# 22
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“Yes, he is my lover.”
“What… what?”
Everyone in the office froze at the height of Lighten's astonishment.
“I said he was my lover.”
Dana repeated her words, looking at Layton steadily.
"Oh, my God!"
Kira put her hands over her mouth, but her laughter escaped unwillingly.
The eyes of the colleagues, including Kira, began to sparkle with curiosity. This was the most exciting thing the office had seen since they joined.
Even Edwin himf stared at Dana in amazement, the anger he was directing at Tony evaporating in an instant.
Dana approached him one step at a time. As the distance between them decreased, Edwin's heart began to beat wildly like a hammer.
Dana's thin fingers touched his.
Her hesitant movement made his skin tingle slightly.
Her little finger slowly moved up his knuckles, leaving a vivid, hot mark everywhere.
Then she gripped his hand tightly.
Edwin shivered violently. An indescribable burning feeling swept through his entire body.
Dana took his hand of her own accord.
He was about to faint from the intensity of amazement and ecstasy, but an annoying voice interrupted that moment.
“H-that's a lie!”
It was Tony's trembling voice.
"You're saying you're dating?! That's impossible!"
“What’s so unbelievable about this? I can’t stand you, stop clinging to me.”
“Are you doing this just because his face is beautiful?! Are you tempted by his appearance?!”
Lighten, who had been observing the situation, began to side with Tony.
“Men are not measured by their face, but by their hearts! Even if Tony is ugly and stinks, his morals are unmatched!”
Tony's face froze in shock, and Lighten quickly realized his mistake and tried to divert the conversation.
“Then relationships in the workplace?! What if you break up? Tension will spread throughout the office!”
It seems he decided to attack her from another angle.
"Don't worry."
Dana's voice rang strong and confident.
“We are getting married soon.”
After the relationship was announced, the marriage announcement came. The office was silent, as if the air had frozen.
Layton and Tony's faces were a sight to behold.
Tony's lips twitched as he mumbled.
“Dana... marriage... to the new employee...!”
His words were cut off and he was unable to complete them.
As for Kira, she had to restrain her desire to clap with joy.
Dana took the papers from Edwin's hand.
“Give me this.”
Then she placed it on Lighten's desk.
“Business trip report. I’ll be leaving now.”
Lighten pointed at her with a trembling hand.
“You... you...!”
“See you tomorrow.”
Dana left the office without looking back, while still holding Edwin's hand tightly.
They walked together down the corridor, then left the magic department, until they reached the fountain, without either of them saying a word.
Dana continued to walk forward, her hand still holding his, while Edwin felt as if he was living a long-awaited dream.
From the moment he met her, he only wished to spend his life by her side.
To wake up in the morning to exchange glances, drink tea in the sunshine, and share laughter and small life conversations.
All those simple wishes he wanted to live out with her, and now she's finally giving him permission to do so.
Dana stopped in the middle of the fountain.
She did not turn towards him, she remained looking forward as she was, showing him nothing but her back.
Edwin looked at her in surprise. In a moment, a heavy thought crept into his mind.
'Could she have said all this out of anger? Just to get Tony away from her?'
Remembering her last features in the north, she was strangely serious, as if she was saying goodbye to someone.
The sparkle in Edwin's eyes gradually dimmed, and his thirst for her returned to rising in his chest.
Perhaps you will now utter words of rejection.
No, that can't happen.
Edwin smiled faintly, then called her in a calm, gentle voice.
No, he almost called her...
“...Edwin!”
Dana turned so suddenly that Edwin, with his usual grace, was surprised by her movement.
She raised her head high and their eyes met. Her blue eyes pierced him clearly, and her flushed skin seemed even brighter.
“You're blushing, senpai.”
The whites of her skin had reddened to the tips of her ears.
Dana shook her head before Edwin touched her.
“No, no… just ignore it.”
She closed her eyes tightly and exhaled a deep breath.
“This is just out of shame. So please ignore it.”
Ah...then Edwin understood everything.
Her walk while looking forward, her refraining from looking at him for a few moments, was all nothing but shyness on her part.
The intensity faded from within him.
“What are you ashamed of?”
“...Everything. I screamed in front of everyone, and talked about marriage without consulting you...”
That this is what shames her... and she does not know how much her word controls him.
She opened her eyes again, her face filled with determination.
“Your desire to marry me...does it still exist?”
“…Yes, still.”
Not only did she stand, but he was prepared to wait a lifetime for her approval.
Dana's features relaxed at his answer, then she opened her small lips.
“I want to marry you. As soon as I can.”
Her trembling voice was getting harder.
“This is not an escape from my family.”
She wanted this point to be clear to Edwin. “You are not an escape.”
“Since this morning, I have been arranging my words to tell you.”
So this is the reason for her previous seriousness?
Her features hardened in preparation for accepting him into her life.
Edwin realized this, and his heart was troubled again.
Dana made a long-prepared confession.
“…I was warm near you.”
“This is the first time...I haven't felt the familiar emptiness.”
That was true. There is no longer that cold emptiness.
She wanted to melt into his warmth that enveloped her unconditionally.
How can we forget such unrequited warmth?
Dana continued.
“When you went out hunting monsters, I realized it.”
She clenched her trembling hands.
“I couldn't think of anything then... except the thought that I might never see you again...”
“I love you.”
She raised her head to look at him again. Her blue eyes sparkle with certainty.
“I love you, Edwin.”
For a moment Edwin could not utter a word.
At that moment the water of the fountain rose high.
A statue in the middle of the fountain was blowing its trumpet, and the other statues were smiling as they spewed cold water.
Wet drops spread on their bodies. The spring sun rose and created a pale rainbow.
The scent of spring wafted over them with a gentle breeze.
For the first time in his life, Edwin understood the meaning of the word 'satisfied'.
The torrent of happiness was overwhelming until he almost lost his breath.
It is as if he sees a night sky filled with shooting stars. Or as if after a long season of rain he is watching a rainbow forming.
Happiness that amazes the mind.
“...Senpai.”
"Yes."
Edwin breathed deeply, as if trying to calm his agitation.
“Can I hug you?”
"What…?"
“I want to hold you now. I can't take it anymore.”
Dana's eyes twitched at his frankness, then she opened her arms in confusion.
Upon her consent, Edwin hugged her tightly.
Dana gasped in surprise, his chest was wider and firmer than she expected.
He held her in his arms and smiled. A sincere smile like never before.
“Thank you, Senpai.”
'My Dana…'
Now Dana was his.
He did not let her out of his embrace for long. Plans for the future were flowing through his mind endlessly.
To stay by his side for the rest of his life.
Then Dana lifted her head slightly from his chest.
“Edwin, there's a place I want us to go now.”