「Pork! Buy your fresh pork here! 8 kiels per kilo only!」

「Apples! Fresh Apples!」

「Salt, Pepper, Chili, You can buy spices in low prices!」

Noise here, noise there, there was noise everywhere in the bustling marketplace. It was a place that would always be full as long as there is light from the sun.

A few minutes ago, Grey asked me and Aria-san to buy the ingredients he needed for the pizza he was going to make. But somehow, Rhodes-san managed to overhear our conversation and offered to lend some of his ingredients to us. Because of that, Aria-san and I were left with nothing to do.

Since we have nothing else to do, and we wanted to cheer up Liz-chan, Aria-san and I decided to explore the town with Liz-chan. With our first destination being the closest one to the mansion, the marketplace. But...

「Hey, Liz-chan, do you not like the marketplace? If you want, we can go to other places.」Yuna

「Ah, no, the marketplace is fine.」Eliza

... even though we were already outside, Liz-chan was still in low spirits.

「Hmm... Then why don't we go on a shopping spree! Come on, Eliza-chan!」Aria

「W-Wait, Aria-san!」Eliza

Seeing Liz-chan's reaction, Aria-san suggested going on a shopping spree and dragged Liz-chan by her wrist.

「Oji-san, give me three of those candies!」Aria

Aria-san energetically pointed to one of the candies on display. It was a round orange candy on a stick, I remember Grey calling it a lollipop.

「Three Kiria candies... That would be 30 kiels.」

「Here.」Aria

After handing the payment, Aria-san merrily received the candy and gave one of them to Liz-chan.

Thinking about it, this is the first time I've seen Aria-san act like this. Usually, she is more reserved and calm. Is she just trying to cheer up Liz-chan, or Is this perhaps her true nature?

Also, isn't that candy really expensive?

「Is this delicious?」Eliza

「You'll have to find out～. Here, Yuna-chan, have one as well.」Aria

「Ah, thank you.」Yuna

I quickly unwrapped the candy, curious about what it tasted like. Would it be sweet? Would it be sour? Would it be sticky? Thoughts like that ran through my mind.

「Alright, then let's eat it together in three, two, one, go!」Aria

With Aria-san's signal, the three of us placed the candies in our mouth, and when I did, a strong taste flooded my mouth instantly.

「「「Sour!」」」

It was sour, no, calling it sour would be an understatement. It was so sour that tears almost flowed down my eyes.

「Aria-san, you're so mean! How could you do thisー Hm?」Yuna

While I was complaining to Aria-san about why she made us taste something like that, the taste of the candy changed from extremely sour to pleasantly sweet.

「It's getting sweet...」Yuna

「Woah～ it's starting to taste like lemons! Wait! Now it's like oranges!」Eliza

「Aria-san, what is this?」Yuna

「It's a Kiria candy. Like what you have experienced, the flavor of the candy changes from time to time. I heard it was made by layering different flavors of candies on top of each other.」Aria

「「Whoa～.」」Yuna and Eliza

I never thought that a candy like that would exist, yet it does, and it's inside my mouth right now. Not just me, but Liz-chan was also amazed by it. No wonder why it cost 10 kiels.

Hm... Now that I think about it...

「Liz-chan, you live in this town, right? how come you've never tasted this?」Yuna

「Ah, that's because I don't really go outside that much and when I want to eat something, I just ask Rhodes-san to make it for me.」Eliza

「Well, Liz-chan is a noble, after all.」Yuna

「But you know, Eliza-chan, it's good to go out of your comfort zone and explore the world every now and then. You can find out many things that you didn't know existed, just like these candies.」Aria

「U-Un. I'll try going out more.」Eliza

「Ah, but make sure you tell Fritz-san before you go outside.」Aria

「Y-Yes.」Eliza

「... Oh, looks like we finished our candies. How about we head to the next stall?」Aria

After finishing our candies, we headed to another stall, after that, it was another stall, and so on and so forth. We had skewers, cookies, fruits, pies, and all sorts of snacks. Actually, rather than a shopping spree, it was more like a food trip.

