The Reason I Keep Avoiding My Childhood Friend - Chapter 201

During the uncomfortable ride, the carriage finally stopped. We had arrived at the Duchy’s mansion. I had a bad feeling when he suggested I stay over, and it turned out to be just at the mansion.

I looked at Kir bewilderedly, but he wasn’t fazed by my reaction. If the location wasn’t special, then there must be something important he wanted to discuss…

“Let’s go inside.”

Right, there must be something important to talk about once we’re inside.

…was what I hoped. But during dinner, we only exchanged trivial conversations. I waited for Kir to bring up any serious topic, not wanting to seem pushy. But nothing serious came up.

Moving on to dessert, we moved to a different place. I thought, this time he’ll surely talk about what he wanted.

….Just then, he threw me off with pointless chatter. He showed no intention to bring up anything significant.

I was already stressed out from similar behavior from the Crown Princess lately, and now Kir was doing the same. I couldn’t hold back any longer and confronted him.

“So, what was it you wanted to talk about?”

“What do I want to talk about?”

“Yeah. Isn’t that why you came to see me?”

I assumed there must be a reason he showed up unannounced. I even crossed my arms, signaling that it was time for a serious conversation.

Kir responded lightly.

“I just missed you so I went to pick you up.”

Did I hear that right?

“Missed me?”

“Yes. Missed you.”

Stunned by his as-if-it-were-obvious attitude, I found myself speechless, my mouth open at him. Was he joking? I pressed my temples, trying not to get angry, and attempted to understand Kir.

But to think he came all this way just because he missed me! That won’t do. I have my own schedule too, and I was about to lecture him on this when Kir spoke first.

“You were avoiding me.”

His straightforwardness stopped any complaints I had ready to spill out. I knew he had noticed, but I didn’t expect him to confront it directly. Well, he always hated being avoided since he was little. He had a knack for catching on to that quickly.

“What are you talking about?”

“Sometimes, Aren is really simple.”

“I wasn’t avoiding you.”

As usual, I denied anything that put me in a disadvantageous position first.

“Yes, you were avoiding me.”

And naturally, Kir denied it. I shouldn’t get dragged into this. I firmly raised my voice in denial.

“I’m telling you, I wasn’t.”

Kir’s gaze deepened. He’s not angry, but there was a calm intensity in his eyes that made me uneasy.

“Don’t do that. I feel let down. I thought we could see each other every day once I was in the Empire, but we hardly did.”

It seems Kir isn’t embarrassed in the slightest. His transformation truly astonishes me. I knew he’d become a bit more direct, but to blurt out such embarrassingly straightforward things with such audacity.

Isn’t it strange that the person who says it is so bold, yet the listener is the one feeling embarrassed? Heat rushed to my face.

“Why would you want to see me every day? We’re not kids.”

“It’s precisely because we’re not kids that I want to see you every day.”

Kir shot back as if he had been waiting for this. It made my hands shrivel even more. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to handle him. Perhaps, subconsciously, I’ve been avoiding Kir because I knew it would be this? It’s not that he’s matured, he’s become more… overwhelming.

“So what, you want to see me every day? You’re going to follow me around?”

It was sarcastic. But this was Kir I was dealing with. He did not give in, his eyes narrowed in amusement. And he said aloud with a cheerful voice.

“Should I?”

Don’t. Please don’t. If you say it like that, it sounds like you really mean it. I was trembling in fear of having unwittingly encouraged him.

“You’re not seriously considering it, are you?”

Seeing the horror on my face, Kir let out a low laugh. His laughter signaled it was just a joke, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

I realized it then.

A joke only feels like a joke when the right person makes it. Suddenly, I felt compelled to give Kir something to keep him busy.

“You came to the empire so early. So you must have your own reasons, right?”

If he’s preoccupied with his own matters, he won’t have the time to have thoughts of following me around, would he?

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