Chapter 11

“Sorry, I made a mistake—no, it’s somthing I’ll say eventually. I won’t take it back.”

“Wha—?!”

Emily’s language gets a bit scrambled in response to the unexpected words. Despite having just made a rather embarrassing declaration, Akito wore a remarkably serious expression.

“Emily, I’ll say it again. I love you, will you marry me?”

“—Kyu!”

“Emily…? Emily?!”

And finally, Emily’s mind overloads, overwhelmed with happiness, causing her to faint.

(…Oh no, what do I do now?)

Akito gently pats Emily’s cheeks, looking at her face.

(I haven’t received an answer yet.)

For now, he decided to kill time by reading a book next to Emily. By the time the sun had completely set and the night began to fall— 

“Mmm…”

Akito hears Emily’s voice. He closes his book and glances over to see her blinking rapidly.

“…Huh? Why was I sleeping—?”

“Emily.”

“—Wha—?!”

She seems to have momentarily lost her memory of the situation while sleeping, but upon seeing Akito’s face, she recalled everything and her cheeks flushed deep red.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m… not okay at all! Not okay at all, Akito!”

Emily’s face turns bright red as she says this.

“Seriously… suddenly talking about marriage… we’re still students, you know?”

“I know. But it’s something I’ll say eventually. There’s no harm in saying it now.”

“Eek?!”

Emily’s face gets redder and redder from this unprecedented verbal assault. Finally, unable to hold back any longer, Akito decides to take decisive action.

He forcefully takes her hands, which are trying to hide her face, and pulls her close to embrace her. To ensure she can’t escape, he wraps his arms around her waist and presses their foreheads together to keep her from looking away.

“Emily. Will you marry me or not? Answer me.”

“—!!”

No matter how she struggles, there’s no escaping this situation. The prospect of being kissed again with even the slightest movement causes her heart to race uncontrollably.

“……………………… I”

Finally, the answer begins to form.

“Y…………yes—!!”