Because of how much we ate, the three of us sat on a bench and rested our bodies. I didn't expect we would eat that much.

「Waa～ I'm really full. I wonder if I can still eat the pizza thing Grey was talking about?」Yuna

「Pizza?」Eliza

Ah... My tongue slipped.

「Yuna-oneesama, are you hiding something from me?」Eliza

Liz-chan asked me with innocent eyes. It was the eyes that neither Grey nor I could resist.

Well, Grey didn't say I couldn't tell Liz-chan about it. It should be fine to tell her... probably.

After convincing myself that Grey won't get angry at me for telling Liz-chan about his plan, I told Liz-chan everything I knew. Though, throughout the process, I felt guilty about doing it.

「Eh?! Grey-oniisama wanted to cheer me up?」Eliza

「Yes, that's why he'll be cooking this food called pizza. I don't know what it looks like nor taste like, but knowing Grey, I'm sure you'll like it!」Yuna

「I know it will be good! After all, Grey-oniisama is a good chef.」Eliza

「Yup, the food Grey cooks is the best.」Yuna

Liz-chan and I were singing praises of how good the food Grey cooks are, but it was all interrupted when...

「Hmm... Yuna-chan. Do you like Grey-kun?」Aria

... out of the blue, Aria-san asked an outrageous question.

「Ehhh!?」Yuna

「Well, you look really happy when you're talking about him. Also, you're really red right now.」Aria

「Eh? Yuna-oneesama likes Grey-oniisama?」Eliza

「N-No, ish not like taht!!」Yuna

Because of Aria-san's sudden question, and Liz-chan adding on to it, I started to panic and fumbled my words.

「Then, Yuna-chan, let me ask you a few things.」Aria

「O-Okay...?」Yuna

「Then first, do you feel conscious about things like how you look or how you act around him or your distance around him?」Aria

「Y-Yes...」Yuna

「Do you have an unpleasant feeling when he's talking to other women?」Aria

「A little bit...」Yuna

「Do you feel happy when he praises you or when he spends time with you?」Aria

「Y... Yes...」Yuna

「Lastly, does you heart race faster when you're with him?」Aria

「A... A lot... faster...」Yuna

「Haah... Yuna-chan, that's what you call liking someone.」Aria

After each and every question that Aria-san asked me, I became more and more embarrassed. She really doesn't need to say it, I already knew it full well. I just didn't want to say it in front of them.

「Woah～ Yuna-oneesama is really red.」Eliza

And Liz-chan wasn't just making my embarrassment worse!?

「Well, you've been living together with Grey-kun for more than a year. It would only be natural that you start to develop this kind of feeling. Actually, it would be much stranger if you didn't.」Aria

「Un...」Yuna

「Well, now that you know what your feelings are... Yuna-chan, what do you want to do?」Aria

「I... don't know...」Yuna

I responded despondently when I answered Aria-san's question. And seeing me act like that, Liz-chan and Aria-san kept quiet for a while.

「Well, there's no need to rush. Just take it in your own pace, just like how Kris and I did.」Aria

「You and Kris-san?」Yuna

「Yeah... Hm... How do I say this... Kris... He's... He's a big idiot.」Aria

Aria-san said with an exasperated sigh in the end. It was as if all the bad memories came flashing back to her.

「An idiot...?」Yuna

「Well, when he first confessed his feelings for me, it was in front of a large crowd. I was really happy, but I was also extremely embarrassed that I ended up rejecting him. After that, I actually thought Kris would give up, so I braced myself to confess, but before I could, he confessed to me once again.」Aria

「But isn't that just normal? I don't see why you're calling Kris-san an idiot.」Yuna

「Un.」Eliza

Liz-chan agreed to my statement, though I don't know if she even understands what we were talking about. But, Aria-san, after hearing my question, heaved another long sigh.

