Chapter 69: Chapter 69

Maria’s eyes widened at my suggestion.

“All four of us? That’s…”

A double date, of course.

But knowing Maria would probably bolt at the mere mention of the word “date,” I decided to phrase it a little differently.

“A light summer picnic. You said you admired the idea of walking with soon-to-be-married couples, didn’t you? Think of it as a practice run with couples you know.”

“That… makes sense, but…”

“Don’t worry about prying eyes. I’ll find a quiet, scenic spot away from people.”

Maria’s cheeks were still tinged with pink, but at least she wasn’t running from the idea.

“Alright. Thanks for thinking about this, Dori.”

“Write to the young duke and ask him about his schedule, then let me know. I’ll start scouting locations once the concert is over.”

I’d have to ask Natalie for advice. If anyone knew about romantic spots, it’d be her.

But then I remembered Tristan.

‘Will he even come if I invite him? He’s always busy, and he’d probably feel awkward around Arthur…’

I already had a theoretical argument prepared.

‘I’ll just explain that, politically, this double date benefits him. It’ll show there’s no conflict between the young duke and the prince over the Blue Atrium succession, and it’ll prove that I’m confident enough in our relationship to face Arthur without hesitation.’

‘Although he might hate that last point.’

Oh well. Worst case, I’ll just take a walk with him, chatting about pointless things as usual. Meanwhile, Maria and Arthur will get some alone time!

It wouldn’t be a dramatic, cliffside, midnight kind of moment, but if the two of them were alone, they’d at least hold hands. Surely.

Then, out of nowhere, a pitiful figure crossed my mind.

“Maria, how’s Rick doing these days?”

“Oh my.”

Maria’s eyes grew round again, and she followed up with an unexpected response.

“He’s doing well, as usual, balancing between my uncle and the staff. But the other day, at the theater, when I left to call the constable… did something happen between you two?”

“All I did was go look for my maid. Why?”

“He’s been asking if you’re doing alright lately. And not casually—he brings it up like it just popped into his head.”

“….”

What’s with you, Rick? That’s terrifying.

‘Is he holding a grudge against me for the Blue Atrium situation?’

That wasn’t even remotely my fault! Blame your biological father’s incompetence and the king and earl’s absurd collaboration!

But pondering it alone wouldn’t get me answers.

“It was just a short disagreement over my maid’s behavior.”

“A disagreement? About what?”

“I said that sometimes people can act impulsively out of emotion, but Rick seemed to believe that should never happen.”

“Ah… That sounds like Rick. He can be pretty strict with emotions, both for himself and others. It’s not a bad way to live, but… I’ve always hoped he’d find someone to lean on.”

“….”

“To be honest, my uncle wasn’t happy about me bringing Rick here, but I wanted to give him a chance to find meaningful connections. I convinced my uncle by arguing that Rick’s swordsmanship would make him an excellent guard for the baron’s estate.”

This was news to me.

‘Now that you mention it, there’s no way the baron, who already finds Maria a burden, would’ve willingly taken in Rick.’

Maria must’ve really valued Rick to go against her benefactor for his sake.

‘Even if it wasn’t romantic affection.’

I nodded firmly.

“He’s bound to meet someone great. Even the maids at my house think he’s not just handsome but also a genuinely good person.”

Of course, in the original story, Rick didn’t get a romantic happy ending. That’s how it goes with second leads in most romances.

Lose the girl? Stay single till the end!

What’s that? He got married to someone else after pining for the heroine? That’s not a second lead; that’s a married man whose bachelor days no one cares about!

But that was fiction. Now that this was my reality, I didn’t care if Rick fell for someone else.

No, scratch that—I hoped he would!

“I agree with my maids. Rick really is a great guy.”

“Oh, isn’t he? I’ve always thought so! Glad to know my judgment wasn’t off!”

Of course, the problem was that Arthur, as the male lead, had been designed to hog all the dashing qualities, while Tristan had been made infuriatingly good-looking to emphasize his unpleasantness. Poor Rick didn’t stand much of a chance in comparison.

While exchanging this rather pointless banter, someone knocked on Maria’s door.

“Are you in there?”

It wasn’t a maid’s voice. It was Rick Ray.

Speak of the devil.

Maria answered cheerfully.

“What’s up, Rick? Come in!”

“The baron said… Oh?”

Rick opened the door but froze when he saw me, leaving me equally startled.

“Hello…?”

“Good day, my lady.”

Rick mumbled a greeting so quietly it was almost unintelligible, then looked to Maria with a desperate expression.

“What brings the lady here?”

“It’s normal for a friend to visit another friend’s house, isn’t it? Or is something bothering you?”

“N-no, not at all!”

Oh, he’s definitely uncomfortable.

Maria seemed to pick up on it, too, and teased him lightly.

“Of course not. Especially since Dori thinks so highly of you.”

“…Thinks highly of me?”

“We were just talking about how great you are. Dori agreed with me.”

“….”

Rick turned to me with a baffled expression, as if caught between gratitude and disbelief.

“What exactly did you say?”

“Exactly what you heard. That you’re an impressive man.”

“….”

“You have a unique charm that stands out from the polished nobility of the social scene.”

I wasn’t particularly eager to compliment him, but there was no point in antagonizing him either, so I spoke my honest thoughts.

Rick’s face turned red as he whipped his head away. Through his brown hair, I could see his ears glowing like Rudolph’s nose.

“Are you two… teasing me on purpose?”

Maria pouted.

“I’m being serious. You’ve always hated it when I said, ‘You’re amazing,’ acting like it was some kind of bad joke.”

“Because… it’s not something I wanted to hear from you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you saying my taste is off?”@@novelbin@@

“N-no, that’s not it!”

Watching Rick flounder under Maria’s scrutiny, I held back a wry smile.

I just hoped Maria would remain blissfully unaware of Rick’s feelings. If she ever realized, the guilt might crush her.

“Then is it okay if I say it?”

Ah, maybe I shouldn’t have jumped in. Rick turned his head so quickly it was almost audible, his face burning even brighter.

“I… don’t know. Just, please don’t say things like that.”

“Why not? I mean it.”

“….”

“If you ever take an interest in someone I know, let me know. Whether it’s a maid or a lady, I’ll do my best to help. Oh, but not my sister.”

“That’s not even remotely an option!”

Rick burst into incredulous laughter. Good. At least the mood was lighter now.

Maria gestured to an empty chair.

“So, what’s going on? If you’re free, have a seat. We were just discussing the charity concert.”

“Unfortunately, I’m not here to relax. The baron has returned from his meeting and found out you and Lady Doris are here. He’s suggested having tea together.”

“Tea?”

It wasn’t unusual for a baroness to invite a visiting lady to tea.

But the baron himself? Why?

Rick provided the answer.

“After his meeting, the organizer expressed interest in touring the baron’s training grounds. However, they’re currently in need of some… tidying up.”

“Ah, so the tea is to buy time for cleanup. Who’s the guest?”

“His Highness, Prince Tristan.”

I had started to laugh at the excuse for stalling, but when I heard the guest’s name, I nearly spat out my tea.

Why does he always appear at the most unexpected moments? Is he some kind of cursed doll?