(Yukito side)
Only a few minutes later, Rosa-chan finally released her hands that had been wrapped around my waist.
She wiped both of her eyes, to remove the traces of her tears.
I could see that the area under her eyes was slightly red, probably from crying.
If I count carefully, Rosa-chan had been crying for several minutes. Honestly, I didn't expect it to be that long.
That made both of my legs tingle earlier, and very difficult to move again.
Well, fortunately she had released her hug now.
If I had forced myself to move while she was still hugging me, it might have made her feel disappointed with my attitude.
Just imagine, we are crying and hugging someone, but that person moves so we can't hug them anymore.
It feels like our tears are just small, meaningless cries.
——
I looked at the clothes she was wearing, which at first still looked nice and beautiful, now became dirty and slightly damaged.
In some parts, it was slightly torn. Fortunately, the clothes were still wearable.
However, I would suggest that she change her clothes as soon as possible.
Well, usually girls don't like their clothes to be dirty, right? So it's better for Rosa-chan to change into something cleaner.
So later, when we return to the palace, she will look like someone who just went out.
This can also make the palace members not worry too much about what happened to Rosa-chan today.
Although, Vern-san has already informed this incident to the king and queen.
At least, they can feel relieved because one of their princesses can return home clean.
Well, if she wants, I can accompany her to the clothing store.
—
After wiping both of her eyes, she folded both of her hands in front of her chest. Then she turned her face away, which had previously been staring at me.
It seems that I am going to be scolded by her… even though I didn't do anything—
Ah yes, I was careless, which caused her to be kidnapped… oh no, this is dangerous.
I hope she still wants to forgive me…
——
(Rosalia side)
This happened some time ago, right after the door of this room was opened by someone from outside.
The person I initially thought was of course Vern-san.
I immediately swung the book I was holding at the head of that mustached man.
The sound of the collision between the book and his head was very loud, which made me a little surprised.
The man finally fell to the floor, and his head was near the feet of the person who had rammed the door.
Of course, earlier I heard the door being rammed twice from outside.
So the man's body fell onto the door that had just been broken.
——
I stared at the man's face to make sure he had fainted.
I finally felt certain that the man was powerless and could not move anymore.
Then, I felt a little strange when I saw the shoes worn by the person who had just broken the door.
Those shoes did not belong to Vern-san, but to a man.
I shifted my gaze from his feet to his face. I was curious about who the person standing in front of me was.
Surprised.
That was my state when I saw his face.
"Rosa...chan?" were the words spoken by that man.
That face, that calling, no other… the person standing in front of me was Lotte.
Lotte stared at me silently, indescribable in words.
Then, a feeling of longing flooded my little heart.
——
It's like I hoped to get gold, but instead received a diamond.
A wish fulfilled, on top of another wish.
I, who previously wanted to be saved by Vern-san, was instead saved by Lotte.
Someone I never expected would rescue me.
But my heart truly said that I wanted to be saved by him rather than Vern-san.
Previously, I wished to be saved by Vern-san, because I trusted Vern-san's magical abilities more.
Because I had never seen Lotte use magic to do anything.
I missed him so much. So very much.
Even though this incident was caused by Lotte's carelessness, seeing him being responsible—
Made me feel that Lotte is a man I can trust.
I can no longer deny that I truly like Lotte…
Without realizing it, my eyes began to shed tears, and it felt very heavy.
In this condition, I really needed a support.
And, with my selfishness, I walked toward Lotte and hugged his body.
His body, larger than mine, felt very warm and soft.
I felt a warmth I had never felt before, and this became the first time for me.
The first time I felt like hugging someone and actually hugging him.
I cried in my hug to Lotte, I knew I looked very weak at this moment.
But… let me cry for a little while…
——
After feeling a little better, I released my hug.
And I didn't expect that he would hug me back as well.
I wiped both of my eyes, which were slightly red from crying.
I didn't expect that I would cry for such a long time.
I immediately folded both of my hands in front of my chest, I don't even know why I did that.
But my instinct said that this was something I really had to do at this moment.
——
(Yukito side)
"W-why did you come here, huh?" were the words spoken by Rosa-chan.
She seemed to want to know my reason for being able to stand in front of her at this moment.
And if I listened to her tone, she seemed a little annoyed at me. Although I couldn't confirm this.
I swallowed nervously, feeling anxious and a bit scared.
It could be that my answer later would make Rosa-chan even more annoyed.
So, I had to think twice so that my words would not make Rosa-chan feel upset with me.
"Ehmm… i-it's…" I was still a little confused.
"what is it?" replied Rosa-chan.
There was no other choice, plus I'm not good at forming words.
Better I speak honestly, whether she gets upset or not, that can be a problem later.
"I didn't mean to cause this problem… I just wanted to save you… that's all," I answered.
Wait, wait, did I say something wrong?!
Seems safe, but what about her reaction…
"F-fine then… it seems I still can't walk properly…" continued Rosa-chan.
Her feeling that she could stand upright, then why did she say she couldn't walk—
Ah, I knew what I had to do at this moment.
I turned my back and presented it to her.
"You want to be carried, right?" I asked.
Although I appeared very confident, I was quite sure about my action.
Then, I felt someone climb onto my back. And I immediately stood up while holding her thighs.
Where else should I hold? I thought that part is very common to hold when carrying someone.
And Rosa-chan didn't say anything else.
That meant she felt my action was correct, right?