What was I trying to say? I wasn’t sure. All I could do was gaze at Lady Linde and frown.
“It’s difficult… I want everyone to be happy, ultimately, but if Lady Linde and Marietta both love Prince Helios… Then I’m not sure what’s to be done… Prince Helios has his own feelings, too. It’s tough. I’m not sure I can pick one to cheer for over the other.”
I was a little envious of Lady Ladia. It was easy for her to take Lady Linde’s side. I wasn’t sure I could be that decisive. I sighed, feeling suddenly very heavy, but for some reason, Lady Ladia was smiling at me.
“That’s just the reaction I expected from you, Lady Seren.”
“What do you mean…?”
“I love that you’re so honest, Lady Seren. It means I know I can trust you.”
I was surprised and happy to hear such unexpected words. I may have even blushed a little.
“Well, no matter what others think, in the end, you can’t change other people’s feelings. Love is tough,” Lady Ladia muttered, looking a bit sad. I asked her something that had been on my mind.
“Incidentally, Lady Ladia, you said you had something to discuss with me, right?”
Lady Ladia lowered her head and remained silent for a while.
Was it something she was having difficulty talking about? There seemed no need to rush her, so I just sipped my after-lunch coffee and savored the aroma while I waited for her to get her thoughts in order.
She was quite adorable, the way she kept looking at me, then away from me, and fidgeting, interlacing her fingers. I smiled over how cute she was as I kept one eye on her… Until finally, she piped up in a tiny voice.
“Um… Lady Seren… How is it that you came to be close to Lord Viol?”
“What do you mean…?”
“You can’t have crossed paths much… And he’s ten years older, isn’t he? You only ever shared a few dances at balls… I was wondering what brought you together? And how?”
I wasn’t sure how to answer that question. After all, Lord Viol and I had mostly developed our relationship in secret from everyone around us.
“…Yes, that’s a good question…”
But, since Lady Ladia had been brave enough to ask, I wanted to at least answer as honestly as I could.
“Magic acted as a bridge between me and Lord Viol. Yes, it all started when he tutored me in magic, you see.”
“Yes, I knew about that… So that was the start of it then…”
“I became a High Mage with little basic magic knowledge, right? Lord Viol sort of took me under his wing. When I had trouble learning simple magic, he tutored me very gently… and he even took me out to see the market since I wasn’t used to life in town.”
“Lord Viol approached you, then.”
“Yes. As we started to talk about all sorts of trivial things, I realized that Lord Viol was an honest and trustworthy person, and my feelings for him gradually changed from respect to, well, something deeper.”
“I thought so… Yes, spending time together is important after all…” Lady Ladia heaved a sigh.
Come to think of it, Lady Ladia had said before that she had a crush on someone. It’s only natural to want to become closer to the person you like. But perhaps she was having trouble closing that distance, so she had come to me.
“Is it difficult to talk naturally with the person you have your eye on, Lady Ladia?”
“We just don’t have that much contact, is all… Maybe the odd dance. He always seems so busy… so it seems like it would be hard to even start a conversation.”
“So it’s not someone at the Academy or the salon, then… Yes, that certainly sounds more difficult.”
Someone she danced with at balls… That must mean the other person was a nobleman. But since the dances didn’t sound very frequent, and that was all there was, then striking up a conversation sounded even tougher still.
Lady Ladia’s far more in touch with the subtle complexities of the human personality than I am… So, if she was having trouble, this was something difficult indeed.
An aristocrat who rarely danced.
Someone so busy that it was difficult to even strike up a conversation with them.
That had to mean… Someone Lady Ladia had at least some contact with in her life, either professionally or personally.
But he wasn’t from the salon or the Academy.
Someone Lady Ladia might worry about inconveniencing with her feelings…
Someone maybe ten years older than she and I…
“Lord Borden…?”
“What?!!!”
When I mumbled Lord Borden’s name, Lady Ladia reacted as if shot. I looked at her, startled by her reaction, and realized her face was bright red.
“Wh-Wh-Why would you say him?!” she squeaked.
“Oh, I’m sorry… I just thought perhaps he was the one…?”
“Guh!!!” Lady Ladia gazed at me, looking stricken. Her pinkish-purple eyes glistened in a rather adorable sort of way. “How…? How did you figure it out…?”
“I mean, he fit your description… And when I tried to think of what kind of man would be worthy of your attention, Lady Ladia, I just suddenly pictured Prime Minister Borden… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so presumptuous…”
“It’s okay… Actually, I was debating whether to tell you myself or not…” Lady Ladia spoke weakly, then looked down and started fidgeting again, wringing her hands. I didn’t want to speak out of place again, so I remained quiet and waited for her to say more. “So… You know how Lord Viol and Lord Borden are friends, right…?”
“Oh, yes. They’ve been friends since their days at the Academy.”
“I was wondering if Lord Viol might know what Lord Borden is into… I was thinking, if I’m going to engage him in conversation it might help to choose a topic he’s interested in?”
“Lord Viol still often consults with Lord Borden when he needs assistance. It seems they have a very deep friendship. I’m sure he’d know all about Lord Borden’s interests.”
“That’s good to hear. So the rumors that the two are close friends seem to be true.”
“Why, yes, during our recent honeymoon, we were kindly invited to stay at Lord Borden’s family estate and read the magic books in his library.”
“Oh, how nice. I’d love to go there myself.”
“Of course, Lord Borden was busy and didn’t come to his family territory himself, but his mother is a splendid person, and the area was very prosperous. The people were cheerful and friendly, too. It was a lovely place,” I said, recounting my time there.