Ch. 165 Forever (1)

“It’ll be difficult to clear away all that snow.”

He scratched his chin thoughtfully as Louise gazed at his reflection in the window.

“Louise.”

When he called her name, Louise jolted quickly in surprise.

“Y-yes?!”

“We’ll remove some snow later. You can borrow a pair of fur boots from the student council storage room. The boots look ridiculous, but they’re warm.”

“Are you wearing those fur boots, too?”

“Me? Wear that?”

He flashed a grin and shrugged. Well, Louise supposed that a person who walked around wearing only a thin coat in spite of the cold weather wouldn’t wear fur boots.

“How are your hands?”

He approached her and removed the towel from her hands. It had gone cold without her even realizing it.

“I think it’s a little better.”

“It doesn’t look that way. Give them to me.”

He sat next to her and he held out his hands in expectation. It must be serious if he was this worried. She flushed as she thought, ‘He touched my feet,’ and ‘His shirt is wet.’

“Come on.”

At his urging, Louise placed her hands in his. Her hands were still a darkish red, but the itching and stinging was less than before.

“Hmmm.”

He gave a small hum as he ran his fingers across her palm. It was a curious turn of events that they were in the same snowball fight, but their outcomes were completely different.

“I shouldn’t have played around.”

“With Simon?”

“Yes.”

“So that’s why you’re helping me like this? Because you started the snowball fight?”

“I’m responsible for this happening.”

“It’s only a mild frostbite.”

“You shouldn’t use the word frostbite. It sounds scary.”

He exhaled a warm breath across her hand that tickled up to her fingertips.

“I think my hands are fine now.”

“I don’t know.”

He inspected the back of her hand and her fingernails and shook his head.

“It looks the same.”

“It’s a lot better than before.”

She gently pulled her hand away from him.

“How about your feet?”

“My feet are fine.”

“It’s not good to overuse the word ‘fine’. You have to be honest with the people who are worried about you.”

“Really!”

“Alright, alright.”

He stood up and cleared away the water bowl, while Louise held her dripping feet in the air.

“President, can you get me a towel over there?”

“Already getting it.”

He knelt down on the floor and carefully dried her feet.

“I-I can do it myself!”

“I know, but I have to check its condition.”

“They’re dirty…”

“Dirty.”

He brushed the sole of her foot with his fingers, proving otherwise.

“Is it sore?”

“A little. I’m more embarrassed than anything.”

“You used to play barefoot often when you were young.”

“But you didn’t touch my feet like this.”

“Well they didn’t freeze like this before.”

Louise smiled at their casual banter, though she was still embarrassed that he was using his hands to warm her cold feet.

“You know what?”

“Hmm?”

His eyes remained fixed on Louise’s foot when he answered.

“A moment ago, you said you regretted playing around with Simon.”

“Yes.”

“I liked it.”

Now that her hands were a little easier to move, she grabbed a quilt and tugged it over her lap.

“You two looked so happy.”

“Simon and I are always happy.”

“I know, but today you two were especially so.”

“Thanks to Simon.”

“It’s also because of you. But don’t do that in the cold next time.”

“I’m reconsidering that too.”

“That’s a relief.”

Louise watched as Ian held her feet as if he were delicately handling glass, and she gently brushed her hand against his silvery hair. He had always been close to her, but never as close as he was now—not only in distance, but also in their relationship. It had changed into something clearer, more crystallized.

Perhaps being in the Academy had affected them. It was strange to think about. Ian could easily go from the palace to the greenhouse anytime, but the opposite was not true; without an invitation from Ian, Louise wouldn’t be able to step foot inside the palace. In the Academy, however, she could reach him just by walking through its corridors and stairways. She could run into him by accident. They could walk together under the stars until dawn caught up to them.

Louise realized how rare and precious those experiences were. After she went back to the outside world and removed her school uniform, it would be difficult to do these activities with him again. She would also have to deal with their differences in status.

Louise slowly dropped her hand from his head.

“No more touching?”

He spoke jokingly, but she couldn’t answer him. She was afraid she would get addicted to this closeness.

