I Start with a Bad Hand!

“Ah.”

Klaus let out a sigh of relief when our eyes met. Then, avoiding my gaze, he awkwardly fumbled and stumbled, unable to control his legs. Despite the commotion, I just stared at him without saying anything. Eventually, he sat down a step away from me, looking unsure of what to do, and remained silent.

‘…What’s going on?’

Puzzled by his strange behavior, I turned my head to look at him. Klaus’s green eyes darted around nervously. Unable to withstand the pressure of silence, he eventually rubbed the back of his neck a few times and began to speak, almost as if confessing.

“Um, actually, I came to find you because I have something to say. Agnes said you went to the archery range to look for your bow. So I went there, but you weren’t there. I couldn’t find you on my way back, so I thought you might be here…”

“….”

“…I’m sorry. When our eyes met, I realized you probably wanted to be alone. But… um, it’s just really dark here.”

Klaus, now sitting with his knees drawn up like me, added, “I thought you might be a little scared being alone in the dark.”

I wasn’t afraid of the dark, and the storage room wasn’t completely dark as Klaus described. Light filtered through several windows, illuminating the space. Despite this, I was too exhausted to nitpick his kindness.

“Really? Do I seem like I want to be alone?”

“Yeah?”

“I thought I was hiding it well. Didn’t realize it was that obvious.”

“Oh.”

Klaus sighed again, similar to when he first entered the storage room. Not knowing why he sighed like that, I looked at him with a puzzled expression. Even in the dim light, I could see his slightly tanned neck turning red.

“Ah… sorry about that too. I often get told that I’m not very perceptive.”

Isn’t it better to pretend not to notice in such situations? His explanation continued, making me understand why he might be told he’s not perceptive. But would anyone dare tell the young heir of a marquess family that he lacks perceptiveness? I gave him a curious look, prompting him to hurriedly add,

“…By my sister.”

Hearing an unexpected person’s name from his mouth made me chuckle involuntarily. Klaus, noticing my laugh, seemed relieved and matched my smile with a soft curve of his own lips. The distance between us, previously about a step apart, gradually decreased to an arm’s length.

“No, thank you for not pretending.”

I sniffled, and Klaus hurriedly pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to me. I shook my head and returned it, not wanting to blow my nose on someone else’s handkerchief. Klaus looked at me, his face full of curiosity, clearly struggling to contain his questions.

‘He really can’t hide his expressions.’

I didn’t want to go into detail, but I owed Klaus an explanation for a lot of things. I couldn’t tell him the real reason I was crouched in this corner, but at least I could use this opportunity to say what I needed to.

“I felt bad for you.”

“For me?”

“Because it was the bow you gave me. I wanted to cherish it for a long time.”

I held up the broken bow. Klaus’s head bobbed as he followed the movement of the dangling string. Despite his large frame, he had an endearing, almost childlike quality. He reached out as if to grab the bow, but his hand ended up touching mine instead.

“Are you okay? You didn’t get hurt, did you?”

His hand, which had touched mine lightly, pulled back as if waiting for my permission. Seeing his expectant look, I nodded slightly, giving him the go-ahead. He carefully took my hand, his touch much gentler than I had expected.

“Yeah? Uh-huh. I’m fine.”

“That’s a relief. We can always fix the bow.”

Actually, I’m grateful that you care so much about the bow being broken. The distance between us shrank from an arm’s length to just a hand’s breadth, close enough to feel each other’s breath.

“Do you think it can be fixed? It’s completely broken in two.”

“Sure. Even if it can’t be fixed, don’t worry. Um… I’ll get you a better bow as a gift this year.” Klaus leaned in and whispered. “Does that sound insincere?” His clear laughter tickled my ears. For some reason, that tickling sensation moved to my heart, making me feel a bit embarrassed. I put a small distance between us.

“And… about the spring ball. The dress I’m supposed to wear is really old-fashioned. Since you’re my partner, it would be embarrassing.”

Agnes said it looked like it belonged in a history book. I still couldn’t tell the difference between the modern styles Agnes described and the dress I was going to wear, but if a local said it was outdated, it probably was.

‘But Klaus’s expression….’

Unlike when he saw the broken bow, his face now held a serious look. With his long, knotted hand covering his mouth, Klaus leaned in closer, as if confessing a secret.

“But… I feel the same way.”

“What?”

“I get told that a lot too. That I have a somewhat rustic air for a noble of the capital.”

Even though Klaus had a soft spot, who would dare say such things to the young heir of a marquess family? My skepticism must have shown because Klaus quickly added,

“…My sister.”

What kind of relationship did Irene have with her brother? Irene’s rare evaluations of others always included Klaus, and they were often quite harsh.

“I generally agree with your sister, but not on this. You don’t seem rustic at all. You seem like a city person.”

“Really?”

Half-jokingly, I tried to comfort him, and Klaus smiled slightly at my words. Perhaps Irene’s description was apt, not as an insult, but because there was a genuine, warm simplicity in his green eyes.

“Well, I also want to agree with most of what you say… but not this time.”

“…What?”

“I asked you to come to a party you didn’t want to attend. So, if you’re standing by my side, the only feeling I should have is gratitude. It would be against a knight’s code to judge you.”

Klaus rested his cheek on his knee and looked at me. It was an unguarded posture, which suited Klaus well. I couldn’t help but think, Klaus is a good person.

‘So I should…’

Klaus had taken the broken bowstring and fashioned a small bow out of it. The string, now a delicate ribbon, fluttered at the end of the broken bow. How did he manage to tie such a neat knot with that stiff string? With a bit of pride, Klaus showed it to me, saying, “Ta-da.”

Seeing my expression stiffen with various thoughts, Klaus’s face also became serious. Then, as before, he lowered his voice, even though we were alone.

“But… if you’re really worried about that… I’ll wear my father’s old formal suit to the ball too.”

“His suit has so many frills,” Klaus whispered, and I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. I set aside the minor thought of, ‘So, there will just be two of us looking old-fashioned then.’

“Okay. I’ll look forward to it.”

“Seriously. My father only wore it once before their wedding, and my mother hated it so much he never took it out again. So, Dietrich, don’t run away when you see me in it.”

“I won’t. But you can run if you want to.”

Despite saying he had something to tell me, Klaus never did get around to it. Whatever it was, he must have had his reasons for holding back, so I didn’t press him.

***

“Are you really going to wear that?”

“Yep.”

I nodded as I slipped into the dress without much enthusiasm. I realized that Hayden’s gift was more uncomfortable to wear than it was to look at. I hadn’t noticed before, but now that I was wearing it, the neckline was too low, and the front kept slipping down, making it very uncomfortable. Watching me put on the dress with half-dead eyes, Agnes offered a blunt assessment.

“The dress is spitting you out.”

With that harsh judgment, I nodded, feeling like I had been vomited out by the dress. Agnes, accustomed to my reaction, shuddered silently and took a step back from me.

“Don’t acknowledge me at the ball, seriously.”

Her physical manifestation of emotional distance made me feel slightly hurt as I looked at myself in the dress. Why did Hayden give me this dress? Did he just want to see me embarrassed in something so outdated?

‘Surely… he wouldn’t use such a cliché tactic….’

And when I finally arrived at the ballroom, I couldn’t even muster a laugh. The sight of ‘that girl’ made me think, ‘This is truly classic.’

When I encountered Roxanne at the entrance, wearing a dress adorned with dazzling gold thread and shining like sunlight, my intuition that this might happen proved correct.