Go back? There's no going back.

Well, let’s give it a try.

Thinking of this, Su Wei's attention, which had been somewhat scattered, was once again focused on the present.

He quietly watched the princess comfort him after wasting half an hour with him and getting nothing out of it...

No, that's not right.

In fact, there were already some clues from earlier, when the princess was looking at him with disappointment on her face in the carriage.

Perhaps, the reason why this lady still took such good care of me even though the employment relationship had been terminated was not only because of her gentleness and kindness, but also because of other reasons?

"……that."

"Ok?"

Looking at the princess in front of him with a puzzled look, Su Wei took a deep breath and his eyes gradually became firm.

If I make a wrong judgment this time,

If everything I just thought of was just my wishful thinking,

Then from now on, this kind princess will probably distance herself from me or even stop seeing me because she doesn't want me to have any illusions.

Even though he had realized this, Su Wei still did not hesitate any more.

Whatever the final answer is, he will gladly accept it.

"My Lady Princess, I want to ask you something."

At this point, he looked at her, moved his lips, and asked, "Do you... like me?"

When he spoke, the expression on his face was calmer than ever before.

"……Eh?"

Chapter 52: I Like You (17k)

"Do you... like me?"

"……Eh?"

As Su Wei finished speaking, the entire dormitory fell into a brief silence again.

For a moment, looking at Su Wei's face, Celsia, who had just regained a little ability to think, felt her brain go blank again.

"I……"

After an unknown amount of time, Celsia, who was being stared at by Su Wei with calm eyes, opened her mouth again.

Originally, when she was suddenly asked this question, she would subconsciously turn her head away and habitually say "I don't like it very much".

But at this moment, facing Su Wei's seemingly calm gaze, an indescribable uneasiness suddenly surged into Celcia's heart.

"If... I have to choose between hating and liking it, I would... like it."

Finally, she suppressed her increasingly fast-beating heart, pursed her lips, and spoke in a slightly stiff tone.

As she opened her mouth, a hint of doubt emerged in her mind.

This little kid, suddenly...what is he asking?

Her psychological defenses were obviously as thin as paper, but suddenly asking this question at this time... made her a little overwhelmed.

Moreover, this... shouldn't be the confession as rumored, right?

After all, if you want to confess, you should just say "I like you" instead of asking someone a weird question like "Do you like me?"

"……is that so."

On the other side, Su Wei took in the princess's reaction and blinked, pondering thoughtfully.

I feel like the princess' answer just now is... a little subtle?

Thinking of this, Su Wei was silent for a moment, and once again stared at the beautiful face of the princess in front of him and observed her carefully.

"Uh, um...Su Wei?"

But after a few seconds, Su Wei heard the princess's voice, which sounded troubled and stiff.

"Feel sorry."

Hearing the sound, Su Wei, who had not yet observed anything, suddenly came to his senses and retracted his somewhat offensive gaze.

At this point, the atmosphere in the whole room became awkward again.

"You've been acting a little weird since a while ago..."

After a period of silence, it was finally the gentle princess who broke the silence.

The panicked look on her face faded away little by little. She stared at Su Wei, hesitated for a moment, and raised her hand to touch his forehead: "Did something go wrong during the resonance just now?"

“…No, not really.”

Meeting the gentle gaze of the princess, Su Wei was silent for a moment, then said truthfully: "I was just thinking that maybe I should...try to face reality."

"Reality?"

Celsia's expression was slightly stunned, and her face became slightly nervous: "What reality are you referring to?"

Could it be that the strange question just now was really some strange confession...?

"It's nothing serious."

Without noticing the change in the princess's expression, Su Wei just shook his head slowly and said in a deep voice: "It's just that I realized that my mother... probably doesn't care about me that much."

"……what?"

Hearing this, Celsia, who had been holding her breath again, was stunned, and a question mark slowly appeared in her head.

"……I said."

After a long silence, Celia forced a smile at Su Wei who was lost in thought again. "I'm... a little curious. You said that your adoptive mother might not care about you. Is there any necessary connection between this and your sudden question about whether I like you?"

"Ah?"

Hearing the princess' question, Su Wei subconsciously nodded.

