My Unrequited Love Is an Absolute Secret - Chapter 54

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 54

“Let’s meet in the Hallway at 8 tomorrow morning.”
It seemed my earnest plea had gotten through to him.
Judging by the way Aemerus brushed past the incident as if nothing had happened.
“Is 8 o’clock too early?”
When I hesitated to answer, Aemerus tilted his head to one side and asked.
“No. Robin would be up at 6 anyway. You can’t underestimate children’s stamina.”
At my response, Aemerus smiled with an inscrutable expression.
No, it was probably just a smile with no particular meaning behind it.
Yet my heart was racing again.
Something inside me must be fundamentally broken.
“Rest.”
Aemerus casually stirred up my mind and then leisurely left the room.
Left alone, I covered my mouth with my hand and let out a silent scream.
“I’m insane, I’m insane!”
If my mother hadn’t called, I would have kissed Aemerus right then and there.
‘How am I supposed to face Aemerus tomorrow?’
There were still three more days left until the trip ended.
“Ugh….”
Even if I was excited from the trip, this was too much.
I claimed to like Jessie, yet I was about to kiss Aemerus.
‘What if he thinks I’m a frivolous woman?’
I tugged at my hair in frustration.
‘Where did things go wrong?’
Was it when I asked him if he had someone special?
Or when I playfully rested my thigh on him?
Or was it a mistake to join this trip in the first place?
“I’m really losing it.”
I wished I could turn back time if I could….
But even if I did, I doubted I could coldly reject Aemerus.
“Do I actually like Aemerus?”
I was shocked to realize that my feelings toward Jessie had changed.
Of course, lately I’d been disappointed and hurt by Jessie on my own quite often.
And each time, Aemerus filled the void he left behind.
“It might just be a misunderstanding.”
No one could replace Jessie.
And Aemerus was certainly not the type of man to be anyone’s substitute.
Aemerus deserved far better treatment than that.
‘Yes, so….’
Nothing would change.
I still liked Jessie, and Aemerus was a good friend—that was all there was to it.
I hated anything complicated or troublesome.
‘Coward.’
Even if someone in my mind condemned me, there was nothing I could do about it.
I was a coward, plain and simple.
Most of all, it was difficult to admit that my long-held unrequited love for Jessie could be shaken so easily.
“Sigh….”
Contrary to my earlier claim that I would sleep early, I lay motionless in place, suffering for quite some time.
[Sister…. Sister, where are you?]
My body responded instinctively to Robin’s voice calling for me as he woke from sleep.
[I’m here, Robin.]
When I went to the room where Robin was sleeping, I saw him trying to rise from the bed, his eyes barely open.
[Can’t we sleep together? The room is so big….]
[Yes. Let’s sleep together.]
He must have been afraid to sleep alone.
When my little brother acted so childlike, it was endearing.
I lay down beside Robin and tucked the blanket around us carefully.
I planned to stay beside him until he fell back asleep, then wash up and return.
[Go to sleep now.]
[Don’t go anywhere….]
[Okay.]
Worried that I might run away, Robin gripped my fingers tightly as he drifted off to sleep.

‘You know, Harry. I’ve always….’

Staring up at the pitch-black ceiling, I reflected on the conversation we had shared.
But no matter how much I thought about it alone, I could never figure out what Aemerus had been trying to say.

