What could possibly be worrying so much?
In that moment, I felt like I had just been hit hard on the back of my head.
It was true that I had saved Adele from a disaster-level monster during the Hunt Festival. I had merely overlooked it because of my baseless belief that, if not me, she would have overcome the situation through her infinite returns.
I had neglected the fact that Adele was genuinely afraid of death. With the princess’s question, I started to retrace my thoughts, and only then did I realize what the problem was.
It wasn’t that Adele didn’t trust me.
‘Was the lack of trust on my part instead…?’
Despite wanting to build a trusting relationship with her, I was the one who couldn’t trust her more than anyone else. I could easily come up with excuses.
I could say that she might interfere with my plans since she’s a time-reverser, or that she was too significant a variable to trust her completely.
But those were meaningless words to even say out loud. Wanting someone to trust you while you can’t trust them is clearly my fault.
Perhaps the reason she never directly asked me after hearing of the rebellion from the princess was also due to my distrust in her.
“It seems you’ve realized something.”
The princess smiled slightly.
“Ha… it was so simple.”
“Even if it seems simple, realizing it isn’t easy.”
“Thank you for the advice.”
The princess looked a bit surprised at my gratitude, her expression suggesting she wasn’t expecting that from me.
“What’s with that face?”
“Oh, nothing…”
She trailed off for a moment before continuing slowly.
“I never thought I would receive thanks from you, Duke.”
She seemed to be speaking sincerely, not just out of politeness, which slightly annoyed me. I wanted to point that out, but it seemed like a waste of time, so I kept quiet.
Clearing her throat, she asked me, “So, what will you do now?”
“I will express it directly.”
The princess nodded, seeming satisfied with my answer. It was true that she was more skilled than me when it came to human relationships.
Having read people’s hearts since she was young, maybe she had sensed my distrust of Adele.
Each time this thought crossed my mind, I wondered if it was a lie that she couldn’t read my heart. Of course, if she could read my thoughts, she would have responded to that thought right away.
“Best of luck.”
She gave a slight nod and activated teleportation magic again. As the white light filled the entire room, my vision turned upside down.
The dazzling room from earlier was nowhere to be found, and the desolate Duke’s Residence welcomed me. Allen, unflustered by my sudden appearance, spoke up.
“You returned quickly.”
“Where is Adele?”
Before Allen could even answer my question, Adele opened the door. Maybe it was because her name was called, but she looked up at me with a questioning expression.
“Is something wrong?”
I momentarily hesitated at her beautifully made-up face and fancy dress. She looked more stunning than I expected, but I tried not to show it.
“Do you have time today?”
“Yes. Right now… it’s a bit difficult though.”
Adele lifted her dress with one hand as she said this. Come to think of it, didn’t she mention accepting Estelle’s invitation? Today must be the day of her tea party.
“Let’s talk when you come back. It’s an important discussion about the contract.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Adele nodded.
“Um… alright.”
“By the way, your necklace is a little twisted.”
As I said that, I stepped closer to Adele. She flinched slightly at the sudden proximity. However, she didn’t push me away to do it herself.
From that reaction, I could feel her trust in me.
There was no longer the sharp-edged demeanor from our first meeting. Back then, she would retreat a step every time I approached if it wasn’t an official matter.
Had her trust in me grown that much?
Pretending to adjust the ruby necklace, I cast a few spells I had thought of beforehand. With a tingling sound in my ear, the jewel gave a faint red glow.
“It’s done.”
“Thank you. It’s my first tea party, so I’m a bit flustered.”
“Not at all. Just be careful and have a good time.”
“Yes.”
Adele replied with a smile.
Looking at that, the princess’s earlier question resurfaced in my mind. The realization that I had been the one not trusting her from the start, along with it.
‘I’ve changed so much, haven’t I?’
I hadn’t been this guarded even in my past life.
Every time this crossed my mind, I was surprised by my own transformation. Meanwhile, Adele’s innocence stood in stark contrast to that.
‘Was I once similar?’
In my currently changed state, I had no way of knowing.
§
“Ha…”
I really was tired.