After all, for him, that dim favorability star will eventually fall on one person. If it is not the princess, then the probability of it representing his mother's favorability will be higher.

But Su Wei quickly realized that the princess did not know this information.

Therefore, my reaction just now might be seen by the other party as a serious, uh... offense?

broken.

Just when Su Wei had a bad feeling and looked at the princess again, ready to explain the situation, he found that there was no trace of anger on the latter's flawless face.

"… Never mind. This isn't important right now."

At this moment, she sighed a little, then stared at him with a worried look: "You just said that your mother might not care about you... What's going on?"

"..."

Looking at the princess in front of him who was obviously unhappy but still suppressed her displeasure and instead paid more attention to his own problems, Su Wei was stunned and opened his mouth... but found that he suddenly forgot what he wanted to say.

"Ok?"

A few seconds passed, and perhaps because she hadn't responded yet, the princess tilted her head in confusion, and the worry on her face deepened: "Are you okay?"

"…Don't worry, I'm fine."

Taking a deep breath, at this moment, staring at the princess intently, Su Wei had already confirmed one thing.

This gentleman...is not the dimmest favorability star.

It must not be.

Therefore, the remaining possible sources for the star with the lowest favorability are only the maid... and the witch.

Realizing this, a hint of surprise gradually flashed in Su Wei's eyes.

Because just now, he found that in his subconscious, he had actually begun to hope that the Witch Lady... was the dimmest star.

"Although you say you're fine, you look a little pale, huh?"

At this time, Su Wei heard the princess's mumbling again.

However, perhaps she had noticed that Su Wei did not want to say anything more about his adoptive mother. Although there was still a hint of concern on his face, the considerate princess did not continue to ask any more questions.

"It really doesn't matter."

Su Wei let out a long sigh, his face returned to calm, and he shook his head.

After confirming that the princess was not the darkest source of favorability, he gradually collected his messy thoughts and refocused his attention on the princess in front of him.

"Well, Princess, I actually have something else I want to tell you."

At this moment, looking at the princess, looking at this face that had unknowingly become as familiar to him as his mother's face, a thought in Su Wei's mind suddenly became particularly strong.

That was something he had never had the courage to express to others even if he had thought about it.

"Ok?"

Tilting her head, a trace of doubt appeared on the princess's face again: "What do you want to say?"

I don’t know if I was suddenly frightened by a little kid’s strange question.

This time, as soon as Su Wei opened his mouth, Celia held her breath and her face became serious.

However, despite this, the words that came out of the little kid's mouth the next second still made her stand there in a daze.

"I like you, too."

"Eh?"

"No, it's not an exaggeration to say it's love."

"Eh??"

"To me...you're just as important as I remember my mom."

"……what?"

***

A few minutes later.

Luxurious dormitory, front door.

The main door of the entrance hall was pushed open from the inside, and he glanced at the little ghost behind him who was about to see him out with an inexplicably oppressive look.

After the latter froze and stood there at a loss, Celsia, with a complicated look on her face, came to her senses, walked out of the dormitory alone, and closed the door behind her.

"...Elsie?"

But the next second, just as Celsia felt a tightness in her chest, as if she was holding back something and subconsciously wanted to express it, out of the corner of her eye... she suddenly noticed another figure waiting in the courtyard.

"When did you come back?"

Blinking her eyes, Celsia walked to her maid and asked with some confusion.

"About thirteen minutes ago."

Turning to look at her own princess, Elsie responded.

“…Huh? Since you’re already back, why don’t you just go in?”

Hearing this, Celsia's expression suddenly became more confused.

"Well, I'm not sure, but I feel like it would be better to wait a little while before going in?"

When asked this, Elsie tilted her head and stared thoughtfully at the First Princess of the Empire in front of her.

"...wait for your head."

As if she had thought of something, Celsia's expression froze, and the blush that had just faded away slightly climbed up her cheeks again.

"Go in quickly and leave the things to the kid. We should also prepare to go back."

Glancing at the pile of sheets in her maid's arms, Celsia raised her chin towards the dormitory behind her and spoke.

"Yes, I understand."

Hearing this, Elsie nodded and turned to walk towards the main entrance.

Gently pushing open the half-open door, Elsie walked straight through the living room and came to the dormitory bedroom.