RLPE Chapter 35

“Vivi! Come here quickly.”

The reception room of the Grey Ducal House.

Today was the day I regularly met with the Duchess. Ever since I had agreed to help her prepare for her next novel, this had become a part of my routine.

It seemed she had been eagerly waiting for my visit more than usual today. The moment I arrived, she grabbed my hands and immediately bombarded me with a question.

“Vivi, what kind of relationship do you have with the young Lord of Basilius?”

“Huh?”

Basilius? Abyss Basilius?

“What do you mean, what kind of relationship?”

“Is it true that you’ve been meeting with both Armin and the young lord Basilius?”

“W-Wait a minute. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Completely caught off guard by the Duchess’s sudden interrogation, I stammered in confusion.

“So it’s not true?”

“Of course not!”

“But… I heard rumors that you and the young lord Basilius dined together alone at a popular restaurant and paid for five meals.”

“That’s…”

“And right after that, you were spotted spending an entire day shopping with Armin.”

The Duchess looked at me anxiously, as if dreading my response.

“Have I put too much pressure on you? If so, I’m really sorry.”

She must have thought that I had been forced to spend time with Armin because of her request, even though I was already involved with Abyss.

But as she spoke, memories of the fencing tournament’s final day surfaced in my mind, sending a shiver down my spine. I waved my hands in denial.

“No, no, that wasn’t young lord Basilius! Abyss is just my brother’s friend. The restaurant reservation was under his name, so I had no choice but to use it. But in the end, he didn’t even show up—he left for the noble academy with my brother to catch up on their work.”

“Then who was it?”

I let out a deep sigh as I recalled the exhausting events of that day.

“It was Armin. We ate together to celebrate his victory.”

At the mention of Armin’s name, the Duchess, who had been drowning in worry just moments ago, suddenly brightened up.

“Armin? You had a meal alone with Armin?”

“Yes. The one I spent the entire day with was Armin.”

The Duchess’ face practically lit up with delight.

“Oh my, I was worrying for no reason.”

Seeing her so pleased, I quickly added a clarification.

“But don’t misunderstand! It just happened that way.”

The Duchess was already holding her pen, eager to take notes on my story. With a sigh, I decided to recount the event.

“Actually, I placed a bet on the tournament’s final match that day. Naturally, I bet on Armin. Since his opponent had quite a few past victories, the odds were high, and I ended up making a nice profit.”

“A bet?”

“Yes, a bet. I was a bit short on money at the time.”

“Oh, dear. Would you like me to give you an allowance?”

“No, it’s fine! Fortunately, I made a good profit that day, so now I have plenty of money.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“So, it was just me and Armin who went out to eat. I had to use Basilius’ name because only the reservation holder can dine there.”

“I see. I had no idea. I was so worried about you. But how was it? I heard it’s quite a famous place these days.”

Will her next work feature a restaurant date? But honestly, my situation with Armin didn’t provide much material for the Duchess’s next project.

I couldn’t help but grimace as memories of the medal quarrel with Armin came flooding back. Even now, I still can’t understand what happened.

“The food was really great. I think we would have had an enjoyable meal if Armin hadn’t been so stubborn.”

“Stubborn? What do you mean by that?”

“He kept insisting on giving me something, and we ended up awkwardly refusing each other.”

At that, the Duchess’s face, which had been so cheerful just moments ago, suddenly turned stern.

“Really? And you just let my boy…”

I hurried to calm the Duchess, who seemed ready to throw a fit, and explained the situation.

To be honest, I still couldn’t fathom why Armin had acted as if he was desperate to give me the medal. I told the Duchess about the mysterious behavior of that day—so mysterious that perhaps, as family, she might have guessed at what was really going on with her son.

The Duchess seemed to have a general idea of the reason, but she only smiled indulgently instead of explaining further.

“I see… So my son… pfft, was trying to give you his medal. What an odd fellow he is.”

Her words only fueled my irritation.

“Yes! It was such an uncomfortable dining experience—almost as if I deliberately upset him… And then, he found out I’d won the bet…”

“So, what happened?”

I sighed deeply.

