Chapter 6: Chapter 6

Dress alterations?

"What do you mean? Did my sister have my dresses?"

"...Do you remember what I said at the last ball?"

"You said my taste in dresses was awful."

"I didn’t say it that harshly. Didn’t I suggest that wrapping them in candy wrappers would be better?"

That’s even worse!

As I felt my irritation rising, my sister added,

"I’ve had a few dresses altered to fit your size."

"What? Why go so far?"

"You seem to have an eye for beauty, but your taste can’t seem to keep up, so I thought I’d help. Next time, wear a dress that actually looks like a dress."

Wow.

For a moment, I doubted my ears.

Was Natalie being kind with her harsh words?

Of course, no matter how flowery her words might sound, they were still harsh, but she was trying to help me, right? What’s going on? Is she serious?

Maybe I was being too biased about Natalie. I turned to glance at the maid, and she, too, looked perplexed, her mouth slightly agape.

Sister turned around quickly.

"Wait a minute. I’ll just change into something simple."

"Are you seriously coming with me to the botanical garden?"

"Of course. You always end up stuffing your face with desserts if I leave you alone. It’d be a shame if the dress I had altered didn’t fit you properly."

"You don’t have to come! I’ll eat less on my own!"

But Natalie didn’t listen to me and walked away with confident strides.

What is wrong with her?

She’s going to alter my dress for me? Is she going to stick thumbtacks in it or something?

"What do you think?"

I turned to ask the maid, who, after looking just as confused, spoke up.

"No matter what, stay strong, Miss Doris."

"..."

Yeah, I have to stay strong, no matter what.

In the end, I headed to the outdoor event with Natalie.

She wore a large bonnet, determined not to let even a hint of sunlight touch her face. I ignored her comments about the angle of my own hat and entered the botanical garden with her.

The servant loudly greeted the guests.

"Welcome to the botanical garden opening! Tables with food and drinks are set up in the garden. The formal event will begin at 1 p.m.!"

I wasn’t expecting much, but the surroundings were surprisingly beautiful.

The entrance was flanked by tall green leafy trees, creating a curtain on both sides, and as we entered, a garden filled with orange gladioluses and tulips greeted us.

"Wow, it’s really beautiful!"

The maid exclaimed. Natalie also spoke in a slightly higher tone than usual.

"Even flowers gathered in dozens can’t be considered aesthetically inferior. From now on, I’ll only accept bouquets with more than 50 flowers."

Ah, I see.

At that moment, the maid let out a different gasp than before.

"Oh my..."

I turned to see what had caught her attention, and my mouth fell open as well.

"Wow..."

Maria Meyer, the heroine from the original story, was walking through a bed of daffodils. Just seeing her made it feel like I was looking at a masterpiece.

It’s true—when someone is truly beautiful, all you can do is admire them.

Maria seemed flustered by the attention and quickly ran toward a nearby greenhouse. Some of the guests, eager for gossip, began whispering as soon as she moved.

"It’s a miracle she showed up. I heard she turns down over half the invitations because she’s so shy."

"She probably came because her uncle insisted, for the sake of his reputation. If she dislikes attending parties so much, she should just accept any suitor and get married already."

"Do you really think someone with that beauty would just accept any suitor?"

"If all she has is her looks, she should pick someone quickly before the suitors lose interest."

Ugh, they really speak terribly. Is this the social scene or a jungle?

...And then I realized something terrifying.

‘What if Natalie does something even worse than that?’

In the original story, Natalie doesn’t attend this outdoor event. But what if she follows me and starts picking a fight with Maria? What if the plot changes because of it?

How can I stop her from causing trouble? Should I try to convince her, or should I just…

Wait a minute.

Why hasn’t Natalie said anything about the heroine?

I turned, feeling uneasy, and our eyes met. I almost screamed. Why was she staring at me? Did I do something wrong?

Frozen in place, Natalie spoke.

"I’m glad, Doris. At least there’s someone other than you to hear the nonsense."

"Huh?"

"If it weren’t for Maria Meyer, you’d have been the one they’d be gossiping about."

"Ah..."

"I wonder if I shouldn’t have come after all."

Muttering softly, Natalie pulled her bonnet tighter, clearly bothered by the sunlight.

Wait a minute, Natalie.

Did she really follow me here just to prevent me from being gossiped about?

I spent some time thinking about that when Natalie spoke again.

"Doris, did you really come here just to see flowers?"

I repeated the lie I’d told the maid earlier.

"Yes. After I get married, it’ll be hard to attend events like this."

"Hmm. So you really think you’ll get married soon. To whom?"

"Of course, to Prince Tristan."

Natalie’s eyes narrowed like a fox. Her voice, sharp and pointed, soon pierced through my chest.

"The prince will maintain the engagement, but he won’t take you to see flowers after marriage, will he? That’s a really unhealthy trust you have."

"Ah..."

