Leon lightly waved his handkerchief, looking like he was about to die of laughter.
"……Leonhart, it's been a while."
"A while, my ass. Don’t say things you don’t mean."
"……."
"A guy like you with no blood or tears, what else would you be doing every night besides casting curses?"
I thought to myself.
Leon hadn’t gone to hunt monsters—he’d gone to learn how to beat people with words!
Cedric let out a small sigh.
"Looks like even the Order couldn’t knock the ignorance out of you. Seems you’ve forgotten how to talk from all that time bashing monsters in the mountains. Oh, right, you never knew how in the first place. My bad."
Anyone could tell Leon was furious. While I was just stuck between the two trying to read the room, Cedric’s gaze briefly landed on the handkerchief.
"……Still haven’t lost the habit of stealing other people’s things, huh."
"Other people’s? Ha, since when did you start treating Bianca like a sister?"
But Cedric ignored Leon’s words as if he were invisible.
"This one’s for you, Brother……."
I snapped out of it and hurriedly pulled out the other handkerchief. Leon, who had been watching me, sneered.
"What, playing family now? All of a sudden?"
"Leonhart. I’m sure I warned you before. Don’t overstep."
"You’re the one overstepping. I just took back what was mine, and you call me a thief? Don’t you think that’s a bit much? You know, they say reading too many books makes people go crazy—looking at you, I get it now."
Used to the roundabout, polite way ladies spoke, I couldn’t get a grip in the face of Leon and Cedric’s blunt exchange.
"Of course you’d believe nonsense, with nothing in that head of yours. No matter how crazy I get, I’m still better than you, reeking like a beast."
"Are you done talking?"
"Please! Both of you, stop already."
I shouted, drained.
They were like mosquitoes sucking the life out of me.
"Here, this is Brother Leon’s handkerchief. And this is Brother Cedric’s. Happy now? Come on, time to go our separate ways."
Right on cue, the trumpet sounded. It signaled the start of the hunting tournament and called the participants to gather.
Cedric frowned for a moment, then stepped away.
Haa, I could finally breathe.
Leon, who had been staring blankly at Cedric’s retreating back, whispered to me with a serious face.
"Hey, you don’t really have a voodoo doll of me in your basement, right?"
……As if.
* * *
‘Is she sick or something?’
Ricardo’s eyes landed on Bianca. Her face, usually so fierce, looked deathly pale—no ordinary face. It was a wonder she was even walking.
It was strange that no one had stopped that woman bustling around.
Without realizing, Ricardo followed her.
Then it happened.
Plop—
Something fell from the woman’s pocket. As if under a spell, Ricardo picked it up.
It was chocolate. Ricardo let out a hollow laugh.
The woman walked on, unaware that she’d dropped her snack.
‘……What is she, a kid?’
Ricardo sighed inwardly as he picked up her precious snacks one by one and followed her.
Just as he was about to catch up, arms full of candy—
Leonhart?
The woman who’d looked like she might drop dead any second was now glowing with life, standing next to the ferocious Leon.
……Seriously, just talking to Leonhart made her that much better?
In Ricardo’s eyes, Bianca was smiling brightly. Ripples began to spread in his gaze.
"Brother. Thank you for the advice you gave me before."
"Oh, about sending the letter?"
"Yes."
His steps froze.
"……A letter?"
* * *
At my words, Leon laughed breezily, like it was nothing.
"I didn’t do anything, though? You’re the one who wrote it."
"That’s true. But if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have even thought about writing it."
"So? Do you feel a bit better now?"
……Do I feel better?
I don’t know. Honestly, not really. It wasn’t like I sent the letter to get Ricardo’s forgiveness.
What mattered more was that Ricardo felt better.
But I couldn’t say that to Leon, who’d gone out of his way to give me advice. I forced a smile and nodded. Then Leon smiled too, pulling up the corners of his lips to match mine.
He toyed with my hair, as if he had something more to say.
