“……I-I understand.”
Under the onslaught of Liyami’s heartfelt words, Colin was so shaken that he admitted it almost reflexively.
But as soon as Colin spoke, he found himself at a loss for what to say next, and so he lapsed back into silence.
On the other hand, Liyami wasn’t faring much better. Despite her bold, straightforward words and the utter lack of hesitation she had shown, only after she had finished did she realize what she had said in the heat of emotion.
Now, Liyami’s entire face was as red as a tomato. She couldn’t even bring herself to care about Colin’s answer anymore, focusing only on trying to cool down her flushed face and feverish head, and to calm her wildly pounding heart.
Only after accomplishing all this did Liyami finally regain her composure. It was only then that she could turn her attention back to Colin.
But what annoyed Liyami a bit was that, after all she had just said! Colin was still silent! Instead of being a paladin, he might as well go be a village watchman!
A guy this silent and taciturn was perfectly suited to being someone who ignored all matters except guarding the village!
Though Liyami was a little angry, she wasn’t about to let her head be clouded by anger. She could understand the turbulent emotions surging inside Colin, and understood why he was so silent now.
Still, even so, wasn’t this silence going on for a bit too long?
Liyami even started to wonder if Colin had somehow been struck by a Silence curse, and that’s why he couldn’t speak?
Of course, that was impossible. Not to mention how powerful a Silence curse would have to be to shut up someone as strong as Colin, even if such a curse existed, there was no way Colin would just sit back and let himself be dealt with like that.
So, Colin’s current silence wasn’t because of some magic or anything like that. It was simply that Colin didn’t know what to say.
However, while Colin could use silence to steady his heart and mind, Liyami could no longer endure this silence. She was far too eager to hear his answer right away.
So, Liyami stopped waiting and directly asked Colin for his answer to what she had said.
“……So, what do you think… about what I just said?”
“No, that’s not what I mean. What I want to know is, what do you really think? Will you… accept my confession?”
At first, Liyami tried to be subtle and not say things too directly. But when she thought of how long Colin had already been silent, she was afraid he might try to dodge the topic again. So after saying one line, she repeated and emphasized her question.
This way, Colin couldn’t try to muddle through with another evasive confirmation like before. He could only respond to the question Liyami had put forth.
And now, the situation had reversed. An hour ago, it had been Colin who wanted to ask and find out what Liyami thought. But an hour later, now, it had become Liyami who wanted to ask and know what Colin was thinking.
Faced with this completely unexpected situation, with words he had never prepared for, Colin’s lips, silent for so long, finally began to move as Liyami’s pointed question landed.
“……I-I… I can’t answer that right now. I need some more time to think about it. When, when I’ve sorted out my thoughts, I’ll answer your question. That’s all for today. I’m leaving!”
With that, Colin all but fled from Liyami’s room, leaving so quickly that it was only after he had closed the door that Liyami realized what had happened.
Staring at the tightly shut door, recalling the flustered look on Colin’s face as he fled, Liyami wanted to laugh, yet somehow couldn’t.
From Colin’s actions and words just now, Liyami understood his answer—he had not agreed.
Because of this, Liyami couldn’t quite bring herself to laugh, her mood inevitably dipping a bit. Still, it wasn’t as if her spirits had sunk to rock bottom. After all, though Colin hadn’t agreed to her confession, he hadn’t rejected her either!
Colin had only said he needed more time to think about it, right? Which meant that Liyami still had a chance!
Moreover, judging by Colin’s reaction, maybe what Lavinia had said before was true! Maybe Colin really did have feelings for her! Her chances of a successful confession weren’t low! No, it could even be said that they were actually quite high! At least, much higher than she’d imagined!
Thinking this, Liyami felt a surge of joy. The disappointment brought on by Colin’s hasty retreat was quickly swept away by the excitement of such possibilities.
Now, whenever Liyami thought of Colin’s panicked escape, she couldn’t help but feel a bit happy.
But after the happiness, Liyami didn’t forget the truly important things.
Though she had successfully conveyed her feelings to Colin, and though Colin hadn’t rejected her, but instead had run off in a meaningful way, giving Liyami hope that her confession might succeed—Liyami knew she couldn’t simply be content with this. There was still much to be done.
The first thing she had to do was figure out how to deal with Eleanor. Whether or not her confession succeeded, Liyami could never go back to being on peaceful terms with Eleanor.
From now on, whenever Liyami and Eleanor met, it would only be as rivals.
Therefore, Liyami had to prepare herself to face Eleanor’s hostility, and be ready to return that enmity in equal measure.
Also, while Colin’s reaction gave her hope, Liyami knew she couldn’t just be satisfied with that. She needed to think of more ways to press the attack, to try to win Colin over as soon as possible!
Only by doing so could she quickly put an end to this battle over Colin.
Liyami quickly figured out everything. Standing there, she couldn’t help but admire her own cleverness.
Liyami checked her room again. Once she was sure the door was indeed locked and there was no one peeking in, she finally climbed into bed.
Lying in bed, Liyami mulled over what she needed to do next.
First, as for how to deal with Eleanor—Liyami decided to face her head-on. Rather than stooping to sneaky, underhanded tricks she didn’t want to do, it was better to confront her openly. Who knew, it might even lead to some unexpected effect!
As for how to continue pursuing Colin… that, Liyami really had to think about carefully.
Liyami lay in bed pondering for a long time, until she suddenly opened her eyes wide. She realized that a faint light was coming through the window, and the clear chirping of birds could be heard outside.
Only then did she realize it was already morning; she hadn’t even noticed when she’d fallen asleep last night!
Once she realized this, Liyami immediately rolled out of bed and rushed out to check.
Falling asleep in bed by accident was of little concern to Liyami. What she cared most about was whether last night’s confession had really happened, or was just a dream.
To find out, Liyami dashed out without even putting on her shoes. It was only when she saw Colin in the hallway that Liyami finally confirmed, without a doubt, that last night’s confession hadn’t been a dream—it had truly happened.