The anemones were in full bloom. Their white faces looked as if they were shyly smiling. The owner of this bouquet was none other than Cecilia.
‘What if I’d reached out for it all happy!’
I felt dizzy.
The bells ringing in my head weren’t bells of celebration, but bells of consolation!
At Paul’s confession to someone else, both Natalie and Professor Condra let out a breath of disbelief.
“Huh.”
“Hah!”
‘Damn it! Making people confused like this!’
How vexing! If it hadn’t been for what happened in the capital, I wouldn’t have even expected anything.
I tried my best to hide my disappointment.
A harsh wind shook the anemones, and the flowers, scattering softly, swayed as if they were smiling brightly.
“L-Lady Liana!”
Paul’s face was flushed. The blue ribbon fluttering around his trembling wrist reminded me of Cecilia’s eyes.
“P-Please…! My feelings!”
Paul’s face was desperate. If I said I wouldn’t deliver it, he looked like he might cry.
‘Should I just make him cry for real?’
So this was why he used the professor to call me out. The apology was just an excuse…
As expected… this is infuriating. Messenger duty again!
‘Every time I think I’m making progress, something comes along and ruins it! Making people feel down! No, this won’t do, maybe I’ll feel better if I tease him a bit.’
When I folded my arms, his gaze, which had been watching for my reaction, slowly dropped to the ground. His outstretched arm was now trembling.
Following his gaze, I saw his dusty boots compared to my own, which were clean and shiny.
His feet seemed to squirm, as if embarrassed or wanting to hide them.
Would Paul feel the difference in status with Cecilia more keenly because of this?
A wicked thought popped into my mind, but I quickly caught myself.
After all, Natalie and Professor Condra were right there.
The two, now thoroughly entertained, stood a couple of steps away, staring at us eagerly. They looked like they were waiting for the grand finale of an opera.
Fine, he probably didn’t mean any harm. There are people watching, so let’s not overdo it.
Paul’s face was as red as it could possibly get.
“All right. I’ll deliver it for you.”
I smiled brightly, washing away my earlier feelings.
“Oooh.”
I could hear Natalie exclaim, ‘So cool!’
“R-Really?”
Paul’s face lit up.
Though his face was still red, his happy smile and the hope shining in his eyes now looked just like the anemones he was holding.
“J-Just a moment, please!”
He fumbled for a card that he hadn’t yet placed in the bouquet, perhaps worried it might blow away in the wind, and carefully held it out to me.
Paul bowed and stretched out his arm, offering the bouquet. But if I didn’t reach out, it wouldn’t reach me.
I simply stood still and watched him.
When I didn’t take the bouquet even after some time, Paul snuck a glance at me, then hesitantly stepped forward.
Only when the anemones were right under my nose did I finally accept the bouquet and card he offered.
“I’ll deliver it.”
“Y-Yes! Thank you.”
Paul rubbed his cheek as if the trembling from before had subsided a little. Maybe now the rough wind finally made his cheek sting.
He’d realize soon enough what mistake he’d made.
Paul seemed to be slowly realizing his mistake, as now his ears turned red for a different reason.
“Um… I-I’m sorry. I…”
Paul trailed off and closed his mouth.
“When you ask someone else to deliver something like this, it’s troublesome and you need to be especially courteous. If this gets lost or your message gets misunderstood, no one can be held responsible. And you shouldn’t ask.”
“…Yes.”
“I’ll make sure to deliver it. Do you have any other requests?”
“N-No, I don’t…”
Paul hung his head awkwardly. His messy hair blew in the wind.
But he wasn’t asking for the bouquet back, so he really must not have the courage to give it himself. Even if it was embarrassing, he must truly want to convey his feelings.
‘Let’s stop here. As annoying as it is!’
Just because he apologized doesn’t mean everything is forgiven, but seeing Paul’s tightly clenched fist made me feel childish.
“Professor, may I leave now?”
