Once again, unannounced POV switch in this chapter.
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Wriothesley's POV
While I somehow managed to get us to our first destination, my mind still wasn't working properly.
Uhm...
Wha...
That...
What?
What was...
Wow...
Just now, Neuvillette...
He-
Wait.
Was he-
"Neuvillette you teasing son of a-"
"That one doesn't work."
"Argh!"
He was teasing!
That smile currently gracing his lips is more than enough proof of that!
He teased me so much that my mind went blank for a solid ten minutes!
Neuvillette!
You stupidly pretty bastard!
"Neuv, can you wait here for a bit?" I asked him when we arrived in front of Hotel Debord.
"Of course." He smiled.
He smiled.
Again!
He has been smiling all day!
Ugh! My heart can't take this!
I went inside and quickly picked up to basket of treats and snacks that I had ordered the day before and ignoring the now very obvious stares, rushed back outside.
As soon as I came out the door I found Neuvillette smiling.
I couldn't help but frown.
He.
Was.
Smiling.
At.
Someone.
Else.
It made me incredibly annoyed.
The girls were fine. Furina was okay as well.
But that's it.
He used to be so stingy with smiles and he still is with most so...
The current situation caused me to frown even deeper.
Finally having noticed my presence, Neuvillette turned around to face me.
"Ah, Wriothesley, you're back!"
Yes, yes I am.
To an unpleasant sight.
"That reminds me. I don't believe the two of you have met before.
No, we have not and I would have loved to keep it that way.
"Allow me to introduce you. Wriothesley, this is Gerald Traver, a retired member of the Phantom. Gerald this is Duke Wriothesley, the Administrator of the Fortress of Meropide."
He even calls him by name.
"Nice to meet you, Your Grace."
"Likewise, Monsieur Traver."
I somehow forced a polite smile.
Though...
It seems I was seen through.
"Oh, please, Gerald is fine. And, Your Grace, you should know that the reason I retired was because my wife was pregnant." He smiled.
The sentence 'You can stop being jealous now.' was written all over his face.
I was not being jealous!
I just don't like having some unknown guy hanging around my stupid little dragon!
It took everything I had to hold back a flush of shame.
This is so embarrassing!
He gave me a once over, his line of sight jumping over to Neuvillette for a moment before it returned to me.
"Good luck, Your Grace."
"Excuse me?"
Good luck?
"The Marechaussee Phantom is a detective force, Your Grace. I for one managed to work my way up till I had to answer to Monsieur Neuvillette only. It is only natural I would notice your intentions." He smiled.
My intentions?
Wait.
He couldn't possibly-
Just as I was about to deny the idea he lifted his hand slightly and not so subtly fiddled with his wedding ring.
Archons!
Was I being so obvious?!
"Good luck, Your Grace. You will certainly need it. Oh, and please note that you might need to be far more straightforward with your intentions than you think."
He said goodbye to Neuvillette and nodded at me with a grin before departing.
Oh, my god!
Neuvillette wouldn't have noticed my intentions as well right?
I shot him a wary look only for it to be returned with an innocent and wholly oblivious questioning glance.
"Wrio?"
Yeah, no way.
I reckon if I accidentally dropped the ring, he would just pick it up and return it to me.
"Truly a pity to lose him." Neuvillette sighed.
"Huh?"
Truly a pity to lose whom.
"Why Gerald, of course."
And why the hell is it a pity to lose him?
What's so good about that guy?
Besides, he is already married and has a child on the way.
"He is to date one of the best investigators within the Phantom. Quite a few of Meropide's worst have been put there because of him."
Tsk!
No need to praise him so much.
"I'm the one who takes care of Meropide's worst after they're thrown down there." I mumbled.
How come he gets praised and I don't?
"Well, of course. My Wrio is the best after all." He smiled.
"Excuse me?"
I must have misheard something.
I definitely misheard something.
There is no way he said-
"I said that since you are the best there is, you would naturally be able to take care of all of them, my Wrio." He repeated.
You-
How can you say something like that so casually?!
"L-Let's go now."
I don't think I can stand this much longer.
Can I even propose in the state I'm in?!
He smiled.
Again.
Still.
And he reached out to hold my hand.
Aah!
This!
This I can't handle!
What's with the handholding?!
We never held hands before!
How is he fine with this?!
To be perfectly honest, Neuvillette wasn't exactly as calm about this whole situation as Wriothesley thought.
For one, even now he was wondering how the warden had yet to notice that his hand shook slightly from time to time.
Holding hands is still a bit...
My hand tightened around Wriothesleys and I hoped he continued not to notice.
But.
How long are we going to wander around like this?
It is nice to spend time with Wrio, but people keep staring still.
Am I not making it obvious enough that he is mine?
Though...
It is somewhat understandable.
His face has been the cutest shade of red for a while now.
And...
Pfft!
To think he would become jealous so easily.
I do wonder what the two were talking about though.
Just what did Gerlad figure out that made Wrio so flustered?
I allowed him to lead me through the streets of Fontaine as my eyes drifted over to the basket he was holding.
It was closed, but I could still make out most of its contents by smell.
Hmm...
He prepared quite a lot.
"Wrio dear, what exactly will we be doing exactly?"
"A picnic."
"Picnic?"
"Yeah. There is a little hill full of flowers behind the Opera Epiclese."
Picnic?
Hill full of flowers?
"All in all, my dream proposal would be something like a picnic in a flower field during sunset." Navia's words rand in my mind.
Hmm...
This...
Is this perhaps...
This might be the perfect place for Navia's dream proposal.
Maybe I should inform Clorinde of it later. She seemed quite interested in the details of Naiva's vision.
Now that I think about it.
If those two deemed such a setting appropriate for a proposal then perhaps I will have a chance today after all.
How wonderful.
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I got totally sidetracked.
Still no proposal it seems.