Another Life, Another Me

98. Come Back, Please

"Are you okay, Ash?" I asked my brother with a worried glance as I noticed his heavy eyebags.

"I. Am. Exhausted," he groaned as he plopped himself on the nearest couch and rested his eyes.

With a relaxed sigh, I sat down by my brother's side and gave a warm smile.

"Thank you so much...for everything," I murmured as I rubbed his shoulder a little.

Although I'm sure Ash would never admit it, I knew exactly how hard he worked to make sure everything in the wedding would be perfect from beginning to end.

"Humph. It wasn't that big of a deal. What type of brother would I be if I couldn't even do a single favor for my baby sister?" he muttered with a great yawn.

I chuckled a bit at his reaction and let him slowly fall asleep.

"You...owe...me...big time..." Ash said as his voice gradually fell.

The wedding was scheduled to begin in six hours...and the entirety of the dukedom was hectic trying to prepare everything on time.

So far, things seemed to be running quite smoothly.

I gave a small sigh as soon as I noticed Ash's breathing come to a peaceful slow and stood up from the couch before leaving the room completely.

As I walked through the halls, I caught a glimpse of fluffy, strawberry-colored hair.

"Wolfe...!" I called out as I quickened my pace to reach him.

His curly red hair bounced a little as he turned his head around to face me, suddenly aware of my presence.

"Oh...hello," he said as he nodded his head in my direction.

"Where were you going?" I asked.

"Nowhere in particular...?" Wolfe replied with the cock of his head as he fumbled a bit with his fingers.

Nowadays, Wolfe always seemed a bit awkward...or, more specifically, it always seemed as if though he were attempting to keep a reasonable distance away from me.

I mean...I could at least understand why he was like this...

But still...

It was upsetting...

"Since we have quite a bit of time before we are needed to do anything, would you like to go somewhere?" I asked Wolfe with a bright smile.

"...huh?"

"Ah...I just came up with a good idea. Do you want to do some sword sparring with me?"

"But...your appearance will..." Wolfe murmured with a frown as he glanced down at my delicate, lilac-colored gown adorned with deep blue flowers.

"Oh. I almost forgot about this stupid dress," I clicked my tongue as I tapped my high heels against the wooden floors.

"If that's the case, then I will be off," Wolfe nodded his head and turned around, ready to leave.

"Wait...!" I yelled as I grabbed onto his wrist to stop him from going anywhere.

"..."

"It's been a while since we've done anything together though. How about we do something fun? It doesn't have to be sparring," I said.

"..."

Wolfe's expression was stiff for a while before it eventually softened and he reached his hand out to me, giving me a few gentle pats on the head. 

"Maybe next time," he said.

"Oh...Okay..." I nodded my head a bit sadly.

Maybe we could do something fun after the wedding.