Felix knew that he had outdoor duties that day and he was dreading to work alongside Iro and Felix in case the youngest apprentice tried to say anything to him regarding the way they had been acting around one another.
It was a coward’s way out and he knew as much, but he was unaccustomed to how complicated his life had been lately. Things outside of the knighthood felt unbelievably out of his control.
However, before he could go outside, he was stopped by a maid who said that she had permission from Sir Gunnar for him to help the other maid clean the barracks that day to refill the firewood. Instant relief washed over him at this.
Unfortunately, the relief was short-lived when he stacked wood up to take to the lowest levels of rooms and he already saw Agnes about halfway done with one side of the hallway.
Things were odd with her as well. After he witnessed her pulling Iro into the barracks, he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to think. The sight made him miserable. The words she said to him before didn’t comfort him after witnessing that.
Even though he knew he was behaving like an idiot—especially after Iro pointed it out—it didn’t stop the feelings from happening. The jealousy was eating him alive. He didn’t even have a claim on Agnes but her kindness and reception of him made him feel like she wouldn’t look at anyone else but him.
These thoughts carried him until he realized the next room he would go into was where Agnes was working at that moment.
Since he was supposed to be a knight—very soon by the looks of it—he knew he had to press on despite having said very little to the maid for a few days.
After he placed more wood in the bin, he was shocked when she cornered him before he could leave the room and move on to the next.
"Is this how you’re going to be towards me from now on?" she asked. "I could request another apprentice to work with me if it’s so unbearable for you."
The apprentice inhaled slowly as he tried to formulate a response.
He originally thought that if she said something to him he would respond with anger, but now that she was the one who seemed frustrated with him, the desire had left him. He felt a bit pathetic.
"It isn’t unbearable, Agnes," he insisted, even though his voice was quiet. "I would rather work with you than any of the other maids."
"Am I supposed to believe that when you will only say a few mere words to me in passing?" she wondered. "There was a time when you used to seek me out but perhaps I misread what you were doing. Forgive me for misreading your intentions."
Since she was finished with the bedding in that room, the maid turned herself away from him and tried to escape to the hallway.
It was then that Felix realized he had been cruel to her. If she was truly doing something with anyone else besides him, why would she care so much that he wasn’t talking to her as much as before? If her mind and heart were occupied would she even notice at all?
Before the girl could go, he caught her by one of her arms.
"That isn’t it," he insisted. "My intentions have always been the same from the first time I realized I had any at all."
She was staring up at him with lowered eyebrows and a guarded expression so he let go of her arm, not wanting to put further pressure on her.
Considering her expression and wordlessness, he continued with "I just don’t like to feel jealous, that’s all. I know you and Iro think I’m a moron—"
The maid huffed. Google seaʀᴄh novel-fire.ɴet
"That’s enough," she stopped him. "I won’t hear you say anything else bad about your supposed friend. I am not sure why you think that a twelve-year-old child is in some sort of competition with you. What more can I say at this point?"
"You don’t need to," he insisted. "It’s all within me. I need to figure it out for myself."
She pressed her lips together in a thin line as she contemplated the apprentice for a few moments.
Since it was an issue that involved Irene, she was taking it more seriously. Agnes would never fault the girl for wanting to keep her secret—after all, she thought it was honorable that someone would be willing to hide themselves to pursue something as difficult as being a knight.
However, she realized that she should probably resort to a far more drastic approach so that Felix would be more assured that there truly was nothing going on with the young apprentice.
"Will this help you be convinced?" she wondered.
Since he was already practically glued to the floor, he tensed up as the maid approached him.
She invaded his space and stood on her toes so she could kiss him on his cheek. Only where she gently held his shoulder was the other place they touched.
When he returned from traveling all summer, his jaw was more defined and he looked even manlier. It was intimidating.
"No, but this will," he muttered.
She wasn’t quite sure what he was referring to until he turned his head and invaded her space instead. Before she could control the interaction as she had been, she felt his arms slide around her waist and his lips capture hers.
However, it was also at that moment that he took his escape by turning so she was deeper in the room and he was closer to the door.
He realized what he was doing while he was supposed to be helping. He also didn’t want to admit how hot his head felt at that moment.
"Felix!" she called after him as he ran towards the stairs where he would retrieve more wood.
However, once he was gone and had no intention of returning until he retrieved more of the logs that were piled up outside, Agnes had to stand there for a few moments with a hand over her lips as she stood there in shock.
Only he could kiss her for the very first time while also playing a cruel joke on her to make his escape.
As she grabbed her box of clean linens and pushed it to the next room, she had to let out a light sigh.
His actions at that moment were part of the reason she liked him so much. He wasn’t overly serious normally which is also why his jealous actions threw her off so much.
"Irene, you really owe me one," she whispered under her breath. "My heart won’t survive much of this."