Chapter 4

“Milady! Are you all right?!”

People kept asking if I was okay from every direction, and it was enough to make my ears fall off. Still, I decided to be generous. I used to collapse all the time when I was young, so this reaction was only natural.

‘They’re doing it because they care about me.’

I showed the butler my perfectly fine state.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

And just in case, I reminded the butler:

“So don’t tell my parents. They’ll definitely worry.”

Father would immediately tell me not to leave my room. Mother was the same—she was so kind she would blame herself, saying she gave birth to me too weak.

“But…”

“I said I’m fine. I look completely lively, don’t I? I just fainted for a moment.”

I could practically feel the butler’s long sigh, but I brushed it off with a smile.

“By the way, is my brother back?”

The butler frowned slightly.

“You haven’t seen the young master?”

‘Huh? Piote, you brat. Where did you run off to?’

I looked at him, clearly demanding an explanation. The butler muttered with a worried expression.

“The young master heard that milady went out to buy a present, and he said he couldn’t just sit still—so he rushed out. Naturally, I assumed milady returned with him. I heard someone carried you in, so I thought it must have been the young master…”

True. If Evan from the academy had been wandering around shopping, Piote should’ve returned home by now.

I forced down the twitch in my trembling hand.

‘Why does my body ache whenever something goes wrong?!’

He should’ve waited at home. We would’ve met. But he couldn’t sit still for a moment and dashed out.

I pressed a hand to my forehead and let out a small sigh. Then I glanced behind me at Evan and lowered my head apologetically.

“My brother stepped out. I’m sorry…”

“You don’t need to apologize.”

Piote’s overprotective antics were embarrassing me. And then I fell into thought—should I go look for him, or wait?

‘If I go out, there’s no guarantee we’ll meet… And I should be a proper host to our guest…’

I couldn’t just treat Evan—who helped me—as an afterthought. Piote worried me, but if he couldn’t find me, he’d return home.

‘Surely he didn’t think of something ridiculous like me getting lost in the shopping district?’

Maybe he thought I’d shrunk back because I stayed quiet, because Evan reassured me: “In fact, I’m happy to spend more time with Lady Lepina.”

My heart jolted, and I stared blankly at him. He’d known how to charm women since childhood, hadn’t he? I quickly straightened my fluttery feelings.

“But milady, who is… that gentleman…?”

The butler cautiously eyed Evan, wary. There was no way he would stay quiet about me bringing home a man he’d never seen before.

I introduced Evan.

“This is Evan von Weiss, my brother’s close friend. I fainted earlier, and he helped me.”

The butler’s eyes widened. Well, he was from a ducal household. He immediately apologized for his earlier suspicion.

“So you are from House Weiss. I failed to recognize you—my deepest apologies. I am Seban, butler of House Clies.”

Seban abandoned his earlier suspicion and bowed politely to Evan, who nodded back. Watching them, I turned to Seban.

“Seban, you know the tea leaves I brought last time?”

“You mean the ones gifted by House Chaoka?”

“Yes. We should serve them to our guest—he’s both a visitor and my benefactor.”

“I’ll tell a maid to prepare it.”

Just thinking of Chaoka’s tea gathering made me grimace. Nothing good ever happened there; only endless bragging. Apparently the Chaoka count had recently succeeded in business, and the young lady bragged nonstop about acquiring tea from overseas. She relied on her family’s status and strutted around.

‘And watching her, I made a vow. I will never be someone who flaunts my background.’

Our family wasn’t even particularly exceptional—just one of dozens of count families. It was only because Father handled business well that our name rose a little. That’s how Piote could afford my medicine. Otherwise, we’d have gone bankrupt long ago.

Anyway, the Chaoka young lady handed each invited lady a can of imported tea leaves. I was included.

Listening to her bragging was torture, but at least the tea was good—so I considered it not a total waste of time. Originally, we planned to drink it together when Piote came home, but this was fine too.

“Lord Evan, let’s go to the drawing room.”

I led Evan down the hallway. There wasn’t much to see, yet he looked around with bright, sparkling eyes as if everything was fascinating.

“There’s a lot of pink.”

“Ah…”

I laughed awkwardly and looked away.

“Everyone… likes pink.”

Of all places, I was leading him near my room—where the pink was especially overwhelming.

I hated pink, but my family loved it so much they filled the surroundings with it. Carpet, curtains, flowers—everything pink, though surprisingly not tacky.

And their reason for loving it was absurd.

‘They say pink reminds them of me. If so, just come see me directly! People might think I refuse to see them!’

My family were all hopelessly doting.

“…Actually, I like pink too.”

Evan said quietly.

“What?”

I wasn’t sure I heard him right. But Evan just smiled and asked to see more of the place.

He never liked pink. There should’ve been some mention of that in the game if he did.

‘I must’ve misheard.’

I let it go.

Outside the window, the garden came into view. I pointed toward it.

“Would you like to stop by the garden before the drawing room?”

“I’d like that.”

Perfect. I’d bought a fountain pen as Piote’s gift, but that was ruined—so I’d been thinking of preparing another one.

‘A bouquet is essential for congratulating the runner-up of the swordsmanship tournament.’

I guided Evan to my favorite part of the garden, looking for good flowers. I soon spotted a lush patch and led him there.

“Would it be all right if I make a bouquet? I’d like to give it to my brother.”

I felt guilty asking, since it would take time.

“Yes, go ahead. The flowers are beautiful.”

He said he was glad to take his time admiring them.

“Right? This is one of my favorite spots.”

Hearing him praise a place I liked filled me with pride. Feeling happy, I plopped onto the grass without hesitation, humming. Then I patted the ground beside me, signaling him to sit. But Evan just stood there, staring.

His stillness made me tilt my head. Then I froze.

‘Was I too casual?’

I often sat anywhere to make bouquets, but maybe he thought sitting on the ground lacked decorum.

Embarrassed, I scratched my cheek.

“Sorry. I’ll finish quickly…”

“Milady. Please stand for a moment.”

“Huh?”

Suddenly Evan took off his outer coat. I blinked at him as he spread it out and urged me again. When I stood, he laid it exactly over the spot I’d been sitting on.

“Please sit on this. Your dress will get dirty.”

I panicked. His coat would get dirty instead.

“No… I’m fine… What if your clothes get dirty?”

“It’s fine. Training covers me in dirt piles all the time.”

He smiled, telling me not to worry and sit.

His consideration made my heart soften. And refusing again felt rude, so I whispered a tiny thank-you and sat carefully on his coat.

For some reason, my heart fluttered. If I relaxed my face even a little, I might end up smiling like an idiot.

Evan then sat beside me. Even with his coat spread wide, sitting side by side meant our bodies naturally drew close. My face grew hotter, like a red apple, but the breeze cooled me a little.

Feeling awkward, I fidgeted with my fingers.

Maybe I should just start making the bouquet. Muttering to myself, I plucked a particularly nice blossom. Evan handed me flowers too, and I accepted them.

I gathered the flowers and used long grasses to bind the stems together. It took a lot of grass to keep multiple blooms tied tight.

But every time Evan moved the slightest bit, I felt the shift and jumped. My heart pounded loudly.

‘Please don’t let him hear it…’

I focused hard on the bouquet.

“All done!”

Finally, I completed the bouquet for Piote.

I turned slightly—

And met Evan’s gaze directly. He had his chin resting on his knees, staring at me.

His violet eyes curved beautifully.