Chapter 5

While clinging to my head, Yurisha insisted, "I won't leave, I absolutely won't leave!!!" in a cute voice.

I had let my guard down, reminiscing about the days when I could hug her without any ulterior motives. My heart raced from the pleasant smell and the warmth and feel through her uniform, and I struggled to maintain my composure, determined not to hug her back.

Just two more years, two more years, two more years.

I didn't want to be rough, so I couldn't forcibly pull her off from the position where her head was locked onto mine. Yurisha, who was entangling her legs to resist being separated, probably had no idea that I was thinking about biting her white neck or her lips colored with the latest lipstick. I shouted in frustration:

"At least let go of my knees!"

"Okay!!!"

Yurisha promptly sat on my knee and rubbed her head against me, looking pleased. Her large eyes smiled like a cat, and she was incredibly cute. It was better than having her face so close that our lips could touch, but it was still quite a challenge. Two more years, two more years, two more years.

I couldn't pull her off roughly because I didn't want to be rough. I tried to keep my rationality, telling myself, "Not now, not now, not now."

Yurisha, who was clinging to me, said, "Can't Kai ri just read it to me? I'm hugging Kai ri."

"Like hell I will."

Despite my good idea, Yurisha finally started reading the list of potential guests for the wedding. After pouting, she flipped through the pages quickly.

Yurisha, beautiful and lovely, became cuter every year, every month, every day. I stroked her soft silver hair, thinking about how much I loved her. However, I really wished she would be a bit more cautious. Whenever Yurisha approached me so openly, I often thought about what to do with this beloved fiancée.

I endured it because I wanted to stand proudly by her side. I was not just a harmless pillow. I had never doubted her love, but if Yurisha were to be attracted to another man, I would do something terrible to keep her by my side, even if it meant abandoning my family and her disliking me.

Yurisha, who didn't notice the ominous look in my eyes, finished reading and looked up at me with her honey-colored eyes.

"I think it's good. There are some families I want to invite based on the seating arrangements, so I'll compile them. Also... the Reycliff family isn't on the list. Is that okay?"

"Yeah. I've already asked the Fendel family to attend on my behalf."

"I see. Well, I want it to be a good wedding."

"Sure."

We nodded in agreement and put away the list, which didn't include the names of my biological parents and brother. As soon as she tried to hug me again, I stuffed a piece of torn bread into her mouth.

"Come on, you'll miss your meal if you don't hurry."

Yurisha, who had good manners and didn't talk while eating, raised her hand and said, "I want to be fed too!"

I gave her another bite and enjoyed the movement of her puffed cheeks and soft lips.

I was glad that Yurisha hadn't been swayed by Harold. I wanted to be a kind man and never do anything terrible to Yurisha, and to always be gentle with her.

Thinking this, I covered her mouth again, even though she didn't know.

Although I would never tell my beloved fiancée, Harold had been obsessed with Yurisha.

As one grows, one's face changes. The bones in the head grow larger, and the placement of features subtly shifts. My brother, who had been incomparably beautiful as a child, became just a handsome man as he grew into a young adult.

He was not ordinary, but the terrifying beauty that once drew attention and the perfect arrangement of his features had become slightly imperfect with age.

I'm sure my brother and parents had noticed this but couldn't admit it, and so they lashed out at others. Gradually, people distanced themselves from them, and by the time my brother entered the academy, all that remained was the status of the next head of the family, given out of pity, and his arrogant and self-centered personality.

Perhaps this is why my former brother couldn't forgive it. He couldn't forgive that Yurisha didn't cling to him and beg for his love, or that he couldn't find a girl with a better appearance or status to propose to.

He might have blamed his situation on Yurisha, seeing it as just punishment.

The head of the Fendel family, who deeply disliked the other members of the Reycliff family, regularly conducted investigations into my family, gathering evidence of wrongdoing. In exchange for information as a fellow student, I received copies of the investigation results.

Since we entered the academy, Harold had been using his limited connections to gather information about Yurisha. He went out of his way to investigate her, and to his followers, he described her as a proud woman who refused to give up the head of the family and a foolish woman who defied men, using ugly words to belittle her.

The four lovers he brought with him were probably a way to get back at Yurisha for not noticing him.

Rachel Rea was skilled at the violin, Yuri Minnie had lustrous light-colored hair, Lily Ginule had yellow eyes, and Kary Murt had excellent embroidery and cooking skills.

By gathering several girls who excelled in one aspect, he probably wanted to show that he had a better lover than Yurisha. The thought of other men looking at Yurisha was already infuriating, and the idea of this disgusting man being obsessed with her was even more revolting.

Feeling my insides boil, I anonymously leaked the most malicious parts of the investigation results involving Harold to the academy, with the head of the Fendel family's approval. One step away from expulsion, until my former brother had nothing left.

