Hearing a valuable opinion from a third party broadened my perspective.
In this case, apologizing again might not necessarily be the right thing to do.
Byleth expressed his gratitude with a “Thank you” and softened his expression.
“But you were able to apologize properly to Sia.”
“Isn’t that obvious? If you do something wrong, you apologize.”
“So you’re making a sarcastic remark.”
“W-What sarcasm?”
Thrown a word with which he had no association, his voice rose.
“Somehow, you understand, right? The reason I called you into this room… is because I still haven’t apologized.”
“In this context… towards me?”
“Th-That’s right…”
While pouting, she nods with a tsundere attitude.
“N-No, I’m sorry, but I don’t get it. Elena hasn’t done anything wrong, right? And towards me… A-Ah, did you put something in the tea you brewed!?”
“W-What are you saying! I didn’t do anything like that! I brewed it seriously…!”
“That’s all I can think of.”
“…”
Despite her glare of suspicion, she must have realized he wasn’t pretending.
“It’s the hardest to apologize. This atmosphere…”
Voicing her dissatisfaction in a small voice, she becomes restless, then finally looks at me sideways while moving her toes.
“I’ll only say it once…”
“Then I’ll make sure not to miss it.”
From her character, I could tell that
“I only planned to say it once” was her way of saying “I can only say it once.”
It must have taken her that much courage to muster.
“……”
“……”
After a brief silence, she finally spoke up.
“For…making you feel uncomfortable…”
“Hm?”
he had no idea what she was referring to.
“Geez…I’ve just been acting overly casual with you, haven’t I? I’m such a…woman, you know?”
“Huh?”
It was only natural for him to furrow brow in confusion.
Byleth truly had no clue what she meant.
“Honestly, why are you being so dense? If you want me to get angry, I’ll get angry right now.”
“In the first place, I don’t know why you’re apologizing. Can you explain it more clearly?”
“Ah… It sounds harsh when put into words… Once I realized you weren’t a bad person, I changed my attitude, approached you, relied on for many things…”
She spoke with a tone that seemed to pour from the depths of her heart.
“I find this unpleasant…. That’s why I’ve always wanted to apologize…”
There was no trace of her usual aloofness. Lowering her eyebrows as if genuinely repentant,
she bowed her head and said, “I’m sorry for everything.”
“…”
“…”
Silence.
Seeing her like this, Byleth responded with a gentle tone and a smile.
“Elena is serious, isn’t she? That’s overthinking it. It’s a well-known fact that I was harsher with Sia in the past, and my attitude towards others wasn’t the same as it is now… So, I think it would be strange not to change attitude. Especially since Elena is Sia’s friend.”
“…”
“It’s only natural for people to view me poorly, so I’m just happy that you’re facing me like this. There’s no need to apologize.”
The fact that he tried to apologize at this opportunity was evidence of how much she had been holding onto it.
It showed her seriousness in her own way.
“I’m apologizing, don’t try to defend me… It only fills me with guilt.”
“I’m not trying to defend you, but when you say that, it makes me want to defend you even more.”
“If you do something weird like that, I won’t forgive you. Absolutely.”
“Okay, okay. But there’s really no need to apologize, Elena.”
“I hate your choice of words… I hate your kindness too.”
“Haha, I’m just saying the obvious.”
“Learn a little. Stop choosing weird words…”
“I’m not choosing weird words.”
“Hmph.”
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Elena snorted displeasedly, but with that, the heavy conversation came to an end.
As the atmosphere of apology gradually faded, the conversation shifted from school matters to everyday topics, and eventually to casual chatter.
After exchanging words for tens of minutes, a cheerful atmosphere between the two was created.
“…Hey, Byleth.”
Elena, who had changed her sitting posture to sit cross-legged, clasped her hands on her thighs and urged him with upturned eyes.
“Let’s go back to the topic for a moment. Your thoughts have changed after our conversation, right…? You, um, said you wanted to date someone who liked you.”
“Huh!? Are you bringing that up again…?”
It was awkward to talk about it with her, especially since she seemed more bashful than usual about this topic.
“I’m not teasing you. I’m just curious because you have such strange thoughts…”
Glancing sideways and averting her gaze, Elena, while twirling her red hair with her index finger, said softly.
“Um, are you… planning to only marry one person in the future? What if there were several people who liked you?”
“Well, I can’t really say much about that……”
“It’s not something you need to hide, is it?”
