Hey everyone, I'm back with another chapter! I hope you'll enjoy this! ^^

"You like him, don't you?"

Why did he say that? She thought for the countless time that day.

"…lyn… Raelyn!"

Raelyn abruptly turned to find Ibuki standing next to her. "Oh… hey."

"When are you going to stop watering that plot?" he asked, pointing downwards.

Raelyn followed his finger and saw the darkened patch of field—and that she was still watering the spot. She quickly lifted up her wrist and put the watering can down. "Anything I could help you with?"

Ibuki chuckled. "More like you could use some help yourself."

"Huh?"

"You've been spacing out, Raelyn," he pointed out. "What're you thinking about?"

"Um… nothing much, really." Raelyn looked away. "I… if you don't have anything else to ask…"

Ibuki shook his head, so Raelyn quickly excused herself. She was done with the watering, anyway.

The bell chimed and Raeger turned around to greet his customer. "Welcome to—"

"Raeger!"

Raelyn put—more precisely, slammed—her hands on the counter, panting. Raeger put down the plate he had been drying on the shelf and went over.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked.

Raelyn looked around; a few customers were enjoying their food, but they were not close enough to eavesdrop. Just to be safe, though, she leaned forward. "It's your fault!" she hissed in protest.

"What? What have I done?"

"I don't like Mr. Klaus in that way!"

Raeger chuckled. "You're still worked up about it?" he asked. "I never expected it, to be honest."

"I couldn't get my mind off it," she admitted. "It's all because of you!"

The bell chimed again. This time, it was the town's doctor; today was his day off.

"Hello~oh, did I interrupt something?"

Raeger immediately went back to his business persona. "No, nothing like that," he said calmly. "What do you want to order?"

Raelyn moved aside but decided to stick around. Marian placed his order and sat on the seat near the counter. "Raelyn, honey, why don't you sit down here?" he asked, tapping the empty spot next to him.

"I'm fine, Dr. Marian."

"Your face doesn't exactly spell 'fine' to me now," he said half-teasingly. "More like a face of someone in love problems."

Raelyn immediately felt queasy but shook her head fiercely. "It's nothing like that!" she insisted.

"Aw, just admit it, Raelyn," Raeger said as he served Marian's order. "You have feelings for him. Otherwise, you won't be this worked up."

"Oooh… I smell romance~" Marian squealed. "Who's this lucky gentleman?"

"It's Klaus," Raeger said matter-of-factly. "You should've seen her face when she made the Harmony Day chocolate for him."

"Raeger!"

She stomped over where Marian and Raeger were and took the seat. "It's really nothing like that!"

Raeger and Marian chuckled, obviously not buying her answer. "I don't see what's wrong in liking Klaus, really," Marian said. "He's a fine gentleman. I vouch for him."

"That's not what I…" Raelyn felt heat rose to her cheeks. "He's like an elder brother to me… and he's been helping me out a lot, so I want to make good thank-you chocolate for him, is all."

"Here goes the brother excuse…"

"It's not an excuse!" Raelyn insisted. "It's for real!"

Raeger leaned over the counter to close the distance between the two of them. "Then, why are you so worked up about what I said?"

The bell chimed for the third time and Raeger immediately went to the counter. "Welcome!"

Raelyn and Marian turned to see Lillie walking into the restaurant. "Hi, Raeger," she greeted. "I feel like having some sweet desserts."

"Sure, what kind of sweet dessert… pudding? Cakes?"

It was then Lillie noticed Raelyn and Marian. She greeted them briefly before going back to Raeger, choosing her order. Raeger didn't seem to be in a rush; he had always been courteous, but it seemed to be different when Lillie was the customer. It seemed to her that Raeger… enjoyed waiting for Lillie.

"There's no exact science for love. You can't tell how long it would take to mature and how it would look like when it does." Raelyn turned around to face the doctor. "Let's compare Klaus and Iris with Raeger and Lillie, shall we, honey?"

"Mmhmm."

"Both are childhood friends, yes?"

She nodded.

"Both are currently not dating each other."

She nodded again.

"You've seen how they interact with each other, right?"

Another nod.

"Do you think it's the same?"

Finally, this time, she shook her head.

"That's what I meant by love is not an exact science," he pointed out. "Even if all the factors are the same, it may turn out to be a different kind of love… and there lies the beauty of love."

"So… you're saying that what I feel towards Mr. Klaus is different from what I feel for my brothers… although I think of him as one?"

"That's very possible, honey."

"I…" Raelyn hesitated. "What if I don't get it?"

Marian put his hand under her chin and lifted her face up. "Honey, look at me," he said. "Don't be sad, okay? It's perfectly alright to take your time."

"Take my time…?"

The doctor laughed merrily. "Well, he knows how to wait, that old wolf… and you say you prefer older wines, right?"

Raelyn thought about what the doctor had told her over and over again as she made her way back to the farm. Her mind was so occupied by it that she wasn't really paying attention to where she walked until she bumped into something… or someone. Before she fell back, fortunately, the person she bumped into held her hand.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she apologized quickly.

"You're so absent-minded today," Ibuki noted.

Raelyn looked away, partly in embarrassment since Ibuki had caught her spacing out twice in quite a manner. She quietly slipped her hand away from his.

"You really don't like me, do you?" he noted wryly.

"We don't know each other very well," she pointed out matter-of-factly.

"So, when we do, you'll be comfortable around me the way you do with Klaus?"

No, she thought inwardly without batting an eyelid. It'd be different. However, she didn't have the heart to say it out loud. "Maybe…"

Afterward, she accepted his invitation for a short walk and to converse. Ibuki was a pleasant companion and slowly her impression of him changed for the better. However, one thing she had come to realize as she did was: her feelings for Klaus were indeed different from what she had for Ibuki, or even Raeger. The closest comparison she'd have would be her brothers, but after what Marian told her, she noticed the finer differences between these two feelings she overlooked earlier. She pushed the thoughts aside while Ibuki was still around, but when she was alone in her room, staring up at the ceiling, nothing was preventing her from thinking about it.

She knew she was one step closer to the conclusion.

I love him, she thought to herself, but as what?

Raelyn's a step closer to solving out her heart.

Stay tuned for the next chapter!

Thanks for reading! Please rate and review ^^