Please Bully Me, Miss Villainess!

Chapter 198 : The Wind is Gentle Too

She hadn't expected things to develop this way at all.

Her mind went blank, overheating and crashing.

The warmth and touch of Elsa's hand on hers constantly reminded her that this was reality.

"Evie..."

Elsa held Yvonne's hand tightly, as if she would run away if she let go.

"Actually, I had prepared a lot too... But I felt I had to say it now... so I disrupted the original plan..."

In truth, Elsa was very nervous too. Up until now, her education and societal norms had never taught her how a woman should propose to another woman.

Now, all she could do was pour her feelings into these insignificant words.

"I want to become someone who exchanges futures with you."

She believed in Yvonne, loved her, and Yvonne felt the same way,

"So... will you accept me?"

Because she hadn't received a response for a while, she couldn't help but ask again, nervously closing her eyes,

"............"

She was trembling.

Elsa noticed the slight trembling in the hand she was holding tightly,

Then, warm liquid kept dripping onto their overlapped hands, quickly cooled by the sea breeze.

"...!"

Elsa looked up, only then realizing that tears were flowing uncontrollably from Yvonne's eyes.

"...I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Was it too sudden and scared you?"

"No, no! It's not like that..."

Yvonne turned her hand touching Elsa, holding it in her palm.

Although filled with tears, her eyes sparkled with light, and an uncontrollable smile spread across her face.

"I'm very happy, and gladly accept."

She was willing to accept this vow, even if it meant dedicating her life, she had no regrets.

Actually, Yvonne had worried about this too. Whether in her previous life or this one, she had always been uninterested in various things.

Probably because she had experienced bitterness too early, something that shouldn't be experienced at her age.

Forced to be independent, forced to live alone.

So, something as intangible as 'love', she thought she could live well without it.

Now, she no longer had that confidence.

"But... what should I do..."

She asked with a tearful voice,

"I seem to be more and more unable to leave you... If I can't fulfill the promise... what should I do then?"

Even if there was only a 1% possibility, she didn't want to imagine it.

"...I'm not your only choice."

Any of the male protagonists would be quite suitable for her.

They might give her more love than herself, perhaps she would be happier than now.

Just thinking about the existence of such routes made her very insecure, lacking enough confidence to give happiness.

"However, that's impossible."

Elsa grasped Yvonne's hand again, answering firmly,

"Now, the person I like and am willing to follow for life is only you, Evie."

"Can I hug you?"

Just as she asked this, Elsa had already hugged her proactively.

"For Evie, anytime, for as long as you want..."

Yvonne could only hug her tighter, rubbing her face against Elsa's hair, hoping that the excited heartbeat in her chest wouldn't frighten her.

Conversing like this with her, the exchange of gazes, warm smiles...

Every moment was an unimaginably huge and precious treasure for the lonely self of the past.

Why hadn't she realized it before?

What she wanted was just such a simple thing,

Being together with her like this, becoming family, living together... that was her greatest wish at this moment.

"Evie..."

"Hm?"

After hugging for a while, she raised her head from Yvonne's chest, asking as if she had been holding back for a long time:

"We should kiss next!"

Yvonne didn't react immediately, but soon understood her meaning.

"This... outside is really..."

She felt somewhat embarrassed about this. Although there weren't many people around, occasionally residents of the small town would pass by on the small road near the embankment. If they were seen...

"We've already promised our future, how can there not even be a kiss?"

She was a bit angry, but Yvonne could somewhat understand. After all, this was also a customary part of proposals.

Although she had no experience with proposals, whether in novels or movies, that's how they were portrayed.

"...You have a point."

But who would initiate became the question.

"Who should kiss at a time like this... Should it be me as the proposer?"

"Well..."

Originally, Yvonne was the initiator, but midway it became Elsa, now it was quite confusing.

"—Then let's take turns!"

Elsa proposed a fair solution, then embraced Yvonne's waist, stood on tiptoe, closed her eyes, looking eager to try.

With the other being so proactive, there was nothing to do but comply.

She really can't be helped...

Yvonne leaned down, their bodies meeting as if with some kind of tacit understanding,

Left with only two hungry fledglings pecking at each other, they both drew this sweet nourishment from each other,

Delicate kisses fell continuously on her cheeks and eyes, finally on the corners of her mouth, her lips... until Elsa, the initiator, was kissed by Yvonne to the point of embarrassment before stopping.

"Mmm..."

Fortunately, Yvonne was supporting her, otherwise she might have fallen to her knees due to her waist losing strength and legs going weak.

"...So sneaky! Evie is so sneaky—This is too unfair!"

In the end, Yvonne took more initiative with her height advantage,

Unexpectedly pushed to such an embarrassing situation, Elsa's expression was full of shame. Although the outcome was decided, she still seemed dissatisfied, pouting like she was throwing a tantrum, all in all extremely cute.

"You were the one who gave in first, how can you blame me?" Yvonne said with a chuckle. Although she might be reproached, for the current Yvonne, nothing could make her feel more at ease than truly feeling every bit of Elsa like this.

"So... what should we do next?"

Her heartbeat gradually stabilized.

"Since we've come back, how about we walk along the beach together?"

She quickly got over her anger and naturally linked arms with Yvonne,

Although they had walked side by side like this many times, now she could appreciate this ordinary yet special happiness even more.

"The moon has come out."

"Really, it's already night..."

With Elsa's reminder, Yvonne only then realized that the sun had completely set below the sea horizon.

The surroundings had become dim, with only the sound of waves crashing against the rocks.

Time always seems to slip by unnoticed when they're together.

"It's a bit cold at night."

She said this, but their joined hands felt very warm.