"……I wish you luck."
"As you command, my lord."
Leon lightly kissed my hair and walked away.
Now, time to go find Peril.
As I stretched my stiff body, I jumped in shock at the sight of Ricardo standing behind me.
"You scared me!"
Holy crap, I didn’t swear just now, did I?
I didn’t, right?
Good job, Bianca. You really are a lady now!
"Wh-Why are you here……?"
Clutching my pounding chest, I asked Ricardo—but he remained silent.
“Your Grace?”
“…….”
“……Your Grace?”
“…….”
“Hey, Ricardo.”
Seriously, after calling him this many times, he could at least answer.
That’s basic manners, you jerk!
Still getting no response from Ricardo, I shook my head—then spotted the chocolate in his hand.
Why is that there……?
I hurriedly dug into my pocket. My hand slipped right through a large hole I hadn’t noticed earlier.
Ricardo silently watched my fingers poking out the hole as if they were exploring the world beyond.
This is insane.
Even if my toes greeted him through a holey sock, it wouldn’t be as embarrassing as this.
I cleared my throat and pulled my hand out of the pocket. Ricardo looked at me and fired off a sarcastic remark.
“Seems the Marquisate’s finances aren’t in very good shape.”
That mouth!
If I could just slap the back of his head once, I’d die with no regrets.
“I just don’t wear pants often.”
This was beyond embarrassing. I’d definitely done multiple outfit fittings before the tournament.
There’s no way neither I nor Emily missed such a huge hole.
……This is seriously spooky.
“More importantly, what brings you here?”
This was already my second time asking—shouldn’t he be answering by now?
Honestly, it was awkward. This was the first time we’d met since I sent that letter. I wondered what he was thinking, whether he believed me even a little.
I’d hoped sending a letter with my honest feelings would change something, but Ricardo’s cold demeanor was unchanged.
“…….”
Right. It was my mistake to expect an answer.
With nothing left to say, I tapped the ground with the tip of my shoe.
Should I tell him where Idette is?
Come to think of it, today’s tea party was where Idette was supposed to be humiliated……
Wow, how did I just remember that now?
As I followed that train of thought, I looked around in a hurry. But there was no way Idette would still be nearby after we’d split up earlier.
Ricardo, who had been watching me closely, spoke quietly.
“Are you looking for Count Owen?”
Why would Leonhart’s name come up here?
“Of course not.”
“You seemed rather close, so I asked.”
For some reason, Ricardo’s tone had turned stiff.
“The letter you sent―”
He abruptly shut his mouth mid-sentence.
The letter……?
Ricardo pressed his fingers to his tired-looking eyes and quietly opened his mouth.
“……I thought it was proper to meet my fiancée before the tournament started.”
It wasn’t an unexpected answer.
Proper, huh. That was the same word he’d used last time.
Well, Ricardo did take promises seriously. Although, based on how he behaved when he showed up to the agreed location, there wasn’t a hint of propriety in him.
Still, if just showing up was the extent of what he considered proper, I guess it technically counted.
Ricardo’s Adam’s apple bobbed sharply, and then he quickly turned his head.
“You didn’t look well earlier, but you seem fine now.”
He must’ve seen what a wreck I looked like.
For the great Ricardo to even say something like that, I must’ve really gone overboard with the disguise.
I felt a pang of regret over how rusty my skills had gotten.
“Thank you for your concern. But I wasn’t actually sick……”
I gestured subtly with my chin toward the royal tent and lowered my voice.
“I just did my makeup a bit differently to avoid going to the tea party.”
At my words, Ricardo’s eyebrows rose.
“Lady Idette didn’t seem keen on going either, so I passed along my little trick.”
See? I’ve changed for the better, right?
I had zero intention of tormenting Idette like in the original story. After all this effort, couldn’t he believe me just a little?
Ricardo’s expression turned strange. But only for a moment—then the corner of his mouth, usually reserved for mocking smiles, began to twitch.