Without even paying attention to the clothes scattered on the floor, Dante looked back with trembling eyes.
“…Why?”
“Huh?”
“Why can’t we say we’re married here?”
Well, about that…
I thought of things that could answer Dante’s questions, one after another. Administrative procedures are more thorough here than over there, and all kinds of information is recorded and can be easily searched. The fact that Dante and I got married in the meantime isn’t recorded here.
If we say we’re married in that situation, won’t we be in trouble?
However, Dante didn’t seem to be convinced by my explanation. No, rather than being unconvinced, he seemed closer to being upset by what I said.
“So you and I aren’t a couple here?”
“Mmhm.”
“Where does that exist…”
Where that exists. It’s here.
It seems that Dante liked the title of husband more than I thought…
To be honest, I didn’t completely understand. Just because I don’t say we’re married doesn’t mean my relationship with Dante will change, and I’ll just say he’s my lover instead of my husband anyway. Either that or it feels similar in our situation, doesn’t it?
The reason I proposed in the first place was because I thought it would make no difference since we were still together regardless of whether we got married or not. It’s not like I go around saying we’re just friends, though, why?
Dante said with a very anxious face at my reaction.
“A person who has a lover is easier to target than someone who has a husband.”
“Target… What?”
“Those two have different weights.”
I admit that the weight is different. But what I heard before was so absurd that I felt like I couldn’t even accept it.
“Hey, who would target me. You should be worrying about yourself, not me.”
“It’s okay because I don’t have to worry about anyone coming.”
“So you’re saying I’m going to turn a blind eye now?”
In front of me, who was completely dumbfounded, Dante answered in a tone that shamelessly stated the obvious.
“You’re vulnerable to a handsome face.”
“…”
“If one day someone who is more handsome than me and likes you appears… We never know what will happen.”
If Dante had already spoken confidently, he would speak confidently until the end, yet I could feel his voice trembling slightly towards the end.
Even though he said it casually, he was really anxious. He’s afraid that I might actually like someone else more.
And speaking as someone who has been subject to such misunderstandings.
It was just absurd. I was shocked that Dante was thinking this way, and I was shocked that I looked vulnerable enough for me to hear him say something like this, and anyway, there was no part of me that wouldn’t have shocked me. I think I know what it means to even forget to get angry when it’s too absurd.
Moreover, Dante’s concern felt genuine, rather than just passing it off as ‘Why would you joke like that even if you were joking?’
I looked at Dante, then lifted my head, glanced at the ceiling, and sighed.
This was all my fault for ignoring Dante when he lured me in with his face.
“Dante. Listening to what you’re saying, it feels like I’m a rare seductress who chases after anyone as long as I like their face.”
I pressed between my eyebrows and wondered where on earth I should start to refute. In fact, I wanted to make a childish confrontation with him by saying, actually, I also don’t trust you, but in this situation, it seemed like it would only backfire.
First, talk as calmly as possible, and if I’m going to get angry, I’ll do it later.
“No matter what, I’m not crazy enough to pay attention to other people even though you’re next to me, right? No, it feels unfair to say it. You were thinking I might be cheating on you?”
And that decision didn’t last one minute. Dante hesitated for a moment when he saw me quickly starting to shoot him a puzzled look.
“It’s not that I thought you might cheat, but that you might be shaken if someone better than me comes along… kind of thing.”
“That’s what it means!”
What he said as an excuse made me even more angry. As I clenched my fist, ready to strike something, Dante flinched and took a step back.
“It took a lot of determination for me to accept you, but do you think I’ll have time to worry about other people?”
“…”
“In all my life, the only person I liked enough to develop a relationship like this was you. And there will be only you in the future, so why worry about useless things?”
Although I realized too late that spitting out whatever came to mind was like making an impassioned confession, I didn’t care.
Even if I felt embarrassed to death later, I felt like I had to say this so that Dante would understand.
“More than anything, hey.”
“Hm?”
