My Fiancée Hates Me

It has been about three weeks since I had come here. Everyone including Garett has been rather helpful towards me.

I had no idea about the amount of manual work I would have to do before coming here. As a result, I put on more muscle mass. No wonder, Maura was so strong.

Librarians are not to be looked down upon despite their conservative appearance.

"The cellar?"

"There is a section where we keep unsorted books away," Garett said as he offered his hand for me.

I felt a bit awkward as I took his hand. It could not be helped as the footing was poor and my skirt was needlessly long.

Even so, I felt a bit guilty towards Erik since I had not held his hand in this this lifetime yet and apologized to him inside my head for taking the hand of another boy before him.

I put myself back into a bad mood once more because I remembered we would not have another chance to hold each other's hand anymore anyways.

Garett led me down the stairs of a room below the library.

It was a large open space with plenty of books, old shelves, blanket covers, pens, maps, and other stuff that seemed to have been kept away for a long time.

I accidentally snagged my foot over the carpet and was about to trip.

I braced myself by holding my hands out in front of me to help me break my fall.

"Careful!"

Garett had caught me with one arm around my chest and held me up by my shoulder.

My heart raced slightly.

"I'm sorry..."

"...I guess we should really blame the one who makes women's dresses so long," he said as he released me.

Wow... he is so smooth that he makes everything look so easy.

"What are we going to be doing here?"

"We are going to air out these books before we put them on our new shelves we just received from the woods craftsmen. Insects like to find their way into old books, so we will lay a blanket out and have books standing up in an accordion style and bathe in the sun. The insects will naturally come out in their own after a while and we can just collect them afterwards," he explained.

He looked back towards me as if he were checking up on me.

"I am not going to fall again," I told him I said as I picked up my skirt.

"That's not it... It doesn't bother you?" he asked with a concerned expression.

I wonder what he was worried about...

"...I think I will be fine," I answered him.

He pointed towards a dusty stack of books.

"I already laid out a blanket outside. Just help me carry that stack over there. I will go to that side," he said as he went to an even dustier side.

"It seems that there are more books on your side. I can help you after I am finished with my side."

He stared at me with wide eyes.

"It really doesn't bother you?"

"It's just a bit of dust."

"Normally, girls are not fine with insects or lots of dust."

Normally, ladies would refrain themselves of touching anything dirty or going anywhere near insects.

"Insects are also living beings trying to get by," I answered him.

"You are so strange," he said as he put on a mask and began picking up books.

Along with cleaning the books and sunbathing them, we had to set a different pile up for the books that were either too old or were damaged too much from insects eating through the pages. It was a shame, but those books were to be incinerated.

Garett looked the most disheartened out of all of us even though he barely showed it on his face. His eyes never went away from the scene of burning books.

The number of times I felt guilty towards Erik continues to accumulate.

Just like now, I wanted to comfort Garett...

A month later, I finally had my first break. I was working nonstop and probably more than most seeing as though I only alternated with my etiquette lessons and practically worked all days without rest. Maura had forced me to take a day off with her.

We found ourselves sitting outside of a cafe.

Our table seemed to be gathering quite a number of looks. I hardly feel that me in my long black and pale pink mermaid shaped skirt and white long sleeve shirt with a black necktie were anything to look at. Maura was a rather beautiful young woman when dressed up. She had her wavy hair down. Her clothes consisted of a camel-colored blouse and a high waisted dark brown skirt with ruffled trims. "Excuse me..."

A man soon walked up beside us as we were talking by ourselves.

It was the soldier from before was standing before Maura in plain civilian clothes. I remembered him because of his honey-colored hair and blue eyes.

Seeing him up close made me understand the large height difference between Maura and this person.

I have a hard time believing that she was capable of throwing him over her shoulder...

"What would you like from me?" she asked curtly.

"I've been waiting for you since I am not allowed in the library..."

He seemed much different from his past aggressive self.

"I see... You are here for Round 2," Maura said as she got up from her seat.

The person we have here seems ready for a free-for-all!

"Somewhere private then..."

"Let's duke it out right here," Maura said with an unwavering gaze.

That's unladylike, Maura!

"Alright then," he said as he moved his hands towards his back.

He soon used some sort of magic trick and pulled out a bouquet of flowers from his back.

The girls behind me gasped as they saw the romantic scene unfolding.

Maura accepted the bouquet and studied it with a blank expression.

"...Do you want me to use this as a weapon against you?" Maura asked with a strange look on her face.

The romantic scene was broken...

"This is for you!" he said loudly.

"Why would you give me this?" Maura asked innocently.

The soldier's face turned into a deep red color.

