𝓶𝓾𝔃𝓪𝓷 𝔁 𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓮𝓻
❝Lift your head (Y/N), ❞ he said smoothly.
You looked up to see him staring down at you with a slight smirk.
❝Are you sure you're not starting something you can't finish?❞
--
to kibutsuji, time is like a ticking bomb. he'...
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Kibutsuji sat in his room his eyes staring up at the wooden ceiling above him. Today was Monday.
It had been about a week since you had sent him the initial love letter and it was the day he was supposed to see you again.
The room around him was quiet as he sat by himself. Nothing much had happened since then. It had been the same old routine for him.
Sleep. Wake. Medicine. Faint.
The cycle seemed to repeat itself. Two days never went by without Kibutsuji intaking a ridiculous amount of herbs and medicinal plants.
Truthfully, he needed them to maintain a stable condition but he found it awfully inconvenient. It was strange to him how everyone else was able to move around freely.
He sighed a bit his hands sliding through his black locks.
Life was awfully boring.
When were you going to get here?
As if by magic, a knock was heard on his door.
He sighed.
A servant walked in, "My lord-,"
"Is she here?"
She nodded.
"Let her in."
He watched as you walked in shortly after wearing a light blue kimono with a blue flower placed in your hair. Your hair was braided back into a long straight pattern and you smiled softly upon seeing him.
In normal situations, a man would feel his chest tighten seeing a woman as pretty as you, but for Kibutsuji he couldn't care less.
Somehow, he could see anxiety behind your smiling eyes and that seemed to interest him more than your appearance.
"My lord," you spoke.
He blinked. There it was, the only part of you he openly liked. Your voice.
To him, it wasn't too soft nor rough, it was the perfect temperature, a melting velvety sound that pleased his ears.
Most times, people's voices annoyed him, yours didn't.
"It's nice to see you again, my lord."
He gave a single nod not bothering to respond.
Despite his visible coldness, you continued on with your open friendliness.
"May I sit here?"
You walked closer to the table he was sitting at choosing a safe distance away from him.
He didn't reject and so you tried to elegantly sit down as best as you could.
The rules of courtship were simple:
No touching.
No excessive talking.
No blantant flirting.
Constant supervision.
You looked to your left to see Nao staring at the two of you carefully. She seemed to be taking her role as supervisor very seriously. Her face was stained with the type of strictness you only rarely saw from her. It was the don't-try-me face.
A silence filled the room as you looked back at Kibutsuji and you stared at each other.
You forced yourself to speak up, "I was surprised you accepted my request."
As soon as the words left your mouth you cringed at them. They made you sound unconfident and uncertain, it wasn't the image you wanted to portray for yourself.
"I've never heard of a woman writing a love letter before."
You thought before you spoke, "There's a first time for everything. How are you feeling?"
Kibutsuji frowned.
He hated that question.
In terms of health, he was the same as always.
He was sick. He was dying. He was clinging to life like no one's business.
His eyes looked up at you icily.
You stiffened a bit.
Had you said the wrong thing?
"I'm not alright. Of all, people you should know."
You bit your lip.
"Do you want to know why I accepted your love letter?"
You blinked.
All of a sudden?
"I assume it's becau—"
"I did it because I was bored. No other reason."
...
You were stunned for a moment as you felt something drop inside of you. You felt a sudden sway of emotion you couldn't quite describe, it hit your heart unexpectedly.
"Oh," your voice cracked, "I see..."
There was a shift in the aura of the room as you clenched your fists tightly.
You held back tears to the best of your ability, "I didn't know that it was like that..."
Your voice trailed off but you maintained eye contact to the best of your ability.
You weren't going to cry.
You didn't want to cry, but you knew if you stayed here much longer you undoubtedly would.
Like a knight in shining armour, Nao spoke.
"My lady, would you like to call it a day?"
You had barely been here for five minutes but you nodded as you quickly rose to your feet. Nao placed your matching outer cloak over your shoulders as she silently lead you out of the room.
As soon as she did, tears began to fall.
You gasped a bit and Nao walked you silently down the hall.
"Insensitive bastard," she murmured.
You shook your head, "No it's my fault. I shouldn't have asked him that question."
::
You walked back to your estate silently on a dirt road by a grand pond. Your eyes stared at the water as a sour feeling consumed you.
You simply couldn't stop replaying the moment in your mind.
Your mind was going through an avalanche of emotions, perhaps because you were absorbing your father's words.
Were you an idiot?
For the first time, you actually thought you might be.
How could you jump the gun like that and write a love letter? Why did you confess your love to a man who only said yes because he was "bored"?
Your eyes grew cold as you silently learned your lesson. You would never do this again. You couldn't even bear to see Kibutsuji. Perhaps you really should have called the courtship off when your father asked.
"Lady (Y/N)!"
You turned around to see a unfamiliar face running towards you. You narrowed your eyes a bit and Nao immediately stood in front of you to guard you.
"What business do you have with the lady?"
The woman gasped for air before speaking, "It's master Kibutsuji. H-He's coughing up blood and barely breathing, I-I heard that you were the daughter of a doctor I thought that maybe—"
Before she could even finish her sentence you began sprinting back to the Kibutsuji compound, your hair flowing violently in the wind.
