When I grew silent, I could hear laughter coming from Baroness Schmia. She probably took my silence as an indication that she had won.

“You said that you don’t want to get along with me… but you might end up regretting that, you know? Who else will talk highly about you to Will? I guess I don’t need to do so anymore… as a friend, I thought it was only natural to give you some advice.”

‘As a friend’… ‘as a friend’, she said?

Could she leave the Merfan residence now? No, it would be better if she departed from the territory completely. I despise the thought of such a girl treading on the soil of my territory.

“Tiarize, I’m sorry to say this, but that ‘friend’ of yours is the worst.”

Vioris stood beside me with a sigh. Then he gave instructions to Afbad, who was waiting in the corner.

“Excuse me, but this lady over here is going home. Please escort her.”

“Eh, uhm, alright.”

Because of Vioris’ sudden instruction, Afbad was surprised. When he saw me nodding, he excused himself and escorted Baroness Schmia out.

At that time, Baroness Schmia casted a last glance to Vioris. There was a fragment of despair inside that stare—what, do they know each other?

With that noisy bird taken care off, I stared at Vioris.

Marie stood near the door, but the house was still too quiet.

“…Tiarize. Would you like to resume your sword practice?”

Vioris smiled in a way he hadn’t ever smiled before.

“U, uhm, I …”

“It’s alright. It isn’t a rare case to encounter someone like that lady from before.”

“That’s…”

That might be true. Still, my stomach became uneasy thinking of the consequences—after this, rumors would surely spread…

“It’s alright, Tiarize, you needn’t worry about anything…”

“Sir Vioris…”

There was no guarantee of what would happen in the future—despite so, how could Vioris’ words reassure me like this? His words felt like a miracle.

“…yes, I would like to resume the practice.”

---

One week had passed since my confrontation with Baroness Schmia.

My days passed just like that. Hmm, albeit there was a slight difference.

Due to the sword practice, my arms were hurting—especially my muscles. The unfamiliar movements made my hips sore. Extra loads were also attached to my body—gloves with taping, which not only slowed my movement, but also made things extra tiring.

Marie took care of my beauty every day, as such, there were no problems with my skin. But physically, I was exhausted.

Maybe the sword practice made my body healthier than before?

If I did the training half-heartedly, it wouldn’t be good for me in the long run …but at the same time, the pain—it hurt to the point that part of me was raging to stop the physical training.

Looking at my own reflection in the window, I saw that not only my face was pale, my lips were purple, my arms could hardly move due to the soreness—I realized how miserable my situation was—even though I was a lady.

Never would I had thought that my physical strength only amounted to this much…

As expected, Vioris then suggested to me. “If you have reached this point, you can use magic to assist you for the rest… should we stop building your physique?” He was clearly worried.

…however! Stopping here would reduce all the effort I had made until now to zero!

I want to become an adventurer!

The stronger I am, the better!

If I stop now just because it’s hard, I won’t get anywhere!

Finally, I asked Vioris to continue with the training.

…the day thus arrived, the day of the evening ball.

I sighed while looking over the dress, accessories, and the shoes that had arrived.

Amber embroidery on golden fabric. A green lace encircled the waist, making it not only neat, but also gorgeous. The chest was fluffy, while the shoulders were made like flares.

There was a large emerald hair ornament. I may had been born in a Duke household, but I had never perceived such jewel before. Then, there was also a yellow sapphire necklace, along with round peridot earrings.

“No matter how I look at it, this is definitely the color of the prince…”

The Prince’s hair was blonde. Depending on the sunshine, it would gleam like silver, but generally, it was gold. The color of his eyes were deep, vibrant, green tinted with a golden hue. Those eyes, when bathed under direct sunlight, appeared as green as the forest.

This whole attire definitely bore the color of the His Highness, the First Prince.

But why now, why would he send me such a dress and jewelry?

Did he perhaps mistake my address as Baroness Schmia’s?

No, there was no way His Highness would make such mistake.

When the items arrived, I was at loss. I couldn’t comprehend what His Highness intended to say with them.

“Would these colors suit me…”

I had silver hair while my eyes were ruby red.

I didn’t think yellow and green would match my appearance.

By the time the clock hand arrived at the appointed time, His Highness would fetch me.

What is it, now? What’s going on? What’s going to happen?

My anxiety grew stronger along with my puzzlement. That day, I learned that there were also things that I couldn’t foresee.

---

***T/N: “Eek! No thanks to you my relationship with my own fiance became this awkward and I had to resort to such unconventional way of running away from an engagement, you Thot!!!” Is what Tiarize really should say when the Thot said she should be grateful of the Thot’s helpful presence in her relationship.

And… Romaj? Afbad??? Romaji and Alphabet?

His Highness… is trying to eat both cakes… is the only conclusion I could came up as of the current…. X”DDDD

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