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“….And when I returned to the mansion, today I oddly felt more embarrassed standing in front of Sir Robin than usual. Um, what should I do…. Ah, Miss? Are you okay?”

“Ugh… Huh? Yes. I’m fine, Louis.”

Every time Elena heard Louis’s story, she worried if steam was rising from her head. Louis was a more excellent speaker than she had expected, and her explanations were very detailed, even describing the emotions she felt at that time.

Louis wasn’t the type to add poetic expressions to her explanations. She conveyed her feelings directly without any metaphors, that was her style.

However, such bluntness heightened Elena’s immersion in understanding Louis. Clumsy but genuine emotions made it easy for Elena to empathize with her feelings, and she completely got lost in her story.

If she got any more engrossed in the tale, she might have confused whether she was Louis Graham or Elena Edelweiss.

‘Hmm, this is definitely love.’

Only after listening to Louis’s story could Elena be sure of her previously hesitant feelings. Louis Graham, that steel maiden, was undoubtedly in love now.

Elena decided to calm the excitement in her heart, after all, at the moment she was supposed to be her advisor, not just a sympathetic ear. She pondered over Louis’s narrative and then spoke to her.

“First, let’s work on your appearance.”

“Huh? What do you mean…”

“You said when Sir Robin gave you the hairpin, he mentioned you’d wear it next time you meet a friend. That means Sir Robin is aware that you usually don’t dress up! I know you find it tedious to get ready, but at least when standing in front of Sir Robin, you should make an effort to look good!”

Of course, it wasn’t that Louis didn’t take care of her appearance. She was a woman too. It just seemed inadequate in Elena’s eyes.

“Then I should go to the salon right now…”

Louis immediately stood up at Elena’s words. But Elena made her sit back down.

“Lady Louis, there’s no need for that. I’ll cast a spell for you.”

Elena snapped her fingers and conjured some magic.

It wasn’t something grand. It was a simple beauty magic she used every morning after parting with Hailey in the dormitory. It was a spell for washing and drying hair. The special part was that it reproduced the gentle touch of Hailey, who had been grooming her face for years.

“Tada~! How is it? You definitely look better than before, right?”

“Wow…”

It wasn’t an enormous change, but the difference was definitely clear.

As Louis admired her reflection in the mirror, Elena couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride. Was this how Hailey felt every time she made her look beautiful? Elena smiled at the thought and took out the hairpin that Robin had gifted her, pinning it into Louis’s hair.

“There’s no need to overly accessorize with other jewels. This alone is enough for you, Louis. Now, go stand in front of Sir Robin. You can either act confidently like usual or show him exactly how you feel right now. The important thing is that you’re wearing the gift he gave you and standing in front of him.”

The most certain way to convey feelings is with words, pouring every emotion from one’s mouth. But right now, Louis was too delicate to do that in front of Robin. So, let’s start with this small yet definitive action.

“Did that help?”

“Yes.”

Seeing that Louis’s answer came with a bit more confidence, Elena felt she had helped her.

*

“Why on earth did I act like that back then…. No, I must have gone mad. Sir Louis looks cute…. What am I even saying? Aaahhhh!! Ouch! It hurts! It hurts! Lesser House Lord!!”

I hit Robin, who was rolling on the ground screaming, with a wooden sword. The reason was simple. His screaming was too loud. The more I hit him, the louder he screamed, but if I had to listen to it anyway, I preferred it to him wallowing in self-loathing alone.

“Why are you making such a racket over that? You gave a gift, after all.”

“No… It’s not such a simple matter.. Aaah! Stop! Please!! I’m really going to die!!!!”

Even though I agreed to have a spar after a long time, that was just an excuse. Mostly, it was about indulging Robin’s whining. Why bother suggesting a spar if he could just sit and talk instead of bringing out swords?

As Robin collapsed to the ground after getting hit with my wooden sword, I realized this was just another form of his self-harm. Who doesn’t want to beat up their past self? But using me for that was frustrating, so I hit him harder.

