Time flew by as Olivier Alway spoke about her mother to her fiancé. Jared’s heart warmed just watching Olivier’s expressive face as she recounted her mother’s unbelievable tales, stories that made her question whether they were true or false.
“Honestly, your mother… I don’t have words,” was her fiancé’s only comment after hearing everything.
“Hahaha, I agree,” Olivier chuckled. “I always thought you, Jared, were rather extraordinary, but it seems you take after your mother.”
“…Um, am I extraordinary?”
“Perhaps not as much as your mother, but since we met, so many things have happened, haven’t they? You’ve overcome so many difficulties, so I think you’re quite extraordinary,” Olivier said, her eyes twinkling mischievously as her smile deepened. It hadn’t even been a year since she met this younger fiancé, but he was far beyond an ordinary boy. He had sacrificed himself to fight, risking his life to win against assassins and saving her numerous times.
It wasn’t just Olivier; her mother, her relationship with her father, and her younger brothers’ worries had all moved in a positive direction thanks to Jared. She felt truly proud of her fiancé, who had saved not only her but also the entire country.
“I don’t particularly like being called extraordinary, but it’s true that many things have happened. It feels strange that it hasn’t even been a year since I met you,” Jared replied.
“Me too. So much has happened that I mistakenly feel like we’ve been together for years,” Olivier confessed.
“That’s true. Speaking of a year, Olivier, your birthday is coming up soon, isn’t it?”
When they first met, her fiancé had already celebrated his birthday. So, she had been thinking about wanting to celebrate his next birthday. Trane and Hannelore, whom she had secretly consulted, had also agreed, and she had planned to invite Duke Alway and celebrate as a family. But—
“…Jared, please, don’t bring that up,” Olivier suddenly turned pale, her smile vanishing as if her life had been drained from her.
“O-Olivier?”
Her fiancé looked at her with unfocused eyes, and she screamed internally.
“Um, did I say something that offended you?”
“No. It’s not that. It’s not that you’ve offended me.”
The boy tilted his head at Olivier’s evasive response. Her older fiancé gave a bitter smile and murmured in a voice like a vanishing whisper, “I’m not at an age where I can be happy about my birthday anymore.”
“Um. Why is that?”
“Listen! …It’s hard to say, but no, I feel extremely reluctant to say this myself. If I have another birthday, I’ll be twenty-seven. Which means! The age difference between you and me will become ten to eleven years!”
“Ah. But, well, when the new year comes, I’ll be seventeen soon, so an eleven-year difference isn’t that big of a deal.”
“You might not mind, but I do!”
Jared was at a loss for words at her fiancées’s declaration, her voice rising with a tragic expression on her face. He never said it out loud, but Olivier’s appearance made her look younger than her age. Of course, saying such a thing would be like adding fuel to the fire.
For the boy, who had grown accustomed to being with her, it would be a lie to say he hadn’t considered the age difference. However, that was more about him being younger. He sometimes worried if he, who was not yet an adult, was suitable for a woman of her age.
But Jared would never admit it. If they had just met, he might have considered that there were others more suitable for her and stepped aside, but not now. For the boy, Olivier Alway was an indispensable existence. He loved Olivier, and she said she loved him too. Therefore, there was no reason to withdraw. He knew her older fiancée was worried about the age difference, but he also knew she wouldn’t leave him for that reason.
“Come on, what’s wrong with an age difference?”
“That’s easy for you to say, being so young!”
“I don’t care if the age difference between you and me is ten years, eleven years, or even twenty years.”
“It’s not that far apart!”
“Ouch ouch, don’t hit me!”
Despite being hit for saying unnecessary things, Jared was serious. It didn’t matter how old Olivier was. He loved her because she was Olivier.
“Let’s celebrate your birthday with the whole family. I’m sure it will be a fun day.”
“Hmph. I’ll spend my birthday holed up in bed, trying not to age!”
“That’s ridiculous. You’re not a child scared of ghosts.”
“For me, getting older is scarier than being attacked by a ghost!”
Afterward, Jared somehow managed to secure a promise for a birthday party while calming Olivier, who was in a bad mood due to the conversation about age.
