"Puhahahaha—"
Walking together on the lively festival street, holding a bouquet, Yvonne laughed to tears, a rare sight. Her stomach ached so much she could barely straighten up.
"...Stop laughing already!"
Elsa puffed her cheeks, the vexed expression still not fading from her face.
"Sorry, sorry, I don't an to laugh... pfft..."
Covering her mouth with her hand, Yvonne tried hard to suppress her laughter, but in the end couldn't hold back, bursting out with a "pfft".
"...You say you don't an to laugh, but you've been laughing non-stop, and so loudly!!"
And so loudly too!!
"What's with 'birth mother'... really... puhahahaha!!!"
Little Fiel had mispronounced the words.
Originally, everyone had planned to chant together 'Yvonne is Elsa's bride',
But Fiel, frightened by Yvonne's unusually stern gaze, got nervous and tongue-tied, saying 'birth mother' instead of 'bride', making everyone laugh.
Then the bonding ceremony completely lost its atmosphere and utterly failed.
"Uwaaah~~ Why did it turn out like this!!"
Elsa cried out in despair internally, on the verge of tears.
Moreover, judging from Yvonne's reaction, she probably didn't know about the 'bonding' tradition here.
Co to think of it, she had just been getting ahead of herself...
Realizing this, Elsa's mood deflated like a balloon that had been inflated high only to be suddenly released, not only plumting but also becoming shriveled.
"Well... the flowers are beautiful though, thank you. I'll preserve them as a bookmark before they wither."
Wiping away the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes, Yvonne held the Endless Sumr flowers Elsa had given her, smiling cheerfully.
Seeing her in high spirits again, Elsa sighed inwardly.
Well, this isn't so bad, is it?
Although Endless Sumr represents betrayal, it's fine as long as it looks nice.
Hmm... with wind magic, she could turn them into dried flowers.
Yvonne didn't know that pink Endless Sumr was called 'Bride', used as a wedding bouquet.
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"Wait, what happened to your hand?"
Walking to a brighter area, she finally noticed that several of Elsa's fingers on both hands were wrapped in bandages.
"Uh, this is..."
Seeing her stamr and try to hide her hands, Yvonne couldn't help but frown.
"Don't tell
you got cut while picking the bouquet."
"...Oh my, oh my."
Seeing her play dumb, Yvonne shook her head helplessly.
It seed that was exactly what had happened.
"Let
see."
Yvonne stepped forward, naturally taking Elsa's hand, carefully examining the injuries by the light of the festival lanterns.
The sensation of her delicate fingers lifting her palm made Elsa's heart race again.
"Just so small cuts... Were you cut by the leaves?"
"...Mm."
A muffled sound ca from above, as she finally honestly admitted it.
No wonder, the leaf edges of these hydrangeas are all covered with fine serrations, easily injuring fingers if one isn't careful.
And this fool picked so many at once.
What an idiot.
Don't hurt yourself for such trivial things... really.
Although she was happy to receive the flowers, they weren't essential to her.
More than these, Yvonne wished Elsa would take better care of herself.
"Does it hurt?"
"It's fine..."
Although she said this, when Yvonne lightly touched her fingertips, she imdiately sucked in a cold breath and closed her eyes in pain.
"Isn't it very painful?"
"Really, it's fine..."
Seeing her put on a brave smile,
Yvonne's frown deepened.
Can't even pretend properly, still being stubborn, truly hopeless.
She couldn't help but sigh.
In this state, she probably wouldn't be able to properly enjoy the festival.
"Is there anything you want to eat? I'll go buy it for you."
Yvonne took out the small purse she carried and shook it, producing a pleasant jingling sound of silver coins, the sound of money.
"My treat."
Generally speaking, being treated should be a happy thing.
But she didn't seem to think so.
Seeing Yvonne take out her purse, she imdiately beca very nervous.
"No need! You've been taking care of
all along, and besides, I was the one who invited you, Evie—How could I let you pay!!"
She seed to have always been very concerned about money.
She had never let Yvonne give her anything, and always split their daily living expenses fifty-fifty, as if afraid of taking advantage of her.
