I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess – Chapter 275

Chapter 22.

Some might say she’s still young, but in this world, women reach marriageable age so it’s about that time for home to start nudging them along.

And Claire was no exception.

“Ha….”

Today, she let out a short sigh, recalling the matchmaking meeting where she had coldly rejected someone without even bothering to look at their face.

Why did everyone around her start to panic when she didn’t even care?

No matter how much her parents encouraged her, there was a limit to how politely she could refuse.

At least if she was the only daughter of the family, she could somewhat understand the push.

But Claire had an older brother who was five years her senior, and he was supposed to inherit the family this year, albeit a bit late.

So, Claire was hoping they’d leave her alone a little bit as she went about her days.

“Sis, what’s wrong?”

It seemed her worried expression was quite evident to those around her.

Evan, now a strong young man, looked at Claire with concern, his red eyes reminiscent of their mother.

“Oh, nothing. Evan.”

“It doesn’t seem like nothing. What’s going on?”

They had been friends for nearly a decade by now.

Especially with Sonia, who served as a link between them, now having her own partner and spending more time with Allen than with Claire, it made the two of them share even more moments together.

Despite the four-year age gap, they were kind of like childhood friends.

It wasn’t a relationship so short that they couldn’t read each other’s expressions.

Moreover, even if Claire tried to deny it, Evan was not so oblivious that he’d miss a change in her demeanor.

“Is it something you find hard to talk about?”

But before he could dig deeper, Evan asked to confirm whether or not Claire was simply being coy.

Of course, he was worried.

However, pressing someone to speak about troubles they clearly didn’t want to address could be seen as intrusive.

Evan wanted to support Claire, not give her unsolicited advice or reprimands.

“A bit. But I do want to share it with you, Evan.”

Understanding Evan’s intentions, Claire decided to open up a little.

While her wish wasn’t for advice or help, it was merely a desperate effort to lighten her heavy feelings.

Evan’s expression brightened for an instant before he realized he was supposed to look serious in front of someone heavy-hearted, quickly shaking his head and settling into a solemn look instead.

Seeing his rapidly changing expressions made Claire break into a smile for a moment as she downed her now-cold black tea and finally spoke up.

“To be honest, I’ve been getting a lot of matchmaking offers lately.”

“Matchmaking, huh…?”

“It seems like it’s about time for me to marry. If I don’t start meeting people now, who knows how much longer it will be delayed?”

Matchmaking meetings typically have various outcomes, but they definitely don’t lead to marriage in the blink of an eye.

Unless it’s an arranged marriage, matchmaking is just a chance for two people to meet, and it usually takes time for any actual relationship to develop.

In that sense, Claire could somewhat understand her parents’ concerns.

After all, she had spent 22 years of her life without even having a proper boyfriend.

There was a fear that if she didn’t create opportunities to meet someone when she was younger, she might end up alone for the rest of her life.

“Even though my parents are pressuring me so strongly, and I know it’s a good opportunity, my heart just isn’t in it.”

But regardless of that, she still felt a strong dislike.

That was Claire’s unvarnished, honest feeling.

She had done her best to come up with various excuses when speaking to her parents, but the very idea of these orchestrated gatherings filled her with discomfort.

“Do I sound too childish?”

Claire offered a self-mocking smile, but Evan shook his head firmly.

“Not at all. I’d probably feel the same way.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I can certainly understand your parents’ worries, but ultimately, it’s your life, right?”

Evan had heard those exact words from Edgar and Ariel before.

While he received basic education from his family, they never pressured him forcefully about anything, so one day, he had asked them:

“What kind of person should I become?”

To which they replied in unison:

“Live your life.”

That phrase likely encompassed many things.

And perhaps that was the very answer Claire wanted to hear the most at that moment.

“Plus, I feel like those kinds of meetings might be awkward for me. If I just wait, I think a more natural connection might come along someday.”

“Exactly!? That’s exactly what I’m saying! Evan really understands how I feel…!”

Claire, uncharacteristically, raised her voice an octave and jumped up from her seat.

That was exactly what she wanted to say.

She just couldn’t comprehend why they were so insistent on having her meet people forcefully.

She had her own romantic notions about meeting a guy, and there was someone she idealized.

Even if she didn’t have the romance of bumping into a man at a ball and dropping a brooch, only to get to know him better afterward—

Surely it wasn’t too much to dream about even the simplest notion of a close childhood friend gradually becoming a romantic interest.

‘The real issue is that I don’t have anyone like that nearby.’

Recalling how limited her social circle was, Claire sighed in frustration.

The only guys she could consider friends were Allen or Evan, or possibly the occasional scion from another family who visited.

Even then, they hadn’t really had a proper conversation, so there hadn’t been enough time to build any warmth or connection.

The little boy who had chased after her since she was eight, professing his crush, had grown into a sturdy young man who now looked down at her, but his feelings had probably faded ages ago.

