In the end, he forgot to purchase his own formal attire.

Upon returning to his dorm, Geo flipped through his new dictionary and was steadily increasing his vocabulary when the purpose of that day’s date finally dawned on him.

Lithia was cute and the date itself was enjoyable—

—but come to think of it, it’s in the name. It was a shopping date to buy a formal attire for myself.

Compared to Lithia’s one-piece dress, nothing else mattered. As a result, the thought of purchasing one or two formal garments escaped his mind.

“That white dress suited her, too…”

At the remark of Lithia, saying she’d wear a white and gold dress to the winter ball, the men’s formal attire corner vanished from Geo’s vision. Thus, in that clothing store, choosing a suitable white dress for Lithia became his sole reason for being there.

In fact, he was already looking forward to seeing Lithia wearing that dress at the dance party…

…But for that, Geo would have to have at least one proper outfit to enter the venue.

Therefore, he must remember to buy it next time. He’d absolutely get it.

—Still, it looked great on her.

That light blue one-piece was so dazzling, it was as if the moon of the spring sky had taken the form of a human. At the same time, he had a feeling that Lithia, who had bright skin and pure white hair, would become an enigma once she donned that white dress.

Can I plead with her to wear other dresses?

Although they were all white, each dress had a different style and decorations. Surely, there were many other types of dresses than the one at the clothing store they went to earlier that day. He wanted Lithia to wear the best one from among them all.

Wait, the best white dress? That sounds very special… Speaking of a white dress—

—A wedding dress!

At that moment, church bells rang loudly in Geo’s head.

Illuminated by the light shining through the stained glass with an angel painted on it was Lithia in a pure white wedding dress and a veil covering her face. Intricate embroidery covered the length of her arms…

…I want to see it! I want to see it! She’ll be the most beautiful bride in the world!

Were there any stores that rented out wedding dresses? He’d definitely stop by there once he scheduled their next date. Other than that, there might not be another chance for Geo to see Lithia in a wedding dress. After all, even if Lithia were to marry in the near future, there was no saying that Geo, a commoner, would be able to participate in a ceremony for the aristocrats.

She’d be the most beautiful bride in the world. She’d be blessed by everyone, showered with petals, walk with a fluttering veil, and as the joyful groom took her hand—

“—Huh?”

Just as he was picturing that, there was a pang in his chest, as if a shard of ice had pricked his heart.

A groom. That’s right, a groom. Of course, a bride will have a groom. There’s no way a bride can hold a wedding ceremony alone, right?

—And the marriage partner of an aristocrat would naturally be an aristocrat.

So, when Lithia wore a bridal gown in the future, a happy man would be standing next to her, taking her hand.

“…A man who isn’t me…”

He was so blinded, that realization only came as an afterthought. Up until that point, it never occurred to him that he wouldn’t be the one to take her hand.

When they first met, he felt lucky to have been chosen as her partner for dance class.

He was overjoyed when she asked him to accompany her to magic practice after school.

—Then, to was able to go on a date with her earlier that day. It was truly a miracle.

If she was in trouble, he wanted to help her. If she was sad, he wanted to somehow eliminate the cause. He didn’t want her to cry anymore—he wanted her to keep smiling.

I’ll do anything for that.

He even told her that. He told her everything.

Even now, he could swear upon the Spirit of Light that there were no lies in those words.

—However, there was one thing he didn’t tell her. He never said why he wanted to do all that.

Because he had only realized the reason himself.

Why didn’t I notice something so obvious before?

It had come to him so naturally; he never even gave it a second thought.

Why does everything she do make me so happy?

Just to see her smile, why am I willing to do anything?

Why do I wish that I were the one taking her hand instead of someone else?

The simplicity of the reason baffled him.

…I’m in love with Lithia Album.

Even though he had never fallen for anyone before, he was confident that was the answer.

After all, for the past 16 years, he’d been living honestly to himself, others, and the spirits.

Geo Wales had found his first love.

---

***T/N: AWE

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