To help the Duchess with her next novel, Armin and I regularly visited places where young men and women would typically spend time together.
That day was no different. We had made plans to meet at a newly opened dessert shop that had gained quite a bit of popularity.
I wished we hadn’t gone there.
Because that was the place where Armin and I had our first fight.
“Armin!”
It was the day after I had chatted with the Duchess about her growing fame. I greeted him cheerfully, waving my hand. However, despite the faint smile on his lips, something about him seemed different from usual. His expression was unusually stiff, and that alone made me feel uneasy.
“You’re early,” he said.
“…Yes. You’re a bit late, though.”
“Ah, I had some work to take care of.”
Armin frowned slightly. He didn’t elaborate, but I already knew why he was feeling so drained. Sasha had told me a few days ago.
‘An heir to a duchy with no fiancée at a marriageable age. Isn’t that someone anyone would covet?’
Sasha’s words had brought back an old memory—when I first met Armin, there had been talk about him searching for a suitable bride.
Of course, it made sense.
He was at that age. When we first met, he was twenty-three, and now, a year had passed—he was twenty-four. It was the perfect age for marriage.
‘But he’s always spending time with me like this. Is that really okay?’
Sasha had mentioned how Armin was growing tired of the constant marriage proposals. For some reason, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
I unconsciously distanced myself, walking a little further away from him.
“Vivi, why are you walking so far away from me?”
“Huh? Oh, no reason. It just feels comfortable this way.”
That was the truth.
Unlike usual, an unfamiliar tension had been lingering between us from the very beginning.
* * *
“Would you like to place your order?”
At the clerk’s question, Armin simply instructed them to bring out the shop’s best-selling items. After all, famous dessert shops always had their signature specialties.
The clerk nodded at his request.
A short while later, well-brewed tea and a tea cake were placed in front of us. With a confident expression, the clerk proudly introduced the desserts.
“Our shop is well-known for its high-quality tea and tea cakes. I’m sure you’ll find them delightful.”
It had already been a year since Armin and I started frequenting places like this together. By now, my face had become somewhat well-known, and those who recognized me assumed we were once again out here scouting locations for a new business venture.
“Please enjoy your time,” the clerk said before closing the door behind them.
In the past, we used to sit on outdoor terraces, cautiously making excuses to avoid any potential rumors about us always being together. But by now, rumors had already spread far and wide, so there was no point in acting like animals in a zoo, needlessly drawing attention to ourselves.
“Tea cake, huh.”
Armin spoke as he looked down at the cake in front of him.
“You like this, don’t you, Vivi?”
I frowned at his words.
“Huh? Since when?”
When have I ever eaten tea cake? If it wasn’t a fresh cream cake, I hardly ever touched it.
Armin’s face also contorted in confusion at my reaction.
“What do you mean, ‘since when’? You’ve eaten it before and enjoyed it. I’m sure of it.”
“Me?”
Ridiculous. When?
It was a trivial matter, really—something we could have easily brushed off. But for some reason, neither of us did. That day, we were both unusually sensitive, and as the conversation went on, our tempers began to fray.
Armin insisted that I had once enjoyed a tea cake, while I had no such memory.
Fights often start from the pettiest, most insignificant things.
“I think you’re just mistaken, Armin.”
I wasn’t sure why I was so upset, but my mind kept circling back to those words: the flood of marriage proposals Armin was receiving.
I knew I shouldn’t have, but the next words that came out of my mouth had a sharp, sarcastic edge to them—words that even surprised me.
“Maybe you’re confusing me with some other lady.”
“Some other lady?”
Armin’s voice turned sharp. Even though I knew he didn’t keep company with any other young women, my own tone remained barbed.
Just the day before, I had confidently told the Duchess that Armin would find a good woman. And yet, now, I was contradicting myself, feeling irritated by my own words.
A ridiculous image flashed through my mind: a faceless noblewoman clinging to Armin’s arm, feeding him tea cake while he smiled in bliss.
“When have I ever eaten with another lady like this?”
“How should I know? You’re quite the popular man—it’s not like there’d be only one or two.”
“Vivian Roha.”
I flinched.
He almost never called me by my full name.
The look in his eyes was heavy and unreadable.
“Who do you think I’ve been meeting? Why are you making up nonsense?”