Just as the line blurred between sparring and outright assault, Robin gave up rolling on the ground and stood up. Had he collected his thoughts? He no longer screamed.

Looking at me with concern, Robin muttered.

“…What if Lady Louis misunderstands?”

“Misunderstand? What do you mean? Oh, you mean that you like Lady Louis? In that case, it doesn’t matter, does it? What would Lady Louis do knowing that? Whatever misunderstanding she has, it’s none of your concern. Why are you so scared?”

“It terrifies me to make such misunderstandings happen. Lesser House Lord. I don’t want to become awkward just because of a baseless misunderstanding.”

“So, did Lady Louis avoid you because of that?”

“….”

“See?”

Robin didn’t respond to my words. Naturally. He had come to me eager for a spar right after parting ways with her.

I usually preferred to observe others’ love affairs as a bystander, but I couldn’t let Robin stew in his worries when nothing had happened yet. After all, I had been in his shoes too.

A little advice from an experienced person wouldn’t hurt.

I lightly nudged his forehead with my wooden sword and said, “Go talk to Lady Louis.”

“What?”

“Go and make the usual silly jokes and let her pinch your side like she usually does. And if she’s wearing the hairpin you gave her, compliment her on it—whatever you feel like.”

“….That’s difficult. It’s too hard, Lesser House Lord.”

“Robin, you don’t need to be worried about that right now. Such mental exertion is pointless. Those worries can come after you meet Lady Louis, but not right now.”

What happens between Robin and Louis will be decided by their choices.

Well, I already knew that Lady Louis had feelings for Robin long ago, but that’s something Robin has to realize on his own, and I didn’t need to tarnish the moment they share their feelings.

So stop dragging your feet and hurry up and go.

I kicked the fidgeting Robin outside to the training grounds.

If he messes up when jumping high over the other side of the mansion and lands awkwardly, it might hurt a bit, but that’s something he needs to do for himself.

*

After flying for a brief moment, Robin unsurprisingly fell to the ground. He had no wings to soar, and the situation had unfolded so suddenly that he didn’t have time to think straight. Unable to position himself at all, he just fell to the ground.

“Ouch, ouch, ouch….”

The silver lining was that he was still a knight.

Having obtained a body surpassing human limits with the ability to control aura, falling from a little over three stories was akin to falling out of bed while sleeping. Sure, landing headfirst hurt due to not being able to brace for impact, but it wasn’t life-threatening.

Whether he landed in the shrubbery or not, the grass brushing against his face was quite ticklish. He swatted at the leaves with his hands to clear his vision. Then, he spotted a familiar red head glinting in the light.

“Sir Robin?”

“Ugh!”

With Louis looking down at him from above, Robin couldn’t help but scream.

Oh my! How did Sir Damian know that Lady Louis was here and sent him over? Of course, it was merely a ridiculous coincidence. Robin cursed this clueless chance encounter and awkwardly greeted her.

“…Hello.”

“Why are you stuck in the bushes upside down? Like someone who fell from the sky.”

Well, I did fall from the sky…

Realizing that he must look rather silly in this position, Robin felt embarrassed. Why did he have to run into her like this?

“Uh?”

As he hurriedly tried to extricate himself from the bushes, Robin lost his balance due to the sunlight reflecting off Louis’s shiny red hair and toppled down again. Alarmed, Louis rushed towards him, but Robin was still fixated on her.

“Are you okay?! Are you hurt anywhere….”

“That’s the one I gave you yesterday.”

At Robin’s words, Louis fell silent. Was it the light reflecting off the rock, or did her face appear red?

Upon looking closely at Louis, he noticed that unlike usual, she had put some effort into her appearance. Her hair seemed a bit different, and one might think someone skilled had styled it. Of course, that might be out of the question for Lady Louis’s skills.

Just moments ago, he was ruminating on worries, but now he couldn’t even recall what they were about. Watching Louis silently fidgeting with the brooch, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Looks really good on you.”

Was it she or the hairpin perched atop her head? By the time Robin spoke, he had already lost track of the subject of his sentence.

 

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