Nyarl’s reply was just a pompous smile. He got rejected too?! Man, even being handsome did him no favors? Well, actually, his expressions were fishy as all hell. He seemed like the type who would commit marriage fraud.
“My friend, correct me if I’m wrong, but were you just thinking something terribly rude? I’ll have you know I am quite depressed about all of this!”
“You’re imagining things. Anyway, looks like she’s every bit as fiery as the rumors say.”
I took a moment to make sure my outfit and appearance were in order, which had Nyarl staring at me with sparkles in his eyes.
“Oho, are you going to go talk to her?”
“Yeah. I’ve got a plan. People are getting rejected because they’re trying to sweet-talk her right off the bat, but just watch.”
I returned Nyarl’s sly smile with a smirk.
In my previous life, I read books like How to Be Popular and A Simple Guide to Getting a Girlfriend. My time was now!
What? Did I have any actual dating experience? Hell no. I wouldn’t be a virgin if I had the courage to talk to girls—but that was the old me. I was a hottie now, and more importantly, I had a secret weapon. I knew from the official fanbook that she loved roses, so I’d made sure to buy some in town before coming to her party.
Plus, I was Weiss. There was no way she was going to reject me. If I was in Aigis’s position, I would gladly dance with me!
“Thank you very much for inviting me here today, Lord Reinhard Bloody.”
“Oh, thank you for coming, Weiss Hamilton,” Lord Bloody replied. “You have my condolences for what happened to your parents.”
“I appreciate that. I apologize for not greeting you sooner. Things have been tremendously hectic back home.”
“Please, do not apologize. It sounds like you’ve had a rough go of it. But I’ve also heard that you captured the criminals who were running amok in your territory. I’m proud that there are youngsters like you out there working so hard for their people.”
Reinhard was praising my accomplishments, and I could tell from the look in his eyes that he was sincere. He must have heard awful things about me, yet here he was, choosing to look at who I was now instead of who I was before.
As for Aigis, she glanced at me once, decided she wasn’t interested, and turned her gaze out toward the garden. Damn, she was not having this one bit.
“Come now, Aigis,” her father prompted. “Say hello.”
Upon her father’s urging, Aigis finally looked at me, disinterested as she was. However, she didn’t say a word.
“My apologies. I would be pleased if you could be friends, as you’re both close in age, but…”
“Do not apologize. I am sure Lady Aigis is simply nervous,” I replied to him, then put on my best smile and greeted the young lady. “Lady Aigis, it is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Weiss Hamilton.”
“Is that so? Well, I hate you!” she said in response.
She turned away and left for the drink table while Lord Reinhard held his head in his hands. This was the exact kind of behavior you’d expect from someone called the Evil Bloody Mistress. Nonetheless, I was surprised she acted like this even before the events of the game.
“I am so sorry. Things have been…a bit of a struggle in my family, leading her to treat others like this. Please try not to be too upset with her,” Reinhard said apologetically to me.
“Do not worry. I’m sure she’s just nervous,” I said to assure him I wasn’t bothered. After that, I left to find Aigis.
Things have been a struggle for them, huh?
Much like Weiss had issues with his father and his sister, perhaps she had reasons for why she couldn’t trust anyone by the time the events of the game occurred. The only information about her history in-game was a few lines of text talking about how she stopped trusting people after her past experiences, but there was nothing about what those experiences were. Maybe if I learned more about her, I could solve her problems and save her.
My love for villain characters was lighting a fire within me. Since I was already here, I was going to try and get her to open up to me!
“Lady Aigis, I’m sorry for speaking to you so abruptly earlier,” I said when I caught up with her. “As an apology, I would like you to have this.”
I psyched myself up and gave her my best smile, then held out a bouquet of roses. Showing her roses in-game would get her to stop moving momentarily; they were her mother’s favorites, so they had deep significance for her.
Aigis looked at the roses, then stared me in the eye.
“I don’t want those. I hate you!” she said. With that, she turned and left the party venue.
Okay, that sucked pretty hard.
“Howdy, friend. I guess you met the same fate as the rest of us, didn’t you?” Nyarl was doing his best to hold back his laughter. “I have to say, you’re brave for trying more than once.”
“Lord Weiss! Don’t worry, I love you!” Rosalia said with a warm smile. She must have seen my conversation with Aigis and was trying to make me feel better.
What am I supposed to do about this?!