Yvonne smiled wryly,
"Look... Although I'm no longer nobility, I won't go bankrupt just from treating you to so food. This amount of money is nothing to ."
Although she was an exiled fallen noble, she was far from being so poor that she couldn't afford to treat soone to so snacks.
But she still shook her head at Yvonne,
"Even if it's not much money, once there's a first ti, there will be a second ti, right?... I don't want my relationship with Evie to beco one dominated by money!!"
"I want to continue being with Evie! So, if our relationship were to be ruined because of money..."
Hearing these words, Yvonne's eyes widened slightly.
So... this is what she had been thinking all along?
Seeing Elsa so adamantly refusing to spend her money, she couldn't help but feel emotional.
Yvonne couldn't help but recall the young ladies who used to surround her when she was still a duke's daughter.
Those young ladies, although also of noble birth, were far from Yvonne's status. Most were just daughters of viscounts or earls.
When going out to various high-end places together, every ti they heard that Yvonne would pay the bills and expenses, they would smile more beautifully than each other, and their flattering words never ceased.
But after she was exiled, not a single one of them replied to the letters she wrote asking for help.
Money might be used to bind people's interests, but it can never capture hearts.
Given her background, she could have relied on Yvonne much more.
It seems she truly values their relationship greatly...
Sothing deep in her heart was profoundly moved by this.
But the more the other party resisted, the more she wanted to give.
"Hmm... you seem to have misunderstood sothing."
Thinking about what reason to use to persuade her, this villainess's eyes narrowed, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly.
"...What?"
"My favor isn't free, or rather... it cos with conditions—Ah, please give
one of these."
Yvonne turned around and casually bought a skewer from the uncle's stall next to them.
This was a local specialty made by skewering equal-sized pieces of poultry at, tomatoes, and green peppers, then grilling them over fire.
The hot skewer had just been taken off the charcoal, with oil still sizzling on it.
Brushed with the stall owner's secret sauce, the brownish at chunks and vegetables were emitting a fragrant aroma, looking particularly tempting.
Just slling this scent made one unable to resist.
Elsa swallowed discreetly.
Huff—huff—
She patiently blew on it, waiting until she was sure it wouldn't scald before holding it out to Elsa.
"This is bullying, you know?"
She said with a mischievous smile.
"...You're lying."
She's definitely trying to fool .
How is this bullying, it's clearly spoiling —!
No, I can't fall for it!
Elsa kept her mouth tightly shut, making a big X with her hands in front of her chest, shaking her head like a rattle drum.
"............"
She's not taking the bait?
This girl... is unexpectedly stubborn...
Although it was clear she wanted to eat, she just wouldn't let go of her insistence.
This is her most troubleso aspect, but also where she shines.
Seeing Elsa still unwilling to give in, Yvonne felt both amused and exasperated, and had to add another explanation about 'bullying':
"What I want to see is Dorothy regretting accumulating too much fat from overeating."
"So... that's the kind of bullying?"
Hearing her serious explanation, she finally seed to waver a bit.
"Yes, yes, so hurry up and eat, eat a lot."
She's so thin, gaining so weight would be a good thing.
Now that Yvonne had said this, Elsa finally opened her mouth half-believingly.
Her small mouth bit into the grilled poultry at skewered on the wooden stick that Yvonne held out to her, slowly eating it.
I must say, watching her eat the food I'm feeding her really does make one feel good.
"How is it? Delicious?"
"—It's super delicious!! This at is so chewy!"
Seeing Elsa's happy expression after eating the delicious festival food, Yvonne finally felt like she could breathe a sigh of relief.
"Hmm... then let's go eat this next!"
"Eh eh—There's more?"
"It's a rare opportunity, how about we try everything?"
"There's no way I can eat that much—"
"If you can't finish it, we'll pack it up and take it back for the children to eat."
Completely not allowing her to refuse, she hooked one arm through Elsa's, holding the flowers Elsa had given her today in the other hand, smiling sweetly.
In her chest, her heartbeat synchronized with the festival drums.
Ah...
I love you the most.
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