Translator: shiko
Proofreader: FrowningTea
Quality Check: asuramaru
Chapter 8
"So you got a boyfriend, Meize? Is it someone we know?"
Sarah, with her plate full of cookies, pouted with her triangular eyes. There aren't many girls in a poor country village that would wear expensive silk, but Sarah's pyjamas were the most expensive of all the girls at the party.
"It just happened. Mrs. Becca introduced me to him and he turned out to be better than I expected."
I smiled innocently at the eyes staring at me, using Meize's so-called 'Loveable Smile'.
"That can't be true. How can a relative of Mrs. Becca be good?"
"To be exact, he's Mrs. Becca's cousin's brother-in-law. Calling them relatives, isn't that a bit of a stretch?"
"So, what's your new man's name?"
"It sounds a bit weird to call him my 'new man'."
"Well, what do you want us to call him? It's the right term. Your new boyfriend, your new man."
I picked up a cookie from the pile that Sarah brought in while the girls chatted about Yse and I. A hot, freshly baked cookie. I'm going to eat the cookie with the biggest chocolate chip.
"No, that doesn't matter right now. So, what's your boyfriend's name? Do you call him by a nickname when you're together?"
"His name is Yse Lancel, and I don't call him by a nickname."
He isn't even my real lover so, wouldn't calling him by a nickname going a bit too far?
"Lancel? Wasn't Mrs. Becca's cousin's last name Gailan?"
"Well, she's married, so her last name has changed.”
"No, I think his last name was Wood, and the other was Gaalanin."
"Hey, I'm sure you remembered it wrong. It's her lover's last name, so surely Meize would know it better."
"Is that how it is?"
Just like before, the eyes of my friends, after coming to a conclusion, all looked at me. I smiled with 'Meize's Lovable Smile' once again. In fact, I wasn't paying attention to whatever they were talking about because I was too focused on the cookies.
In front of Yse, I'd just chew and eat the cookie like a normal person. But Sarah and all my other friends knew what the original Meize was like so I had to chew carefully like a lady.
"So, what kind of man is Yse? Is he handsome? Meize, don't hold back and tell us all about him. I'm wondering what kind of man was able to get the prettiest girl around here."
Lily squeezed my shoulders and urged me to tell the story. Instead of eating the peanut butter cookie I was aiming for next, I swallowed my regret and thought about Yse.
"Well, first of all, he's definitely handsome. I didn't have a very noticeable impression of him, but it was a good one."
"Oho, how tall is he? Is he big? Small? What about his body?"
"He's really tall. And he's muscular. You know, not the lumpy kind but tight and well-shaped muscles."
[T/N: girl how u know that? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)]
Kyaaa, I laughed emptily at the screams disguised as cheers that came from every side.
"What about his voice? I especially like a man with a deep voice."
Julia put her hand over her red cheeks and shook her head. Well, if they give me such a good response I'll have to continue telling them.
"His voice? It's good, too. His voice is deep and has a very clear sound to it… So, it's a nice, cold and deep voice that sounds good to the ear."
"That's the best. So, what's his job?"
"He's a government employee."
"…That man, is he really the man Mrs. Becca introduced you to? That's amazing."
My friends are too good to me. I didn't get any compliments but I felt so proud I laughed along with them.
"You're thinking about him right now, aren't you, Meize? Do you already like him so much that you're laughing just thinking about him?"
"It's nice. He's a really good guy."
Except for one thing, we're just friends.
"So, are you guys thinking about getting into a serious relationship?"
"The relationship is already serious…"
"Marriage, Meize. I'm talking about marriage. If he's such a nice guy, you should get him to stick around. Don't you think you should just go for it if you're serious about him?"
Yse as my husband. I think it'd be nice. He's handsome, has a stable job, and good-natured. It would be perfect, except for the fact that he doesn't have any feelings for me.
“Well, I haven't thought about getting married yet, but frankly, I'm just starting a relationship, so I'd like to get to know him better before diving in.”
"Well, if Meize is happy, I'm happy. Although, I'm sure most of the guys around here will be very sad. Meize, the prettiest girl in town, got herself a boyfriend."
"That's too bad; the early bird gets the worm."
The room was cheerful, bursting with laughter just as expected. I sat down in front of the cookie plate and reached out to the peanut cookies I had been eyeing before.
"Oh, now that Meize already has a boyfriend, what happens to our blind date?"
Ah, that's right. The blind date. Come to think of it, I promised I'd come.
"You have a boyfriend already, so you can't go the blind date anymore, right?"
"Ah… I've already asked tons of people to come, and where can I find someone as popular as Meize to go instead? I bragged so much to John about Meize coming to the blind date, too!"
