Sothing terrible had happened!
Carlotta never expected that, while lost in thought, she’d blurted out the words she’d kept buried in her heart, words she shouldn’t have said at all.
Alia’s expression clearly showed she’d heard every word, and Carlotta’s heart couldn’t help but panic.
On Sky Island, she’d fought against others fearlessly, even against Resonators, and hadn’t felt the slightest anxiety. Yet now, seeing the change in Alia’s expression, she was utterly flustered.
Why had she said it out loud?
The atmosphere in the room beca silent, even stiff.
Was this really the right ti to say such a thing?
Carlotta felt it definitely wasn’t, yet exactly at this inopportune mont, she’d accidentally let her guard down and spoke her true feelings aloud.
Now what? How could she possibly fix this?
"You... like ?"
Alia hesitated before asking.
Her true appearance now revealed, her facial features were soft and delicate, her skin pale, her blue eyes shimring like a tranquil lake, beautiful as a finely painted portrait.
Yet ripples stir within that lake now, betraying the intense turbulence inside her.
If anyone else had confessed to her, she wouldn’t have cared at all, she’d simply deny them and be done. But why did it have to be Carlotta saying these words?
Back in the Wendell Empire, in the capital city of Kestholm, many had mistaken her and Carlotta as a couple, but that was rely others’ misunderstanding. In truth, she and Carlotta were not dating, so there was no ease in her heart.
But now it is different. Carlotta had actually said it, was she trying to turn a false relationship into a real one?
Carlotta swallowed hard.
She tried her best to calm herself. Whatever she’d said, it was already out. Even if the timing wasn’t right, she had to face this crucial matter.
Taking a deep breath, Carlotta said, "Yes, Alia. I like you. Please date ."
She had no choice but to push forward. Her previous words were already a confession, sothing impossible to casually brush aside. Even though the timing seed wrong and the atmosphere was off, since the first step had already been taken, there was no turning back. She could only keep moving forward.
As she spoke, her heartbeat surged to an unprecedented level, pounding like a drum, thump, thump, almost as if it would burst from her chest.
She’d never been this nervous before. Not even when she killed Soren, not during her escape from Wales Castle, not when she attacked Resonators on Sky Island...
It wasn’t that she hadn’t been nervous during those past events, she had. But this current level of anxiety surpasses everything, making her breath shallow, nearly holding it as she waited for Alia’s response.
"W-why do you like ?"
Alia asked, slightly flustered, completely unprepared for this.
"Feelings like liking soone don’t need a reason, do they? I just do. So... will you go out with ? Alia?"
Carlotta asked nervously.
Too direct!
Alia truly didn’t know how to respond. Carlotta was a blank slate, wasn’t she herself just as inexperienced?
She didn’t know what the best response would be, her heart pounding just as fiercely.
Alia tried her best to remain calm. "Since when... since when did you start feeling this way? When did this begin?"
"Probably... ever since we escaped Wales Castle?" Carlotta answered.
"Are you sure it’s not grateful you’re feeling, rather than love?"
Alia asked, wanting to clarify the situation.
Distinguishing between affection and gratitude could be difficult.
Often, people deeply helped by soone their age develop overwhelming gratitude, mistaking it for love. Even if they ended up together, they’d eventually realize the truth, that they rely felt grateful, and their relationship would inevitably fall apart.
Alia didn’t want Carlotta to misunderstand. She needed to confirm: was this true affection, or just gratitude?
"Of course I’m grateful to you. But how could I possibly confuse gratitude with liking soone?"
Carlotta said seriously.
"Maybe you really did make a mistake?"
Alia replied.
"Do you know why I’m certain I didn’t?"
Carlotta grew calr. "Because back then, I’d already recognized my own feelings. My emotions toward you didn’t begin at that mont."
Carlotta was referring to an earlier ti.
Slowly, she continued, "Back when we left the capital to go to the Francis Duchy, I first felt it, a sense of dependence on you. If you’d left and I hadn’t followed, I would’ve felt miserable. That’s why I insisted on staying by your side. Rember, didn’t I promise to tell you a secret after achieving glory in battle? Well... I never dared to reveal it because that secret was... my feelings of dependence on you."
Alia’s face instantly flushed even redder.
This feeling of being confessed to was truly extraordinary, she could almost feel the rush of blood speeding through her veins.
In contrast, Carlotta had entered a strange state. Perhaps because she’d already taken that first step, there was no turning back, so she’d thrown caution to the wind, determined to fully express her heart.
Her crimson eyes sparkled brightly as she stared at Alia. "So I think... I actually fell for you long ago. I just didn’t realize it myself. It wasn’t until we fled Wales Castle together, when my heart was stirred, that I finally understood."
Emotions were like hidden sprouts, initially unnoticed. That wasn’t strange at all.
Many people only realize they once loved soone after losing them, but by then, it’s too late.
For Carlotta, at least, it wasn’t too late. She’d never dated anyone, and neither had Alia. Both were blank slates. Everything was just beginning. They could still build a beautiful, romantic future together.
With each word, Carlotta’s courage piled higher, pushing aside all her fears.
Her expression grew more earnest, her eyes filled with tenderness as she gazed at Alia.
"Will you go out with , Alia?"
At this mont, Alia felt her entire body burning up, her cheeks flushed with color, and she couldn’t even bring herself to look at Carlotta.
She truly hadn’t expected Carlotta to suddenly beco so intensely "aggressive", it was actually making her feel overwheld.
Should she accept the confession?
Should she agree to date?
Everything is now rested solely upon her decision.
