I Was Confessed to by the Person I Was Admiring

Chapter 143: 3/8 — (Jeremiah POV)

Dennis averted her eyes and her previously cheerful expression changed to one of confusion as she answered quietly, “I’m fine.”

“…Well, no, never mind.

“I’m sorry.”

It’s not her fault. However, it seems like she’s struggling with both happiness and agony. Dennis has been like this lately, but the reason is easy to guess.

In other words, she’s happy that she shares the same interests with Lorraine, but she regrets that she can’t leave her room because of it.

“Well, I’m glad you’re not bored.”

I hide the fact that I want to take Lorraine out soon.

“If it’s okay with you.”

“Oh, I’m sorry for interrupting your work.”

Dennis answered “No” while still looking apologetic and headed towards the kitchen to put away the tea set. I watched her back as she left and muttered to myself, “Well then,” as I looked at the door. For some reason, beyond the closed door, it felt far away.

I shook my head and told myself it was just my imagination as I opened the door.

And then, I hesitated for a while.

What should I say? Since I’ve already opened the door, it would be unnatural not to say anything, but Lorraine was writing something.

I thought it might be a letter, but it seemed different. 

As I fumbled, she noticed me first.

“Jeremiah, you’ve come back.”

“Oh, yeah… What are you doing?”

“This? I’m adding and correcting missing parts of my notes. It’s important.”

Her smiling face didn’t show any signs of the difficulty of being cooped up, and it made me feel happy too.

To tell the truth, I wanted to touch her, but I didn’t want to disturb her, so I looked away.

As I followed the small, Lorraine-like characters in the text, I suddenly thought of something.

“When you finish writing that, why don’t we make it into a book?”

“Huh?”

Lorraine looked at me with round eyes, surprised.

“We can’t publish it, but we can make it into a book. Shall I ask for it?”

“But it’s not that great. As long as I can read it.”

“Your friends will be happy. Besides, I think it’s probably important as a reference. We don’t know much about people with memory.”

I said persuasively.

It was just a vague idea, but it seemed like a very good one. For me, knowing about people with memory was also about knowing Lorraine. 

I want to know more and more, to the point where there is nothing I don’t know. 

And I thought that if there were more things to do, it would distract her from boredom. Even though Lorraine decided to do this on her own, I didn’t want her to suffer. With that in mind, I waited for her response.

Lorraine stared at her diary and eventually said in a small, embarrassed voice, “Um, but I’ve only just started…”

“Can you think about it?”

“Yes.”

She nodded a little anxiously and looked troubled, but for some reason, her reaction seemed adorable to me, and I felt joy at seeing it.

Lorraine couldn’t stand it anymore and turned her face away, pursing her lips and staring at the paper in front of her. Thinking that I would be a hindrance if I stayed any longer, I turned my attention to the pile of books next to me.

Lorraine noticed this and exclaimed “Ah!” but I ignored her and picked up a book before returning to my seat.

I decided to wait here until mealtime.

Watching me, Lorraine seemed relieved and returned to her work. Although she occasionally looked over at me, she didn’t seem as nervous as before.

I realized that she was getting used to my presence.

Although there are things I want, I don’t intend to rush things. I plan to wait patiently until Lorraine’s hesitation and fear disappear little by little.

Quiet time passed.

Lorraine and I spent our time like this until Dennis and Dora came with candles in hand as the sun began to set. 

◆

The next day, Paula seemed to have thought ahead and called a tailor to make costumes for the Javier festival. I tried to join in, but Paula said it was a surprise for the day of the festival and kicked me out of the room, leaving me unusually free.

“Now, what should I do…”

Killing time is usually easy. There are many things to enjoy if you go out. You can go to a club or go to the stable and move your body, which has been dull lately.

However, as someone who is imposing that situation on Lorraine, I felt hesitant about going out to kill time. On the other hand, reading is the only thing that comes to mind.

I sighed and walked leisurely around the mansion.

There was no particular purpose, but it was good to take a break since I had been busy lately.

The outside still had a monotonous color. Although the snow had disappeared considerably, it was still far from the season of flowers. If I strolled through the garden, I might find some lovely small flowers, but I would have to go get my coat.

As I walked, thinking it was troublesome, I heard a rude voice saying “Ugh” from ahead. When I stopped my feet unconsciously, I noticed Mark looking at me with a strained face while holding some material in his hand. He seemed to want to say something for a while but eventually said “Excuse me” and tried to leave.

However, I stopped him.

“Wait.” 

“…Is there something you need?”

Mark responded suspiciously.

“It seems like you have something to say?”

When I asked, Mark made a disgusted face and remained silent for a while before averting his eyes and saying,

“Yes, there is. But…”

“Why don’t you just say it?”

Then, Mark made a face as if he had found a crazy person. I chuckled and honestly told him what I had been thinking of saying when we met.