As soon as I got home, I hurriedly said my goodbyes and jumped out of the carriage. My mind was racing with the thought that I needed to escape this situation. Even inside the carriage, the air felt stifling, unlike the crisp autumn weather outside. I wasn’t used to this kind of experience, and even though I tried to act nonchalant, his gaze was too obvious to ignore. Even if I was dense, I could tell that he wasn’t looking at me like a mere debtor.
‘Maybe…’
Maybe nothing! No matter how much I tried to convince myself otherwise, my mind was consumed by a single question.
‘Does he like me?’
The way he casually dismissed the expensive ring and asked me to call him by his name…
‘Next time we meet, I hope you’ll call me by my name.’
His gentle voice echoed in my mind, and I felt my face flush with embarrassment. I had been avoiding this situation, but now it seemed inevitable that I would have to call him by his name.
“Ar…min, Armin… ugh!”
Just murmuring his name a few times made me too embarrassed to look up. What am I going to do? I can’t handle this.
‘No matter how I think about it, this is…’
I opened and closed my mouth several times, unable to decide whether to ask the question out loud or not. But this was a question I couldn’t answer alone. Only he knew the answer.
I didn’t necessarily want to know the answer. Whether it was positive or negative, it would be troublesome either way.
“Vivi, let’s talk for a moment.”
“Later!”
The butler must have informed Sasha of my arrival, as he was waiting for me at the entrance. But I quickly replied to my brother and rushed up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. Normally, Sasha would be out socializing, but he was waiting for me at home because he was worried.
Ever since I met Armin Grey, I had been keeping more and more secrets from my brother. Even if we are close, this isn’t something I could discuss with him.
‘If only I had just one friend, just one is enough.’
I thought to myself as I flopped face-first onto my bed.
In typical teen movies or novels, characters often discuss their romantic problems with friends. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any close friends to do that with. When I was younger, I was too sickly to make friends, and by the time I debuted in society, other noble ladies already had their close-knit groups.
‘Ugh! What am I going to do?’
No matter how many romance novels I read, this was real life, and I had no experience. I was a complete novice.
As I was kicking my feet in frustration, there was a knock at the door, and Michelle entered.
“Miss, can I come in?”
Seeing me still in my outdoor clothes, sprawled on the bed, Michelle nagged me to change.
“Come now, Miss, change your clothes first.”
Somehow, she managed to get me up and brought me a change of clothes. As I watched her retrieve the clothes from the wardrobe, I realized something.
Michelle, with her slim figure, striking large eyes, and dark hair neatly tied back, was quite attractive. She was my personal maid and probably had a lot of admirers.
“Miss, why are you looking at me with such a strange expression?”
“Michelle!”
“Yes? Oh, you startled me. Why are you suddenly shouting?”
My voice must have been too loud, as Michelle jumped in surprise. I lowered my voice and glanced at her.
‘That’s right. I don’t have noble friends, but I do have other friends.’
Michelle, who was closest to me, would be discreet and had plenty of romantic experience. Whenever I told her the plot of a romance novel, she always added realistic commentary.
“Did I scare you? Sorry. I just suddenly thought of something I’m curious about.”
“You’re curious about something? From me? What is it?”
“Well, it’s not about me. It’s about a friend…”
Even as I spoke, I felt my face flush. Starting a story with ‘It’s not about me, it’s about a friend’ was a dead giveaway that it was actually about me.
“Hmm.”
Michelle’s expression changed. Her eyes narrowed, and she smiled knowingly. She clearly didn’t believe my ‘friend’s story,’ but she was too wise to ruin the fun.
“Oh, my Lady’s friend?”
Instead, she played along, putting the clothes she was holding onto the sofa and sitting down to listen intently.
“Yes? Uh-huh.”
“Yes. What kind of trouble did your friend face? Your expression is very serious.”
Sticking to the concept of a “friend’s story,” I objectively narrated the events as if they were about someone else. Michelle’s eyes sparkled with interest, finding the story of a young lady who reads books all day more fascinating than any romance novel I had told her before.
After summarizing the day’s events, Michelle reorganized the story in chronological order.
“So, as a token of gratitude, your friend and the gentleman made something together? Spending hours face-to-face.”
Face-to-face? We weren’t that close, but let’s overlook the minor details.
“And your friend was entrusted with a very expensive red jewel ring, which was unfortunately lost in an accident.”
Did I mention the ring was red? I couldn’t remember, but I let that slide too.
“But the gentleman wasn’t angry about losing the ring.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Instead, he said that if your friend feels sorry, they should call him by his name from now on.”
“Yes. My friend is really curious about what that means.”
Michelle struggled to suppress a smirk. Her eyes sparkled with amusement.
‘What’s so curious about it? It’s so obvious!’
To the world, my lady, who pretended to be a love expert, couldn’t recognize such an obvious signal. The sight of her being so clueless was almost too adorable to keep to herself.
‘What should I do!’
Even after explaining, my lady still looked embarrassed, rolling her big eyes just like she did when she was younger.
‘Too cute!’
Michelle had always found her lady adorable, from her cute and innocent childhood to her current beauty, though she was still naive at heart. She loved seeing her lady blush over a romance, something Michelle had never seen before.
‘Should I just tell her? Or not? How should I respond?’
Michelle’s heart raced with excitement, seeing her lady like this for the first time. She wanted to tell her that all of Armin Grey’s actions were signs of a man interested in a woman, but she hesitated.
‘She’ll definitely be scared and run away. Yes, she would.’
Her lady, who pretended to be tough but was easily frightened, would surely put up walls and push him away. Nobles, accustomed to receiving, were vulnerable when pushed. Especially someone like her from the heir to a dukedom. Michelle didn’t want to crush the budding feelings in her lady’s heart before they had a chance to bloom.
“From what I see, that gentleman must be very wealthy.”
Michelle chose to tell a white lie for her lady’s sake.
“Oh? Yes, he seems to be.”
“Such people have plenty of jewels and rings at home. And being a man, he might not have thought much about the accessories.”
“Really? Is that so?”
Seeing her lady’s expression mix of relief and disappointment, Michelle nodded.
“But it’s clear that the gentleman is interested in your friend.”
“Interested? Why, what do you mean?”
Michelle chuckled, seeing her lady’s cheeks flush with surprise and embarrassment.
“Your friend and the gentleman don’t have many friends, right?”
“Yes… that’s right.”
“So, this might be a sign of goodwill towards a new friend. First friends are always special.”
After all, they say spouses are the best of friends. It wasn’t entirely a lie.
Her lady, who always spoke her mind and did as she pleased, deserved this level of worry. If Michelle said there was no interest at all, her lady would accept it and retreat back to her books. If she said the gentleman was interested, her lady would find the situation too overwhelming and run away.
Still, Michelle couldn’t resist adding a hopeful note.
“Friendships often evolve into something more, you know?”
“Something more? No, that’s too much… I don’t want that kind of relationship.”
“That’s why you should spend more time together. As you do, you’ll figure out if his interest is romantic or just friendly.”
“Really? Will that day ever come?”
Vivi had already forgotten that this was supposed to be about her friend, not her. She murmured to herself, lost in thought.