“Hahaha! Liana, you’re really remarkable! By the way, Paul. Tsk, tsk, tsk!”
Professor Condra clapped and laughed. His hearty laughter seemed to scold Paul, whose shoulders shrank.
“Ay, tsk tsk! Liana! But how did you know this was for Cecilia?”
Professor Condra looked at me with curiosity.
“From Paul’s behavior, anyone would think he was confessing to you. If it wasn’t for your indifferent smile, I would have been fooled.”
“That’s right. I’m curious, too.”
Natalie quickly chimed in, while also jeering at Paul.
“Really! If it were someone else, they’d have misunderstood and spent the whole day embarrassed, you know!”
“……”
Paul glared at Natalie, but couldn’t say anything and closed his mouth.
‘Actually, I did mistake it for a second! Hahaha.’
Never has having a poker face been so fortunate! Ugh, I felt so embarrassed my toes curled.
“The blue ribbon.”
I smiled calmly.
“Blue ribbon?”
“It reminds me of Cecilia’s eyes.”
“Oh!”
“Oh, that’s true. But… what if it wasn’t? If it was a green ribbon, would you have mistaken it?”
Natalie blinked.
Both Professor Condra and Natalie, and even Paul himself, looked at me, curious.
“I’m not sure.”
I answered with a bright smile. I couldn’t exactly say, ‘Thanks to years of experience, I managed to avoid humiliation!’
“Intuition! So it was just intuition. Like that stone I gave you.”
“Professor, a stone?”
“Ahem, Paul! You should reflect on yourself. Tsk.”
“Y-Yes…”
Paul hung his head again.
Professor Condra winked at me. Hm, he couldn’t possibly think I’d sneak off with someone else’s things, right? Natalie seemed to think the same, fiddling with the pocket where she kept the stone.
“Professor, I’ll be going now.”
“Ah! Yes, yes. Off you go! Sorry for taking your time. Paul! You and I need to have a chat, hm?”
“Y-Yes… Take care!”
Professor Condra’s beard fluttered in the wind. Natalie’s hair, tied in a bun, came loose and her bright yellow hair momentarily blocked my view.
“Liana?”
The awkwardly added ‘-na’ brought me back to my senses.
“Ah, shall we go?”
“Where are you headed?”
I had to find Evan, but… first, I needed to deliver this.
I shook the white anemones.
“I need to deliver this, so I should head to the dormitory first.”
“Can I come with you?”
“Of course.”
It was a wasted effort, but I felt strangely alert. As expected, nothing changes overnight. Still, unlike before the regression, I didn’t feel gloomy or resigned. That was a relief.
‘I’m glad I noticed the blue ribbon.’
There were a few times before when, not realizing it was a gift for Cecilia, I grinned from ear to ear and ended up in an awkward situation. Remembering that still makes me want to cry from embarrassment and pity for my old self. Since then, I’d completely given up on dating male students. Sigh.
“That was a pointless effort, really.”
Natalie grumbled. I chuckled softly.
“Well, we got to take a walk and even got a gift from the professor, thanks to it.”
“That’s true!”
Natalie stared at my clothes.
“What is it?”
“Oh, nothing! I just thought, noble families really are different.”
“What do you mean?”
“That fabric barely ever makes it into the Empire. Hm, I figured at least one would end up with a Duke’s family.”
“Is that so?”
It’s nothing special. When something’s precious, it always goes to the top first.
Natalie’s eyes sparkled as if my indifference surprised her.
“Lady Liana, you’re not quite like what I imagined.”
“You too, Natalie.”
I was getting used to calling her by name. I slightly lowered my head to hide my pounding heart.
“You remember my name?”
“We talked during riding lessons.”
“But I didn’t expect you to remember. I’m not a noble.”
Natalie, looking startled, hesitated, and her expression turned gloomy.
‘During riding lessons, she felt almost like a second Margaret.’
