‘It’s a relief that Peril just let it go.’
I firmly resolved as I recalled what had happened yesterday.
I would never act presumptuously in front of Peril again!
Fortunately, he promised to help me cross the walls of Drimokan on the night of the full moon.
If I brought a few necessary items.
"……Thorny vine? Why this all of a sudden?"
Emily looked at the note I was holding and asked.
"Uh, well?"
Having nothing to say, I mumbled vaguely.
"Ugh, and snail extract? This probably isn’t even sold anywhere!"
"Isn’t there any way to get it? Anywhere is fine."
Anything’s better than gathering it myself!
Emily let out a pondering hum. After a moment, as if an idea struck her, she clapped her hands.
"Come to think of it, I’ve heard there’s a shop that sells special items in the underground market."
"Underground market?"
"It’s a dangerous place for a lady to go, though."
She sighed quietly.
"It’s a place where they used to deal with ingredients needed by witches to make potions. But no matter how I look at it, the things you need seem to be from there. Right?"
I quietly nodded.
I didn’t know what Peril was going to do with these materials, but he was kind of similar to a witch…?
"Anyway, there are people who buy things from the underground market on your behalf. I’ll try to find them."
"……Will you be okay on your own?"
"Oh, of course! It’s my job after all."
After finishing her sentence, Emily glanced around quietly. Then she whispered into my ear.
"If you buy me a dessert, I’ll be back faster than anyone."
"Isn’t that a bit too small of a reward? I’ll buy you as much as you want."
At my words, Emily let out a short exclamation.
"Then I’ll be off! Just wait here for a moment!"
I waved at Emily as she walked away and leaned my back against the wall.
While catching my breath and watching people pass by on the street—
"Huh, my lady?"
The familiar voice belonged to Elliot, who greeted me. He took just one step to approach and smiled brightly, as if meeting an old friend.
"What brings you here?"
……Could Ricardo be here too?
As my gaze subtly moved behind Elliot, he turned his head as if following my line of sight.
"Are you looking for someone?"
Startled by his quiet mutter, I changed the subject with a greeting.
"Long time no see."
"I was bored, so this is great timing! May I stay with you for a bit?"
"Uh, uh-huh."
Anyone would think we were close.
When in fact, we’d only met twice.
Even back then, I found it surprising how he maintained such a bright demeanor in the barren House of Hessen.
It was unexpected, to say the least.
"What about you? What brings you here?"
"Ah, I actually came to escort His Grace. But he didn’t look to be in a good mood, so I ran away!"
Elliot laughed heartily and mimicked running.
"He’s someone who often gets angry. You have to flee quickly in those moments."
"You must’ve known Ricardo for a long time?"
He slowly counted on his fingers, then let out a small chuckle.
"It’s been quite a while."
"……."
"Come to think of it, didn’t you also know His Grace for a long time?"
So what if I did.
I didn’t know anything about him, and we weren’t that close either.
Realizing his blunder after speaking, Elliot quickly changed the topic.
"Still, it’s a good thing His Grace met you."
"Ricardo probably doesn’t think so."
I replied dryly, and Elliot shook his head.
"These days, His Grace looks so much happier! It’s all thanks to you."
Elliot, the thing is—
He’s just curious about the sudden change in me.
He’s intrigued because the girl who used to cling to him gave everything up.
"Hmm… I’ve always felt this, but His Grace is carrying too much."
"Carrying?"
Elliot let out a deep sigh.
"Should I call it the beliefs of House Hessen? Well, technically, it’s Lord Harnen’s beliefs, I suppose……."
"……."
"Even if His Grace doesn’t want to, it’s something he must do. Because he’s lived his entire life for that."
Now that I thought about it, in Dians……
〈If we had been even a little late, the plan and everything else would’ve gone up in smoke.〉
The plan related to Idette.
That must’ve been what he meant.
I tapped the toe of my shoe on the ground.
"……Why do it if he doesn’t want to?"
Elliot gave a bitter smile. Just as he opened his mouth—
"My lady!"
Emily’s voice rang out from afar. That was when I snapped back to my senses.
"My maid’s here. I’ll be going now."
"Wait, my lady……!"
At that moment, Elliot hurriedly grabbed me.
"His Grace really has brightened up since meeting you."
"……."
"……It’s true."
It was the most serious expression I’d ever seen on Elliot’s face.
That felt just a little, strangely off.
* * *
‘……He looked brighter, he said?’
Was that just something he said to tease me?
Certainly, Ricardo’s actions had parts that could be misunderstood.
But so what?
Ricardo said he wanted to be hated by me.
I had tried so hard not to let it affect me, but sometimes I couldn’t help thinking—
…Was I a joke to him?
It was a truth I wanted to ignore. If I admitted it, I’d feel pathetic. The me who smiled in front of Ricardo would become pitiful.
But the truth was, he did see me as a joke.
Just because Ricardo had become a bit cheerier these days, did that mean I had to stay by his side?
If I had known this would happen, I should’ve ended things completely back in Dians.
As I leaned my head against the carriage wall and stared blankly out the window—
"……."
I blinked vacantly. I saw Ricardo in the distance. Behind him came Elliot, looking sheepish.
The moment Ricardo and I made eye contact, I felt sure.
I didn’t want to have these foolish thoughts anymore.
"Ricardo."
At some point, the distance between us had closed. A smile slowly spread across his face as he gazed up at me.
"……Have you been well?"
Ricardo shaded his eyes with his palm as if the sunlight was too bright and greeted me.
I nodded cautiously.
The weather sure was nice today.
"Um, I didn’t avoid you again today."
I won’t let myself get dragged around by your twisted logic anymore.
"So, I was thinking, since the weather’s nice—how about we break off the engagement?"
Ricardo instantly stiffened.
"Last time I brought up breaking it off, it was raining, right?"
"……."
"But today, it’s not even raining. Seems like the perfect day to end it."
You said it yourself. If I wanted to break off the engagement, I shouldn’t avoid meeting you.
If you really didn’t want to end it, you shouldn’t have said that.
Ricardo called out to me urgently.
"Bianca."
"I admit we’ve both changed. I also really enjoyed our last meeting."
I took a deep breath.
"But there’s something we’re both deliberately avoiding—Idette."
I didn’t care what kind of relationship he had with her.
What mattered was that Ricardo had feelings for Idette while he already had a fiancée.
Whether he really did or only pretended to, that’s how everyone saw it.
But Ricardo had no intention of explaining it, nor did he try to offer an excuse.
Because it’s easier to just let things fade away like they never happened.
"I think there’s no need to ask, and you think it’s not worth explaining."
Saying it out loud made me feel at ease.
"That’s the kind of relationship we have."
I should’ve approached it this way from the beginning.
Ricardo’s eyes started to waver.
"……Because I knew you’d get hurt."
Saying I’d get hurt, and yet he had that expression while saying it.
"……It was out of consideration for you."
I didn’t know what else to say.
I hadn’t brought it up because I wanted an apology.
From the start, I had decided to try understanding Ricardo. That was how I’d planned to adapt to this world.
But facing a character who had stepped out of the pages was much harder than I expected.
So in the end, all I could do was run away.
"……Keep your promise. I kept mine about not avoiding our meetings."
I shut the window. I turned my head away, unable to bear looking at Ricardo’s crumbling expression.
A moment later, Emily entered the carriage. Noticing the heavy atmosphere, she hesitated, then cautiously spoke.
"By the way, my lady……."
"Yes?"
"You might want to hurry back to the estate."
I couldn’t hide my confusion at her words.