A Kind Gaze

Eventually, the carriage arrived at the river, and we both got out. There was a wooden path that would take us directly to the riverside; someone had even taken the time to place a carpet over it, which was a relief. It looked like my dress and shoes wouldn't get dirty. There were even two comfortable-looking chairs placed by the water. Just how much preparation had gone into this trip? I couldn't help but wonder why Lord Phillip was so persistent on fishing that he would go through all this effort.

"Viola, here."

After we sat down, Lord Phillip handed me a professional-looking fishing rod. I gazed at it in bewilderment, only to notice that he was staring at me in surprise.

After a moment, Lord Phillip murmured, "I suppose you've forgotten how to do all this as well."

It sounded like he was trying to convince himself of something. But "forgotten"? This was my first time fishing. He was adhering so naturally to the script that he'd created in his head that I started to feel some measure of fear.

After he gave me a quick rundown on how to use the fishing rod, I lowered the hook and line into the water. Thanks to the parasol I had, it wasn't too bright, and the gentle breeze felt cool against my cheek. As I listened to the babbling of the river over the stones and the occasional song from the birds, I started to feel relaxed and at peace.

The usual silence between Lord Phillip and me didn't feel uncomfortable at all. When I first heard that we would be fishing at the river, I hadn't been too enthused, but it wasn't so bad once I gave it a try. In fact, I felt like this would become my new hobby.

"The fish aren't biting," I said.

It had been about thirty minutes since we started, but it didn't look like we were going to catch anything. It wasn't as if I really wanted to catch a fish, and I was satisfied with simply lounging about and enjoying the fresh air. So I truly didn't mean anything by my remark.

But Lord Phillip suddenly turned around and looked behind us. I wondered if something had caught his attention, and stared at him blankly for a few minutes. Suddenly, a school of fish came swimming toward us from upstream.

"Hmm?"

I didn't know much about rivers or fish, but even I knew that the sight before my eyes was bizarre. It didn't feel natural.

"Viola, look at your rod," Lord Phillip said.

"Huh?"

I had been staring dumbfounded at the river, so it wasn't until Lord Phillip called out to me that I noticed my rod bending under the telltale weight of a hooked fish. I'd imagined that the pull of it would be much stronger than this. I still didn't know what was going on, but I hurriedly pulled back the fishing rod toward myself. The line came out of the water and at the end of it, a little fish about the size of my thumb.

"Phil, I caught one!"

Not only did some unseen force come into play but also the sole fish that I caught was tiny. Nonetheless, I felt extremely happy for some reason. I couldn't help but lose myself in my excitement and turned my gaze toward Lord Phillip next to me. As soon as I saw him, I felt my breath catch in my throat.

Lord Phillip's eyes were soft and gentle, and he was looking at me with a terribly kind expression. Despite myself, I stared back at him, taken by his beauty. From out of nowhere, the servants of House Lawrenson came bustling toward us, removed my too-small fish from the fishing rod, and put it inside a bucket. Then all of them applauded and congratulated me. It was truly embarrassing. I wished they would stop.

"Are you having fun?"

I nodded at Lord Phillip's sudden question, my cheeks hot and red. All he said was, "I'm glad," before he returned his gaze to the water.

***

Though I had my misgivings in the beginning, I ended up having quite a bit of fun. We caught a few more small fish and then moved to a nearby field. House Lawrenson's maids quickly and efficiently laid out a blanket for us, then prepared our lunch. It was hard to believe that we were eating outside with how rich the spread was.

Lord Phillip's movements were refined even while he ate. When I was a child, I had looked up to him and spent some time putting my all into practicing my table manners.

"It was delicious," I said.

"I see," Lord Phillip replied.

The maids even brought dessert for us after our lunch, as well as tea to finish everything off. As I enjoyed my tea, I heard a sweet meow. I looked around and then saw a kitten a short distance away, staring at us with her big round amber eyes.

"Sh-She's so cute! Come here!"

I spread my arms out, and the kitten tottered toward me. Her sheer adorableness made my chest feel full of love. As soon as the kitten made her way toward me, I stroked her on the head and she started to purr as if she enjoyed it. What an angelic creature.

"Phil, do you want to try hugging her too?"

"No, I'm fine with just watching you."

Now that I thought about it, I'd never seen him touch an animal. Even whenever I would pet dogs or cats, he would simply observe me from behind. Perhaps he wasn't really a fan of them? After a few more minutes of petting, the kitten walked away, satisfied by all the attention. I didn't want her to leave just yet, but I murmured, "Good luck out there," and watched her go. I suddenly thought of something.

"That kitten reminded me of you, Phil."

"Did...it?"

"Yes, she was very similar to you."

The kitten's fur had been a blue so dark and deep that it was almost black, and her eyes had been a gleaming gold. Her face had also been beautiful, much like his. Granted, the kitten was female, so that was a key difference.

"Come here! Hee hee...just kidding."

The day had been so much more fun than I'd expected. So I was probably lost in the excitement of it all. After I said an uncharacteristic joke, I looked at Lord Phillip and then promptly found myself at a loss for words.

He looked taken aback, and his cheeks were strangely red. I'd thought that he would say, "No, I'm fine" like earlier and that this would all boil over. So I wasn't sure how to react in the face of his unexpected response.

The silence made my heart race uncomfortably until it was broken by him slowly standing up and walking toward me. He sat down across from me, his face close to mine, and stared into my eyes with such passion that I was unable to look away.

What's...going on?

He hesitated for a moment, and then gently leaned forward until his forehead rested against my shoulder.