Chapter 35.2 – Right Now, In This Moment
In front of such a Yulan were simple sandwiches, with lettuce and ham between the bread.
As Yulan had said, this restaurant had some snacks, but they mainly served sweets. The ratio of snacks that wasn’t sweet was extremely low.
He brought Violette her and worried about her choices, but he most likely didn’t want to eat anything special. The proof was that even though there were four sandwiches lined up on his plate, he’d only had one until now.
“Rather than watching me, Yulan should eat too. Your sandwich will become hard soon.”
This place was not a bakery, so their foods wouldn’t try to preserve their food that much. Since they sold things that were easy to eat, situations where people left their food untouched should be out of their calculations.
“I want to see Vio-chan enjoying herself just a bit more.”
“You don’t have to watch me.”
Violette made a sour look atto that, and Yulan lightly apologized to her. It wasn’t like she was really angry, but she didn’t like having someone watch her eating.
Without moving the fork and knife in her hands, she looked intensely at Yulan, and apparently he surrendered. Although he pouted his lips as if he was sulking in displeasure, he grabbed the sandwich and ate one with two bites.
For him to have an expression different from his usual gentle one made him look more lively than elegant. In social circles, it didn’t change that most boys had to watch their manners. Even wiping their mouth with their thumb looked somewhat rough.
Even so, the person in front of Violette was like a stranger to her.
“…Vio-chan?”
“Ah… sorry. It’s just rare for you to look at you like this, so…”
“Is it really that rare… We always eat our lunch together, right?”
“Since we have to care about our manners in school even when eating snacks, it’s rare to have you eat like this now.”
In the school where manners were also practised, they had to mind others’ gazes even when they were on a break. If someone had witnessed their current eating manners, it was not unlikely that people would rebuke them for being rude.
Basically, Yulan and Violette usually ate together at the school or in a social community. There were only a few places where they could stay without wearing their masks.
“You’re right… Actually, we steel ourselves considerably, eh? Even if it’s completely unconscious.”
As an aristocratic lady, it was almost her instinct to be aware of her every move. With imprinted education, manners were always her warming-up exercise in one corner of her head.
Nevertheless, there’s no one who could stay perfect for 24 hours a day 365 days a year without losing their focus for a minute.
That’s why, people used their mask unconsciously. Then they would find a good place to relax and remove it.
The store they visited this time was one of those places. In this ordinary, informal restaurant, it would be more rude to focus on formality.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. The right person in the right place, one could just misread their actions as a point of compromise.
“It’s been that way since I was a child, and it’s not that hard to do now, but… I need to relax in a place where I can have fun.”
“Sometimes, you have such a rough temperament.”
“Is that so? But Vio-chan is also different from usual.”
“Eh…?”
Saying that, Yulan slowly extended his large hand and slid it along the edge of her lips. What she could see was his large hand, and gray hair tangled around his fingertips.
“You are eating your hair.”
“…….!”
Violette was blank at his sudden action, but she understood the situation after a beat. It seemed that Yulan had taken her hair that had been stuck to her lips.
After understanding, her face easily got even hotter. Even though she was much looser with her manners than at the school, she didn’t notice that she was eating her hair… Before that, she was eating without thinking about her hair at all. Usually, she always worried that her long hair would get dirty, and made sure not to soil it.
It seemed that even if Violette was not conscious of it, she was also relaxing her guard.
“It’s unusual for Vio-chan to make such a mistake… Fufu, cute.”
“I-it’s just by chance…”
His teasing voice tickled her eardrums, and his joyful smiling face was irritating.
She was sure that her cheeks were getting redder, but she decided to focus on the pancakes in front of her before he could tease her any further.
“Is it delicious?”
“…It is.”
Actually, she didn’t know the taste since she swallowed it in a hurry, but she was certainly appeased.
Ah, I clicked the wrong button… Just think of this chapter as a bonus that’s supposed to come out tomorrow I guess XD…