Chapter 19: Chapter 19

April, at the opening ceremony of the botanical garden: Maria and Arthur meet again but pretend not to recognize each other.

May, at the Queen's banquet: Arthur asks Maria for a dance, but Maria, flustered, quickly asks Tristan to dance instead, effectively avoiding him.

Though they don’t dance, by the end of the banquet, they accidentally find themselves seated at the same table. Beneath the tablecloth, their fingers brush, sparking a flutter of emotions.

Their romance then escalates, rapidly intensifying through events like the June hunting tournament and the July martial arts competition, creating an increasingly conspicuous “What’s going on between you two?” dynamic.

That’s how it goes in the original story.

“I didn’t want to interfere, but…”

Natalie shows no signs of committing villainous acts, and Tristan is just as lukewarm.

I couldn’t step into Natalie’s role myself, so I settled for cheering them on in my own indirect, subtle way.

“Lady Dori, shall we head out now?”

“Wait a moment. I think there’s some dust on this cookie…”

Rick popped the cookie into his mouth in one swift motion and winked.

“All taken care of!”

“What about the young Duke’s tea preference? I don’t know what he likes.”

“There’s a rumor he’d happily drink rusty water, as long as it’s consumable. Any beverage might feel like a waste of resources to him.”

“Oh no, the cups don’t match.”

“I’d be fine drinking straight from my hands!”

How pitiful.

Alright, maybe that’s enough stalling.

“Let’s go with what we’ve prepared. It’ll have to do.”

“Yes!”

With a maid supporting me, I made my slow way toward the parlor.

Surely, Maria and Arthur must’ve exchanged some words by now. The silence would’ve been too long to maintain.

“What if they’re holding hands under the table?”

Preparing for an awkward moment, I raised my voice just before entering the parlor.

“Sorry to keep you waiting! I’ve prepared some simple tea for our guests. Since my mother is unavailable, I’ll be hosting on her behalf… Wait, Natalie?”

What on earth are you doing here?

Sprawled casually across the largest sofa, Natalie looked up at me with an amused expression.

“Busy little bee, aren’t you? Your guests must feel so comfortable knowing the injured hostess is running around for them.”

“Natalie, when did you come down? I thought you were eating in your room.”

“Well, usually it’s just sandwiches, but today’s menu seemed fancier. I figured there must be guests. Imagine my surprise to find such… modest appetites gracing our home. Enjoy your meal?”

Natalie glanced left and right, clearly having interrupted before Maria and Arthur could even think of holding hands.

How tactless! Or maybe… incredibly fast on the uptake?

Maria responded first, her voice gentle and measured.

“The meal was delightful. Sharing it with a friend made it even better, but the generous hospitality has made my day truly special.”

Arthur followed suit, albeit more awkwardly.

“I just arrived, actually. I plan to take my time with lunch since I had a late breakfast. Not because I overslept—no, I prioritize my morning training, so—”

Natalie’s gaze grew colder with each unnecessary detail he shared.

She looked like someone listening to an uninteresting blind date drone on about irrelevant personal trivia.

At least Arthur remembered something important.

Rising abruptly from his seat, he approached me.

“I owe you a sincere apology for my behavior at the last ball. Had I known you were injured, I would’ve escorted you home myself. It was terribly careless of me.”

“It’s fine. My mother must have exaggerated. I’ll recover with a bit of rest.”

“I find myself comforted instead. Thank you for your kind words. Here, this is a small token of my apology.”

Arthur handed me a plain box, about the size of an A5 book.

“Thank you. You didn’t have to go to this trouble…”

“Not at all. I wanted to do something, however small, to aid in your recovery. I asked for recommendations and chose this.”

“May I open it now?”

“Of course.”

I remembered what the maid had said earlier.

“There’s a new dessert shop nearby. If your guest has any sense, they might bring something from there!”

"Could it really be the sweets from there? My mouth's watering."

With an eager heart, I slowly unwrapped the package—

And lost my words, staring at the open box.

"…Young Lord, what is this?"

"Bandages."

My modest belief that this world might have honey-strand sweets was utterly shattered.

"They’re a brand commonly used for joint immobilization in sprains or fractures during real combat. They have the perfect balance of friction, making them easy to wrap alone. It’s a specialty of Frost Hill, so I assumed they wouldn’t be available in the capital. Thankfully, I found them at the National Hospital."

"…"

Just give me a fruit basket, please.

Mustering every ounce of my limited social grace, I forced a bright smile.

"Thank you! I’ll put them to good use!"

"I hope my knowledge can help even a little in Miss Redfield’s recovery."

