The day Doris visited him while he was recovering, Tristan had decided to slowly and naturally let his affection for her grow, pretending to fall for her over ti.
But today, during their first eting since that visit, what exactly had he done?
Tristan tried to recall the ‘charming’ monts Doris had displayed throughout the day. He should have ntioned them or shown so sign of appreciation.
‘First of all… how was it when we t in front of the library?’
Her cheeks, flushed from singing, were as alluring as ripe sumr peaches.
But he hadn’t complinted her.
Next, they watched a play together.
The way her serious gaze stayed glued to the stage, only for her to burst into an unguarded laugh at a particularly clever joke, was irresistibly adorable.
But he hadn’t brought it up.
Afterward, her critical analysis of the play and her sharp observations had left an impression.
Of course, he hadn’t acknowledged it.
When the chocolate cake passed by their table, the flash of desire on her face was utterly refreshing, and her determination to suppress it was radiant.
Even the way she carefully sliced the chocolate cake into a size that fit her bite was delightful. She showed no unnecessary greed, her movents were precise, and when a dollop of cream accidentally fell, her flustered reaction added a touch of humanity.
Her walking posture was elegant too. No one walked as composedly, gracefully, and efficiently as she did.
‘…But I didn’t ntion any of it!’
Damn it, a huge mistake. If he kept acting indifferent, there would be no groundwork to suggest he had decided to open his heart to Doris one day.
‘I still need to retrieve the letter I missed from the hunting tournant… but demanding it outright now would make seem too shaless.’
If he hadn’t said anything, the next best thing would have been to act.
‘Did I do anything today that might’ve impressed Doris?’
One act of kindness could speak louder than a hundred complints.
…Yet, no matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn’t think of anything he’d done that might have left a positive impression on her.
Showing off over the few coins he spent at the tea house? Ridiculous.
‘And the chocolate cake? That just made an obstacle in so agreent between her and Natalie.’
The only thing that ca to mind was his last words to her.
He had told her, “If you face anything difficult, let know. I’ll help.”
‘But that’s sothing any fiancé should say. It’s not special at all!’
Even after ntally replaying the past few hours, all he could picture was her savoring those three precious bites of chocolate cake. There wasn’t a single shred of “strong, wise, and dashing Tristan” to be found. He hadn’t displayed even 10% of the charm he was supposed to.
Tristan felt an almost overwhelming urge to bang his head against the nearest tree.
‘What was I even doing today? I made ti for this, and for what?’
Still, neither his pride nor his reason would allow him to sulk and go ho empty-handed. If he had spent the ti, he had to co to at least one productive conclusion.
Desperately digging through his thoughts, he finally rembered sothing Doris had said.
‘I love many things more than a slice of cake.’
A gift.
It might be a cliché, but clichés are tried-and-true precisely because they’ve been effective throughout human history.
There was one thing he knew she loved besides dessert: reading.
‘But you can’t recklessly gift books to soone who loves reading.’
That was a mistake commonly made by people unfamiliar with books.
Books are a highly subjective domain.
If soone likes sweets, you can’t go wrong with a cake or cookies. Even if you offer lemon ringue cake to a chocolate lover, they might feel a slight twinge of disappointnt, but the gift won’t cause outright irritation.
However, gifting a horror novel to a romance enthusiast, or giving a book on “The Art of Efficient Warfare” to soone interested in welfare and sociology? That’s as good as throwing down a gauntlet.
‘If I don’t know her specific taste in books, it’s better to focus on one of her other hobbies.’
But how to find out what those were?
The first idea that ca to mind was Natalie. But as soon as her na surfaced, Tristan dismissed the thought. No need to set off a bomb just to learn Doris’s preferences.
The next option…
Outside of family, there was only one other possibility: her friend, Maria yer.
Yet Maria was an awkward choice—neither quite an ally nor a rival.
‘Is it… even appropriate for to approach Lady yer to learn more about Doris?’
For the first ti in over a decade—perhaps in his life—the concept of social tact and consideration for soone outside the royal family blinked red in Tristan’s mind.
***
Everything seed to be progressing smoothly.
In the morning, the maid helping Doris into her dress had said, “Miss, the dress feels a bit loose on you.”
At lunch, the music instructor teaching the young ladies exclaid, “Everyone, you’ve improved so much since the first day! No, honestly, I’d say your performance is among the best I’ve seen from any choir I’ve taught.”
After days of practice, the young ladies had truly mastered the song, especially now that they understood the lyrics’ context and sang with confidence. The instructor’s face shone with genuine admiration.
Still, not everything was resolved.
After today’s lesson, the instructor, who had sohow beco the group’s de facto leader, approached Doris.
“Have you finished revising the final song’s lyrics yet? It’s about ti for the ladies to start practicing with the updated version.”
“We’re nearly done. I don’t plan to change much.”
“That’s a relief. Keep at it. At this rate, even the audience mbers who attend out of obligation will walk away thinking of this as their best sumr mory!”
It wasn’t the kind of thing one could say in an official setting, but the sincerity behind the cynical complint made the young ladies burst into laughter.
Now Doris was preparing to test the revised lyrics. To gauge the audience’s reaction, she needed to share the song with soone who’d hear it for the first ti.
That brought her to Maria yer’s ho—or, more accurately, the baron’s estate where Maria was staying.
The baroness greeted Doris politely.
“Ah, the young lady of the Redfield family. Thank you for showing such kindness to my niece. Maria debuted rather late, so I worry her lack of experience might cause trouble.”
“It’s quite the opposite. I’m always comforted by Maria’s warm personality. I’ve been eager to et the people who’ve nurtured such kindness, so I truly appreciate you inviting .”
“Hmm, well…”
The baroness smiled awkwardly, her expression betraying her forced politeness.
In truth, the baroness found Maria to be a nuisance. Having her niece as a houseguest was irritating enough, and now her friend had co to visit. Doris suspected her complints had only landed because of her status as the daughter of an earl.
‘Being a count’s daughter does have its advantages.’
But just as Doris thought the baroness would conclude their exchange with polite formalities, the woman surprised her.
“There are so many ladies in society eager to invite you to their tea rooms. After all, you received a gift at the hunting tournant that no one else has ever had the honor of receiving.”
“Oh, you an the magical beast?”
“Yes. I heard His Highness Tristan not only fought the beast but also commanded the guards. Do you suppose he’s been preparing for similar encounters in other lands?”
Ah, so that’s what they were curious about.
The “other lands” likely referred to the Blue Atrium.
Originally a peaceful territory ant for Tristan, rumors now suggested it might co under the northern duke’s jurisdiction due to the appearance of magical beasts.
But after Tristan subdued the beast during the hunting tournant, whispers of a “what if” had begun to spread.
It was undoubtedly an intriguing topic.
But what could Doris say?
‘It’s true that Tristan has been diligently preparing to inherit the territory, but foreseeing magical beasts? Not quite.’
She could spin a convenient lie. But judging by the baroness’s eager expression, anything she said would likely snowball into unnecessary gossip among the nobles.
In monts like these, the best self-defense was a well-crafted piece of nonsense.
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