This must have been sothing Grandfather did on his own.
I was holding my head in my hands when Emily grabbed and began dressing up.
Maybe that bastard Ricardo was more impressive than I thought, because Emily’s touch was rougher yet more delicate than usual.
“I hate this sll…….”
Emily, who had been applying perfu to , said firmly.
“They say it’s a popular scent among noble ladies these days. A pheromone oil that can seduce n.”
“Do I look like a beast to you?”
“Young Lady, humans are technically part of the animal kingdom too.”
The perfu was only the beginning.
“Young Lady, please push!”
“……I am.”
“Just a little more!”
She pulled the corset so tight I could barely breathe.
“Should I just get a rib removed?”
“Oh my, how can you say such scary things, Young Lady?”
Emily burst into laughter, thinking I was joking.
……I was serious though.
After much suffering, I finally finished getting ready and headed to the drawing room.
Ricardo, who had been sipping tea with a dignified air, let out a hollow laugh when he saw .
But I felt the sa way.
……That rich bastard, why does he dress like that?
There wasn’t a shred of propriety in Ricardo’s outfit, with only a robe thrown over him.
Unaware of how I felt, he asked in a crooked tone.
“Are you on your way to a ball or sothing?”
“And are you heading off to explore back alleys?”
“Close. I’m going to look around the village.”
……The village?
While I stood there dumbfounded, Ricardo bent down and t my eyes.
“We are going to the village. Not a banquet hall.”
Then why didn’t you tell what to wear today?
You really are…….
I gritted my teeth and left the drawing room.
Damn it!
* * *
I changed out of the flashy dress.
Why didn’t he just say we were going to the village?
……He did it on purpose, didn’t he?
After a hellish ti, I headed to the village with Ricardo, utterly exhausted.
Just taking off the corset made the world look so beautiful. I felt so much lighter.
“Is there sowhere in the village you’d like to go?”
Ricardo asked quietly.
“No.”
There’s nowhere I’d want to go with you.
“You must have sowhere in mind, considering you bothered to make this appointnt with .”
No, I didn’t!
I’m not the kind of person who makes such requests!
Swallowing down the urge to shout, I forced a smile.
“I didn’t ask Grandfather for this.”
But Ricardo looked like he didn’t believe a word of it.
“I was dragged out here against my will too, you know?”
“Yes. Understood.”
That’s the face of soone who doesn’t believe at all!
With a silent sigh, I decided to make a suggestion he might welco.
“Let’s go our separate ways and return ho when we’re done.”
“I’d like to do that, but.”
Ricardo nodded toward an alleyway. A man who t my eyes flinched and hid his cara.
……What now?
“A reporter’s tailing us. I suspect he was sent by the Marquisate. Do you happen to know anything about that?”
Ah, don’t tell Grandfather also knows that Ricardo likes Idette?
But he hadn’t shown any signs of that.
I recalled the photo of Ricardo and Idette that had been in the newspaper article.
To silence that rumor?
Whatever the reason was, it wasn’t sothing I knew.
“Would I?”
Maybe it was from earlier, but my ribs still ached from the corset. I just wanted to go ho as soon as possible.
“Then let’s just take one photo and go our separate ways.”
Just as I was about to step toward the reporter, Ricardo grabbed .
When I looked at him with puzzled eyes, he responded as if making an excuse.
“You just didn’t seem like your usual self today.”
“This is how I usually am.”
At my words, Ricardo’s gaze tilted.
“No. That’s not what I ant.”
“…….”
“Are you feeling unwell?”
My rib did hurt, but I didn’t want to admit it. If I told him honestly, he’d just make a snide comnt about why I wore a ball gown no one asked for in the first place.
“It’s nothing like that. I’m just tired from being suddenly dragged outside.”
“Then I must be the reason.”
That wasn’t exactly wrong…….
When I didn’t respond, Ricardo let go of my arm.
Then a sharp smile slipped from Ricardo’s lips.
“I also had this sudden schedule forced on . Even so, I ca here to be polite and intended to do my best. Because this is also work.”
Nobody said otherwise.
“I know. That’s why I suggested we go our separate ways. It’s a waste of ti for both of us.”
“……A waste of ti?”
Ricardo’s lips tightened.
“I don’t know what else to call it. I appreciate the consideration you showed . So I also intended to offer the bare minimum consideration in return.”
“……If you really ant to be considerate, then the least you could have done was to act before the Marquis contacted .”
“I didn’t expect Grandfather to contact you.”
“Well. The Marquis still seems to believe that you have feelings for .”
I was sure I had clarified that before.
Suddenly, it hit .
Ah, Ricardo really never listens to what I say.
Without realizing it, I took a step closer to him.
“I thought I already explained that. That the Roygin family’s situation wasn’t good, so I couldn’t tell Grandfather.”
“Everything you say just sounds like an excuse to .”
“Then that must an you’re just that twisted.”
Maybe it was because of my words, but Ricardo also took a step toward .
“I’m twisted? After being told I’m engaged to you again after ten years, how am I supposed to believe your words at face value?”
“You’re still stuck in the past.”
“The past?”
“Yes. The ‘past’ that you’re thinking of.”
Ricardo tilted his head with a crooked smile.
“Talking so lightly about our past like that—don’t you think that’s a bit shaless?”
I had ant Bianca’s feelings for him, but Ricardo seed to interpret it differently.
The past when Bianca used to tornt Ricardo.
That past.
I was about to apologize, thinking I had made a mistake, but Ricardo beat to it.
“Fine, what does the past matter? But ten years have passed since the past you’re referring to. That should have been enough ti to tell the Marquis how you feel.”
His next words crumbled my resolve to apologize like a sandcastle.
“I’d forgotten all about it too! I wrote it off as a foolish childhood crush, and I didn’t expect Grandfather to rember it!”
Ricardo let out a hollow laugh.
“Looks like I was mistaken. Bianca, you haven’t changed one bit.”
“Then why don’t you be the one to tell the Forr Duke? Our engagent was a promise between the House of the Duke and the House of the Marquis.”
At my words, Ricardo whipped his head away as if trying to calm himself. His broad chest rose and fell.
“Let’s go our separate ways. You go to Lady Idette―.”
“Why bring up Idette’s na now? I didn’t co here for her, I ca to et you.”
“It would be better than carrying out an unplanned schedule like this.”
Ricardo ground his teeth.
“Fine. Spending ti with Idette would be far better than being with soone like you, who refuses to communicate.”
That was when it happened.
Soone slung an arm around my shoulders and shouted.
“Bianca!”
The mont Ricardo saw the man calling my na so familiarly, his face stiffened.
No way.
“……Brother Leon?”
“That’s right! It’s , Leon.”
Leon flashed his usual cheerful smile.
“I missed you.”
We had parted ways when Leon was still a boy. Since I had held onto that mory, it felt awkward seeing how much he had changed.
The chubby-cheeked boy was gone, replaced by a sharp jawline.
He had already been tall back then, but now he was even bigger—imasurably so. It looked like he had put on muscle too…….
“Ah.”
Then Leon spotted Ricardo standing in front of . Narrowing his eyes, he finally recognized him and let out a gasp.
“No way, Ricardo?”
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