The carriage departed. I quickly returned to my room without looking back. The first thing I did was hide the ring in my desk drawer. I had a feeling that it shouldn’t be seen by anyone. If someone saw it, it would likely be my brother.
“Brother… isn’t it wrong to judge people solely by their appearances?”
Before my brother could say anything, I struck first. It was a question directed at Sasha, but in reality, I was answering it myself. I felt guilty. I closed my eyes tightly and confessed.
“What’s wrong with you? Why are you like this?”
“Brother, what should I do?”
It was very unfair, but according to my principles, I shouldn’t cause harm to anyone. Even if they didn’t show me kindness, they shouldn’t cause me harm either. That has been my life’s motto.
The image of Armin Grey’s expression kept popping into my mind, making me uneasy. As Sasha and I thought, if he was truly a person with a gentle nature and a lot of experience with women, such a misunderstanding wouldn’t have happened.
“I think I made a big mistake.”
“Mistake?”
“Brother! Where do men usually like to go? Tell me straight.”
“Why?”
“I promised to meet Armin Grey.”
“What?!”
Sasha’s eyes widened in shock. It was as if a lost puppy had returned home. I avoided Sasha’s gaze and muttered.
“There was a reason for that.”
“What reason? Why do you have to keep meeting such a person?”
My conscience was pricked. If I only looked at today’s events, Armin Grey was not a bad person to deserve the label of ‘such a person.’
Everything was my fault. If I had just listened to Sasha from the start, Armin Grey wouldn’t have ended up being misunderstood like this.
“Don’t say that!”
I closed my eyes tightly and shouted. That reaction made Sasha shut his mouth in surprise.
“You… maybe…”
“No, that’s not the case.”
“I haven’t even said anything yet, so what do you mean it’s not?”
“I mean I thought you seem to like him. It’s just that something unfortunate happened, so…”
Hmm.
Sasha looked at me with a very concerned expression.
“Don’t have strange thoughts and tell me a place that Armin Grey would like.”
My brother gave me a very strange look.
“Well, even such a person would prefer being stuck in a corner rather than nothing.”
Sasha started counting on his fingers as he thought deeply. Even though we are twins, my brother, who had lost his innocence, knew many places that were popular.
“The garden of Madame Trua is also quite famous.”
“Isn’t that place famous as a date spot?”
“Well, Armin Grey probably doesn’t have many things he likes. Where would he like to go?”
“Something to do with swords?”
“Swords?”
A sword? I thought deeply. Where would someone who likes swords enjoy going?
I recalled the navigation-like simulation I saw when riding in the carriage. Going to a bookstore seemed like a good idea.
“Oh, then would he like going to a weapon store?”
“A weapon store?”
Sasha looked incredulous.
“Why? There was a blacksmith near the bookstore we went to.”
“Oh, come on. He’s the heir to the Grey family. Someone like him wouldn’t be interested in the kinds of weapons sold in the city.”
His words made too much sense to argue with. But no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with an answer.
“For now, let’s put aside the weapon store. We’ll keep it as a backup option.”
“What kind of backup is that?”
“Whatever.”
Sasha sighed and looked at me with a worried expression. Like a parent looking at a child lost in the crowd, my concerned older brother made a loud noise.
“What! What’s the problem?”
“What do you mean, what’s the problem?!”
Talking with Sasha like this made me realize that quite some time had passed. Sasha still looked worried as he left the room.
Sigh.
I couldn’t fall asleep and kept tossing and turning in bed. It was the first time in my life that I had to care about what a man thought. So, naturally, I felt anxious about this unfamiliar situation of going on an outing with a man who was practically a stranger.
“I should wear comfortable shoes since we’ll be walking a lot.”
I got out of bed and took out a few outfits and shoes from my wardrobe. Usually, I would wear something comfortable when going to a bookstore, but today, for some reason, the colors didn’t appeal to me.
I took out my favorite beige outfit. But for some reason, today, the color didn’t seem right.
