“Charlotte.”

“Uu, uuh…! No, I can’t afford to walk in this state…! I can’t believe it, Lord Oswald—Lord Oswald is holding my hand…! I’m about to melt…!!”

“Huh?! It’s fine, let’s just go… Wait, why are you refusing to move!? Are you a dog that refuses to walk!?”

“Aah—!! Once again, you’re making light of the situation—!”

Pulled by Oswald, Charlotte started walking while mumbling.

“Uu, uuuh, thank you very much…! Lord Oswald actually held my hand…! Even though I’m about to faint from sheer happiness, I’m still glad…! I’ll cherish this sensation for the rest of my life, never again shall I wash this hand…!”

“No, wash it—wash it properly as soon as we get home. Despite how much you’re resisting, aren’t you too busy being thankful?”

“Lord Oswald, you only say that because you don’t know how much my heart is pounding.”

“…”

Seriously, at this rate, I’m going to suffer from heart failure…

…Surely, Oswald would make an, ‘I don’t understand,’ expression just like he did earlier.

But when she thought that, Oswald looked to Charlotte with a smile.

“…Really?”

“…!!”

W-why does he look so smug!?

She didn’t know that her heart, which was already beating rapidly, could reach a whole new level of speed…

“…???”

“Since you didn’t have any place in mind, I thought of bringing you here.”

Those words made Charlotte so happy, she was on the verge of tears.

“D-does that mean, you did it for my sake…!? Wow, I’m so happy! Thank you, Lord Oswald…!!”

“…I’ve been thinking, isn’t your standard for happiness and joy somewhat too low?”

“That’s not true! The person I love did something for me! That alone can serve as an amulet for a happily ever after…!”

In response to that, Oswald laughed.

“Pfft. No matter what you think, isn’t that just naïve?”

“Why would you say that!? Besides, it’s a pure white landscape, just a dream world…!”

Oswald replied to her.

“You’ll see more beautiful things tonight.”

“More beautiful? More than even Lord Oswald?”

“Like I said, there’s no need to mention me. Or rather, for a while now, you’ve only been looking at me. Are you perhaps uninterested about the sight above?”

“Above…”

As Oswald turned to look at the sky, Charlotte followed suit.

From the moment they teleported to that place, the starry sky and the moon made their presences known.

However, only after staring at the sky for a few seconds did Charlotte regain her sense.

“Wow…!!”

There was a shooting star.

In the corner of the sky, far away from the moon, a meteor flickered before vanishing, its tail burning silver. Even though it was only for a split second, Charlotte definitely saw it.

“Lord Oswald, there was a shooting star!”

“…I know.”

Oswald must’ve seen it as well.

“After sunset, I recalled that today is the day the meteor shower reaches its peak.”

“Uwawa…”

While they were talking, another meteor fell.

They were so dazzling she didn’t want Oswald to miss them, and thus pointed at every single one while raising her voice.

“Lord Oswald, there’s another one over there! …Ah, look, over there, too! Oh no, two!? There are two at the same time!”

“You’re right.”

It was a wonderful sight.

A chipped moon amidst the pure, white snowfield. A meteor shower with the black starry sky as a backdrop. Above all, her beloved was with her.

“That one just now was really long, wasn’t it!? Besides, didn’t it look a bit red!? That shooting star was the most beautiful I’ve seen yet!”

“Really? I think they’re all equally beautiful.”

“No! The red one from earlier is special!”

Charlotte involuntarily leaned forward, despite knowing that she wouldn’t be able to reach those meteors.

Then, as she turned to look at Oswald, she smiled.

“After all, red is the color of your eyes!”

At the sight of that smile, Oswald gasped.

“Charlotte.”

“Yes! What is it, Lord Oswald!?”

Then, Oswald asked as he stared at Charlotte.

“…Do you love me?”

“…!”

At the question, the left side of her chest throbbed painfully.

Oswald’s words were both sweet and punishing. Amidst her uncontrollable heartbeat, Charlotte spoke at once.

“I lo—”

“—lo?”

However, she stopped at that.

When he clarified, she grew even more flustered.

“Lo, lo, lo, lo-lo-lo-lo, lo—! Lo… I love you.”

“…”

“…It’s not just that! I love you, and I also adore you…!”

Mustering her courage, she uttered that.

Nevertheless, upon hearing Charlotte’s confession, Oswald’s expression became somewhat complicated.

“…Lord Oswald?”

“At the evening ball, didn’t you say something to Ignatius?”

Thus, Oswald replied with those words.

---

***T/N: The supposed penultimate confession moment?! But Charlotte confessed every chapter…

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