Chapter 76: Chapter 76

The maid and the lady left the dressing room.

Tristan let out a deep sigh, as if he were about to make some heavy confession…

Then, he picked up the knife and fork from the meat pie plate.

Right. This was the most important matter at hand!

“I can eat it myself!”

“Don’t push yourself. If it’s too much, let me know.”

“……”

I deliberately cut into the meat pie and shoved a piece into my mouth. It was cold, but the crispy crust and the high-quality meat brought a primal satisfaction as they crumbled in my mouth.

“Don’t eat too fast.”

“Of course not. It’d be a disaster if I collapsed on stage.”

“Doris. I still think you shouldn’t— Hold on, take your time and drink some water.”

Tristan handed me a glass of water.

It almost felt like I was being taken care of by a dutiful fiancé.

Instead of forcing myself to eat everything, I lightly filled my stomach. Then, very slowly, I rose from my seat and stood beside the long chair. Fortunately, I didn’t feel dizzy.

“Your Highness.”

“No.”

Tristan was already standing at the door, blocking my way. Well, I expected that.

“Your Highness. About the hunting tournament.”

His body flinched.

Oh? So you do feel guilty about that obnoxious comment you made back then?

But that wasn’t what I needed to ask about right now.

“Back then, when you stood before the beast—if I had told you to step back and leave it to the soldiers, would you have done so?”

Tristan realized what I was getting at and shook his head.

“This is different.”

“Of course it is. The weight of the situation is completely different.”

“……”

“But, Your Highness, this performance is both my effort and my result. Just as the victory you achieved that day was the rightful outcome of your hard work.”

“Effort? I didn’t really—”

Ah, he’s one of those people. The kind who get embarrassed about showing their effort.

I instinctively pouted. Tristan, seeing my reaction, shut his mouth.

“Ahem. Let’s say that’s true. Either way, isn’t it enough if the other ladies successfully complete the performance? No matter how much you plead, I can’t let you go.”

“No. This isn’t a request to be let go.”

You cannot confine me.

Right now, I only want one thing from you.

“I’m asking Your Highness to watch over my stage.”

“……”

“Will you come and see it?”

I squared my shoulders. The cold meat pie, now warmed by my body heat, felt like it was fueling my resolve.

The dizziness was completely gone.

I didn’t need anyone to support me—I would walk out that door myself.

For a moment, Tristan’s fingers reached out toward me…

But his hand stopped mid-air.

“You’re… such an unfair negotiator. If you put it that way, I have no choice but to say ‘I will watch.’”

“Oh…! Thank you, but! What’s so unfair about it?”

“Instead of nitpicking my words, I’d say fixing the wrinkles in your dress should be your priority. Weren’t you promising the best performance?”

“If anyone here is unfair, it’s you, Your Highness! And I never said it would be the best performance!”

I rushed to the mirror. Thankfully, the last song had a masquerade theme. The pillow marks on my face would be covered by the mask’s decorations!

Meanwhile, Tristan suddenly bent down and smoothed out the creases in my skirt.

“Your Highness! You don’t have to go this far. It’ll be hidden by the stage props anyway!”

“It’s a matter of the heart. Don’t mind me—just do what you need to do.”

…What I need to do?

Hearing that, something ridiculous came to mind. Something completely unnecessary, yet something I wanted to do.

‘I want to ask about earlier.’

If I didn’t ask now, I wouldn’t get another chance.

More than anything, if I heard something that made it impossible to keep a straight face, I’d at least have the chance to escape before my expression completely gave me away!

“Your Highness. This really isn’t much of a question, but… Why did you go to Maria earlier?”

“Oh. You mean in the audience?”@@novelbin@@

“Yes.”

“…I had something to ask her.”

“……”

His hesitation set off alarm bells in my head. My thoughts immediately jumped to what the original Tristan had probably said to Maria.

Did you secretly make plans with her behind my back? Did you ask if she thought she still had a chance with you?

‘Ugh, my self-esteem is plummeting.’

The worst part? The fact that his attitude now—awkwardly trying to dodge the question—was actually better than if he had just snapped, ‘Who are you to ask that?’

Forget it.

I won’t expect anything more fr—

“D-Doris.”

“Yes?”

Suddenly, still kneeling on one knee, he grabbed my hand. I was so shocked that I nearly screamed—but then I met his gaze and instinctively shut my mouth.

Tristan’s face was slightly flushed.

But instead of some shameless nonsense, he said—

“I wanted to know what you like.”

“What? S-Suddenly?”

“You once said you could be happy with more than just a piece of cake. …I didn’t want to be an idiot of a fiancé who only knew how to hand you desserts when you were drowning in misery.”

“Oh…”

“So I asked the few friends of yours that I know.”

“My… friends?”

“You know Rick Ray, don’t you? He was sitting next to Maria.”

He was?

Rick, I’m so sorry! I know your presence is weaker compared to those two, but I didn’t even notice you were there!

I really jumped to the worst possible conclusion.

“…Did you get an answer?”

“No. Miss Meyer started thinking about it, but then she saw you staggering. I was going to ask her again later, but… I guess I don’t need to anymore.”

That’s right. Because Tristan had just confessed to the only person he really needed to ask.

He didn’t run away from his embarrassment. With his face still red, he looked straight at me and asked,

“Doris Redfield. What makes you happy?”

I could feel his warmth spreading to me, seeping in through the wrist he had grabbed, through his unwavering blue eyes.

I had to answer.

I had to respond to his courage and sincerity.

But my mind went completely blank.

And then—he realized, a little too late, what was truly important at this moment.

“No, go. You’ll be in trouble if you’re any later.”

“Oh, right!”

He stood up effortlessly, as if smoothing out my dress had been nothing. I spun once in front of the mirror, making sure there were no more wrinkles, then reached for the door handle.

And before stepping out—

“Your Highness. Actually, I was torn about whether to wear this dress for an important occasion or to show it to you first. In the end, I chose to wear it on a day I considered important.”

“……”

“But now, I think I’m really glad that before anyone else, you got to see me in it.”

“…Dori.”

“Then, I’ll be going now!”

With my face burning red, I burst out of the dressing room. The ladies searching for me were waiting in the hallway, holding my mask.

“Miss Doris! Are you really able to sing? Please don’t push yourself!”

“I’m fine. Don’t I look healthy?”

“You look… more than healthy—your face is bright red. Did something happen?”

“…No. I’ll cover it.”

I put on the mask. It was a half-mask often worn at masquerade balls, decorated with feathers around the edges, hiding any redness or unruly strands of hair.

As we walked, one of the ladies remarked,

“That dress is absolutely stunning. A custom piece, isn’t it? It’s a shame you couldn’t debut it for the first song.”

“…It’s fine. Wearing it at the most important moment is good, too.”

“Haha! That’s true! Our third song is the climax, after all!”

Just as we were about to turn the corner toward the stage—

A muffled yell rang out from behind us. Like someone shouting with their mouth covered…

We all stopped.

“…Did you hear that? A man’s voice.”

“It came from the dressing room.”

There was only one man in there.

One lady dashed back to check, but just before reaching the dressing room, Tristan stepped out, waved his hand, said something, then went right back inside.

She returned and reported,

“His Highness said he was killing a mosquito.”

“…I don’t think he yelled that loudly even when he fought a beast.”

I don’t know what he did, but I was embarrassed for him.

Adjusting my mask, I walked ahead.

“I’ll ask him about it later. Now, ladies, shall we head to our grand party to praise our ‘beautiful actress’?”