Just when Bernard was starting to fall asleep, Agnes, who was suddenly sleeping across the curtain, squirmed.

“… What happened?”

“Uhm? Sorry, did you wake up?”

“No, I wasn’t sleeping”

He wants to talk a little more with Agnes but prefers face to face conversations, however…

“Well you know, I’ve been thinking about this for a while now…”

“What?”

“You’re not careful at all.”

She follows a man she doesn’t know just because he offers her a job, she shows up in her nightgown in front of a man that isn’t her husband and is able to sleep without worrying about anything.
She doesn’t complain about anything and follows what anyone says, doing just as she is told to.

“… No, that is not it…”

“Hmm?”

Usually Agnes would clearly deny Bernard’s statement, but this time there’s something off.

“It’s … I really trust Bernard!”

She uttered an apology afterwards.

“Trust me? Only as a knight I’m trustworthy.”

“Why is that?”

“Only– When I’m working as a knight, I push my thoughts away and act as a knight would do, that is all.”

“I think Bernard is always chivalrous, not only when dressed in his knight uniform.”

“It’s a pity, but you’re overrating me.”

“You are not overrated.”

The conversation was cut off and Bernard quieted down until Miel, who woke up, chirped a meow.

“Oh, forget it, it’s better to talk face to face after all.”

“Ok.”

The curtain opened, suddenly, it was Agnes who did so.
Miel ran from Agnes bed, jumped Bernard and landed in the floor, then started walking in direction to the door calmly.

“He’s in good mood today, uhm?”

“Yes. He’ll come back after I go back to sleep again.”

“… Good”

A long silence again.
Despite being looking at each other’s faces, Agnes does not try to speak.

In the darkness of the night, Bernard was really glad that he couldn’t see her sleepwear.
At the same time, he was still worried.

If Agnes goes to live in a distant village and a man over there makes a similar suggestion, will she follow him without complaints?

(She’s such a pure girl that will trust anyone just because they do her a simple favor.)
Those thoughts disturb Bernard’s heart greatly, and he can’t support it anymore.
Involuntarily, he starts talking out of sheer irritation.

“You’re so vulnerable because you always react like this”

“No, it’s not…”

In the darkness, he didn’t know what kind of expression she had.
But the impatience for not being able to explain the situation to her irritates him more and more.

Bernard thinks she needs to know what kind of dangerous creature a man is, so he pulls her arm and then pushes her down.

It was a sudden action, but Agnes did not resist or scream.
He can see that she is trembling slightly, but she didn’t raise her voice and remained quiet.

His plan wasn’t like this, what he wanted is her to react scream or cry or angrily defend herself, anything! At least asking him what he was pretending to do.
Her quiet reaction greatly disappoints Bernard, since it’s confirming his fears, but Agnes remains calm.

He thinks she didn’t understand the situation, so he touches her cheek.
The moment he touched it, Agnes trembled.

However, even if he let his fingertips slip on the smooth skin, she didn’t protest.

In that situation, Bernard couldn’t endure it anymore.
(She is too defenseless!!)

He felt stupid and got up, Agnes also got up slowly after him.

Despite being in the dark, he knew they were in front of each other.
Bernard speaks with a frustrated voice.

“If–“

“Yes?”

“Just because a man did you a favor, are you willing to do anything he orders you to? Even if it’s to act as his fiancée or– Or even sleep with him??! You never defend yourself, just like now!”

“No.”
This time her answer was clear and determinate.

“… I would work hard to pay back the favor to that person. But just for a favor, I can’t act as a fiancée, I’m not good at telling lies.”

The answer was like saying that Bernard was a special person.

Previously, Agnes told his mother that she likes Bernard.
If that wasn’t a lie then… Did she express her true feelings?

“… After coming here… Didn’t you feel disappointed on me?”

“Disappointed?”

“I am not much of a knight at home, am I?”

“That’s not true. Bernard is always knightly.”

“… Really”

Looking back on his own actions up to this day, he thought that she was being too indulgent with him and became keenly aware of how insensitive he was moments ago.

(First of all, I have to apologize for my previous action.)

“I’m really sorry! For doing something like that.”

“No, no, it’s fine. I’ll do whatever I want—“

“Hmm?”

“Nothing”

(Agnes forgave me. I need to thank her for being generous, but…)

He himself is not familiar with his own emotions, it’s impossible for him to understand the emotions of others is they don’t say it clearly.
Bernard wanted to make sure of Agnes’ feelings.
Somehow, inside him he knows what she means, but he needs to make sure.

“You don’t have to answer, but…”

“Yes?”

“… Do you like me?”

A breathtaking question and Bernard was waiting for her answer.
Despite spending a quiet time for a while, she made up her mind and expressed her feelings.

“Yes! I like Bernard since the day he helped me… four years ago!!”

“W– What?!!”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t intend to– it was a secret! But it was on my mind for a long time, and–!”

Agnes’s heart was set on Bernard for four years…
The fact became clear and he was too stunned.

“Are you… Four years ago?… When you were chased by Ernesto Bartelemon?”

“Yes”

“But I was just doing my job!”

“I know… it’s no reason to start loving someone, isn’t it?”

“Right…”

Bernard thinks that is true, but at the same time, he also started to love Agnes without knowing why.

“It’s strange”
He murmurs.

Listening to her confession, Bernard’s feelings also clear now.
(If Agnes go somewhere else, I’ll go with her! Putting everything else aside, I’ll protect her with my life!)

First, he decided that tomorrow he’ll talk to his boss about his job.

When was thinking on what would be better to do next, a clicking sound signaled the hour, it was from the wall clock.
Bernard realized that they had been talking for a long time.

“Let’s go back to sleep”

“Yes. Ah!”

“… is there anything else?”

“I’m sorry. This is something I wanted to give you before…”

Agnes starts moving around, so Bernard frowned since he can’t see a thing in the middle of the night.

“This is for Bernard”

She was offering him something.

“Wait a minute, I’ll turn on the light now”

When the lights in the table at the corner of the room were turned on, they illuminated the surrounding area brightly.

Agnes, exposed by the light, was wearing her sleepwear.
Something very poisonous for Bernard’s eyes, mixed with the moist in her sleepy eyes and her red cheeks.
Bernard did his best to turn his eyes away of the fascinating figure in front of her.

“Is something wrong, Bernard?”

“Oh no, nothing!”

To try to get rid of his own wicked thoughts, he shakes his neck like crazy and focus directly in the object in her hands, trying to not see anything else.
It was a necklace with a round blue gem on it.

“This is?”

“It is my good luck charm. I would be happy if Bernard wear it until your problems or what is concerning you… is resolved.”

“No, no. It’s an important thing for yo–“

“Please!”
Agnes says.

From her point of view, every time she used it, good things happened to her.

“Because of this necklace, I met Bernard… And I was hired in this mansion.”

She explained that at that time, Agnes was worried trying to sell her mother’s memento to buy a thank-you gift for Bernard.

“But I thought it would be better if I bought it with the money that I worked hard to get, so I decided to buy some sweets and bread in the downtown and headed to the Knight Order. Thanks to that, I met Bernard by chance. And… that’s the story!”

Agnes’ mother, before dying, told her to use this necklace, whenever she would find herself in troubles.

“I bought too much food… I spent all my money in the thank-you gift for you, and when I was thinking what to do about that trouble, Bernard helped me.”

After hearing her story, Bernard refused to accept the necklace, saying he wasn’t worthy of it.
Feeling very guilty, he decided to tell her all the true, his real reason for hiring Agnes.

Translated by Djurasico (dot) home (dot) blog