“I thought you avoided me.”
“Of course not! Why would I?”
Well…
When I stopped walking, so did Natalie.
Does she really not remember? Or does she quickly forget things she doesn’t think are important?
“What is it?”
Her somewhat fierce tone didn’t sound harsh to me, maybe because I’d gotten used to it, or maybe because compared to Margaret’s energy, Natalie seemed as harmless as a puppy. Rather, she seemed like a puppy whining because she didn’t want to get hurt or lose… Ah! Maybe that’s rude of me to think.
“‘You’re annoying, so don’t butt in next time!’”
Mimicking Natalie’s voice, I repeated her words. She flinched.
“Gasp.”
“Didn’t you say that?”
I erased my earlier expression and smiled again, and Natalie looked sheepish.
“T-That was because I was so mad…”
“And didn’t you say you hated ‘Miss’ because it sounded awkward? But suddenly you’re calling me ‘Lady’ and it feels weird.”
I started walking again, but Natalie didn’t follow.
After a few more steps, I looked back. Her face alternated between white and red.
‘Did I sound too accusatory?’
“Natalie?”
“….”
“I just asked because I was curious. You don’t have to think deeply about it.”
I gave her a gentle smile and turned away. I heard her footsteps start up behind me, just a little farther away this time, as if she was keeping her distance.
The well-kept bushes brushed against each other, making a cool sound.
‘She said she was a merchant, so… She probably already knew I was from a Duke’s family. Hm, maybe her first impression of me wasn’t great. Did seeing me talk with Paul change her mind?’
I should just accept Natalie’s goodwill. Am I only becoming more mean-spirited after my regression!
From then on, Natalie and I walked in silence. She seemed to follow me almost to the girls’ dormitory, then abruptly turned and headed toward the boys’ dormitory without even a goodbye. She probably went to see her twin brother.
When I entered the main gate of the dormitory, Mrs. Perolten was leisurely looking at a vase.
“Mrs. Perolten, good afternoon.”
“Hmm, yes.”
Maybe she was reminded of this morning, or maybe she’d seen the bouquet already. But she busied herself with something else, not asking any questions.
Hm, nice. Get caught favoring Cecilia once in a while!
Hiding a smile, I got into the lift.
With a heavy mechanical sound, the lift quickly took me to the upper floor.
“Now that I think about it…”
There were a lot of still lifes in the dormitory hallway.
A bright vase of roses caught my eye. The lush red flowers opened their petals seductively.
I’d suddenly blurted out in the infirmary that I didn’t like the smell of flowers. But that was just because I’d killed so many plants I couldn’t take care of.
‘Maybe even the fragrance back then was partly artificial?’
Some people would even spray perfume on top of the scent of flowers as if the natural scent wasn’t enough.
“I guess there’s no need to say you dislike something you like.”
I’m interested in botany, but not as a major. Liking something and being good at it are different. There’s no reason to major in botany when I always failed it! I’ll shake off my ties to the botany department with the sample class.
Now, more than majors… the spirits bothered me more. Was this really a power I could use? I wanted to ask Evan as soon as possible.
I stared at the painting of roses for a while before going into the room. No one was there. On Margaret’s bed, shopping bags had piled up.
‘What did she buy this time!?’
She really was a shopaholic. I remembered that was one of Margaret’s nicknames and couldn’t help but check the crest on the shopping bags.
“Jewelry, huh.”
I’d heard in Olly’s letter that a fine batch of jewels had come in, and it looked like the Torrento family swept them all up.
“Oh. I stared too long.”
I tore my gaze away and walked to Cecilia’s bed. By the window, I set the anemones and Paul’s carefully written card where they’d be easily seen, then sat on the sofa.
“A potted plant…”
From the sofa, I could see the cactus Margaret was growing.
‘Maybe I can manage to grow at least one properly?’
Suddenly, the popular plant shop , which became a huge hit before my regression, came to mind.