I was physically worn out, but the mental fatigue was no joke either. Just the three deaths I experienced yesterday were exhausting enough.
However, the social party, a competition of backhanded compliments, was making it all the more difficult.
Coming from modern society, it was an environment I simply couldn’t adapt to. The pretty words used for insults resembled the politeness of nobles, to say the least.
Seeing the woman who had once looked down on me and even spat at me now flattering me was just giving me a headache.
“Ugh… what the hell…”
I guess I just didn’t have the talent for high society. Some noble ladies seemed to gain energy from backhanded compliments.
I simply couldn’t do it. Even in my previous life, I hated gossip, so even more so now.
“The Duchess has quite the sharp tongue, it seems.”
Suddenly, a voice came from behind me, making me whirl around. A man dressed in a dark blue uniform came into view. If my memory served me right, that outfit was reserved for the Tower Master.
His silver hair sparkled in the sunlight, and his red eyes reminiscent of blood caught my attention. I remembered that face but couldn’t recall his name.
“Greetings, Master of the Tower.”
“You don’t have to be so courteous.”
He scratched his cheek, seemingly awkward about my greeting. His mannerisms suggested he didn’t know the noble etiquette. I could deduce enough about his identity from that.
Tower Master, Rev.
If I remembered correctly, he was one of the male leads who liked Estelle in the original story. My friend from my past life had a huge crush on him, often ranting about how he liked handsome yet rude men.
Had he been here, he would have been squealing and poking my arm right now.
“By the way, how did you manage to get in here?”
Men weren’t allowed to attend tea parties. They were gatherings exclusively for noble women. Yet here he was.
In response to my mixed inquiry, he boldly replied.
“I was curious to see what kind of person the subject of rumors was.”
“Is that so?”
He seemed to misunderstand the intention behind my question. He appeared completely unfazed by the fact that men weren’t allowed to tea parties in the first place.
Being of commoner origin, I suppose it wasn’t impossible for him not to know.
“But…”
Rev scrutinized my face closely, seeming intrigued as he approached slowly. He then began examining my necklace with great curiosity.
His gaze made me uncomfortable, so I held my fan up to cover my face.
He didn’t seem to care about my action and remained lost in thought.
“…Interesting. It seems the Duke treasures you a lot?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Defense magic, detection magic, teleportation magic…”
With a snap of his fingers, my necklace started glowing red and levitating. I was taken aback by the suddenness and hurriedly grabbed it.
“Hey, even curse magic? Isn’t that a bit too overprotective?”
Snap.
As he snapped his fingers again, the floating necklace fell. No matter how magical it was, touching someone else’s necklace without permission was a dubious act.
Frowning at him, he waved his hands awkwardly.
“Oh, sorry. I was just so fascinated. I might have been a bit rude.”
“I’m glad you realized that.”
“Ahahaha… um…”
He tried to laugh it off, but when he met my gaze, he awkwardly looked away. During a short, awkward silence, Rev sighed and extended his hand into the air.
Vroom…
“Will this be enough?”
Saying that, he revealed a few gold coins. I nearly slapped my forehead in disbelief but managed to hold back. No matter how much of a Tower Master he was, was he seriously that clueless about nobility?
If he were an ordinary noble, his actions would have been deemed an insult toward me. Given that I was a peculiar case, I found it ridiculous but didn’t actually feel offended.
“I don’t need the gold. I’ll accept your apology.”
“But…”
“Rev.”
Suddenly, a woman’s voice came from behind me. It was colder than winter’s breath.
Turning my head, I saw Estelle glaring at Rev with her arms crossed.
“What are you doing here?”
Before I could even say a word, she grabbed his arm and pulled him away. Rev, looking flustered, could only be taken away by Estelle without a word.
‘…Looks like he got captured.’
Well, he had indeed crossed a line.
He entered a tea party, where he wasn’t supposed to be, and had the audacity to speak informally to a lady he just met, then tried to offer her gold as an apology.
Now that I thought about it, it seemed justified that he was facing a situation like that.
‘This is why you call it “soda,” huh.’
I found myself feeling rather satisfied.
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