I’m Just a Counselor Chapter 113

Jeremiah said, as if sensing my question.

“You’ve seen me go demon hunting often enough.”

 

“But doesn’t everyone else do these things? You’re a… er, duke.”

“That’s the obvious difference between the nobility of the north and the nobility of the other provinces.”

“What?”

“That they wait for others to do it for them, and I don’t.”

“You mean you have to do everything yourself?”

“Yes. After all, I was taught to do these things even before I became a duke. My father was very strict about what I was to do in this land.”

“Now that I think about it, did you say that when you were younger, you came to this mountain with your parents to see the Northern Lights?”

“I don’t know if I would have done this even then, because there’s no way you can see the northern lights from the bottom of the mountain.”

 

‘Jeremiah’s father, the former Duke, must have raised his son to be strong, because he says he was strict with him…’

 

I let out a small laugh before opening my mouth.

“Now that you put it that way, it occurs to me that the duke may have been a disobedient child when he was younger.”

“Maybe I was, until Estella was born. Having a sister changes everything, doesn’t it?”

 

Jeremiah conceded meekly. I continued to giggle, imagining a stern father and a son who wouldn’t listen.

 

Suddenly, I realized how precious this moment was. Jeremiah had been dealing with the trauma of his family’s deaths, which had pushed him to push himself harder…

 

It was strange to realize that now he was laughing with me and talking about his family, that I was listening and imagining his happy childhood.

 

“I used to think the Duke must have been perfect as a child.”

“There are no perfect people in the world, just people who make things a little better. I’ve only recently realized that myself.”

“…I see.”

“Vanessa, you’re one of those people, too. Someone who makes me better.” Jeremiah said casually. 

 

The flame he lit grew and burned.

 

After a while, darkness fell, but my body grew warmer and warmer. I hugged my knees and stared into the flames. Then I made up my mind and slowly opened my mouth.

 

“Duke.”

 

Jeremiah turned to me at my call, the fire in his eyes still burning. 

 

I looked at the auburn tips of his hair and took a deep breath. A rush of cold, but not cold, air rushed in.

 

I asked, trying to control my slight embarrassment.

“Why do you like me, Duke?”

 

A snap.

 

He snapped the branches as I spoke and tossed them into the fire. Jeremiah’s cocky laugh mingled with the crackling of the wood.

“I think I told you, you’re never too good for me.”

“I do remember you saying that.”

 

‘Jeremiah had clearly said that to me, but I had a hard time believing it. I still felt like I was a very small person compared to this man, Jeremiah Oppenheim, so I wished he would say it more plainly. So that I could stop thinking this way. So that I could understand why he liked me.’

 

“You’re quite pretty too, and... Hmmm. Do you want me to tell you that you’re a capable person?”

 

“That’s not a bad thing, if that’s what you mean, Duke.”

 

‘To be honest, I didn’t think I would be impressed if someone like Jeremiah told me I was beautiful or smart. Sure, they would be incredibly sweet to hear coming out of his mouth, but apart from that, I wouldn’t be convinced by Jeremiah’s words. So my request was both easy and difficult, but I stared at him, hoping he would understand.’

 

Jeremiah stared back at me in silence, then slowly opened his mouth.

“Your eyes have bothered me from the beginning.” He said. 

 

I nodded, then remembered.

‘Jeremiah had told me once, long ago, that he liked my eyes, that they were the color of the sky of his beloved land, a color he had vowed to protect for the rest of his life.’

 

“I suppose I’ve become more conscious of them now that you have them and don’t avoid my eyes.”

“Is that what… you said?” I asked, remembering his words, and the events of the night began to come together.

“Miss Vanessa, have you ever thought about becoming Estella’s step-sister?”

 

‘The proposal that he and I both brushed off as a joke. Oh, right. I think even then, when Jeremiah stammered that it was because he liked my eyes, the Duke shot back that if you like your eyes, you propose.’

‘And… I think I grabbed Jeremiah’s cheek.’

 

I quickly averted my eyes as my cowardly behavior came flooding back to me. 

 

‘Wait a minute. Was that what Jeremiah was talking about?’

“You’re the first girl to ever do that to me, or something?”

 

‘Of course, it was unlikely that Jeremiah would just say that, but I barely held back the laughter that threatened to break out.’

 

Still, his voice came through clearly to me.

“I look into your eyes, and I see your face, and I see your hands, and I see you, and I wonder about you.”

“…….”

“Apparently, when I start loving one, I end up loving them all.”

 

It was cold but not cold, light but not light, calm but not calm, stirring but not stirring. The air between Jeremiah and me now, and the words he spoke.

 

I pursed my lips and looked into his face. Jeremiah’s gaze was straight at me. Without hesitation, as always.

“First I looked into your eyes and saw the sky I love, and now I look into the sky and see the eyes of the one I love.”

 

Suddenly I realized. I was constantly doubting myself. I made excuses, like I wasn’t the right person for him, but the truth was that I didn’t trust his sincerity. Then Jeremiah lavished his affection on me, and in front of him, I finally let go of the last of my doubts.

Now I felt it was time for me to reveal what I had been hiding from him. Just as Jeremiah had done in front of me. Without hesitation.

 

“…I still haven’t changed my mind about what I told you the other day.”

“Vanessa. I thought I told you not to sell yourself short.”

 

“That’s not what I meant, which is why I still believe…”

 

I had admitted then that I liked Jeremiah. And now I had to tell him what I’d kept to myself. 

 

Before he misunderstood and got hurt because I didn’t tell him, because one mistake is enough.

It was my turn to repay Jeremiah, the one who had always come to me, the one who had reached out first.

 

I steadied my shaky breathing and looked at him. Jeremiah stood still, waiting for my words.

“If the Duke intends to remain faithful to his feelings, then…”

“…….”

 

“If you’re not going to regret that choice after all these years.”

 

I gathered all my courage and told him.

“…Do you think I dare to stay by your side?”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Tap, tap, tap.

 

The bonfire blazed. The flames warmed the air around them, and as if that wasn’t enough, they refused to go out. 

 

Jeremiah stared at the flames, his mouth clenched tightly shut, and in his arms lay a woman asleep.

 

Jeremiah resented that she had fallen asleep with such a carefree, innocent expression on her face, as if she were safe in his arms.

 

“Ha.”

 

Damn. Jeremiah sighed heavily, feeling exactly that way. Then the breath that escaped his lips dissipated into the thin air.

 

“You don’t even let the rest of us close our eyes, and you sleep.”

 

He poked her in the cheek to see if she was mocking him, but Vanessa was clearly asleep. She tossed and turned in her sleep.

 

After a few moments of fawning over her, Jeremiah shifted her position so that she could lean more comfortably against him.

Vanessa’s stamina would quickly dwindle from the cold, so it was best to replenish it in this way.

 

“I wonder what she’s doing at the Duke’s castle by now.”