too.”
Ian smiled while he stroked her silken hair.
“Well, then can I practice…?”
“Of course.”
Louise closed her eyes and drew a picture of tomorrow in her head.
Louise and Ian would stand next to each other in front of many people, dressed in the most beautiful clothes. The sound of celebration would fill the high ceiling of the church, and the two will voice their feelings in their heart.
“I, Louise Sweeney.”
“I, Ian Audmonial.”
With the same feelings, with the same words, in the same place. They would give their true and long confession.
“Keep you for eternity.”
Looking at each other.
“I swear.”