"Oh right, I brought this—"

Elsa took out the scarf she had previously knitted as a gift for Yvonne from her item slot, blinking her eyes.

"How about it, want to share?"

This scarf was knitted especially long, so it was more than enough for two people to use together.

"Two people using one scarf... Won't it pull on our necks when we walk?"

Sharing a scarf could easily rank among the 'Top Ten Stupid Things Silly Couples Do to Show Affection'.

"Hmph... If Evie doesn't want to, I'll use it alone—"

Elsa pouted angrily and started wrapping the scarf around her own neck, round and round.

"I only brought one! Don't regret it!"

"This level of cold, how could I possibly regret..."

But very quickly, a howling north wind made her swallow those words.

A cold gust penetrated her neck, making Yvonne feel frozen to the bone, shivering deeply as she hunched her shoulders.

Due to its coastal location, Emerald Port's winter temperatures weren't as low as inland areas, but rather than low temperatures, it was replaced by unusually high humidity,

This reminded Yvonne of a saying that once circulated online: In the dry north, winter's cold is a physical attack; in the humid south, the cold is a magic attack.

The internet didn't lie, it was indeed true. The damp cold wind had maximum penetration, completely capable of achieving an armor-piercing effect like a magic attack.

Contrary to her shivering from the cold, Elsa, wrapped up like a little penguin, looked very warm.

"Um... Elsa, can you share some of the scarf with me?"

Helplessly, Yvonne finally chose to surrender.

"Oh my, 'this level of cold', is it?"

"I was wrong... It's really cold! If this continues, I'll freeze to death~~~ You don't want to be in mourning before we even get married, right?"

"That's why I said, it would have been better like this from the start."

Unexpectedly hearing the topic of marriage because of this, Elsa blushed as she stood on tiptoe, wrapping the other end of the long scarf around Yvonne's neck,

One round, two rounds, three rounds... Soon, the scarf with her lingering body warmth was tied on,

The large scarf with tassels draped over them could also serve as a shawl, successfully repelling the next wave of cold air.

The two were thus tied together.

Being restricted, they could only shorten the distance between each other as much as possible.

Although it was a bit unfamiliar at first, because their walking speeds were different, there were inevitably some stumbles, but slowly, they began to match each other's pace moving forward,

Like two band members who couldn't play well together at first gradually becoming in sync, they tapped out a rhythm under the moonlight.

She and Elsa were standing right here,

Precisely because they were already here, so... whether it was worry or confusion, they had to keep moving forward.

So-called bonds, so-called relationships, so-called promises... This is probably what it's all about.

·

"Ah—!"

After walking for a while, Elsa suddenly stopped,

"What's wrong?"

Yvonne was puzzled as she saw Elsa pointing towards the top of a tower-like rock formation not far away,

"Look quickly, up there—Isn't that the box from earlier?"

"Ah!!"

Yvonne looked in the direction Elsa was pointing and indeed saw a familiar object,

It was the brocade box containing the ring,

Seagulls often build their nests on top of rocks, it seems the nest of the earlier ring thief was here.

"...This distance is within my elemental magic control range."

Yvonne skillfully gathered the surrounding wind elements,

The sea breeze gently lifted the brocade box, finally returning the object to its rightful owner.

Unexpectedly able to retrieve the lost item, Yvonne's joy was evident and indescribable.

"Thank you so much, Elsa!!"

"Hmm hmm... Is that all the thanks I get?"

"Well..."

Seeing the expectant gaze desperately hinting at her, Yvonne cleared her throat and solemnly turned around.

"Although you just gave me one earlier... this ring of mine can't go to waste either... right?"

Utilizing the small mechanism inside the box, Yvonne opened it with one hand, carefully taking out the ring from inside,

This was a wedding ring set with moonstone. At this moment, having absorbed the moonlight along the coastline, the surface of the moonstone was sparkling brightly in the night.

"Although it's a bit late, may I put it on for you?"

"...Mm."

Elsa extended her hand towards Yvonne,

Yvonne felt her hand trembling slightly, but now all she could do was firmly grasp this ring, to prevent it from being lost again.

"By the way... why moonstone?"

In this world, there are many types of gemstones with magical properties, and moonstone is one of them. This stone can convert moonlight into magical power, changing with the strength of light. Due to its special nature and scarcity, its price is quite high.

But more than the price, Elsa wanted to know Yvonne's reason for choosing moonstone as the promise ring.

"Do you want to know?"

She nodded, and Yvonne gently lifted Elsa's hand while explaining:

"In the world I came from, there was once a writer who translated 'I like you' as 'The moonlight is beautiful'. The general meaning is 'With you here, the moon is especially beautiful'... It's quite a subtle classic confession."

Because she truly liked this person so much, she wanted to share all beautiful things with that person.

Originally, it contained this meaning...

Elsa listened quietly, her heart brightening along with the gemstone that glowed faintly as it absorbed the light.

"Then how should one respond to such a confession?"

"If the person being confessed to reciprocates the feelings, they can say 'The wind is gentle too'."

Yvonne answered with a light laugh as she caressed the moonstone,

"I see, I've learned it!"

Elsa nodded with partial understanding, while also marveling at the rich and subtle expressions of people from another world.

"Then what if you don't like them?" she blinked curiously and asked further,

"If you don't agree, then 'Suitable for stabbing wild boars', I suppose."

"Pfft... What kind of nonsense is that!"

Amidst the laughter, she slowly and solemnly put the silver ring on Elsa's hand.

"Speaking of which, does this count as exchanging rings?"

"...That's reserved for formal occasions."

The two hands wearing rings given by each other were tightly interlocked,

"I want you to stay by my side forever."

"Mm, I will stay by your side."

She swore by the ring and the gaps between their intertwined fingers.

They probably won't let go for a long time to come.