“You said earlier about someone who was more handsome than you, right?”
I took a deep breath and spoke firmly.
“There is no one like that.”
“…But, Ei…”
“No, whatever it is, it doesn’t exist.”
I assure you, there will never be a face like that again. They say that the standard of beauty is subjective, but if I look at it that way, there could never be a person like Dante in my life.
If you know so well that I have a weakness for your face, isn’t it normal to gain confidence rather than anxiety? Are you living without looking in the mirror?
No matter how much I thought about it, I found nothing but unfair things. While I was barely calming down my anger, Dante, who had been silent for a long time, opened his mouth.
Before I knew it, his face had turned bright red up to the tips of my ears.
“…Then you’re saying that I’m the only one for you in the future, right?”
“Now you just found out that… No, enough. Right.”
I already feel exhausted just by having a fever for a short time. Unlike me, who was leaning somewhere and sighing, Dante approached me with a noticeably brighter complexion.
I glared at Dante with resentment and anger, but I could only feel that he was watching me carefully, and his face full of joy didn’t change.
As soon as I left Dante alone to do whatever he was doing, he immediately sat down next to me and hugged my waist.
“You’re also the only one for me, Ei.”
“I’m not happy at all if you flatter me like that now, you know? Let go of this.”
“It’s not flattery, it’s sincere. You can tell just by me following you here.”
At those words, I stopped struggling. I looked at Dante, who was leaning more and more towards me, and Dante, who must have felt my gaze, muttered quietly without looking at me.
“I did it because I was scared of you leaving me behind. Sorry.”
“…You know I have nothing to say if you say it like that.”
“Mmhm. And I’m doing this to ask you to let me off just once.”
No matter what happens from now on, I won’t have any doubts. Saying that, I lightly pinched Dante’s cheek as he apologized again and then let go.
If you continue to say nonsense like this, I really shouldn’t leave you alone.
I relaxed my body with the thought that he would only look at me, but Dante quietly started talking again.
“But can’t we get married here again?”
“By the standards here, you’re like an illegal immigrant, so we can’t do that.”
“It’s very tight…”
I could hear him clicking his tongue, as if he couldn’t let go of a ray of regret, but I pretended not to notice and leaned my head back. My hometown is also a particularly strict place compared to other places. When you see that there are many things you can’t do without an ID card.
Him being an illegal immigrant, it occurred to me that there was more than one thing to think about. I have to find out how far Dante can go without a clear identity, and see if we can continue like this…
Maybe it didn’t mean much that we couldn’t say we were married. As long as Dante has an eye-catching appearance and has a lot of trouble moving around, it seems unlikely that I will let him out of the house.
It seems like he’ll be almost confined to the house, but wouldn’t he like it if I told him I’d give him everything he wanted?
Dante, who had no idea what thoughts were going on in my head, continued to not leave me. After holding me quietly for a while, I pushed him aside, telling him to try on the clothes.
“I think it would be okay to just stop trying them on for today…”
“Where is there something like that? Try it on quickly and return.”
“Even if I try them on you’ll say it suits me. It looks like those will look good on me, do I really have to try it on now?”
I don’t know why the guy who had been trying on clothes as instructed until now is acting like this. I looked at Dante’s expression, but I couldn’t tell if it was because he was simply annoyed or because he didn’t want to be separated from me.
Well, if he changed his clothes this much, it would be so annoying that he would just collapse in the middle. I held back a sigh for what may have been the number of times, and half-heartedly ruffled Dante’s hair.
“If you want to do that, do it. Then I’ll have to use that room for a while.”
As soon as I got up from my seat, Dante hurriedly followed me and snooped next to me.
“Why, what are you using it for?”
“I’m not sure. I was going to tell you when you try on the clothes, but I’ll just keep it to myself.”
“No, I’ll just try it on… So, really, what’s wrong?”
I briefly lowered my gaze and then straightened my head.
“I need to check something.”
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