“Yes…”

She hastily nodded.

Arnold’s eyes narrowed as if he was quite satisfied with that.

Without letting go of Rishe’s hand, he opened the ring box with his left hand alone. His big hand was very dexterous, and he was able to get the ring out easily.

Meanwhile, Rishe was feeling overwhelmed.

That kiss just now…

She heard that kneeling and kissing the back of the hand was a proposal ritual of the Garkhain royal family.

However, when Arnold asked her to marry him before, he only knelt and took her hand.

Maybe they were redoing that night.

Is it because I told him I longed for the rituals associated with marriage?…

If that were the case…

–The earlier question, “Can I touch you?” was a second marriage proposal.

Why is my face so hot?

She knew she was overthinking it, but she shut her eyes tightly.

Arnold put his fingers on Rishe’s wrist, perhaps to make it easier to fit the ring. Right that moment, her heart increasingly pounded noisily, and she felt at a loss.

Although, we’re simply holding hands…

This shouldn’t be much different from a handshake.She wondered why she was so disturbed about it.

I shouldn’t have asked you not to lay a finger in the first place…

Such regret made her feel like crying.

She never imagined that it would be so embarrassing to retract her statement in this manner.

Arnold said in a dumbfounded voice when she tied her lips and began shivering.

“Hey. Don’t hold your breath.”

“I didn’t.”

In fact, it was almost like that. She realized that she couldn’t lie through her teeth, but was too afraid to be honest.

“I just seem to forget how to breathe…”

“…Heh…”

Laughing!!!

Wasn’t it too much to upset her like this? This seemed to have happened before, but it was the time for her to complain.

It was because the cold ring touched the tip of her ring finger.

“Huh.”

She was jittery. She could feel herself getting hotter and hotter, which made her even more embarrassed.

She wondered if Arnold remembered the temperature of her hand when he touched her earlier.

Please, don’t notice that it’s hotter than that time.

With a somewhat reverent hand, Arnold began to slip the ring onto Rishe’s finger.

Perhaps it was because she closed her eyes, but it seemed to take an inordinate amount of time.It seemed to go on forever, but then it stopped at the spot where Arnold had just kissed her.

“Hwa…”

She briefly let out a breath, but kept both eyes shut.

“Did you remember how to breathe?”

“Hmm, somehow…”

“…It seems that you’ve forgotten how to open your eyes this time.”

Now he was poking fun on her, the more she couldn’t open her eyes.

Her heart was pounding fast, and she didn’t even know how she appeared. She turned her head to hide her expression, and felt Arnold’s hand reaching for her.

“Nmm~”

Her shoulders jerked when he touched her eyelids.

Arnold gently traced the lines of Rishe’s eyelashes with his thumb.

It was as if he was wiping away a tear.

Or as if he were waking up a young child who was deeply asleep. With a very gentle touch, he traces his way to her nape.

“Rishe…”

“…”

He called her name so softly, as if comforting an infant.

It was for this reason that Rishe snapped her eyes open in trepidation.

When Arnold noticed that her face was bright red, he squinted as if looking at something important.

“It’s done.”

For some reason, she felt a little regretful as he slowly released her hand.

But still, at Arnold’s prompt, she looked down. Upon seeing her ring finger, she unknowingly gasped.

“…Wow~”