DSFL | Chapter 03

~Chapter 03~

“Oh my goodness, Bianca!”

Rayla sighed loudly and rushed over when she saw me sprawled out on the bed.

“A lady shouldn’t be like this…!”

“…I’m not a lady, Rayla.”

“What are you saying now? Are you saying you’re a man?”

Rayla smacked my back with a loud slap and pulled me up from the bed.

“It’s already midday! What are you still doing in bed? Hurry and get up!”

Isn’t it still early?

I wanted to say that, but if I did, Rayla’s nagging would never end. So in the end, I let her drag me up.

She sighed deeply, clearly disappointed in me.

“Ugh, do you really think now is the time to be lying around like this?”

“It is time to lie down though…”

“What?”

“Just joking, Rayla.”

It was how I truly felt, but her face looked too serious, so I quickly took it back.

“More importantly, Bianca! You don’t have time for this right now!”

“Why not?”

“There’s a rumor going around in society!”

Did word finally spread that I’m a lazy slug?

If so, that’s kind of late news.

“They say Lady Idette and the Duke of Hessen are getting close!”

Ah, that.

Looks like gossip spreads slowly in high society. Only now are they making a fuss.

While I stayed calm, Rayla grabbed my shoulders and shook me, clearly alarmed.

I just blinked as she shook me back and forth.

It’s true, so what can I do about it?

“Sigh, Bianca. You’re going to drive me crazy!”

She grabbed a hairbrush from the nightstand and started roughly brushing my messy hair.

“What does she have that you don’t?!”

Rayla thumped her chest in frustration.

“Compared to Lady Idette, it’s only your slightly worse hair, your laziness, always lying in bed, being short, chewing your lips, going crazy over food, weird way of talking, and thin eyebrows—other than those, you’re no worse than her!”

She stopped, panting hard.

“…Just admit there’s a lot.”

“No way!”

Rayla shouted back.

I sighed softly and tried to calm her down.

“It’s okay. People’s feelings aren’t something you can control, right?”

“Exactly! That’s why you ended up tormenting the Duke like that!”

“…”

“This won’t do, Bianca. Let’s go buy the Duke a present together!”

Do we really have to?

But Rayla grabbed my hand and pulled me along. She was so strong I couldn’t resist.

Well, I’ve got money to spare—shopping doesn’t sound so bad.

At least, that’s what I thought… until I saw Ricardo and Idette standing right in front of me.

“D-D-D-Duke!”

Rayla was so shocked she couldn’t even close her mouth and clung to me.

I gently pushed up her hanging jaw and stared at Ricardo. He looked back at me with a smirk.

“Did you come shopping with your beloved, perhaps?”

…Says the guy.

Idette’s eyes widened like they’d pop out when she saw me.

She looked like someone who’d just been caught cheating.

Hey, I don’t care what you two do.

Go ahead and be happy together!

Not that saying anything would help—Idette would never take it that way.

Just then, Idette quickly held up a necktie to show me.

“I-I was on my way to see His Highness! I came to buy him a gift!”

“…”

“It was just a coincidence—really! I just happened to bump into the Duke!”

“…I haven’t even said anything yet.”

Still, she was clearly panicking.

I just looked at her quietly.

She really is pretty. No matter how you look at her, she has that main-character glow.

She’s cheerful, kind… and beautiful on top of that.

The kind of person who could make three male leads fall head over heels.

Anyway, if she said “His Highness”…

She means Erkisian. The crown prince of the empire.

In other words, the true male lead.

I turned to see Ricardo’s face.

As expected, he couldn’t hide his expression when Erkisian was mentioned.

Now he must’ve realized what’s really going on.

As the side male lead, Ricardo was now in the painful position of handing over the woman he loved to the main male lead.

Just then, Ricardo and I made eye contact, and he let out a deep sigh.

Has he never learned it’s rude to sign in someone’s face?

“Buying another dress? I thought you already had plenty.”

“I’m more extravagant than I look.”

“I already know that.”

“Then why ask? That’s a pretty petty question.”

“Not something you should be saying.”

Seriously, this guy never lets me win a word.

Rayla, who had been listening to our conversation nearby, rolled her eyes and mumbled,

“…What even is this conversation?”

As soon as she said that, both Ricardo and I shut our mouths. The atmosphere quickly grew quiet.

Trying to break the awkward silence, Idette awkwardly spoke up.

“What brings you two here?”

No way I can say we came to buy a gift for Ricardo!

Panicking, I grabbed Rayla’s hand tightly. She was at a loss for words but managed to say something clumsy.

“W-we were just… uh…”

“Huh?”

Ricardo narrowed his eyes, clearly suspicious about why we were here. Under his gaze, Rayla blurted something out in a panic.

“Following you!”

What the heck is she saying.

“…Rayla?”

“We were following the Duke! We were curious what he was doing with Lady Idette…”

She babbled nonsense, looking like she didn’t even know what she was saying.

…Is she out of her mind?

I thought I must’ve heard her wrong, but judging by Ricardo and Idette’s expressions, I hadn’t.

Ricardo let out a dry chuckle.

“Bianca, I guess everything you told me before was a lie.”

Following you? As if I have nothing better to do with my life. Why on earth would I follow you?

Especially you, Ricardo!

But it was clear no matter what I said now, he wouldn’t listen.

I sighed inwardly and looked away.

Still, if Idette’s on her way to see Erkician… this must sting for Ricardo.

“Where is His Highness the Crown Prince right now?”

“I didn’t set up a meeting or anything. But I heard he might be in the plaza…”

Idette answered in a quiet, sheepish voice.

Alright, noted—the plaza.

“Lady Idette, if you don’t mind… would it be alright if I met with His Highness first?”

She tilted her head slightly in confusion, then nodded.

“Thank you. Oh, and I heard a new skewer shop opened in the alley across the street—it’s one of your favorites, right? They’re open until four. If you have time, you should check it out today.”

I nodded slightly at Ricardo. But he just stared at me with a stiff expression.

What’s his problem now?

I’m literally helping you get some alone time with the girl you like!

I seriously support your love!

Grabbing Rayla’s hand, I started walking toward the plaza.

Rayla kept glancing back at Ricardo and Idette, clearly curious, but I pretended not to notice.

Ugh, whatever. This is my last good deed.

A way to clean up the mess Past-Bianca made, and also a little sympathy for the poor second male lead Ricardo.

Two birds with one stone.

***

It would’ve been great if I actually found Erkician at the plaza, but he was already gone.

I sent Rayla home and sat at a café sipping a cold drink.

But I couldn’t really relax.

I should’ve caught Erkician and held on to him somehow!

What if Erkician ran into Idette and Ricardo?

Worried, I couldn’t bring myself to go home.

Time passed.

Eventually, the clock on the café wall showed four o’clock.

Hmm. I guess I can head home now.

Ricardo and Idette’s date should be over by now.

With that thought, I got up from my seat.

But then—

“…What exactly are you doing right now?”

I heard a familiar voice.

Stunned, I turned to see Ricardo standing in front of me.

For some reason, he looked angry.