episode_0111

“Miss, are you back?”

“Yes, I’m back.”

“You didn’t get your clothes dirty today.”

“… … Yes, I brought extra clothes.”

“How did the confrontation with Lady Carlins go?”

“I didn’t spar directly. However, I was the one who achieved my goal first.”

At Diane’s words, the maid looked at Diane quietly as if asking her to finish the story.

“I worked together with Lady Kalinth and attacked Lady Delkisi at the same time. As a result, I was the one who brought the sword to her body.”

“Then you can’t say you won yet.”

“… … .”

“But still, it is great that you were able to raise your sword against Lady Gdelkisi. I will report that story properly to the Count.”

“… … Please.”

“And, the Count said that it is good to enjoy life, but you should not lose to those below you. He also added that you should not roll around on the floor like a thousand things.”

“… … .”

“I don’t know what the lady did there, but there is someone who saw her face on the way back. Ms. Budia, please do not diminish your own value. Refine your skills, but be like them. Don’t try to lose, let alone Lady Carlins… … Aren’t the other two people who are far away from central power?”

“… … I’ll keep that in mind. Can I go up and rest?”

“Yes, I put water in it.”

“Thank you.”

After saying hello to the maid, Diane went up to the second floor of the mansion where her room was.

… … Don’t lose.

It was a story I heard from my father since I was young.

To be more precise, this was what my father said when he heard that Diane was being compared to her teacher.

By the standards of her father, Count Hoover, it seemed a shameful thing for the daughter of an earl to be given to a nobleman without a proper title.

That’s why I hated Diane before I met Adele.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t change my teacher’s evaluation.

Of course, the teacher was a good person. He never once made a direct comparison in front of Diane, and if he had continued to teach Diane, he would never have said such a thing again after that.

In the first place, those words were just stories that came out in private and reached the ears the earl had planted throughout the royal capital.

Always have to be the best.

Become blameless and one day become the wife of one of these who will rule this kingdom.

My father and brother both said that every time they saw Diane.

“… … .”

I went up to my room without a word, took off my clothes, and headed to the bathroom that had been prepared in advance.

I had already had a quick wash at Adele’s house, but since I entered this mansion, I had to follow the mansion’s ‘routine’.

As I slowly dipped my toes into the warm water, the water overflowed from the bathtub.

“Phew… … .”

Lying down her tired body comfortably in the bathtub, Diane stared blankly up at the ceiling.

I hated it.

I used to hate it.

But that was until I had a proper conversation with Adele.

He said he thought he was just talking.

Does Diane appear to be that kind of person through other people’s eyes?

It was a story I had never heard before.

Diane always refrained from speaking in front of her brother and father, so there was no reason to hear such stories.

In front of acquaintances… … There was no reason to hear such a story in the first place. The nobles who naturally gathered around Diane were all people who wanted to cling to the count.

Those people always looked up at Diane. They tried to please her somehow, and they tried to say what they wanted first and make it happen before they spoke.

Did these people also think that in their hearts? That they were useless women who had high arrogance but didn’t know how to do anything.

… … but.

“Yes. Contrary to what I thought, Lady Huber’s swordsmanship skills are better than mine now.”

I quietly muttered what Adele had said.

“… … .”

compliment.

In fact, it was a story that could be overlooked and thought to be nothing special.

This is because Adele was a sword master and was not a person who could objectively evaluate Diane’s swordsmanship skills.

Snap.

I heard the sound of water lapping.

This was because Diane lifted her hand and placed it on her chest.

My heart was beating hard.

Yes, it’s an insignificant compliment. It’s similar to the compliments that people around Diane usually give… … .

… … It’s different, it’s not like it’s not there… … .

A compliment not from someone who doesn’t know Diane, but from someone who has personally mixed swords with Diane.

I was still a little happy about that compliment.

This may be because Diane eventually felt that Adele’s swordsmanship skills were outstanding.

*

“Ohhohohoho!”

I’m fully back.

As soon as I entered the classroom with Adele, I heard Diane’s unique high-pitched laugh and I almost fainted.