Yurisha knew nothing. She didn't know that Harold had been trying to learn about her, or that he glared at me in the hallways, or that the gifts he gave his lovers were always silver or gold, which would suit Yurisha.

My affectionate and loving fiancée, who was cold to things that didn't interest her, probably didn't even remember Harold's face.

I couldn't tell if Harold's feelings were obsession, resentment, or love. But it didn't matter. Yurisha had chosen me, and I was the one by her side. From now on, forever.

I smiled, pulling her hand that wasn't holding the food.

I would never give Yurisha to anyone, no matter what.

Lunch break was almost over, with only a little over a quarter of an hour left. I brought a sweet fruit to Yurisha's lips as she requested. After swallowing, she raised her free hand again.

"I'm full, it's my turn. ... Hehe, where should I start?"

Her mischievous smile and the affection she showed me were truly endearing.

As I obediently opened my mouth, I thought about the four students on suspension and my former brother who had been expelled yesterday.

This country is strict with those who are arrogant about their status. Even after their suspension ends, the girls won't return to their normal lives. The rumors spread by the students will ensure that they won't receive proper marriage proposals while they are in the academy. Some of the girls might not return to the academy even after their suspension ends, as their parents will have heard about the situation.

Still, compared to Harold, the girls, who only had to give up their chance at a good marriage, were better off. No noble family would invite the Reycliff, who had challenged the Haminton, to their parties. The three of them would be forgotten by everyone and would only decline from here on out.

I pitied their not-so-distant future as if it were someone else's story.

I no longer held any grudges against the three people who were once my family. They had never been kind to me, but because I had lived in that ugly family, I had been taken out by Yurisha and learned about love and romance.

Even if I could go back in time and choose my family, I would choose the Reycliff. I would want to meet Yurisha, who came to the garden to look for a handkerchief, holding a sugar candy, with her silver hair loosely braided and wearing a light blue frilly dress, like an angel.

Because of them, I met Yurisha. Since I met Yurisha, they were no longer needed.

I swallowed the last bite given to me. "Was it not enough?" she asked, tilting her head. I told her I was full and cleaned up the wrapper.

Yurisha, still sitting on my knee, leaned her head on my shoulder and whispered, "What should we buy tomorrow?"

"Already thinking about tomorrow?"

"Being with Kai ri, a day goes by in a flash. I'm sure we'll look back on our school life and think it was a fun moment."

"Is that so? ... Maybe."

"Even when you're an old man, I'll feed you like this."

"Is that nursing?"

Yurisha giggled and nodded. The curtain swayed, and the shadows of the fabric colored the classroom. I pulled her slender waist closer, thinking, "By then, Yurisha will be an old lady too," and replied, "If we look back on this day, we'll be married. We might even have children."

But I would fall in love with Yurisha, the wife, the head of the Haminton, and the old woman, over and over again.

The two years and three months that would become a nostalgic memory were still eagerly awaited. As I whispered, "What should we do tomorrow?" to my fiancée, who was lowering her eyes, I kissed her forehead instead of saying "two more years." We had permission to marry, so a little was allowed.

A breeze blew. Her bangs were smooth, and her lips were slightly warm and smelled sweet. The person in my arms was dear to me from the bottom of my heart.

Realizing that this was the first time I had kissed Yurisha, and that I had initiated it, I pulled away.

Yurisha's pale face was as red as a strawberry.

Her slightly reddened lips trembled, and her honey-colored eyes were wide open. She said in a very shaky voice:

"......It's not okay."

"Yurisha? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"You didn't tell me you were going to do something like this!"

She trembled like a small animal, with tears in the corners of her eyes. Her face was red even to her ears, and she shouted.

My face also turned red. Ignoring me, Yurisha fled out of the classroom like a rabbit.

I chased after my apparently ten times more shy fiancée, forgetting to clean up. What a liar, after all the times she clung to me and rubbed against me!

I ran down the hall, chasing her slender back. Her long silver hair sparkled in the sunlight.

"Wait, Yurisha, you'll fall!"

"Don't chase me! You're going to do something like that again, I can't take it, I'll go crazy! I can't take it, Kai ri will drive me crazy!"

"No running in the hall, you lovebirds! I'll report you for inappropriate behavior!"

"Teacher, it's already too late for that."

We ran. We ran. I felt the warm gazes of students and teachers. I knew it would be the talk of the school by tomorrow. I was embarrassed and flustered.

But I was sure that this moment would become a fond memory someday.

I shouted at my athletic fiancée, who didn't slow down, "Don't run down the stairs!"

"I know!" she called back politely, and I was sure she was smiling.

The rumor that the Haminton's lovebirds were fighting, or rather, just being affectionate as usual, overshadowed the previous engagement break and the issue with Harold, and they faded from people's conversations.