Elena didn't know how to date in the first place. Whereas in Hailey's case, she had always been by her ladyship's side, so couldn't have dated before either. That's why Elena relied on her father-in-law and Ken, but their conversation had already proven their unhelpfulness.
Maria was the only one she could turn to now. The older woman appeared to have been pondering for a moment, before she soon came up with an answer.
"Um, miss, could you cry for us once?"
"Pardon?"
***
Time flew by and the next morning arrived again.
Count Kraus and Ken helped choose a venue so that the two of us could have breakfast together.
It was at the eastern annex. I had heard that the Isilia Pavillion was where his mother, Arwen Kraus, used to grow her garden. It was unlike the main building which I stayed in earlier.
My heart drummed at the whiff of the flowers' scent carried by the wind and traces of his smell.
It wasn't long before he arrived. We would dine, repeat yesterday's Q&A, and not go any further. To be precise, it was because I talked endlessly that he couldn't bring anything up.
Probably a quarter of how much I said was the amount I spent talking to him in my previous life. However, I couldn't delay it any longer as he brought up talks of the engagement.
"Elena, we haven't clearly discussed our arrangement yet. More importantly, it's still too early to…"
I knew it was time to do what Maria told me yesterday.
Miss, a lady's tears can become one's weapon. It's even more powerful when it's coming from a beautiful lady such as yourself.
But how would she be able to cry on the spot, Maria? I wonder if such a display would even move the young master's heart. He didn't so much as flinch when I weeped in jest.
That's because your acting is worse than Alphonse's aegyo1Aegyo: what a person does to act cute, lovable or in a childish way., Ken. And the young master is very perceptive in the strangest ways. Mere teardrops won't affect him. Emotions. You have to truly feel sad.
Okay, but how do you know that?
I did it to the young master in the past when he kept training and overworking his body. I don't know why you're asking when you've fallen for it many times.
What are you talking about…? Wait… Then before when you…!
Before my memories jumbled up, I stopped myself from remembering the irrelevant stuff. The point wasn't Ken and Maria's fight, but the fact that I had to genuinely cry for him.
Lady Edelweiss has met the young master for the first time today, so it'll be effective to use this move after you get to know each other more. The more time you spend together, the more sincere your emotions.
Maria explained. However, she didn't know I regressed.
Who else except for me has spent more time with him than I did?
"You said you would respect my choice, Damian. And I chose to engage you. Isn't that enough?"
What I had to do was direct my remorse and sorrow at him, both of which I was confident in doing as I only needed to recall my memories from several hours ago.
It hadn't been 24 hours since I regressed; it had been just over 19 hours. In other words, it had only been 19 hours since he died in my arms. I could forget about it for a while since he stood in front me, alive and breathing. That being said, it was too little time to completely erase that memory.
It wasn't fairly hard to recall a past from a few hours ago. The painful memories, which I couldn't bury no matter how hard I tried, began to resurface again.
The feeling of his hands slowly growing colder and colder, the sound of his heart beating slower and slower, and finally, the gentle smile of his which reflected in my eyes…
When those memories popped up in my mind, warm teardrops streamed down from my eyes.
I saw him panicking when he saw my tears.
My magical energy had also automatically turned the wind cold.
"So why would you say that?"
I forgot what I was saying after I uttered those words. Right now, sadness and grief overwhelmed me. Little by little, I forgot about the present, and the past began to consume my mind.
Affected by the cold I induced, I grabbed his hand out of reflex. The hands, whose temperature should've dropped, were very warm.
"I'm sorry." He apologized as he embraced me to shield me from the cold.
"It wasn't my intention to worry you. It was just so sudden. I only meant to say we need time to get to know each other. That's all."
To be honest, I couldn't hear what he was saying. The only thing I could feel was his warmth and his pounding heart.
The final blow was the way he looked at me. He was alive and that blew away everything I knew of the past.
Did I feel relieved?
I snuggled into his arms, forgetting my true purpose for being there.