This kind of courtship is complicated - chapter 4
#004 May I propose to You?
Velia asked for permission to leave first, as the situation required her to do so. She didn't forget to apologize once more for her careless actions that had led to stepping on his foot.
As Velia slightly bowed to bid farewell, the man, with the same graceful and kind eyes as before, looked back at her. His neatly combed golden hair and warm green eyes were harmonious.
"I'm Noah Carvan. Please remember me for next time, Miss Velia."
His farewell was as warm and polite as their initial encounter had been.
"I will remember, so please forget my mistakes today, Mr. Noah."
With these words added, Velia could finally turn and leave.
Her chestnut hair, flowing down her back, occasionally swayed gently with her steps. In the light, it sometimes appeared to have a golden hue.
"Such a modest young lady who's supposed to inherit the Carvan estate. It seems your mother has gotten something seriously wrong," remarked Noah Carvan with an amused smile as he watched Velia disappear into the crowd.
"Did the Duke make Lady Galen's daughter cry today?" someone asked.
"What did I tell you? I knew something like this would happen today."
"Anyway, even amidst all these rumors, the honor of the Arzen family remains intact. It's quite impressive from another perspective."
As people chatted and mingled, the name of Arzen Duke was heard again and again. He had been a constant presence, starting from the previous summer. However, to Velia, it was all news from a world that had no bearing on her. She had been preoccupied with the sole task of finding Evan.
"Where on earth did he go?" Velia mumbled to herself.
Evan had disappeared somewhere in the blink of an eye. Given how difficult he was to find, he might as well have vanished into thin air.
Raising her toes, Velia scanned every corner of the ballroom. All she could see were elaborate hair ornaments and hats adorned with ribbons, and the waiting attendants in the cloakroom. Even after blinking her eyes, she still couldn't spot Evan's coat tails.
With a deep sigh, she turned back and retraced her steps to the last place she had seen Evan. It was a corner of the hall leading to the corridor.
"Could he have gone this way?"
The corridor, secluded from the lively ballroom, seemed endless. Even after briefly scanning the central hall where the ball was taking place, Velia hesitated before finally making her way.
The cheerful music played by the band gradually faded into the background.
"This is the path in Briezen Mansion where the gray spiders have settled. Yes, I'm walking there now."
With the windows creaking in the strong wind and the spindly branches of pine trees casting eerie shadows, Velia murmured with a resolute tone.
I'm not afraid at all she added.
"Evan, are you here?"
In the silence of a space that felt submerged deep in water, footsteps gradually became audible.
Velia, with images of sunny summer days on the Briezen Mansion's path, where poplar trees lined the way under a deep blue sky filled with stars, kept her head held high as she scanned her surroundings meticulously. She even looked through the windows in the corridor, just in case.
But Evan's figure remained elusive. In the distance, only the brilliant glow of the lights was visible.
As Velia turned the corner and reached the end of the corridor, a large wall adorned with Galland decorations blocked her view. Evan was nowhere to be found. Just as Velia came to this realization, the rustling of clothes and the sound of footsteps echoed from beyond the door at the end of the corridor.
Velia hesitated for a moment, then stood still, straining her ears to listen to the unfamiliar sounds. Could it be Evan?
She lightly knocked on the door, but there was no response.
"I'm sure I heard something," Velia muttered cautiously.
She slowly turned the doorknob. The door slid open silently, revealing a warm light seeping through the crack. In the center of the room, someone was standing.
Velia raised her head slowly. Immaculate shoe tips gleamed, and along impossibly long legs, the folds of trousers were as sharp as knives.
And what she saw was a bare-chested man. With a sturdy upper body that could never belong to Evan, Velia gasped and instinctively covered her mouth, her cheeks burning.
Her gaze moved up to the broad shoulders, where well-defined muscles held her captive. Before her eyes was an unbelievable sight, and her cheeks blazed with heat.
She should apologize and step back with dignity. She should offer an explanation of some sort, but for the first time in her life, she found herself at a loss for words.
Velia quickly stifled her pounding heart, biting her lips tightly. She had to calm herself down.
Calmly, swiftly, and silently, she decided it was best to close the door and leave. At this moment, it was the best course of action. Velia believed in that, or at least she wanted to believe it.
She couldn't summon the courage to apologize while facing a half-naked man. Closing the door firmly with a rigid hand, Velia grasped the doorknob again. Unfortunately, the man had already turned away.
