Is It Easier If You Give Up? (4)

Ariel, who had arrived 20 minutes early for the appointment, quickly looked around to see if anyone was watching.

‘There are a lot of people…’

Since it was right after lunch, there were many people around the dormitory trying to go out. But among them, Ariel herself stood out the most.

“Look over there.”

“Is that Lady Walpurgis…?”

“I wonder if she’s waiting for someone?”

“It must be the Crown Prince, right? Who else would she be waiting for so anxiously?”

The whispers carried by the wind reached Ariel’s ears one by one.

‘The last one is not true!’

It’s true that she’s waiting for Reinhardt. She has no intention of denying that point. But waiting anxiously? That’s a complete misunderstanding. Rather than words with atmosphere like ‘anxiously’, words like ‘desperately’ or ‘restlessly’ would be more fitting for her current situation.

After mentally tackling these nameless nobles several times, Ariel sensed someone approaching her.

“You’re out early.”

“Hello, Lord Reinhardt.”

Ariel, who turned her head to greet him after hearing his voice, paused for a moment. Reinhardt’s appearance was quite different from yesterday.

‘Why did he dress up so much?!’

His attire was so sharp it could almost be considered a uniform. Although yesterday’s outfit wasn’t inferior, this time it felt like he had really made an effort to dress up.

‘I’m not one to talk.’

Ariel had also dressed up as much as she could to avoid giving Reinhardt any reason to find fault. Of course, without the help of her maid, and given that Ariel didn’t usually care much about dressing up, it was bound to be more modest compared to when she had Muriel’s help.

The problem is that even this level of modesty can be perceived differently when it’s the original version. Especially since Ariel was famous in social circles for usually not dressing up properly and only doing light maintenance. To the point where people wondered if her assigned maid was actually doing any work, given how little makeup she wore.

But that didn’t mean anyone called Ariel unsightly. They couldn’t even say such things as flattery. Not only because of her status, but also because her appearance was such that it seemed unnecessary to wear makeup.

And now, this Ariel had made even a little effort to dress up. Of course, even when dressing up, it was just a matter of putting a bit more effort into her usual maintenance and wearing slightly more elaborate clothes. If someone else had dressed like this, they might have been called casual or plain.

But when someone who usually doesn’t dress up makes even this much effort, the effect can be quite powerful.

“You seem to have put more effort than usual today.”

“Huh? Ah, yes…”

“It suits you well. You look beautiful.”

“W-What?!”

Ariel’s mind reeled at the sudden direct comment. Beautiful, he said. She never expected to hear such words from Reinhardt of all people.

‘I’ve never said such things to anyone except Mari…’

Even with Mari, she didn’t say it much at first, and only after they became closer did she start to say it occasionally. But to say that to her?

‘Did he eat something wrong?’

Something seemed off about Reinhardt’s state. Ariel’s eyes slowly began to narrow. The current Reinhardt was definitely abnormal. There must be something going on. For example, maybe he’s being controlled by someone…

‘There’s no reason for that, is there?’

There’s no one who would benefit from making her and Reinhardt closer. Ariel immediately discarded that possibility.

‘Could it be that he has a thing for women who make a scene when drunk?’

No matter how good-looking, isn’t it a bit much when someone’s drunk and making a scene? Even Ariel, who used to be a man, couldn’t sympathize with such a preference.

Of course, she had no intention of criticizing people’s preferences. If that was his preference, she could understand. But she still couldn’t accept it.

‘If not that, did I do something wrong to him?’

No. There’s no way that could be the case. Yesterday’s Reinhardt had been gentlemanly to the end, and if anything, he had given her a gift and even treated her to a meal, so it was her who was indebted to him, not the other way around.

‘A last supper?’

The word choice might be slightly off, but it was all Ariel could think of at the moment. The last supper. In other words, could it be a final act of mercy? If you think about it as him indulging her for just today, as a final act of kindness because he’s completely fed up due to yesterday’s drunken behavior?

‘That’s possible!’

Yes. Among all the possibilities she had considered so far, this one seemed the most likely. Ariel nodded inwardly. Since it would be problematic in many ways to summarily execute a duke’s daughter, he might have prepared today as a sort of final act of mercy for appearance’s sake. Showing this last kindness today, and then tomorrow… swish!

‘That must be it…’

Although it seemed unlikely that it would really be like that, if it were, everything would be explained. Reinhardt, for all his faults, is a man who knows how to take care of others. Even if she’s just a nominal fiancée, he wouldn’t cast her aside without showing any sincerity when disposing of her.

‘I shouldn’t have come out…’

Ariel’s complexion turned pale.

While Ariel was once again enthusiastically digging herself into a hole, Reinhardt was feeling a strange emotion as he watched her.

‘This is a strange feeling.’

It was the first time in his life that he had complimented someone else’s appearance. Of course, Ariel is beautiful. Objectively speaking, that statement is true, and Reinhardt himself had never underestimated Ariel’s appearance. Even in the past when he was tyrannical, he had unconsciously thought that her face was too good to waste.

But he had never actually said that fact out loud. This was true not just for Ariel, but for everyone. Reinhardt didn’t go out of his way to compliment people’s appearances. He didn’t feel the need to do so, and he thought that unnecessarily praising someone’s face could be seen as flattery. He hadn’t even said such things to his sister Claudia, which says it all.

But today, for some reason, Reinhardt naturally told Ariel she was beautiful when he saw her. Why? Even Reinhardt himself couldn’t answer that question with certainty.

‘She does look a bit different.’

Ariel usually didn’t dress up properly, and people often said it was a shame and that she would look better if she put in more effort. But today, she had made an attempt to dress up, albeit clumsily.

It wasn’t done by a maid. She had done it herself. He could tell that much at a glance. And for some reason, seeing Ariel dressed up like this made him speak without realizing it.

Does this mean that Ariel is looking forward to today that much?

In the past, Ariel had blindly followed Reinhardt. He doesn’t know why she was so persistent. In fact, he doesn’t really want to know. But Ariel, who had lost her memories, strangely avoided Reinhardt. As if something might spark if they were together, she would quickly run away whenever he seemed about to approach.

He didn’t feel much about that fact. It was somewhat unsettling that she would avoid him like that just because she lost her memories, when she had been so persistent before… But to put it the other way around, that was all. Really.

But seeing Ariel’s changed appearance, Reinhardt’s feelings slowly began to change as well. She has outstanding abilities, knows how to consider others, and yet strives to improve day by day.

There was something he had thought about while conversing with the knight escort before. If Ariel could continue to change like this, if she could live with her new appearance after losing her memories, he thought he could welcome her as his bride.

That thought hasn’t changed even now. Reinhardt was still thinking that way at this very moment. However, a few peculiarities had been added to that thought. For example, unlike before, he now wanted to take the initiative to approach Ariel. Although he had been willing to break off the engagement without regret if a better match appeared, for some reason he didn’t want to do that now.

“Well then, shall we go? People keep gathering around.”

“Y-Yes!”

Although she looked noticeably tense, Reinhardt didn’t mind. After all, this was, strictly speaking, a date between fiancés. It’s understandable to feel a bit embarrassed if you’re aware of that. Seeing how she had dressed up, it seems she might actually be conscious of it.

The two, a man and a woman thinking completely different things, had no idea that they were both making grand misunderstandings.