Carlotta was staring at her, her bright, sparkling eyes like rubies, filled completely with hopeful anticipation.
In this world, love cos in two forms: conventional love between opposite genders, and unconventional love that doesn’t conform to that norm. Yet in the laws of various nations across the continent, unconventional love faces no restrictions, all was free, and society’s attitude toward it was relatively open.
However, for nobles, most still adhered to conventional love, because nobility required heirs, lineage, and inheritance.
Raised under noble customs, Alia had never harbored fantasies about unconventional love. Thus, Carlotta’s confession caught her completely off guard.
Of course, she hadn’t considered conventional love either, her mind was always occupied by strength matters.
Still, when unconventional love suddenly appeared before her, it delivered an imnse impact on Alia.
She knew she couldn’t avoid it, she had to give Carlotta an answer. Carlotta was looking right at her.
Biting her lips, Alia lifted her head to et Carlotta’s gaze, trying her best not to show shyness, and said, "Carlotta, I don’t know what to do right now. Let think it through properly."
Carlotta froze. "Am I...being rejected?"
"That’s not what I an."
Alia quickly waved her hands. "I just need to think carefully. Everything happened so suddenly, I wasn’t prepared at all. I need to reflect on this properly. This concerns my feelings, and I must face it seriously."
"I see..."
Carlotta’s face fell with disappointnt.
Although Alia hadn’t outright rejected her, Carlotta still felt as if she’d been struck heavily, her mood instantly plumting.
Would love that didn’t receive an imdiate response ever truly arrive?
For a mont, Carlotta felt anxious and uncertain, even sensing a slight sting in her nose, her eyes becoming moist.
"Don’t cry."
Alia felt troubled.
"I... wasn’t crying, was I?"
Carlotta rubbed her eyes, confirming she hadn’t shed any tears.
"But I saw you almost crying."
Alia said softly.
"I... I..."
Carlotta didn’t know what to say for a mont.
She felt that ultimately, she’d most likely be rejected, and thus fell into a mood of self-despair. "Actually, it wouldn’t be strange at all if I were rejected. I’m impulsive, brutal, kill without blinking, and possess none of the gentleness, attentiveness, or cuteness that girls should have. Even my sleeping posture isn’t very good."
Alia sighed helplessly.
She comforted, "Carlotta, don’t say that. You really are a very cute girl. Besides, I’m not rejecting you. Of course, I’m not saying yes either, I just need to think about this. Please let sort through my thoughts first."
"How long will you need to think?"
Carlotta drooped like a wilted flower, listless and dispirited.
"Don’t rush . Let think for ten minutes."
"Huh? Ten minutes?"
Carlotta instantly perked up. She had thought "needing more ti" was rely an excuse from Alia, a subtle way of rejection. But if she only needed ten minutes to decide?
Then did that an Alia was truly considering this relationship?
The answer was self-evident.
Although this matter had co suddenly and hastily, catching her off guard, Alia still hoped it could end in the best possible way.
She didn’t want to hurt Carlotta, yet she also needed to follow her heart. Thus, she pondered, recalling every detail of her ti spent with Carlotta.
She began thinking back to Caerwyn Academy, when rumors had already spread that she and Carlotta were dating. She had heard those rumors every day, her feelings then were... helpless and amused, but not repulsed.
She had briefly explained the misunderstanding back then, but no one believed her, so eventually her caring stopped, deciding to let ti clarify everything.
Yet as ti passed, she and Carlotta had grown closer and closer, until now, Carlotta had even confessed...
Alia continued reflecting, recalling their days at Caerwyn Academy, then reminded how Carlotta had resolutely followed her to the Francis Duchy. Now she knew the truth: Carlotta had only followed her because she wanted to be with her.
In that duchy, at Wales Castle, they had experienced many things. Especially aboard the Moonlight, sailing across the Starlight Sea, they’d had quite thrilling adventures, fighting against nurous pirates.
Later, Carlotta was unjustly branded a wanted criminal. Alia chose to help her, and thus followed Carlotta into exile, journeying southward all the way to today.
And their experiences on Sky Island too...
Thinking back on everything, Alia was certain of one thing: she didn’t dislike Carlotta.
Of course, it wasn’t that she easily disliked people in general, but here, "dislike" specifically referred to romantic feelings.
She imagines what it would be like if she and Carlotta started dating, walking hand-in-hand as lovers, sharing intimate monts... Just thinking about it made Alia’s whole body heat up, purely from shyness.
While imagining these things, she felt absolutely no resistance, didn’t that an they could truly date?
Alia lifted her head, looked at Carlotta, who was staring intently at her, and asked, "Are the ten minutes up?"
"One minute has passed. Nine left."
Carlotta replied truthfully.
"Only one minute?"
Alia was stunned, then awkwardly said, "I thought I needed ten minutes to decide, but apparently one minute was enough."
Carlotta’s eyes instantly lit up. Her heart began to race anxiously. "Then... What have you decided, Alia? Will you date ?"
"If we dated, what would we beco to each other?"
Alia couldn’t help but ask.
"Uh... would we get to cuddle every day?"
Carlotta scratched her head.
"Cuddle? What’s that?"
Alia blushed, thinking of so bold scenarios. She didn’t fully understand the aning behind such words, but sensed it was an expression of closeness, making her feel awkward.
Carlotta also struggled to explain, and could only say, "To be honest, I don’t know exactly what our life would be like if we dated. I only know this: Alia would be the most, most, most, most important person in my life. I will give everything I have to make Alia happy."
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