Arthur looked slightly proud. Meanwhile, my sister Natalie was openly making a face that screamed, "What is wrong with this guy?" Calm down!

The people around us didn’t seem too pleased either. When my gaze met the maids’, they subtly shook their heads. Rick was biting down on his molars, visibly suppressing laughter.

Even by this world’s standards, this wasn’t a normal get-well gift.

"You’re lucky you fell in love with the nicest girl in the original story, man…"

I wondered how Maria would react.

Out of curiosity, I glanced at her. To my surprise, she had an unexpectedly wistful expression on her face.

"It’s been a while since I’ve seen these bandages."

"…You recognize them?"

"I got scolded for using them as a child. They told me it was wasteful to use something so expensive on a mere scraped knee."

Maria reached out toward the bandages, then paused to look at me for permission. I nodded. With a face full of nostalgia, she stroked the bandages. Arthur mirrored her sentiment, his expression softening with the same emotion.

What a perfect atmosphere.

I wanted to leave the two of them alone and dissolve this gathering entirely.

"Could I pull it off?"

Should I suddenly pretend my leg hurts and ask Natalie and Rick to help me away?

The problem was, Rick would never leave Maria’s side.

At that moment, Natalie suddenly stood up.

"Miss Maria. Have you had enough of a chat with Dori?"

"Oh? Yes, we had a lovely conversation earlier."

"Then would you care for a stroll with me? I’d like to show you the gardens at the count’s estate. Normally, it would be Dori’s job, but given her injured leg…"

Feigning disdain for me, Natalie glanced between me and Arthur. Was she trying to take Maria away so I could spend time with Arthur?

It’s not like that, I swear!

Maria, however, stood up with innocent enthusiasm.

"Oh, I love garden tours!"

Rick followed suit.

"Would you also grant me permission to walk along your estate’s paths? I might get scolded by my lord if I leave the young lady’s side."

"Suit yourself."

Natalie immediately agreed.

No!

If you’re going to meddle with schemes, aim to be alone with Arthur, not to support me!

As the three of them headed toward the entrance, I hastily called out to Maria.

"Maria! You’re not planning to leave for good after just stopping by, are you?"

"Of course not. I’ll come back after a short walk in the garden."

"Then why not take the young lord along as w—"

Natalie cut me off sharply.

"The paths aren’t wide enough to accommodate two men at once. The young lord can join us next time."

Maria looked slightly disappointed but didn’t press further, being a polite guest.

Soon, Maria, Rick, and Natalie disappeared beyond the entrance.

The awkward air settled in, leaving just the two of us behind.

Arthur, who had been maintaining a polite, slightly awkward smile, sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead as soon as the door closed.

"It feels as though everyone is avoiding me… Am I imagining things?"

"No! It’s just a coincidence, really!"

The blatant way everyone had cleared out left the male lead visibly hurt.

I pushed the remaining cookies toward him.

"Have some. You must be hungry."

"Thank you."

Nibbling on a cookie without much appetite, he eventually spoke up.

"Miss Redfield, are you perhaps close to Maria? I noticed you called her by her first name."

"We only recently became friends. It seems Maria felt isolated in society due to her lack of peers and reached out to me, a fellow age-mate."@@novelbin@@

"That’s admirable. I can’t even manage to call her informally…"

"You were alone with her earlier, weren’t you? How far did the conversation go? Did Natalie interrupt you right away?"

"We exchanged, ‘How are you?’ and, ‘I’m well…’ It seems Maria initially planned to greet me more casually but corrected herself halfway through. Actually, we’ve known each other since childhood…"

Arthur explained, recounting their shared past in Frost Hill, Maria’s departure due to her family’s circumstances, and their awkward reunion five years later.

The only difference from Maria’s earlier version was this—

"I think I… uh… may feel some… romantic emotions toward her."

Compared to Maria’s mere tale of childhood friendship, Arthur was being shockingly honest!

Even as his face flushed bright red, Arthur didn’t stop talking. He seemed to think this was the perfect opportunity for advice.

"How should I approach a lady in such matters?"

"Didn’t you do well at the last ball? You even brought me lemonade as inspired by His Highness."

"I can’t just keep copying others forever. When it comes to truly personal aspects of a relationship, those behaviors aren’t as apparent in public settings."

"Well said. With such consideration, I think you’ll do fine moving forward."

"Really?"

Arthur asked hesitantly, clearly unconvinced.

"By the way, what do you think of my choice for a get-well gift today?"

"…"

"Please, be honest."

…Can I really tell the truth about this?