Seeking for Your Forgiveness

was light.

 

However, he was happy.
Her weight felt as it was when he brought Marianne into his arms.
It was a hundred times better than grabbing an empty fist.

 

Kristoff, who exhaled a satisfying breath, rose from his position with a relaxed movement.
And he scanned the faces of those sitting at the table one by one.

 

“As you can see, Marianne will get back first because she’s drunk.”

 

“……”

 

The shocking silence hanging over them.
The four men froze and their faces turned white with glasses in their hands.
Their blank eyes busily bounced between Kristoff and Marianne.

 

Their multicolored pupils widened to the limit.
As if they didn’t believe what they saw.

 

However, Kristoff didn’t care.
Those were not his concern.
Kristoff’s only interest was the woman on his back.

 

As if he had just remembered, he turned his head again and said, “Oh.” His wry eyes turned on them.

 

“Every organization has a way to survive for a long time.”

 

“……”

 

“By watching their mouths.”

 

Contrary to his soft voice, his eyes were freezing cold.
Ian lowered his head in a hurry because he was afraid to make eye contact with him.
Gulp, he swallowed dryly.

 

“Moreover, for the sake of the lady’s feelings, you’d better not tell Marianne what happened today.
Marianne is on the shy side even after all this.”

 

He warned them lightly as if talking about the weather before striding out quickly.
Without looking back, Kristoff walked straight out of the shabby bar.

 

The door shut behind him.

 

“……”

 

He paused for a moment.
Darkness covered the sky, and the disturbance on the back sounded distant as if it could be heard from faraway.
It felt as if there were only two of them in the world, him and Marianne.

 

“Kristoff……”

 

Then, she called his name.
A brief yet intense euphoric sensation ran down his spine.
It felt like going to the past.
Back when she loved him.

 

He closed his eyes tightly only to get them opened again.
A raspy voice came out of his teeth.

 

“Yes, Marianne.”

 

Kristoff began to slow down his step.
He didn’t want to rush.
He wanted this moment to last forever.

 

“Kristoff……”

 

“Yes, Marianne.”

 

“Why do you keep befuddling me? Don’t do that.”

 

His raspy voice as the aftereffect of alcohol filled with a slight tremor.
It sounded like she was crying, washed up in sorrow.
Or perhaps it was resentment.

 

Kristoff swallowed the rising emotions and clenched his lower jaw.
He asked back in a low voice after swallowing dryly.

 

“Are you befuddled because of me, Marianne?”

 

“Ugh.”

 

Swallowing a shallow groan, she remained quiet for a while.
It wasn’t until she took too long to think that she fell asleep as her breath tickled his back.

 

“It’s hard.
Waiting for you because you never look back…… it’s making me tired now.”

 

This time, Kristoff was silent.
His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.
The eyes that resembled the darkness of the night were clearly distorted.
As if enduring a bitter pain.

 

After he inhaled quietly, he managed to part his lips to speak.
The voice that left his throat seemed to be squeezed forcefully.

 

“It’s all right, Marianne.
You don’t have to wait for me now.”

 

“……”

 

“I’m waiting for you now.”

 

“……”

 

“I’m waiting for you now, Marianne.”

 

Kristoff repeated the same thing over and over again, as if to tell her.
There was no reply from Marianne.

 

Kristoff  was at a loss for words.
It was only then that he began to feel nervous.
She must have been disappointed in him, his lips dried up from anxiety.

 

Why didn’t she say anything? Did she now hate waiting for him? Does she not want to see him anymore?

 

Then what was he supposed to do?

 

The moment he just opened his mouth.

“Ma……”

 

He could hear the sound of her breathing from behind him.
In the meantime, she seemed to have fallen asleep.
Kristoff involuntarily let out a sigh of relief.

 

“Marianne.”

 

He walked slowly, feeling the warmth behind his back.
His own long shadow followed him.
The cool spring breeze swept through his head.
This was the perfect moment.

 

He suddenly opened his mouth whilst walking quietly.

 

“If you’re befuddled, I’ll do my best to befuddle you, Marianne.”

 

That was how desperate he was.
He was desperate enough that when Marianne had a small gap, he would squeeze in somehow.

 

“You should be prepared, too.”

 

His voice cracked upon the empty night sky.

 

Woof!

 

He heard a dog barking somewhere.
When one barked, all the local dogs began to bark as well.

 

Kristoff walked a long way to see if they would disturb Marianne’s sweet sleep.
It wasn’t boring for him.
It wasn’t even hard.

 

He was thrilled to learn that her feelings weren’t completely closed.
He still had a chance.

 

And Kristoff was ready to seize the opportunity.
He has never missed a single opportunity given to him.

 

***

 

Marianne wasn’t lazy despite it being a holiday morning.
That habit of Lady Schneider still took hold of her.

 

She got up early, got dressed, and had breakfast with Madam Liszt.
Her hangover made her head feel like a mess, but she didn’t lose her graceful smile.

 

“Sometimes, you remind me of myself when I was young, Marianne.
There were no maidens who could catch up to me in terms of gracefulness.
There were more than one or two men who dated me.”

 

“Really?”

 

Marianne put down her spoon and laughed at Madam Liszt’s humor.
The corner of her smile projected a hint of awkwardness.
This was because there was a shadow of anxiety in the corner of her mind.

 

She knew the cause of it.
She didn’t remember what happened yesterday.
Her last memory was doing a drinking contest with Maxim.
And at some point, the rest of the memories after had completely disappeared.