Chapter 128: Lady Alicia Has Someone She Likes ②
Translated by AmaLynne
「I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having feelings for someone.」
「Fufu. He already has a fiancee. I don’t dare to cut in between――and.」
Alicia’s smile turned suddenly dark.
When Sam asked her what was going on, she said something surprising.
「There is a man who wants to marry me.」
「Congratulations…or what I would like to say…」
Looking at Alicia’s unhappy face, he could tell that the proposal was not a pleasant one.
「Yes, I know. That person is a childhood friend of mine, but he’s…not a good one.」
「I guess being a man makes you uncomfortable, even if you’ve known each other since childhood.」
「No, it’s not because he’s a man, but because he’s more…Oh, don’t get me wrong. He’s not a bad person. But.」
「But?」
「He doesn’t listen to me.」
Sam looked puzzled, not understanding what Alicia was trying to say.
「What do you mean by not listening?」
「He’s always talking about himself and never listens to me.」
「Oh, I see.」
「It’s as if he’s not interested in me. I met him the other day, but he only talked about his recent activities and did not ask me about mine.」
「What a selfish fellow.」
Alicia neither confirmed nor denied Sam’s statement.
She simply sadly spun her words.
「I think that if we are going to get married, we should talk to each other properly. I want to get to know the other person first, even if it takes time, and I want them to get to know me as well. Otherwise, I am afraid it will be a sad marriage.」
「I understand your feelings.」
It is not nice to marry with insecurity.
If it is a marriage proposal that she cannot escape as a noblewoman and as the daughter of a count, but if she has freedom of choice, she should be able to decide whether she and the other person are compatible with each other.
Of course, he doesn’t want Alicia to be unhappy, but the other party wouldn’t want an unhappy marriage either.
(But then again, sometimes people just blabber on about themselves.)
Not without malice, there are people, both men, and women, who sometimes want to talk only about themselves.
It is not that they are not interested in others, but some people put themselves first, unfortunately.
(I don’t know if the other party is a selfish person, but judging by Alicia-sama’s reaction, things aren’t going too well.)
Even if they are childhood friends.
It is inconceivable that you get nervous in front of someone you fall in love with and talk to without thinking.
If this is the case, he may be the kind of person who only talks about what he wants to talk about.
(I guess he’s not a good match for Alicia-sama.)
Even if she has a bold side, Alicia is a modest person at heart.
As she mentioned, one can understand the feeling of not being at ease unless you have a proper conversation and get to know each other.
However, being childhood friends, they don’t understand each other.
At least, Alicia doesn’t think so.
A childhood friend and a marriage partner are two different things.
「I am glad that Sam-sama listens to me so well. The same goes for the little dragons. If it were possible, would it be selfish of me to want to be with someone with whom I can have a pleasant, natural conversation?」
「I don’t think so. I talk with Lise-sama every day about all kinds of things, so if we suddenly couldn’t have conversations anymore, I would miss her.」
「Yes, of course. ――I’ve never told a man so much about myself.」
「I’m always happy to talk to you, if you’d like.」
「Is…is that all right?」
「Of course I’m sure. You listened to my problems earlier, too. It’s mutual. Besides, we are family, so don’t hesitate to talk to me as if you were talking to your brother.」
He doesn’t mind talking to Alicia. In fact, he likes it.
Besides, since he is marrying Lise, he and Alicia will be a real family.
He wants to listen to her problems, and it is normal for them to talk about other things as a family.
He would be happy if she became accustomed to men through conversation with him.
「Oh, yes. I have found some stories with dragons in them that you asked me to read the other day, so I will lend them to you later.」
「Thank you! I’ve always wanted to read them!」
「I can assure you that it will be very interesting.」
「I’m looking forward to it.」
Sam often borrowed books from Alicia.
Alicia, an avid reader, used to frequent the mansion’s library and is still adding to her book collection.
He looks forward to seeing the stories she recommends since they are all interesting.
「*Kyu-kyu*!」
「Oh, sorry, sorry, my hand stopped.」
「I’m sorry. Well, let’s get you cleaned up.」
The foam-covered baby dragon squealed in protest when the brush stopped, so Sam and the others concentrated on washing the baby dragon.
They finished cleaning off the dirt and finally finished rinsing off the foam with hot water.
「All right. Okay, let’s go back to our room.」
「*Squeal*.」
「Hmm?」
「Um, Sam-sama, these kids want to take a shower.」
「…didn’t I just wash them?」
「They don’t like to soak in hot water.」
Sam let out a laugh at the request of the baby dragons.
「They’ve already become quite acclimated to human life, haven’t they?」
He was a little worried about whether they and the Red Dragon would be able to return to nature.
「*Kyuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr*!」
「What’s wrong?」
One of the baby dragons was biting Sam’s arm and seemed to be saying something to him.
However, Sam could not understand what the dragon cub was trying to say.
Sam could tell that the dragon cub was being somewhat sweet to him, but he couldn’t tell.
He asked Alicia to translate for him with a troubled look, and she smiled.
「This child wants to take a bath with Sam-sama.」
「I’ll be right there. Here, don’t pull my arm. Okay, I’m going to take a bath with this one, can I leave that one to Alicia-sama?」
「Of course!」
While replying to Alicia, the child dragon pulls him to go to the bath as soon as possible.
Such a reaction from the baby dragon is so cute that he can’t help but lower the corners of his eyes.
Sam petted the other baby dragons while being pulled by the baby dragon, and then headed for the bathroom.
After seeing Sam off, Alicia smiles at the rest of the children.
「Now, let us come to the bath as well.」
「*Kyuuuuh*!」
「*Squeal*!」
Alicia looked sad for a moment as she and the child dragon headed into the mansion.
「…Fufu. You are very kind, Sam-sama. I envy sister Lise so much.」
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