Chapter 25
Liriope was taken aback for a moment by Rojarin’s sudden apology.
It almost seemed as though Rojarin thought the whole situation wasn’t real.
Trying to be as kind as possible, Liriope smiled warmly at her.
“But I hope you’ll believe me. I really do want to be friends with you.”
At those words, tears welled up in Rojarin’s eyes and finally spilled down her cheeks.
Startled, Liriope quickly pulled out a handkerchief and offered it to her. Taking it, Rojarin covered her face and choked out,
“My narrow-minded heart made Lady Liri look bad… I feel so guilty. I really, really want to apologize.”
Her teary voice, like that of a child, almost made Liriope laugh. She bit her lip to hold it back.
(So cute. Who would’ve thought the original heroine had such an adorable side?)
“No, it’s fine. You could easily misunderstand, considering the things I’ve done to you before.”
When Liriope smiled at her, Rojarin lowered the handkerchief and looked back at her.
Her eyes and nose were so red that she had gone beyond simply looking cute.
“But truly, there’s not a single lie in my heart, Roj. I want you to believe that much at least.”
“……”
“And I’d like it if you could like me a little too. Because I really want to be close to you.”
At Liriope’s words, Rojarin’s lips trembled.
It looked like she was trying to hold back tears, or maybe she wanted to laugh but felt like crying at the same time.
Either way, it was clear she was deeply moved. Liriope gave her the brightest smile she could.
But then—
“Lady Liri, what do I do? I think I’ve fallen for you.”
The words that slipped from Rojarin’s lips were completely absurd.
(…Huh?)
Liriope’s eyes widened.
“Truly, it’s just too much… sob, too…”
Rojarin, half-laughing and half-crying, couldn’t finish her sentence, swallowing dryly instead.
Liriope blinked, utterly bewildered by how far the situation had strayed from her expectations.
She must have twisted the original storyline in some strange way.
Otherwise, the original heroine would never be looking at her with such overwhelming affection.
All Liriope had wanted was to become her close friend and avoid a brutal bad ending, but somehow things were spiraling out of control.
“What do I do, Lady Liri? I like you so much.”
Her words only complicated Liriope’s already tangled emotions.
“I’ve never fallen for anyone like this before… Lady Liri.”
(…No, that’s not what I meant at all. You weren’t supposed to fall for me.)
Liriope’s eyes widened the next morning at the mountain of gift boxes delivered to the ducal estate.
“They’re all from Count Melzevian’s household.”
Trying to get closer to Rojarin through a bit of gift-giving had somehow led Rojarin to fall for her.
What exactly those feelings were was still unclear, but at least Rojarin liking her was, in a way, a good thing.
But the contents of the gifts made Liriope feel conflicted.
Rare tea leaves Rojarin had treasured for years, special crops that grew only in Melzevian territory, along with all sorts of jewels and ornaments.
The ornaments in particular were ones Rojarin had collected for their beauty, and later began wearing to attract Theo’s attention after falling for him.
“My, it seems Lady Rojarin must be very grateful to you, Lady Liri,” remarked Gemma, as she helped open the gifts.
Spotting a round, carrot-like fruit unique to Melzevian, she gasped,
“Goodness! She sent you so many of these precious homebels!”
Pressing her temple, Liriope sighed as her headache grew.
Rojarin liking her was definitely something to be happy about.
If they became close friends, the villainess label would be lifted from her, and Kadin wouldn’t hate her either. That meant she wouldn’t end up dying like in the original story.
(The problem is… her feelings toward me seem to have gone a bit off track.)
It was true that the custom gown from Perroche had been a dream of Rojarin’s. Liriope had beaten Kadin to the punch, winning her favor first, so it wasn’t odd for Rojarin to feel grateful.
(But to this extent…)
Giving away tea leaves she had collected since childhood, sending so many valuable homebels, and parting with her unique ornaments—things she had once worn to impress Theo—all of this felt overwhelmingly excessive.
Liriope sighed, staring at the pile of gifts.
And then another concern struck her.
If Rojarin was so easily swayed by something as simple as a custom dress, wasn’t she far too vulnerable a type?
Of course, Liriope would never seduce her, bleed her family dry, and then discard her. But this was still a real world filled with people, and there were certainly heartless predators out there.
Rojarin needed to be warned.
As she turned toward her room, Liriope resolved to tell her plainly: in this world, if you keep giving away your heart—and your treasures—just because someone seems nice, you’ll ruin yourself.
But as she entered her room and reached for her communicator, Theo called at the perfect (or worst) timing.
Honestly, why did this man contact her so often?
“Yes.”
[What are you doing?]
“Not much. Oh, Roj sent me gifts, I was just going through them.”
At her words, Theo’s brow twitched upward irritably.
[Why would the count’s daughter send you gifts?]
“Well, we decided to get matching ‘friendship dresses’ from Perroche. Since her family’s rank only allows her to wear off-the-rack clothes, she must have been really grateful. Ah, do you want some tea leaves? She’s been collecting rare ones since childhood…”
[Forget it.]
He cut her off with a frown.
“Why? You paid for the tea leaves she gave me, so I’d like to share some with you.”
[Which one made you happiest?]
“What?”
[Among the gifts. Which one pleased you most?]
“Um… the tea leaves?”
Since those were the things Rojarin truly treasured, that was both the most moving and the most burdensome, so she chose them.
Theo raised an eyebrow. [Tea leaves?]
“Well, it doesn’t really matter what’s inside. A gift is always something to be happy about.”
[…I see.]
At the time, Liriope had no idea.
That the straightforward, thick-headed northerner would take her words literally and start sending her endless shipments of tea leaves.
That afternoon, a package from the grand duke’s estate arrived.
It was filled with unfamiliar tea leaves.
“What’s this?”
“Oh my! They look so beautiful!”
Gemma gushed over them simply because they had come from Theo, but Liriope could only stare in confusion.
—Which one made you happiest?
—Um… the tea leaves?
Her brow furrowed.
Had he really taken that at face value and sent her tea leaves?
What on earth was going through his head?
“Shall we brew a pot, Lady Liri?” Gemma asked, hugging the box as though it were a chest of gold.
“…Fine.”
Liriope nodded and turned toward her study.
“This tea is wonderful, Lady Liri,” Gemma said later, bringing in a cup.
From the moment she entered, the fresh, citrus-like fragrance filled the air. Liriope silently agreed—it really was delightful.
As Gemma set it down, she smiled brightly.
“Thanks to His Grace, we get to taste such a rare tea. Truly, you’ve chosen the right man, Lady Liri.”
Liriope let out a small, awkward laugh at her earnest joy and sipped the tea.
But the next day, another box of tea leaves arrived from Theo.
And the next. And the day after that.
Each time, they were different and unfamiliar.
Where in the world was he finding all these exotic teas? It was baffling.
And he sent them every single day.
Apparently, he had taken her words—“the tea leaves made me happiest” and “a gift is always something to be happy about”—literally, and was bombarding her with a daily gift.
(Chosen the right man, my foot.)
The northerner’s obliviousness was giving her a headache.
Rubbing her temples, Liriope suddenly paused.
Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t yet discussed compensation.
(Ah, so this must be payment for giving him the Linyx… Well, in that case…)
Nodding to herself, she decided it wasn’t unreasonable.
After all, it was the flame that had saved the northern outskirts.