“This isn’t right…”
I shook my head and pulled out different outfits. But none of them seemed to appeal to me. Before I knew it, I had created a mountain of dresses on the floor.
“Phew. When did it become such a mess…”
I quickly piled the dresses onto the sofa. Wearing a dress that screamed ‘I’m a noblewoman!’ to go to the city seemed a bit much.
‘It’s not a date. It’s not a date.’
I reassured myself and found the most ordinary and least date-like outfit.
“In the end, it’s this dress again.”
In my hand was the beige dress. I also picked out a pair of flat shoes that I usually wore. And a small handbag.
Trying on outfits was something I rarely did. But for some reason, deciding on this made me feel at ease, and drowsiness washed over me. I lay down on the bed and soon fell asleep.
* * *
“Heavens! Miss, what is this mess?”
When did I wake up? The sound of the door opening reached my ears, and immediately after, Michelle’s shocked voice burst out.
“Did you hear a mouse or something, Miss?”
Suddenly awakened by Michelle’s voice, I rubbed my eyes and sat up. Since he said he would come early today, I had to wake up early.
“No, it’s just… I picked out the clothes I’m going to wear today.”
Michelle’s hand, which had opened the window, stopped. Then she turned her head, her eyes filled with disbelief.
“Miss, you…?”
“Uh… yeah.”
Michelle was speechless and looked shocked. That reaction of hers was clearly surprising to me. I felt a bit embarrassed and defended myself.
“What’s with that look?”
“Miss, you picked out your clothes? In the middle of the night?”
“Uh… well. Yeah.”
Michelle covered her mouth and looked amazed. That kind of reaction from her was definitely surprising to me. I felt a bit embarrassed and explained.
“What’s the matter? That’s not something to be surprised about.”
“I’m sorry, Miss. But seeing you like this, I’m truly amazed. I mean, you’ve always been more interested in books, and now you’re acting like a young lady. I’m really surprised.”
“Whatever.”
“Miss, what did you pick out? Let me see what you chose. I want to confirm how much you’ve grown.”
Always taking care of me and being the most reliable person, Michelle is not only my friend but also like an older sister and the most trustworthy maid. I felt a bit embarrassed and revealed the dress I had chosen.
“It’s over there.”
“Where?”
“There.”
“All I see is a beige dress.”
It seemed like the input was there, but the output wasn’t working. Michelle’s retina could see the beige dress, but her brain was denying the fact that I had chosen it.
“Miss, are you serious?”
“I’m serious. Michelle thinks it’s like that, but it’s just going out together…”
“Even so, isn’t this too insincere?”
“In… insincere?”
Starting from yesterday, I felt annoyed by the word ‘unkind.’
“So, men always say that. They say they like plain appearances, but when they actually see it, they complain.”
“No, even if they don’t like it, it’s fine.”
“That’s all just lip service. How many women have shed tears believing those words?”
From morning till now, no one could stop Michelle’s passionate speech. I sighed deeply. I had crushed her passion.
“Anyway, we’re meeting each other by spending precious time, right?”
My time wasn’t particularly precious. Idling all day was my only schedule. But Armin Grey? I don’t know. Would wearing this beige dress really make me look unkind?
“But I absolutely don’t want it to look like a date. If so, this dress is the best choice.”
I said with a bit of uncertainty to Michelle. But Michelle was no longer looking at me. Her eyes were scanning the closet.
“You want a dress that doesn’t look like a date?”
“Yeah.”
“Wait a moment.”
Michelle climbed up with a determined look and brought out a dress from the top of the closet.
“Miss, what about this one?”
Michelle’s smile was full of confidence that I would definitely like this dress.
The indigo dress was not too flashy and not too plain. The high-waisted dress with its elegant silhouette was something that could be worn even on ordinary days.
“And wear these shoes.”
The ballet flats, which looked like they had a low heel, showed how well Michelle knew me. I couldn’t wear high heels well, and even walking in them was uncomfortable for me.
Beige one-piece and ballet flats. Indigo dress and ballet flats.
The answer was obvious.