“Ha ha, if I had known this would happen, I should’ve snatched him up before Evan gave up.”

Claire muttered playfully, laughing lightly.

Of course, it was just a joke, but the problem lay in the way her words struck a nerve with one man.

“Gave up? What do you mean?”

“…Huh?”

As Evan blinked in confusion, Claire’s expression mirrored his, turning into a blank stare.

The first one to break the heavy silence was, unsurprisingly, Claire.

“Remember when you used to follow me around saying you liked me a long time ago? I was talking about that…”

Could it be that Evan had completely erased those childhood memories from his mind because they were too old?

Claire thought it was unlikely since she remembered him being quite persistent until he was about eleven or twelve.

Evan shook his head, furrowing his brow.

“No, it’s not that I can’t remember. It’s more about why you are framing it in the past tense.”

“Past tense…?”

Claire tilted her head, not quite getting the underlying meaning of Evan’s words.

Past tense? What’s that supposed to mean?

It sounded like he was implying it wasn’t in the past.

‘Wait a second.’

As that thought crossed Claire’s mind, her eyes widened as she contemplated the implications.

If it wasn’t in the past, then what did that mean?

Could it be that Evan still…?

“Claire.”

“Yes, yes?”

As she continued her thoughts, Claire jolted at Evan’s sudden call and straightened her posture.

Feeling inexplicably nervous, she found it hard to look him in the eye, a sudden shame washed over her.

Whether he was aware of her discomfort or not, Evan spoke with a chill in his voice, one he had never used with her before.

“Did you really think I simply gave up on the feelings I had for you as a kid?”

“Oh, no! I’d never think that! I just assumed that somewhere along the way, you started treating me normally and that you found someone else you liked instead…”

That was true.

If Claire remembered correctly, Evan had backed off from approaching her when he turned about fourteen.

Though he had once confess his feelings out of the blue as a child, soon after, they settled into a sibling-like dynamic.

Evan looked somewhat incredulous, a bitter smile gracing his lips.

“Well, of course. If I just blurted out that I liked you like when we were kids, you’d be uncomfortable.”

“That’s true. Oh, that’s not to say I’d feel uncomfortable about your feelings! It’s just that…um… in front of others, if it just came out of nowhere, I’d get a bit self-conscious…”

“Wow, I feel like I’m seeing a side of you I’ve never seen before today.”

Evan was feeling a whirlwind of emotions, amazed to witness numerous facets of the Claire he had known all this time.

Anyway, that aside, he found it somewhat frustrating that she’d assumed he had given up so easily.

“By the way, I’m kind of disappointed. You’ve trampled all over my pure feelings from when I was eight…”

So he took the chance to poke where it hurt and saw Claire’s startled reaction, as she shook her head vigorously in denial.

“That’s wrong! I never took your feelings lightly, it’s just… so much time has passed and people change so rapidly when they’re younger, so…”

Without a doubt, Claire could swear that today was the most emotionally tumultuous day she had ever experienced in her life.

Her gaze wandering aimlessly, her hands moving as if they were gesturing magic circles, leaving her flustered.

Watching her, Evan smirked and then gently held Claire’s right hand.

“You said you’d wait, right? So I was going to wait too—until I was old enough to take responsibility for my words.”

“What would you have done if I started dating someone?”

“Back then, I’d have cleanly given up, I guess. In that sense, it was quite a dangerous game I was playing.”

As he diminished his former approach, the promise to wait almost slipped from his grasp, sending a chill down Evan’s spine, but at the very least, Claire had inadvertently kept him waiting and now he was just two months away from that goal.

“By the way, do you know something?”

He leaned in with a mischievous grin, reminiscent of his father.

Normally, he wouldn’t have thought twice about the comment, but today it sparked an anxious thrill within Claire.

In a cautious tone, she replied, “What is it…?”

“I’m turning eighteen in two months.”

“……!”

That’s right.

In two months, a new year would dawn. Though he wouldn’t be undergoing a coming-of-age ceremony just yet, by age alone, Evan would officially become an adult.

With a bright smile, he raised her hand that he had been holding to eye level, leaning his face closer to hers.

“You said you’d wait for me. For sure.”

“……”

Claire found herself at a loss for words in response to Evan’s confirmation.

She wasn’t blanking out from shock or feeling overwhelmed, but simply—

Thump. Thump.

‘What’s wrong with me…!’

She was utterly flustered by realizing that she felt giddy over a confession from an eighteen-year-old boy, even after having crossed the twenty-line barely moments ago.

Perhaps it indicated just how much change time had brought.

The innocent little boy she once saw had morphed into a man, stirring emotions she hadn’t felt before, stealing her gaze to linger on his broad shoulders.

In a twist of fate, the girl who’d given the boy his first love at twelve unwittingly received her first love through him at twenty-two.