“I have no intention of hiding it at all, I just can’t imagine it. I’m not even confident yet that I could make all the wives happy……”
He did not mean to reject the system that allowed for multiple concubines, but it was a custom that did not exist in his previous life.
It was not something he could easily accept.
“Ah… You’re so inflexible in strange ways.”
“I understand that after all, I’ll be responsible for that person’s life, so I can’t help but be inflexible.”
“I’m saying that with that understanding. I can’t say anything about the former, but you don’t need to think about whether you can make them happy.”
“Why?”
“B-because… If they like you, wouldn’t they just be happy to be by your side…? Wouldn’t they?”
Blushing with embarrassment, Elena asked hesitantly as she tilted her head coyly.
“Well… I guess so.”
“If you admit that, does that mean you’re considering having multiple wives?”
“W-well, I guess that’s one way to look at it…”
“By the way, do you have any minimum requirements? Like, what kind of personality do you want in a woman…?”
The flow of the conversation naturally shifted. It was like when Elena’s father brought up the topic of engagement.
“Um, I’m still in the process of thinking about it, so I can’t say anything specific, but I think someone who gets along with Sia would be nice.”
“W-with Sia…? Is that your minimum requirement?”
“Yeah. Because I’m thinking of taking care of Sia even after she graduates from school. I haven’t told her yet, though.”
“W-wait! Wait a minute. By ‘take care,’ do you mean your house? Or… are you taking responsibility?”
“I can’t say any more than that. It’s not official yet.”
“That sounds like you’re going to take care of her.”
“W-well, maybe.”
While trying to put on a smile, it wasn’t a natural expression.
“But, but you know, it’s really an ambiguous story. Graduation is still a long way off, and during that time, Sia’s feelings may change, you know. I’m thinking the most important thing is to respect Sia’s feelings.”
“But why did it even come to that? You’re so clueless.”
“I feel like you just said something rude… But we talked about the future a little while ago. Sia’s grades are at the level where she could be recommended to the palace, so that’s the issue.”
“So what?”
Elena was both eager and somewhat anxious.
“Well, um… Did you let her know how you feel? Like that. At first, I thought she was just being considerate as a handmaiden, or driven by a sense of duty, saying she wanted to continue serving. But after hearing Luna’s opinion, it might be something different. I haven’t confirmed it with her yet, so I might be mistaken.”
“Hearing Luna’s opinion…?”
“I consulted her a little. At first, I thought about consulting you, Elena, but since you two are close, there was a bit of embarrassment in asking for advice.”
Because Elena and Sia were close, there was a possibility that the content of the conversation would be conveyed.
Even if Elena were to convey it, she would try to handle it in a way that wouldn’t cause trouble, but if it were revealed, it would be enough to make her squirm with embarrassment.
“Hmm. But I guess I’m somewhat convinced. Sia has been working hard. In various ways.”
“You’re not surprised?”
“Of course not. I can tell when she’s proud of you and bragging about you. Not noticing that is why you’re called ‘clueless.'”
“Well, it’s natural to not notice. It’s an embarrassing topic…”
“Even if it’s embarrassing, most people would notice.”
Despite her exasperation, Elena narrowed her beautiful eyes and smiled, getting up from the sofa at this timing.
“Byleth, aren’t you feeling a bit peckish at this time? I’ll prepare some tea for you as well.”
“You don’t have to be so considerate.”
“What are you saying? You’re the one who’s invited, so indulge a little. It’s okay.”
“Haha. Well, thank you then.”
“You should have said that from the beginning.”
As Elena went towards the entrance, she passed by Byleth and poked the back of his hand with her index finger.
“Huh?”
When he uttered that, Elena was already about to touch the doorknob.
She opened the door──stopped in her tracks and turned around.
“…Right.”
“Hmm?”
“…When do you think your cluelessness will be cured?”
“Huh?”
“I-I’m sorry. Forget what I just said.”
Leaving behind those words, she stepped out into the hallway, her ears as red as her crimson hair.
And those parting words made Byleth ponder deeply.
With enough time to think while sitting in his chair,
he decided to ask a question as Elena returned to her room with the serving cart.
“Oh, um, about what Elena said earlier──”
“──Rather than that, let’s fill our stomachs. I prepared it just for you.”
“Y-yeah. Thank you.”
Placing the tea on the table from the cart, followed by the pastries, Elena prepared the snacks briskly, her cheeks flushed.
Perhaps to avoid being asked about the previous matter again, she took the lead in continuing the conversation.
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