***

“Wake up, Lili.”
I stirred awake at the sensation of hands shaking my body.
Robin, energized after charging through the night, was shaking my arm with renewed vigor.
“What time is it?”
“Six o’clock!”
I should have seen this coming.
I covered my eyes with my hand.
I wanted to sleep longer, but Robin would never let me rest in peace.
“Get up already. I’m bored.”
“You’re bored, so you’re going to kill your older sister?”
I groaned and stretched across the bed.
I’d been too anxious last night to sleep, and now my mind felt clouded and hazy.
“I’m hungry, Sis.”
“…You can’t be hungry.”
I couldn’t let my little brother go without food.
Rising from the bed with my eyes still puffy and barely open, I found something to feed Robin.
I handed him the welcome snacks provided by the 5-Star Hotel, then went to the Bathroom to wash up.
Even after hastily preparing to go out, I still had plenty of time before my scheduled meeting with Aemerus.
‘Aemerus should be awake by now.’
I hesitated to contact him about moving up our appointment—yesterday’s near-kiss made me feel oddly embarrassed.
‘What if he gets the wrong idea?’
What if he thought I wanted to meet him sooner because I was eager to see him…
Either way, it felt awkward.
“Sis, when are we going out?”
Should I contact Aemerus or not?
Robin whined at me as I fidgeted with my phone.
“Let’s go out and play just the two of us first.”
“Is that okay?”
“Yeah. We won’t go far—just play in front of the 5-Star Hotel. Want to build a snowman?”
“Yes!”
“Then bring your hat and gloves.”
I decided to let him burn off his boundless energy outside since I couldn’t handle it alone.
“Robin’s being fussy, so I’m heading out first.”
“We’ll be building a snowman in front of the 5-Star Hotel, so take your time coming down.”
After sending the message to Aemerus, I went outside with Robin.
At this early hour, there were barely any people around, let alone staff members.
“Wow, so much snow!”
It must have snowed again overnight.
Robin beamed at the sight of the fresh, pristine snow.
Snow accumulating like this in November was quite unusual.
It finally hit me that I wasn’t in the United States anymore.
[Let’s build a big snowman!]
[How big should we make it?]
[Hmm, as big as Dancing King?]
[That’s too big….]
Aemerus would have to be enormous.
Swallowing my grumbling, I silently rolled my eyes.
Building the massive torso fell to me.
[Robin, look at this! It’s huge, right?]
With so much snow accumulated, there was real satisfaction in crafting the snowman.
[No. It needs to be bigger.]
[Bigger than this?]
As the two of them sniffled and diligently rolled snow, someone approached and spoke to us.
It was Aemerus.
“I heard you were making a snowman, but where is it?”
“Dancing King!”
Robin stopped rolling snow and scampered over to Aemerus, hugging him.
“Did you sleep well, Robin?”
“Yeah.”
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“I’m hungry.”
“Then why are you out playing?”
Aemerus chuckled helplessly and turned to look at me.
“You should have called me if you woke up early.”
“Well, I….”
“Come on. Let’s go have breakfast.”
Aren’t your hands freezing?
It wasn’t easy to meet Aemerus’s gaze as he asked so tenderly.
“I need to finish the snowman.”
That’s when Robin suddenly wedged himself between us.
I was genuinely grateful we weren’t alone.
“At this rate, you two will become snowmen yourselves. Actually, no—your noses are red, so you’re Rudolphs instead.”
Aemerus teased Robin’s nose, reddened from the cold, and poked it with his finger.
‘He’s touching my nose again.’
Yesterday he kissed my nose too.
At the unbidden thought, my face flushed crimson.
‘What am I thinking right now…!’
I had to spend the entire day with Aemerus, and it was already off to a terrible start.
Trying to hide my reddened face, I pretended to busily roll snow, but Aemerus drew closer.
“Are you avoiding me right now?”
Startled by the question whispered close to her ear, Harry jumped in place.
“W-what are you talking about? Why would I avoid you?”
Aemerus smiled faintly, mirroring her awkward laughter.
“Right? I almost misunderstood for a moment there.”
“That would’ve been a disaster. We can’t have misunderstandings. I mean….”
He watched her ramble in confusion, then gestured toward the snowball with his chin.
“Are you going to roll it more?”
“Yeah. Robin wants me to make a snowman as tall as you.”
“That’s a difficult path. It won’t be easy.”
“Tell me about it.”
I wanted to avoid Aemerus’s constant conversation and roll the snowball, but even that wasn’t going according to my wishes.
The snowball had grown so massive that it became incredibly heavy—it wouldn’t budge an inch with my strength.
“I’ll roll it.”
“No, it’s fine….”
The snowball that hadn’t moved an inch in Harry’s hands began rolling smoothly as if it had been waiting for Aemerus’s touch.
“…You’re good at everything, even making snowmen.”
“What else am I good at?”
Kissing without even dating?
Of course, Harry only answered that in her mind.
‘Please stop thinking about that!’
Is my head filled with nothing but kiss thoughts?
I scolded myself and answered as casually as I could.
“You’re good at Hockey Team.”
“I’m good at other things besides Hockey Team.”
“Other things? Like what?”
Aemerus smiled mysteriously as he watched Harry tilt her head in confusion.
“…?”
Was it just my imagination that his smile felt so meaningful?
For some reason, a chill ran down my spine and I shivered.
In any case, thanks to Aemerus joining in, the massive snowman was completed in no time.
“Robin, I’ll take a photo. Go stand next to the snowman.”
“Again? We took plenty yesterday.”
I positioned the reluctant Robin next to the snowman and took the photo.
“…Aemerus, you stand next to it too. I’ll take one of you both together.”
“Should I?”
At my words, Aemerus broke into a bright smile and positioned himself next to the snowman.
I had worried that things would become awkward between us after last night.
It seemed my worry was unnecessary.
‘Is it only me who keeps thinking about it?’
That’s unfair.
Gazing at Aemerus beaming brilliantly beyond the camera, Harry found herself biting her lip without realizing it.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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