“Your hair wasn’t frozen, Your Highness. Oh, no, I meant the President’s hair isn’t frozen.”

Louise realized she spoke the wrong title and hastily corrected herself.

“It’s been a long time since you addressed me by the wrong title in the Academy.”

“Yes…”

“It was difficult for you at first, but you said it naturally afterwards.”

President! President!

“Louise Sweeney.”

Louise’s eyes returned to Ian again.

“After I graduate and after you graduate.”

Ian was still looking at the sole of her foot as he gently rubbed heat into them.

“What are you going to call me?”

“Well…”

“Crown Prince and Heir To The Throne isn’t bad. But I can’t be that to you.”

“But aren’t you my superior?”

“Yes.”

His wish was simple. He wanted her to call him by his first name.

“It’s difficult for me to do that.”

“It is?”

“Well…it’s a little complicated.”

“You can tell me.”

“Actually.”

Louise turned her thoughts to the original story, which she hadn’t done in a long time. She told him the moment the villainess Louise used the name “Ian,” and Ian looked at her as if she were nothing more than dirt. The current Louise couldn’t forget this scene from the original story.

“Does my face really look that scary to you?”

“It’s not exactly you. It’s a different story now.”

“I want to hit that guy for some reason…so is that why you’ve only called me ‘President’ so far?”

“It’s not just that.”

“What else?”

Louise hesitated.

“I wonder who’s going to hear…”

“No one is listening right now, so you can speak comfortably. So what else is it?”

“No, I mean, what would other people think if I addressed the Crown Prince so familiarly?”

“What would they think? They would think that I’m deeply in love with Louise Sweeney.”

“Hey!”

“It’s true, isn’t it?”

“…Well!”

“It’s just a statement of facts, so is there a problem?”

“I don’t know what to say to that.”

“I know what you’re worried about.”

“…”

“Professor Lassen put those useless morals in your head. I intend to prepare a countermeasure against her as soon as I leave…but your worries still won’t leave you easily, will they?”

Louise nodded her head. Perhaps there were many more like Professor Lassen in the future. Some might have more power than her, and others would resort to crueler methods. Their malice would be directed at them both. Louise was not happy about Ian being exposed to danger, even when she knew he was strong.

“But still.”

There was a hint of a smile in his voice, even when talking about unpleasant situations.

“Even if something bad happens as a result.”

“…”

“I will still be happy at all the misfortunes that happen to me.”

“But that….”

That was just miserable.

“I told you, it’s not like the fairy tales. The good and the bad always come together.”

“I’ll be unhappy if something bad happens to you.”

“That’s very kind of you.”

“Are we going to be unhappy?”

“We’ll be alright if we face the misfortunes together, right?”

“I’d rather if there was not any…”

“Forever.”

His voice immediately turned from jovial to delicate on the last word.

Forever.

He wanted to be together for a lifetime. He finally lifted his head from her foot, but when his eyes met Louise’s, he didn’t smile.

“That’s…”

“It means that I’m betting everything I have to ask for eternity.”

He added an explanation so Louise wouldn’t misunderstand. She remained in shocked silence, however, and Ian smiled and softly continued.

“I don’t need to hear an answer right away. I do have a conscience.”

“O-oh, that’s not it.”

“Think about it. You have a year to make a choice.”

“It’s not that.”

“Then what?”

“Now, you just…”

Louise managed to complete the sentence as her ears were flaming red.

“You proposed.”

“Right.”

He nodded with a calm expression.

“While you were holding my foot.”

“Huh?”

“Y-you were holding my foot while proposing!”

“At least I didn’t pat your head, so I thought it would be fine.”

“That’s too much! Why would you be touching my head or foot?”

“But it’s just a foot.”

“But still!”

“It’s fine. It’s very pretty.”

He lifted Louise’s foot and kissed it.

“You—you…!”

“Hmm?”

He looked at her as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“I promised I would kiss you every day.”

“What kind of man kisses a person’s feet?”

“Maybe there are more than you think.”

“Haaaaa…”

Meanwhile, Louise’s feet were slowly returning to their usual color. The pain was fading away, and her senses were gradually returning.