"What do you think, Prince Tristan?"

What?

I was startled and turned toward the direction of Natalie’s voice.

And there, standing right there, was Tristan.

He looked like he had rushed over, his outfit neat but his hair disheveled.

Wait, you weren’t supposed to be at this event in the original story…?

Between me and the original villainess and secondary antagonist, they stared at each other. Their gazes were far from warm.

Tristan pulled the corners of his mouth into a smile. It felt more like disdain than anything else.

"Long time no see, Miss Redfield. I heard you only attend banquets with orchestras and carpets, but it seems you're getting desperate about marriage?"

In the original story, Tristan and Natalie don’t get along at all.

Natalie thinks "Tristan is just a pretty face with the worst personality, yet he thinks he’s a good catch and keeps acting like it."

Meanwhile, Tristan thinks "Natalie is just a pretty face with the worst personality, yet she acts like she's such a catch and keeps looking down on others."

…Hmm. These two actually seem to match up pretty well, don’t they?

Of course, if I ever voiced that thought, Natalie would probably bury me in the backyard.

Meanwhile, Natalie responded, not losing her smile.

"As a sister, I do sometimes want to spend time with my younger sibling. Perhaps, Your Highness, instead of chasing after beautiful ladies, you should consider supporting your older brother? With your temperament, I think your brothers would be happy to have some playtime with you."

In other words, "You’re mentally still a ten-year-old. You should go play with your brothers instead of trying to woo women."

Her biting remark made Tristan’s pupils twitch, but he didn’t lose his composure.

"It seems that underestimating your younger sibling isn’t a problem unique to men. Don’t worry, I’m a fully aware adult, and I came here to meet my fiancée."

"What?"

As the two antagonists elegantly threw barbs at each other, it was me who spoke out loud, my response clearly clumsy.

But seriously, isn’t it surprising?!

Natalie’s here looking for a fight. Why is he here to see me? Is he planning to fight with me?

Meanwhile, it seemed that Natalie didn’t quite understand Tristan’s response either. Tension between them was building.

Would you like me to leave the room?

Before I could excuse myself, both of them turned to me and asked simultaneously.

First, Natalie spoke.

"Actually, I don’t understand you. You’ve always said you prefer a dandelion growing from a crack in the stone over a carefully curated garden of flowers."

Then, Tristan.

"You said you’d be staying quiet for a while, but was attending this banquet a bait you threw out behind my back?"

You have no right to say that, you hypocrite!

This was becoming chaotic. Should I deal with Tristan first?

"Oh my, Maria Meyer just came out of the greenhouse!"

"..."

Tristan’s brow immediately furrowed. He looked like he was thinking, ‘Are you serious right now?’

Why is he upset? The last time at the banquet, he was following Maria around whenever I looked away!

Natalie smiled.

"Doris, stop changing the subject. You always used to be the bookworm at home, so why are you here?"

Tristan bent down slightly to meet my gaze and asked,

"Doris Redfield. What made you come out here?"

This is just like how the original Doris, who hardly ever went out, is being treated for stepping out to see flowers.

As I was being subjected to the sterilizing gaze of the beautiful antagonist couple, I was dying inside.

Just then, the voice of a servant reached my ears clearly.

"Arthur Albion is arriving! Everyone, please make way!"

The crowd stirred.

"Arthur?"

"Albion? That’s the royal family’s surname. Who is Arthur?"

The original male lead!

Hearing the name I had been waiting for, I couldn’t help but turn my head.

At the entrance of the botanical garden, a huge man walked in slowly. He had that typical strong character trait found in K-fantasy protagonists—his black hair and eyes glistened like obsidian under the sunlight.

Everyone’s attention was focused on him.

"Who is that young man?"

"Arthur Albion, the Duke of Frosthill’s heir."

"I heard he was looking for a bride, but I didn’t expect to see him at this event!"

The party host quickly escorted Arthur away to a quieter spot, blocking off the crowd’s view. After some time, when the excitement around the newcomer died down, they would formally introduce him to the guests.

It was around that time that the male lead would meet the female lead again.

Alright, I’ll take a deep breath and relax until then…

…But it seems like these antagonists are still staring at me.

Natalie asked,

"Doris. Do you know Arthur Albion?"

I definitely do.

"I don’t know him at all!"

"Hmm?"@@novelbin@@

Natalie tilted her head, and I felt uneasy.

"But when you heard ‘Arthur Albion has arrived,’ your eyes sparkled like you were waiting for him. You must know him, right?"

Ah.

"Right, Your Highness?"

Tristan, being asked the question, nodded.

"Yes. It was like you were waiting for a guest to arrive."

"No, I’m not! I don’t care! Really!"

"I see."

Tristan raised both his hands in mock surrender.

"I’ll believe you. My dear fiancée would never lie."

Natalie also added,

"My cute sister would never lie, right? I believe you."

They don’t believe me at all!