“How is this nonsense? Since we’re on the subject, don’t you think that, no matter how close we are as friends, people might get the wrong idea about us always being together like this?”
“A misunderstanding? So what?”
His tone was sharper than I had ever heard before.
I could tell he was genuinely upset, but once words are spoken, they can’t be taken back.
And in the end, I said something I never should have.
“From now on, let’s reduce how often we meet like this. Since we’re always together, it seems like you don’t even have time to meet other young ladies.”
Ha.
Armin let out a disbelieving scoff as he stared at me, as if he couldn’t believe what I was saying. But I drove the final nail in.
“I don’t want to stand in the way of my friend’s future.”
“Friend?”
Armin looked absolutely furious. He opened his mouth as if to say something but closed it again, holding himself back.
In the meantime, the once-fragrant tea had gone completely cold.
Armin stood up. His tea and cake remained untouched.
I stared at the tempting cake in front of me.
What was it about that cake? Why was I so upset over the mere thought of him confusing me with another woman?
“What?”
“Let’s just call it a day. If we stay together any longer, we’re only going to make each other angrier.”
At his words, I also stood up.
“Let’s go.”
“No, you go ahead. I’ll get home on my own.”
I knew he would worry, yet I still said it.
We had been stubborn with each other before, but this was the first time we’d had a real falling out—one that left a bitter taste in my mouth. My mind went completely blank.
“Goodbye.”
And that was how our meeting ended that day.
Leaving Armin behind—too stunned to even try to stop me—I walked out of the shop, drowning in regret over this ridiculous situation.
* * *
“What happened?”
That night, as soon as Sasha returned home late from work, he came straight to my room.
My older brother only needed one glance at my face to realize I was in a terrible mood.
“What do you mean, ‘what happened’? Nothing happened.”
“Don’t lie.”
Judging by the way Sasha dragged a chair over to my bed, it was clear he wasn’t going to leave until he heard the full story.
I let out a deep sigh. Even elementary school kids wouldn’t fight over something like this. Seriously, what was so important about the taste of a cake?
The moment I got home, I started regretting everything that had happened today, but my pride wouldn’t allow me to be the first to apologize.
After I honestly explained the situation, Sasha looked at me like he couldn’t comprehend a single word I was saying.
Yeah, I didn’t understand it either, so how much worse would it sound to someone else?
“That was enough reason to fight?”
“Well, we fought, so obviously it was.”
“Oh, come on. What’s so important about the taste of a cake?”
“Sasha, have you ever seen me eat any cake other than fresh cream cake?”
“No, but—”
“Exactly!”
“So what you’re saying is… You got upset because Lord Armin didn’t remember that about you?”
“Yes!”
As I spoke, I felt myself getting angry all over again.
Sasha stared at me intently and asked, “why?”
“What do you mean, ‘why’?”
“Why? Explain it to me.”
“Because it’s obvious! Anyone would be mad if someone mistook them for someone else!”
“Would you get just as mad if Abyss confused you with another young lady?”
“No?”
“Why not? You just said you got mad because Lord Armin confused you with someone else.”
“Abyss is… uh…”
Sasha’s sharp gaze scrutinized me, and the feeling that I was missing something crucial only irritated me further.
“Ugh, whatever. Get out. I’m tired, I’m going to sleep.”
When I’m extremely stressed, exhaustion hits me like a wave. The emotional turmoil from earlier had drained me, leaving me with a pounding headache.
Seeing my state, Sasha simply put the chair back in its place without another word.
“Think about it. Why wouldn’t it bother you if Abyss confused you with someone else, but it did when Armin did?”
“I said get out! I’m going to sleep!”
“Fine. Just make sure to think about it, even in your dreams.”
Sasha mumbled something about how we were making a big deal out of nothing, but I pretended not to hear him and pulled the blanket over my head.
Seriously, why was I so angry?
Why couldn’t I get over it?
How was I supposed to face Armin from now on?
What if Armin was just as mad at me as I was at him?
The battle between wanting to apologize and refusing to do so, along with a sadness I couldn’t even explain, tormented me as I lay in bed.
That night, I had a nightmare.
The worst part? A vision of Armin’s wedding—standing beside a faceless, featureless young lady.