「Well, that's because the second time he confessed, it was in a pub. Because of that, I rejected him once again. After that, he confessed again and again, but it was always in the wrong situations. He even confessed to me while I was still bathing in the women's bath...」Aria

I... I think I get where Aria-san is coming from. Kris-san really is a big idiot.

「It took him 5 months and 73 attempts to get it right, but during those 73 attempts, my feelings for him only grew stronger and strongerー Ah! What am I saying. Eliza-chan is listening.」Aria

When Aria-san noticed Liz-chan listening to the conversation fervently, she suddenly became quiet and ended her story with a slightly flushed face.

「Ehh～? Why am I not allowed to listen?」Eliza

Liz-chan asked while she flapped her arms in a frustrated manner, trying to show her dissatisfaction.

「You're still a child. You don't need to understand these things yet.」Aria

「But it's interesting!!」Eliza

「Then I'll tell you when you grow up.」Aria

「Ehh～? But that's still so far!」Eliza

「Then you'll have to wait.」Aria

「No! I don't want to!」Eliza

While Aria-san and Liz-chan continued their exchange, I was left to wonder how I should handle my feelings for Grey.

Should I confess to him? Should I just wait it out? What if Grey only sees me as a friend. What if Grey hates me when I confess to him?

My mind was in turmoil, with such kinds of thoughts running wild inside of it. I have never been in such a dilemma my whole life.

「Yuna-chan are you alright?」Aria

「Yuna-oneesama...」Eliza

Before I noticed it, Aria-san and Liz-chan were already watching me, worried over what I was going through inside my mind.

「I'm fine, I was just thinking about how I should handle thisー Ow!」Yuna

Out of the blue, Aria-san flicked my forehead with her fingers.

「Didn't I say you should take it at your own pace? Honestly, what are you even so worried about?」Aria

「Confessー Ow!」Yuna

Aria-san flicked my forehead once again.

「That's not what I meant. I meant that you should take things easily. Forcing things to happen will just make the situation worse. Do you understand?」Aria

「B-But what ifー Ow!」Yuna

Aria-san flicked my forehead for the third time.

「Stop hurting Yuna-oneesaー Ouch!」Eliza

「This is a talk of grown-ups. Children should not interfere.」Aria

「Y-Yes ma'am...」Eliza

Liz-chan tried to help me out, but she was shot down magnificently by Aria-san. After that, she sat by the bench quietly, waiting for us to finish.

「Listen, Yuna-chan, nothing's going to come out from worrying about those kinds of things. It will only make you feel anxious and dejected, and nothing good will ever come out of those. Rather than thinking negatively, you should look at the bright side and face the future with courage. Do you understand?!」Aria

「B-Butー」Yuna

「No buts! How many times should I tell you...」Aria

I don't know how, but I managed to get a 30-minute lecture from Aria-san. It was so embarrassing because from time to time, people kept looking at us, but I can't do anything about it, because the second I try to retort, the lecture becomes longer.

I tried to ask help from Liz-chan, but she just ignored me by distracting herself with the market stalls, saying things like 「I wonder what those tastes like.」or 「Those looks delicious.」or 「Waah～ What a nice smell.」.

「Now, do you understand?」Aria

「Y-Yes...」Yuna

Aah... It's finally over... That was hellish... I don't know how much longer I could have lasted if it continued... But...

「Thank you, Aria-san.」Yuna

「Hm? Sure.」Aria

... even though it was a hellish lecture, I was able to learn something from it. So I'm very grateful to Aria-san for that.

「A-Are you done...?」Eliza

「Ah, yes. Sorry to make you wait Eliza-chan.」Aria

「N-No problem!」Eliza

「Alright. Then how about we head back to the mansion. Kris and Grey-kun should be back by now.」Aria

「U-Un!」Eliza

「Come on, Yuna-chan!」Aria

「A-Ah, yes!」Yuna

CHAPTER 42 END