LRAB Chapter 73
Chapter 73
“Rick Ray, did I ask you an uncomfortable question?”
“Oh, I was a bit surprised.”
A moment later, Rick’s eyes softened into a familiar, fox-like smile.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been asked such a peculiar question: If A and B are friends, and B and C are friends, are A and C also friends?”
“Rick!”
The servant, who had been silent until then, finally interjected. Rick lowered his head.
“I must have made a foolish joke. My apologies. In any case, I’m not on intimate terms with Lady Redfield.”
“...I see.”
“The last time I saw her was when she was with Maria at the opera, in the same space.”
“Does she like opera?”
“It’s too high-class for my tastes. I only went to protect Maria.”
“I see.”
“...”
Rick and the servant both noticed the change in Tristan’s voice, which had turned stiff.
Tristan wanted to laugh at Rick, who had become so pitiful in an instant. But soon, his thoughts were interrupted by the training grounds appearing at the end of the corridor and by the presence of Baron Meyer.
“This is the Meyer estate’s training grounds. The first place I’ll show you is...”
Work had to be done. Tristan nodded, asked questions, and tried to remember everything he could. Yet, even while doing so, the most bothersome image in his mind was the one that kept resurfacing.
It was the look Rick had given the two women earlier in the Meyer estate’s tea room.
When he looked at Maria, his face had softened into a comfortable expression, one that could have been described as the face of someone gazing lovingly at a kind sister or admiring an angel.
But whenever Rick looked at Doris, his expression changed dramatically. He would smile effortlessly, but then, in an instant, he would reveal the raw edge of his emotions, furrow his brows in exaggerated annoyance, and sometimes lick his lips while delivering a casual joke, as though his mouth had gone dry.
At first, Tristan had only thought, This is annoying.
Is Doris uncomfortable? How rude.
But for some reason, that unease began to seep into him—
“Look here! This is the mirrored wall that my grandfather installed. It allows soldiers to compare their movements with other soldiers...”
The moment he looked into the mirror and saw his own face, Tristan realized that what he had been feeling wasn’t just unease—it was déjà vu.
I know that expression.
The same expression that Rick had when he looked at Doris—unable to calm himself, occasionally becoming dazed, at other times annoyed with himself for feeling happy, furrowing his brows intentionally.
No way... Rick Ray, could you be...?
A small feeling of unease began to grow inside him, starting as something as small as a fingernail and slowly expanding.
***
The ladies participating in the performance welcomed my final script, laughing together, but also expressing some concern.
“Are you sure this will be okay?”
I added with a hint of sarcasm, wondering why someone so capable was in a charity event when they hadn’t even been specially invited.
It took Pearl a moment to catch onto the sarcasm.
“Me? Nervous? I’m fine, really!”
Her impressive voice filled the room for a moment. Ah, how loud.
“Anyway, so you’ll be handling all three songs?”
“Of course.”
“It’s an amateur charity performance, but I hope you’ll do your best. It would be really sad to be compared to me.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Well, I’ll leave you to it!”
She really came to stir up trouble. I opened the music room door, naturally escorting her out. It wasn’t for a formal goodbye.
“Miss Snow. Was it really your choice to participate in this performance?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean literally.”
“...It was an opportunity granted by His Highness. I had no choice but to take it.”
Right. And she couldn’t refuse. The second prince was both her lover and her benefactor.
I smiled slyly at Pearl.
“And you’ll get one more chance to choose.”
“One more choice?”
“Think about it slowly. I’ll see you again on the day of the performance.”
Pearl seemed confused at my words, about to ask, but she glanced at her watch and turned to leave. She was probably heading to meet the second prince.
I returned to the music room.
In just a few minutes, was it a brief meeting? One of the youngest ladies, who had been sitting with the group, brightened up and spoke to me.
“We’ve all made up our minds.”
“Ah. About whether to choose the changed song or not?”
“Yes. I want to see Pearl Snow’s expression when she hears this!”
Since all the other ladies had the same look on their faces, I could tell that they had all made the same decision.
In the remaining days before the performance, we practiced desperately, even after our reserved time in the music room ended. Combining dieting with intense practice was exhausting, but I managed to push through with my youthful energy.
I really hoped these ladies wouldn’t be embarrassed.
More than anything, I hoped their efforts would be rewarded with good results.
And then, the day of the charity performance arrived.
I stood in front of the mirror, contemplating two dresses.
One was the dress my sister had said was “the best of what I had.”
The other was the water-colored dress Tristan had gifted me.