CH 4

“So, why did you say that to the lady?” Jeremiah asked, who until then had been staring at me silently.

I muttered, “Well…” and fell into a brief silence.

She was one of my friends, and he should already know that I wanted to comfort her because she seemed to be going through a tough time.

Until the Exiled Duke’s Daughter,...

So, the question must be why I chose to comfort her in that way.

How should I explain this?

Saying “I liked idols in my past life” would be strange, and explaining what an “idol” is would be difficult. After all, I don’t have the skill to explain it in an easy-to-understand way.

Above all, if I start talking about my past life, I might be considered crazy.

So, I decided to say this instead:

“I thought it was okay to like beautiful things. You know, my appearance is like this, and there are things in the world that I can’t do anything about with my own power. But dreaming is free, isn’t it?

By immersing oneself in that world, one can momentarily forget the reality that cannot be helped, heal one’s heart, and then face reality again. Isn’t a world where you have to give up everything just because you don’t have it, cruel and too painful?”

I expressed what I had once thought in words.

Then, Jeremiah smiled as if he understood. It was the moment when the ice rose bloomed.

At that moment, my heart received an extraordinary amount of damage. If this were a manga, I would be spitting blood. No, I would be having a nosebleed. Maybe I would even be foaming at the mouth and collapsing.

“I see, that’s certainly true.”

Muttering, Jeremiah narrowed his eyes and drank his tea, and I averted my gaze from him.

“Well, what a wonderful idea. Let’s make those words the motto of our support group. It’s free to dream! It’s wonderful to love beautiful things.”

Tatiana sang out her words, and I opened my mouth like a fish pulled out of the water.

No, please stop, what kind of embarrassing play is this? That’s what I wanted to say, but Lord Grimani agreed, and for some reason, even Jeremiah supported it, so I had no choice but to shrink back.

Even so, I never thought that the words I spoke would produce something so significant.

I must express my gratitude to the aunt and cousin who brought me here.

Otherwise, I would never have known about such a situation, and above all, I would have remained ignorant of the fact that people were bound by my words.

Originally, only a few people were invited to this mansion.

The nobles head to the capital to pay their respects to His Majesty the King when it gets warmer. Then, the season of socializing begins, but that time is still far away.

The nobles, especially the women, were endlessly bored.

Christmas does not exist in this world.

Therefore, during the winter, noblewomen are confined to their territories and experience extreme boredom. So, Marquess Castalde, who could no longer bear it, decided to gather close friends and hold some kind of event every day.

My aunt was invited because she is related to her, and my cousin, who is her daughter, was also invited. My mother asked if I could come along, and that’s how I ended up here.

Therefore, there are not many people in this mansion.

Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to meet Tatiana and Lord Grimani like this.

After all, I am usually a wallflower among wallflowers. I can blend into the wall to the point where I could be called a veteran. It’s just like a ninja. I didn’t train for it, but I can do it, so there’s nothing I can do about it.

Even with acquaintances, I’m at a level where I can easily overlook them.

I end up being stealthy even when I’m not trying to be.

If it weren’t for this, I wouldn’t have been able to have tea with these glamorous people.

“I’m glad I was able to meet you after all. Hey, let’s not only meet while we’re in this mansion, but also in the capital. And let’s support the support group together.

Let’s teach the maidens who don’t know this happiness yet, okay?”

My heart was about to explode when she said this with an upward glance, as if asking for a favor.

Someone, please give me medicine that works on the heart.

“O-of course. If I can be of any help. And I’m very happy to have met both of you like this. Thank you for introducing me, Jeremiah-sama.”

“…R-right. That’s good.”

He stumbled over his words and blushed a little. There is nothing cuter than a handsome man blushing. Feeling my heart racing, I suddenly wondered why Jeremiah had been acting strange from earlier. Moreover, he seemed to have a sad expression on his face.

I didn’t know the reason for it. However, I thought to myself, maybe… I quickly scanned my gaze and looked at Tatiana, who was talking to Lord Grimani.

Perhaps he liked her. However, she ended up with her beloved Lord Grimani. That’s why he looked so sad from earlier, I thought.

Even with his beautiful face, power, wealth, and everything else, love still might not work out for him. There’s nothing to be done about it. People’s hearts cannot be controlled. Sometimes, even we can’t control ourselves.

I decided on my own and returned my attention to Tatiana’s voice as she spoke.

“No, let’s start from when we arrived at this mansion. Let’s support the support group… There may be young girls here who are suffering from painful love, right?”

“Oh, that’s troublesome.”

Jeremiah was the one who interrupted Tatiana’s words, which she was speaking fluently.

“I asked her to be my girlfriend while she stays here. It’s already quite a burden, so I don’t want to put any more pressure on her.”

I felt like I was suddenly splashed with cold water from the top of my head by his words. The dreamy feeling was blown away all at once. Come to think of it, that was the case.

“… Fufu, a girlfriend, huh.”

Then, Lord Grimani smiled at Jeremiah with a suggestive smile. While I was frozen, Tatiana also had a similar smile on her face. Jeremiah noticed it and quickly returned to his unhappy face.

He quickly drank his tea, put the cup back on the saucer, and stood up.

“Well then, that’s why I’m going to show off to the others until dinner. That way, I won’t be asked to dance a lot.”

Saying that, Jeremiah looked at me meaningfully.

He meant for me to come with him. I reluctantly stood up. Then, Jeremiah took my hand, naturally wrapped his arm around mine, and said,

“Well then, sorry for interrupting your private time. See you at dinner.”

“Ah.”

And so, I was once again dragged by Jeremiah to the garden.