Chapter 71: Chapter 71

The voices of the two men rang out simultaneously, but it was clear they were heading in completely different directions with their responses. Both of them were well aware of that, no doubt.

Well, neither of them were wrong. They both gave suitably polite answers…

“No, if there’s a situation where I need someone’s advice to finish, I’ll gladly watch.”

“Ah, then I’ll enjoy watching after it’s finished…”

What are you two doing?

The two men exchanged glances. It seemed like they were both sending the same look of confusion to each other, thinking, What? Why did you change your answer?

Yes, yes. I hope you two reach a decent consensus.

But, for some reason, both of their gazes shifted 90 degrees and landed on me, as if they were asking me what I had to say.

Why?

Of course, I don’t want your answers, and I only have one thing to say.

“The review can be heard from Maria. You two should listen directly on the day of the performance.”

Rick answered first.

“Bit disappointing. I could’ve been a really harsh critic for your sake.”

“Please bear with it, Mr. Rick. What amateurs need is warm encouragement, and it seems you two don’t have that kind of talent.”

“…Why are you subtly criticizing me too?”

“You’ve already demonstrated outstanding talent. So, of course, there must be some things lacking.”

“….”

The words, which could have been either an insult or a compliment, made Tristan fall silent for a moment before he asked another question.

“So, will you continue practicing with Maria today?”

“Yes. I think Maria will be mine for the time being.”

“I never asked you to share Maria’s time with me.”

“…I know.”

The sharp remark slipped out, a little too quickly, in response to the obvious underlying tension.

Let’s not make this worse and shift to another topic.

I can’t think of anything to say now… damn it, nothing is coming to mind! Even the Baron Meyer family’s tea tastes so bad that I can’t even come up with a polite comment like, “This tea is delicious.”

Luckily, while I was thinking, Maria found another topic.

“It seems that charity concerts are a big event among the ladies. Are there any events with a more male-oriented focus around the same time?”

“Ah. The hunting competition is classified as a male event, so we don’t usually gather separately for that. Some participate in rowing competitions, but…”

I nodded appropriately.

After a while, as we exchanged small talk about topics I had no interest in, a servant entered and informed us that the training grounds had been prepared. Naturally, Rick was called and stood up.

After briefly greeting Maria, Tristan turned to me.

“I’m looking forward to your performance.”

“I hope I can live up to your expectations.”

“No need to even hope. It will surely… exceed your expectations.”

“…”

Even after the greeting, his gaze lingered on my face for quite a while before finally looking away.

It would’ve been better if he had just rudely nodded and left.

It’s exhausting trying to figure out the meaning of every action of his, and honestly, I dislike myself for even paying attention to it.

Naturally, my practice performances took place only in front of Maria. Her compliments were sincere, and even her advice was soft, so I left the Baron’s estate feeling in good spirits.

However, the moment I stepped out of the estate…

Is Tristan still working?

…I found myself instinctively searching for the royal carriage, which just annoyed me further.

What is this feeling?

When I first got reincarnated here, I thought I could just wait until that jerk apologizes and grovels. I thought I could ignore the romance stuff and just enjoy the food…

…Ah.

“I haven’t had anything sweet for a while.”

They say that cutting out flour and sugar makes you more irritable—looks like it’s true.@@novelbin@@

“And I want to somehow get rid of these mixed-up feelings.”

In the end, I chose one place to go for a break.

The Sacred Salon.

“Welcome, my lady. Is everything all right? You look like you’ve been pushing yourself too hard. We need to give you a nutrient-packed rest.”

The employees at the Sacred Salon, though masked, seemed to have gauged my condition and guided me to a plush sofa.

Beside the drink I had ordered, there were cookies I hadn’t asked for. The buttery cookies tasted so delicious, they reminded me of the ones only served to distinguished guests at the Redfield estate.

It was summer. The biggest event, the hunting competition, had ended, and the horse races were held only occasionally at night to prevent horses from collapsing due to heat stroke. The atmosphere in the salon was more about relaxation than the heat of competition.

The music is nice too…

I felt like I could just waste time here and it would be fine.

But just as I finished the cookies, a familiar guest arrived.

It was Rick Ray, wearing a skull mask.

“It’s been a while. May I join you for a moment?”

“What’s the matter?”

“I wanted to apologize. I didn’t behave very well at the salon last time.”

“…Ah.”

That guy had gotten drunk and made a scene after seeing Maria and Arthur getting closer at the hunting competition, and ended up falling asleep in front of me.

“You remember, huh?”

“I’m really sorry!”

Rick covered his face—well, his mask—with both hands. His face was probably bright red underneath.

“I’m really sorry. I was personally going through some confusion at that time, and I couldn’t think clearly.”

“Hm. Can I ask what was going on?”

“…No.”

“Did you come here to apologize or not?”

“Tch…”

“You’re really not going to share anything? I won’t laugh or spread it outside.”

Of course, I wasn’t actually curious about his romantic problems now.

But that day…

That guy, who got practically rejected by Maria and was drunk off his mind, asked me about Doris Redfield.

I need to know why.

If he’d decided to give up on love after being rejected by Maria and wanted to get revenge on the Redfields and the royal family, and if I was his first target…

I didn’t want to think about it.

At least it’s a relief that I don’t remember how gross those sticky cookies without packaging left a bad taste in my mouth.

Rick hesitated a bit before sitting down in front of me and starting his story.

“I have a childhood friend. She started as a friend, but at some point, I started to have feelings for her. But, before things could develop further, we were separated because of family circumstances.”

“Is that so?”

“Several years later, we reunited this year in the capital. At that time, she was already close to one of the commoners. They were like childhood friends, almost siblings… or maybe even more than that.”

“….”

Hey, is this your story, or are you talking about Maria?

Seems like he’s mixing in a little lie to avoid revealing his true intentions.

Well, it’s more natural than saying, “It’s my friend’s story!”

Rick, taking his time switching perspectives, continued, taking deep breaths in between.

“Over several months, I managed to get close to her again. But on the day of the hunting competition, I realized too late that she had already fallen for the commoner…”

“….”

“The sweet look they exchanged in the dark… I couldn’t forget it. So, after the competition, I came to the salon.”

“Really.”

It’s just a hopeful wish disguised as a defense mechanism.

But I didn’t laugh. The person most hurt by his own metaphor would be Rick Ray himself.

“If it were me, I probably would have collapsed right there, but you held it together.”

“Holding it together? In the end, I caused trouble for you at the salon.”

“You came to apologize, didn’t you? That’s not trouble, that’s you working through your own process of refining your life.”

“….”

“If I could be there for an important change like that, I’d actually be happy.”

He came to apologize, so what’s the harm?

Rick then tilted his head.

“Lady. Are you the lady in the red mask? Somehow, you seem so kind.”

“…Do you want me to say something like ‘You, who don’t know how to confess and miss out on love, only to get drunk and make a scene at the wrong time, really have a long tongue’?”

“I’m sorry!”

“Ah, really. You act like this even when I give you a little grace.”

Now you’re making me feel like playing the role!

I leaned back on the couch like Natalie and brought up the main issue.

“So, why did you bring up Doris Redfield that day? You suddenly asked if she was noble. Did she interfere with your love life?”

“…Huh?”

I could clearly see his eyes widening behind the mask.

“Did I ask you about Doris Redfield that day?”