Last night, things had gone well, at least up to the point where Allen invited Charlotte on a picnic.

But once he shut himself in his room and started thinking about what to say during his confession… and what kind of gift to give… an overwhelming wave of anxiety hit him.

No clever words came to mind.

No romantic gifts seemed fitting.

The more he thought, the more panicked he became.

Naturally, that led to doubts about whether the confession would even succeed.

Allen hadn’t lied when he told Magus and the others that he’d be satisfied as long as Charlotte was happy, even if she didn’t return his feelings.

But if she rejected him…the shock would be undeniable.

If he was not careful, it might be that he would never be able to recover.

As soon as this certainty-like premonition occurred to him, it was all over.

In the end, he hadn’t been able to sleep at all last night, and hadn’t been able to eat anything since morning.

In his twenty-one years of life, this was the first time he’d ever felt so nervous that he nearly threw up.

“I, I’m being so sissy…where did my usual self go…”

Allen could only hold his head and groan. At this rate, a perfect confession was just a dream.

“Maybe I should just postpone it after all…huh?”

Just when he was about to give up, Allen heard laughter that sounded like bells rolling, and suddenly looked up.

Down the hill a little ways, Luu was bouncing around happily. Around her neck was the scarf she’d received yesterday, and now a flower crown rested there too. It seemed Charlotte had made it for Luu.

“Fufu. Do you like it, Lu-chan?”

“Gau-gau!”

“Well, you are a girl too, Luu-chan. Of course you’d want to dress up and look cute.”

“Wau!”

“Ahaha, that tickles~”

Charlotte giggled as Luu licked her cheek.

To Allen, her smile shone so brightly, it could outshine the sun itself.

Allen stared at the scene in a daze for a while… and muttered.

“Yeah… I really do love her.”

There was no embarrassment. No hesitation.

That thought sank into his heart like an undeniable truth.

With a deep sigh, he scratched his head.

“At this point, I have to tell her soon…If I don’t, I’ll end up blurting it out at some dumb, random moment.”

Just like earlier, just a bit of closeness had nearly caused him to confess without thinking.

There was a very real chance that he’d accidentally spill his feelings without even intending to.

For example, when greeting her in the morning,

‘Good morning, Allen.”‘

‘Oh, good morning. I like you.’

‘…Huh?’

Or while shopping in town,

‘Hmm… I can’t decide. Which do you prefer, Allen-san–apples or oranges?’

‘I think I like Charlotte more.’

‘…Huh?’

Or even at night,

‘Well then, goodnigh—-‘

‘I like you!’

‘Eeeeeh!?’

No matter the situation, disaster seemed inevitable. Allen didn’t want to make such an accidental confession, and he also wanted to avoid embarrassing Charlotte.

If that was the case… he had no choice but to confess right here and now.

He clenched his fists, bracing himself.

“But still… what am I supposed to say? I can’t come up with any clever lines…”

And so, Allen once again sank into thought, holding his head in his hands.