“He demanded his share from the winnings. Then he said I couldn’t go home until we spent all that money…”

No sooner had I finished speaking than the Duchess burst into uncontrollable laughter, nearly tipping her chair backward.

“Ahahaha! I knew it—no wonder he was lugging around so many things that day. You must have bought everything together with him, right?”

She was right. When we parted ways that day, Armin had purchased a ton of little trinkets. I shivered at the thought.

“Yes, he completely ignored my advice to buy expensive, quality things, and instead bought a bunch of cheap junk. It was just so bizarre that day.”

Because of him, who always did the exact opposite of what I said, I ended up burning off more energy than ever before. After quickly devouring dessert, we went for another round of desserts along with some afternoon tea. And since I was already stuffed, we even took a walk in the park. Had I not switched over to shopping, I might have circled that massive park several more times.

“Um, I have a question…”

I asked the Duchess something I had been genuinely curious about.

“How much allowance does Lord Armin usually receive?”

“Allowance? Why do you ask?”

She looked at me with anticipation, as if she couldn’t wait to hear what I would say next and have another reason to laugh.

“He only wanted to buy the cheapest things every time, so I wondered if he didn’t have much money to spend…”

Every shop we entered, he only purchased the least expensive items. It was awkward seeing the shopkeepers’ hopeful expressions turn to disappointment, but what was truly distressing was that after visiting ten different stores, we still hadn’t even spent five gold coins. If I did the math, that meant I would have to visit at least thirty more places before I could finally go home.

So, I took a gamble at a rather high-end tailor shop. I had to coax and persuade Armin to step inside, promising that I would cover the extra cost, just so he would buy a pair of cufflinks.

The Duchess burst into laughter.

“Did he really? I don’t think I’ve been giving him a small allowance, though.”

“Then why won’t he repay me?”

When we bought the cufflinks, I covered the remaining balance, which was only about a gold coin or two, and instead of paying me back, Armin left his medal with me as collateral. It wasn’t even a fancy pair with gemstones—it was a plain set of cufflinks.

After practically forcing me to hold onto his medal, he finally seemed satisfied. But I knew if I returned the medal to him, the endurance test would continue indefinitely.

I showed the Duchess the medal. While my visit to the duchy today was mainly to see her, I also wanted to return the medal. Armin, who always made excuses about not having money, had acted as if he was trying to get rid of the medal when he handed it to me.

“I don’t care about the money he owes me, so could you please return this to him instead?”

The Duchess gazed at me for a long moment before gently taking my hand.

“That won’t do, Vivi.”

“Huh?”

“I can’t interfere in my son’s debts, can I? Besides, he’s an adult now.”

She chuckled, clearly amused, while I slumped my shoulders in resignation. She patted my hand reassuringly.

“He probably just doesn’t understand the ways of the world yet. He’s never had much interest in anything other than training and work.”

“Hmm.”

“So, Vivi, please teach him a little, will you?”

“But I don’t know much about the world either…”

That’s why I spent so much money collecting expensive books without hesitation. The Duchess, still holding my hand, smiled warmly.

“That’s exactly why you two should help each other. People who lack something should stick together.”

Well, she had a point. It’s like how low-level players team up for better synergy. Just like Sasha and me—my brother, who’s always up to date on trends, takes care of everything for me, so I never even considered learning about the world myself.

“But since it’s about my son, maybe I should lend a hand after all…”

The Duchess mumbled something to herself, but I was lost in thought and didn’t catch it. Did she say she was going to help? Or maybe not?

She then ordered a servant to bring her jewelry box.

The box that arrived was small and exquisitely crafted. Though the Duchess possessed countless jewels, she explained that this particular box held only her most treasured items.

When she opened it, the most prominent piece inside was a small, shimmering, old medal.

“What’s this?”

“It’s the Duke’s swordsmanship tournament medal. He gave it to me as a gift back then.”

Her eyes softened as she reminisced, likely recalling the days of her courtship with the Duke. If the Duke had given it to her, it must have been a highly significant token. That only made it even more absurd that Armin would give his medal to me.

“I could never accept something so important. Maybe if I were the future Duchess, but…”

“Exactly. So why do you think Armin gave you such a medal?”

Instead of answering, she only gave me a knowing smile, leaving me with an unsolved mystery.