His lips, looking unusually red against his face, emitted a calm, soft voice.
"What are you doing? Come in," he said.
Velia blinked for a moment and blurted out, "Yes?"
"I said come in."
Her plans to calmly close the door and leave had gone awry. Now what should she do? Did she really have to go inside? Numerous thoughts raced through her mind. She couldn't blame Christmas for this situation, but she couldn't help feeling resentment toward Evan Arcas, the one who had led her here on this peculiar night.
For a few minutes, an awkward silence lingered. When Velia didn't move, the unfamiliar man opened the door wider.
Suddenly, everything before her turned pitch-black.
"what About the clothes?"
"I'm really sorry! I didn't come here to peek or anything like that. Absolutely not! I can swear on my dear friend Evan Arcas... About the clothes?"
Velia belatedly understood the man's unusual request and raised her eyes, which she had lowered in a hurry. However, upon meeting his gaze, Velia forgot everything else.
She had so much to say, she was sure of it, but not a single thought came to her mind. It was a strange occurrence. Her usually cluttered mind had gone completely blank.
"Change of clothes, you say? You didn't bring any?"
Approaching her, the man stood face to face with Velia. A pleasant fragrance wafted gently through the air.
Velia looked up at him, her gaze passing through his flowing hair to meet his black eyes. They were as mild as a winter's Christmas night, yet somehow cool. It was unbelievable, but it was true.
"Ah."
Sensing something unusual in Velia's demeanor, the man scrutinized her from top to bottom. Her silk dress, in an uncommon color for a servant, was enough to confirm her status. Her unblemished hands added further proof.
"Is this your mother's request again? But I find this quite uncomfortable."
While Velia was uttering incomprehensible words, she gazed for a long time at the man who smiled kindly, a smile that didn't quite match his words. Her trembling heart showed no sign of calming down; in fact, her chest felt even more fluttery. Truly, this was such a strange situation. Unbelievable...
"Surely, you don't intend to stand there like that forever, do you?" The man, leaning against the door frame, tilted his head slightly as his gaze met Velia's.
He really had beautiful eyes. At that moment, a passage from a novel she had read last night came to Velia's mind, causing her thoughts to blur.
"I actually knew you from the moment I first saw you in Natalie's courtroom. I fell for you at first sight, and I knew we'd eventually become lovers. I couldn't help it. When I saw you, it felt like my breath was taken away."
This wasn't Natalie's courtroom, and her breath hadn't been taken away, but Velia could soon guess the nature of this emotion. It was love. With the fluttering and overwhelming feeling, there was no doubt about it.
Velia saw the color of her soul blending perfectly with his. Just like the protagonist who had recognized his destiny at first sight in Natalie's courtroom, she, too, could instantly recognize her own fate.
But it wouldn't matter if she admitted that she had fallen for his appearance just now. That was also a very important fact.
"The true love requires three coincidences," the absolute truth and grand belief she had held up until now suddenly seemed useless. Fateful encounters often occurred so abruptly and haphazardly, without any warning.
Behind the man, behind the large glass window, something smooth and tempting began to fall one by one. They were pure white snowflakes.
In this surreal moment, everything was dazzling and beautiful.
Winter, Christmas, a ball, and a fateful encounter with snow – it was truly a dream-like night. Her wish for the most romantic Christmas had been completely fulfilled with the winter god's mercy and just one fortunate coincidence.
"Could you please stop standing there?" When a somewhat sharp voice was directed at her, Velia's hazel eyes, which had been a little dazed, regained their spark.
Evan Arcas might mock her incessantly, but Velia Dravier had fallen in love at first sight, even if she didn't know his name.
Velia believed that this emotion could be nothing other than love, and aside from that, she thought there were no words to define her current feelings.
Staring up at the man who was still in his place, Velia clenched her small fist.
"Um, if it's not impolite in this situation, I'd like to say something."
"In a situation like this, anything would probably be considered impolite. I haven't heard the words asking me to leave..."
"May I propose to you?"
Velia's gaze was more serious and clear than ever before. An eternal, serene silence lingered between them for a while. The cold branches shivered against the window, and it felt as if the snow was gently falling, but that was purely Velia's imagination.
The graceful smile that had appeared on the man's face vanished.
"What did you just say?"