"Actually, most of the guys are coming because Meize is coming."
As my friends glanced over at me, I realized that I was stuck in a difficult situation.
Guys, please don't look at me with those nervous eyes. I just want to eat my peanut butter cookies peacefully. Plus, I don't think the idea you all have in your heads is gonna be good for me.
[T/N: from here on, it's Yse's pov]
“Hey, can I go on a blind date?”
Yse clenched his fist as he stared at Meize who was looking at him with her hands folded and earnest eyes. Because of that, the spoon he was holding under the table became a handful of powder, but Meize didn't know that.
"A blind date? Why a blind date?"
Even while shaking the metal powder off his hands, he couldn't bare to lose his smile. Yse smiled brightly, in contrast to the bubbling feeling in his stomach. Meize was sly but Yse was particularly alert, immediately noticing the strange question. He wasn't able to let his guard down for even a moment.
"Didn't you say that you didn't have any plans to date for a while? There's an excuse for having a love interest but there isn't any for going on a blind date."
"Well, that's true. First of all, it was a promise I made before I met you. And I've only spoken of our relationship to my friends who are going to the blind date with me…"
"Wait, Meize. What you just said right now was a bit strange. You're all going on a blind date together?"
"Ah, it's a group blind date. Four guys, four girls."
Yse's smile shook for a moment.
Not one, but four?
Yse could bet his whole fortune that they'd all favour Meize. I swear, it's not based on my personal opinion but Meize is very pretty and lovely. It was natural for all of them to favour her.
Of course, they will all be heartbroken the moment they hear the news.
"Cough cough, anyway. Even if we're in a fake relationship, I still feel like I should ask for your permission."
Who would give that kind of permission? Meize stated it as a matter of fact. Yse, who was caught by surprise, pressed his index finger against his furrowed brow and muttered to himself. I was sure it would be a perfectly nice day, studying and eating with Meize. But Meize's statement made his head hurt.
"So if I tell you to not go, you won't?"
When I accidentally let that slip, I became embarrassed by Meize's perplexed expression. She asked me for permission but it was clear she didn't want to be rejected. Because that's the kind of person Meize thinks I am: a well-mannered, nice man who wouldn't reject her.
"Don't be so surprised, I'm joking."
I smiled amiably as I reached my hand over to Meize ear. I felt reluctant to get close enough to touch her cheek but I couldn't be happier when she jokingly rubbed her cheek against my hand. Her eyes showed no interest in the blind date.
"I felt a little reluctant to go until now but I think it'll be okay since you're fine with it. I think I'll be able to make more friends thanks to Yse."
I'm not who you think I am. Yse glared at Meize who was speaking mercilessly and nonchalantly.
But his opponent was Meize. The same Meize Hazelnut who makes a decision in the blink of an eye and jumps straight into it. If he tried to stop her from going, there was a good chance that all of the efforts he'd put into earning her favor so far would be reduced to naught.
“I hope that you'll enjoy your trip.”
The answer that Yse gave was already set in stone. It was the gentlemanly answer that Meize was imagining.
“I'm going to go for the purpose of making good friends, not for the purpose of dating. Wouldn't it be easier to enjoy it that way?"
“But I'm a little jealous, though. You're my only friend, Meize.”
Of course, I didn't forget to reveal a bit of hidden selfishness in that statement.
"Don't worry. You're my most precious friend."
The problem was, whatever I try to reveal, whether selfless or selfish, just goes straight over her head.
I didn't know what moves to make to win Meize's favour, something that I'd been troubled with since the first time we met, but the problem would always come back like a cat who always come home.
Narrow shoulders and beautiful blonde hair, and blue eyes wrapped in eyelashes the same colour as her hair. Snow-white skin and contrasting rose-coloured cheeks. Lips redder than her cheeks, as lovely as a flower, that was Meize Hazelnut.
Objectively, Meize is a beauty, but it wasn't her appearance that caught my eye. If it were only her face that had been my taste, it would have been better to kidnap her than to go through the trouble of wooing her. Besides, it wasn't like there weren't any other beauties in the Demon King's castle.
Yse wanted Meize, not anyone else. I wanted all of her. Because, she's…
“Yse, if you aren't going to eat that ice cream, can you give it to me?”
Meize mumbled as she stared down Yse's untouched bowl of ice cream. Yse snapped himself out of his thoughts and looked at Meize.
Her blue eyes, which seemed to be the same colour as the sky, were filled with grief for the half-melted ice cream.
It would be nice if you were to look at me the same way as that ice cream.
u smell that? that's the smell of a yandere