"I thought it was obvious...I have...I have fallen in love with you!"

He received a rain of applause from the audience all around them.

Maura lost her edginess and brought the bouquet closer to her reddened face.

"...It was not obvious to me," she replied.

"W-Will you please go out with me, Lady Maura?" the soldier asked as he gave a deep bow and held out his hand.

"This is troubling," Maura replied.

The soldier looked upwards at Maura's troubled expression.

"I'm sorry..."

It seemed as if he had lost all hope.

"...I...I don't know your name," Maura said.

"It's Kline," he said as he stood back up.

"...Ever since we first met, you have always been an annoyance. Even so, I could not get you out of my mind... Yes, this feeling may be a bit similar to your feelings. As I am unfamiliar with these feelings and the ways with interacting with men, I hope that you would help me out," Maura said as she held her hand out to much of her own embarrassment.

Maura said such a bold statement that even the ladies behind us fainted.

The soldier smiled widely as he soon got on one knee and held her hand towards his face.

"Gladly," he said as he kissed the back of her hand.

"Is that alright?"

"We will have our chances to get to know one another," she said embarrassedly.

"Lady Maura is quite the hunter."

She lightly slapped my shoulder.

Maura sent away that handsome soldier so that we could continue on with our outing.

"We are here," she said as she arrived at a large pair of gates.

"This is?"

A beautiful young woman with long gray hair tucked into a bun and a tight fitting maroon suit with a mermaid skirt soon came to greet us.

"Welcome to Nariel Preparatory Academy, Lady Arielle. I am Headmaster Irene Ingram."

We proceeded to go on about a tour of the school.

"It's a beautiful school," I said.

"Thank you very much," Headmaster Ingram said. We stopped before a large bronze statue in the middle of the courtyard. "My great grandfather would be happy to hear you say that if he were still alive. He built this school during his time as a young teenager. He was also an avid researcher about the Asmaria Kingdom, so much of the designs came from past records. Even his favorite quote is written on his

statue."

The words were definitely from the Asmarian language. I doubt that anyone of this time had been able to decipher such advanced writing yet.

"...What does it say?" I asked her.

"There is really no way to confirm the translation, but my great grandfather thought it was such pretty writing that it probably had something to do with 'paradise' or 'Heaven' maybe," she said.

The quote actually reads, 'Hell is yourself and the only redemption is when a person puts himself aside to feel deeply for another person.'

Her translation was far from it, but it was still a decent quote her great grandfather chose.

"It would be great if it was that," I said with a smile.

Out of the corner of my eye, I had caught the sight of white flowers. I was drawn to its allure and had incidentally lost my way. I paid not too much mind at my own situation and decided to stay where I was at and continued staring at the flowers.

Calla Lily Flowers...

They were Erik's favorite flowers.

I recalled a conversation I had with Erik when we were out on a date in our teen years in our first life.

"Arielle, have you ever wondered why white calla lilies are popular in religious art?" Erik asked.

"It is white?"

"That is true. There are many other flowers that are white too..."

"Then, their beauty?" I said as I reached my hand out towards the flower.

"All parts of the plant are poisonous," Erik said.

I immediately retracted my hand.

"Eek!"

Erik laughed at me for a short while.

"It is just that eating any part of the plant can lead to diarrhea, stomach pains, intense burning sensations, swelling of the throat, tongue and lips. It may be fatal upon eating... I do hear that the leaves are edible after cooking, would you like to try your chances?"

"No, thank you! Who would ever want to try such a thing?"

"...It's strange how such a beautiful flower that is highly toxic to be used often used in religion as a symbol of purity. This flower is considered a symbol for resurrection and rebirth because it returns every year after winter. These flowers are sturdy as they are stunning and can withstand frosts and can regrow in cases after being cut, yet they have such short lifespans. I think it's beautiful how it tries to live its life out

to the fullest despite holding in such high amounts of poison."

Erik would sometimes say odd and grim things to me.

"...I still think it is beautiful even after everything you have said."

Erik touched my cheek.

"These flowers also come in pink. They represent admiration and flirting," Erik whispered in my ear as he pulled me in close. "Shall I gift wrap it in a vase for you after this winter, or would you prefer something larger and warmer as a gift?"

I quickly wiped the memory out of my mind. I held my cheeks as they had become warm from the memory and furiously shook my head.

I took out my watch and saw that I had been gone for about ten minutes already.

Maybe I should walk towards a place that is easier to spot?

As I was walking, I accidentally tripped over my own two feet.

Embarrassing enough as it was, my lack of balance was so terrible...

"Are you alright?" a boy asked as he lent out his hand.

"I am fine, thank-"

Erik?

My heart sank.☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