Even when we broke up yesterday, you looked like something was up.

But as soon as the next day came, it came back the same as usual.

When I think about it, I may have been angry at the fact that I looked at it with a straight face at the time and that I treated something so obvious as a compliment.

After all, you should have hit Adele instead of Diane?

“Did you sleep well last night? It would have been nice if you could have slept comfortably after my visit. Well, if you were a common noble with no pride, you might have been able to fall asleep without much thought!”

Ugh.

Eck.

I quickly turned my head towards the sound.

Usually, in comics, people depict tendons rising when they get angry, and although it wasn’t exaggerated to that extent, there was a vein rising on Adele’s temple.

My jaw was shaking because I was clenching my teeth so hard.

I don’t know if I should call this fortunate or not, but the atmosphere itself was more like a person gritting his teeth and holding back, rather than a brutal look on his face, like wanting to kill the other person for listening to what he really didn’t hear.

“I think I was able to win that sparring yesterday because I helped.”

“But in the end, I was the one who won in the end.”

A topic that made people jump around and give high fives.

Of course, I had no intention of getting involved in a fight between these two people.

“… … Good.”

Adele said while glaring at Diane.

“Then, this time, I will attack you with all my might.”

At Adele’s words, the girls around Diane covered their mouths in surprise.

Among them, there wasn’t a single nobleman. They weren’t all Hoover, but they were people in the royal capital who held their noses high and no one could say anything about them.

Even those people can’t say anything to Diane openly, so they must have been shocked to see Adele, a common noblewoman, come out like this.

“Heh.”

Okay.

Eck.

Diane didn’t know where she had taken it from, so she spread out a fan and covered her mouth.

The eyes above the fan narrowed. It was as if they were laughing at Adele.

“Okay, then. I’ll be waiting. Of course, I will be the one who wins this time too.”

“… … Please don’t change your mind later.”

hmm… … .

I can’t tell if they are friendly or not.

Well, still, the atmosphere like a passionate battle was much better than the cold atmosphere where people felt like they were stabbing each other.

“Hmm.”

Eck.

Before I knew it, I almost jumped out of my seat at the sound of the crown prince coming up next to me.

No, that’s why I hope you don’t try to hide your presence with Aura by coming next to people.

You wouldn’t know it in a place where there aren’t many people, but if you hide your presence in so many places, it’s not easy to notice.

“When did those two become so close?”

“… … .”

Amelia, who had been silently next to me until then, grabbed my arm and gently dragged me.

And just as I was afraid to step aside due to the force, Adele and Diane glared at the crown prince at the same time.

I almost lost my respect for a moment at Amelia’s notice.

… … By the way, those guys are pretty big, to the point where they’re glaring at the crown prince.

*

After class, I went to teach Adele how to ride as usual, and this time Diane was in front of Adele’s house.

I didn’t think he would have given up horseback riding, even if it was just training in swordsmanship.

Adele saw Diane and went back inside the house, and this time she brought out a set of clothes and handed them to Diane who was riding a horse.

“… … What is that?”

“The riding clothes I have… … It is a substitute.”

Adele probably couldn’t call it a horseback riding outfit, so she said that to Diane.

Since Adele had never ridden a horse in the first place, it was strange for her to have ‘riding clothes’.

Rather, it was an outfit that was almost no different from the clothes Adele wears while practicing swordsmanship.

“Why are you holding this out to me? There’s no reason for someone of that caliber to walk around wearing something like this, right?”

“But, you were so upset last time when you saw your clothes were dirty, right?”

“… … .”

“If you don’t want to get your clothes dirty this time, just put them on and come out.”

“… … .”

Seeing Diane looking at her as if she was dumbfounded, Adele snorted and said.

“Lady Hoover, you don’t have clothes like this, right?”

“… … .”

Diane, who must have been dumbfounded by Adele’s words, snorted and snatched the clothes.

“… … I guess the crown prince was right.”

“Shh.”

When I spoke softly, Amelia quickly cut me off.