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Back home, night had already fallen.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp541CEyA4m
The door to Suzuran’s room closed with a soft click, and the house returned to silence once more.
In his own room, Koichi Kimijima slipped off his suit jacket in one smooth, practiced motion—14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1hKJ3Adfei
just like he always did.
But as his fingers reached into the pocket—
He paused, momentarily caught off guard.
His hand touched something unfamiliar: a small, unfamiliar card.
He pulled it out.
It was a dainty card with pink edging—the kind used for the event earlier.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGra5DpXXPs
The handwriting on it was unmistakable—soft and familiar, dancing lightly across the paper:
“Thank you… for staying by my side every Valentine’s Day.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmuWphsk079
You always say it’s your duty…14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJax5q3wTf
But still, I… really, truly appreciate it. Mm.”
He stared at the words, silent for a moment.
Then, almost involuntarily, the corner of his lips lifted.
A soft chuckle escaped him.
“When did she slip this in…?”
He tried to retrace his steps—14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg1YBsqeipB
Was it on the escalator? While walking to the café?
He could vividly picture her fumbling hands, flushed cheeks…14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGwm7ItfnFr
But couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment it happened.
Yet that sentence—that final “mm”—14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAqqTN0zRBI
felt like a breath left lingering on the card’s edge: gentle, but real.
He ran his thumb slowly over the paper, eyes drifting out toward the night beyond the window.
Scenes flooded his mind, unbidden—
Her hand in his on the escalator,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM756GzTwX2
The way her eyes went wide when he offered her the biscuit,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡogJ67Ia3bU
That flustered cry: “Ｉ might have a heart attack!”,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbVYzAWYsjB
The moment she hugged her head, utterly embarrassed…
They were home now.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡipVFW9R3Gh
He should be organizing the day’s reports, preparing a summary of the outing.
But his thoughts remained—14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyTe3VzUiYR
stuck in that single, flickering moment at the mall.
He whispered, barely above a breath:
“My lady… do you realize how many of your little ‘slips’ sound a bit too honest?”
He stood still in the middle of his room,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfZ9sA4AnEs
carefully flattening the small card in his hands,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB1raC6cln6
reading it again and again.
Each simple word stitched itself into his chest—14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgSPcraCDwz
like threads piercing quietly, one at a time.
He gently closed the card, pressing it between his palms.
Then, with a soft bow of his head and hands clasped,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX3e15O9ZzP
he whispered a silent prayer—
“Ran… may your life be filled with peace.”
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhkMQRGKjr3
Not asking for anything.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5wPO0wwZe1
Not asking to be loved in return.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUtbmlPyeHM
Not asking to be closer.
All he wished—
Was that the girl who always smiled through her fears,
Even if she someday fell in love with someone else,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKP23rh7Z0u
Even if she remained forever out of reach—
Would still be treated kindly by the world.
He opened his hands,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCkx8xE1pgl
then lowered his head—14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3apxgfmvia
and placed the lightest of kisses onto the pink-edged card.
It wasn’t the paper he was kissing.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNcBv4lvClh
It was her—
Her forehead, her fingers,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJEYnucwBfc
the trembling lips that had whispered “thank you.”14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ90zzNrkFZN
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh9IaxqIyYK
He quietly tucked the card into the deepest corner of his drawer.
His fingers lingered at the edge a moment longer,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpuI1cDoBm3
as if sealing away a feeling that could never be spoken aloud.
Night fell deeper.
But in his heart,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVO0BltvBZF
he was still standing at the very beginning of that love escalator—
The place where she had once held his hand,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC4IdyWcT9M
and where the warmth of that touch still burned in his palm.
Meanwhile…
After her bath, Suzuran stepped into her room wearing a long house dress, towel-drying her damp hair.
She was just about to sit at her vanity when—
She stopped.
On the tabletop sat a beautifully wrapped gift box.
A silver-white ribbon she knew all too well was tied into a perfect bow.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4RaM7zzwwD
Beside it rested a small card.
“Wh-what—when did he put this here…?”
Her heart stopped for a beat.
She hurried over, caught somewhere between panic and anticipation,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgFW2bGLWqb
and gingerly picked up the card.
The handwriting—14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡERwI5tMxHz
was his.
So familiar it made her fingertips tremble.
“My lady, you are a lily in the valley—14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡak5NajhUOV
Quietly blooming, yet impossible to overlook.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtejECiUDw2
I admire you.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuwX7cQYphJ
—in every way I’m allowed to, as your butler.”
She froze.
Her eyes locked onto that line, unable to move.
And then—
Warm tears slid quietly down her cheeks.
Not sobbing—14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUe82zIBgol
Just a silent, breathless stream, as if even breathing too loud might break the moment.
She didn’t know if she was happy… or heartbroken.
Maybe it was because the word “admire” held such gentle weight—
Or maybe it was the way he chose the word “admire”—14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjKj8aBAkGc
a word that framed all his feelings neatly14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE1c2MMypJO
within the role he was never allowed to step beyond.
She gently opened the box.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWogT3jmv4z
A familiar scent wafted up at once—
It was her favorite perfume.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG7lzeSdtS0
Penhaligon’s · Lily of the Valley.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtMxe8Squ1R
The scent of valley lilies—soft, clean, and tender.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8tKr6Q7Axk
Like a confession that never quite found its voice in spring.
She held the bottle in her hands.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiFwcTs4EQO
Her nose tingled, her heart ached, as if the scent had grazed it lightly.
And then, softly, she murmured—
“Why did you have to choose ‘admire’… when you could’ve said ‘adore’?”
Just one word. Just one step closer.
But instead, he chose the one that kept them apart.
Her eyes welled again.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7iAjxqPH8N
Her grip on the bottle tightened just a little.
She looked down at the label, her vision blurring slightly.
Then she closed her eyes—
And gently rested her forehead against the glass,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ07osI3aQrJ
as if hoping to hide inside it,
To escape the emotion threatening to overflow.
And in her heart, one quiet thought surfaced:
“What do I do… I like you so much…”14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB1OmzLxR4L
“So much, I couldn’t even bring myself to go watch the fireworks with you.”14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Our0uokLa
"Because if I did… I’d fall harder than I already have."
She never did see the rooftop fireworks that night.
But deep down, she knew—
Her heart had already exploded14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqtjSm2vLtv
on that love escalator14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ66FNR9JvYT
earlier that day.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ6AJ4CHxQd
