Duke, Please Fail! - Side Story 3 (Part 3)

Side Story 3: Part 3

“Lizzy, you’re looking cheerful these days.”

When Sophie stopped in front of Lizzy, Lizzy smiled with a refreshed face.

“I received praise from Mr. Levance.”

“What praise?”

“He said I’ve made fewer mistakes.”

“That’s good. Last time I checked, you were upset that you were still making mistakes even when you were humming.”

“Well, heh-heh works for me these days. You know how yesterday I heh-heh’d and didn’t make a single mistake?”

Deep down, Lizzy was worried that she had ruined the ‘Lucky Hehehe’ protected by Nelly’s blessing, but now she felt relieved.

“It’s all thanks to Mr. Arette.”

“Come to think of it, you’ve been meeting him often these days?”

A rosy tint appeared on Lizzy’s cheek at Sophie’s words.

Seeing this change up close, Sophie made a meaningful expression.

“What’s up?”

“What?”

“When you saw the commander in Dames, you were really happy.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. Even if you coincidentally meet Miss Nelly while walking down the street, you wouldn’t be that happy.”

“That’s not true.”

Lizzy denied firmly. Sophie just accepted it without argument.

“I guess my analogy was too much. You wouldn’t be that happy even if you stumbled upon gold while passing by.”

“…Was I that extreme?”

“Yeah.”

Watching Lizzy sip her tea with a complex expression, Sophie casually asked a probing question.

“Are you two dating?”

“Keukk!”

Caught off guard by the unexpected sharp attack, Lizzy choked on her tea, resulting in a violent cough.

Whether it was because of the cough or some other reason, Lizzy’s face turned bright red. Nevertheless, she raised her head defiantly.

Sophie gave her an expression of incomprehension.

“Didn’t you like the commander?”

The coughing sound intensified. Lizzy vehemently denied with gestures.

“I, Keeuk! How, hmph kukk, dare you—”

“Could you either answer or just cough? Pick one, please.”

Lizzy shook her head, turned around, coughed several times, then quickly caught her breath and turned her head sharply.

“It’s not like that!”

“Really?”

“Yes. How could I dare—this is just admiration, that’s all.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Sophie made a puzzled expression.

Even if her face turned red because of the cough, the way she twisted her body, caught up in the throes of first love, was unmistakable.

“Isn’t your heart pounding when you see the commander?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“You miss him when you don’t see him, wonder what he’s doing, think of him when you’re happy or sad?”

“Yes! Yes!”

Lizzy nodded vigorously. Sophie leaned back, crossed her arms, and smiled as if to say, “There you go.”

“You like him.”

“But…”

“Yeah?”

“I feel the same way even when I see Miss Nelly!”

Caught off guard by this unexpected revelation, Sophie was left speechless with her mouth agape.

Certainly, Lizzy’s attitude towards Nelly was peculiar. It was more than what she showed to Arette, to the point where it couldn’t be described as less or more.

“So, this is admiration.”

Lizzy asserted, but Sophie shook her head.

Externally, Lizzy seemed more devoted to Nelly. No, the word ‘devotion’ was insufficient. She resembled a fervent worshiper.

However, it was different when dealing with Arette. Rather, it felt fresh.

Lizzy claimed that her feelings toward both were merely admiration, but to Sophie, there was undoubtedly a distinction.

“Think about it carefully. There must be something different.”

While nodding, Lizzy checked the time and stood up.

“Miss Sophie, I have to go see Mr. Arette now.”

“Sure, sure.”

Lizzy said her goodbyes and hurriedly walked toward the castle. As she headed straight to the audience hall, a familiar figure caught her peripheral vision.

Although she didn’t get a proper look, a sense of joy overwhelmed her. Even without a clear view, she felt elation. 

Lizzy turned her head abruptly.

Sure enough, from a distance, Nelly was walking and talking with Leonel.

Despite Leonel being a formidable figure that could make anyone shiver, Lizzy only had eyes for Nelly.

The anxiety that had accumulated from various mistakes during Nelly’s absence seemed to wash away.

“Miss Nelly!”

Lizzy rushed towards Nelly, embracing her with a wide smile.

Nelly, who had involuntarily flinched, felt her waist and ribs intact and marveled at it.

Soon after, with a worried expression, Nelly held Lizzy’s cheeks and turned her head in different directions.

“Lizzy! Why do you feel so weak? They said you cried a lot while I was away, did you suffer so much that you’ve become frail?”

Lizzy lowered her head.

“These days, I’ve been training with Mr. Arette. Thanks to that, I’ve made fewer mistakes!”

“Really? That’s good!”

Lizzy didn’t resist Nelly’s happy reaction like before. The comforting touch made her feel at ease.

As she tried to be more affectionate with Nelly, she noticed a pair of red eyes staring at her. An involuntary shudder ran through her.

Quietly, she released Nelly and hid behind her.

“Hello, Your Grace.”

Although the greeting was belated, Leonel didn’t point it out. Instead, he asked with a determined tone not to waste any more time.

“Where were you going?” 

“Well, for training…”

Her voice was hesitant, but it was heard by Nelly, who was right in front of her. Lizzy turned her body to face Nelly.

“Are you training again today? Impressive.”

Nelly’s praise seemed to boost Lizzy’s nonexistent enthusiasm.

As if to say when she slouched, she straightened her posture. She was determined to train harder to show Nelly a flawless performance as soon as possible.

“I’ll work even harder!”

“I’ll cheer you on!”

With a delighted expression, Lizzy nodded her head, greeted Nelly and Leonel, then turned away.

She couldn’t help but run towards the training ground, but the knights were still in the midst of their training.

Suddenly, her gaze fell on Arette. Lizzy unknowingly stopped in her tracks.

She stared blankly at Arette’s black hair, which swayed with every movement, and the sweat streaming down his dark-colored skin.

‘Impressive.…’

Sophie’s voice overlapped with her thoughts.

‘Didn’t you like the commander?’

Quickly, Lizzy waved her hand to dismiss Sophie’s voice, recalling the feeling of hugging Nelly. 

She looked at Arette, pondering. The sense of security and comfort she felt with Arette, even compared to Nelly, couldn’t be ignored.

Pushing aside any lingering thoughts, Lizzy focused on training, casting an impish look at Arette.

Arette, who had sent the knights back to their quarters, noticed Lizzy’s enthusiastic expression.

‘She must have met Miss Pepper.’

A ripple of emotion stirred within Arette. He couldn’t quite grasp his feelings. It wasn’t entirely pleasant knowing that Lizzy held Nelly Pepper in such high regard.

He stood still, waiting for the emotional turmoil to settle before turning away.

“Let’s train.”

“Yes!”

Lizzy followed Arette. He led her toward an area with a narrow balance beam.

“Today, we’ll work on balancing on this.”

They usually practiced walking along a drawn line on the ground. But a balance beam? The sudden increase in difficulty caught Lizzy off guard, and she flinched momentarily. However, she quickly ignited her determination.

“So, I just walk on it?”

“Yeah.”

Arette reached out his hand.

“I’ll help you.”

Lizzy shyly placed her hand on Arette’s palm. Until this point, it wasn’t much different from their usual interactions.

But then Sophie’s words flashed in her mind.

‘Didn’t you like the commander?’

Although it didn’t interfere much with the training, a sense of complacency disappeared the moment Lizzy lost her balance on the beam.

“Oops!”

Her foot slipped, and Lizzy’s body tilted hastily toward Arette. If she fell awkwardly, her ankle might get caught in the balance beam, and get injured.

Arette quickly pulled Lizzy towards him, using his arms as a cushion.

As Lizzy closed her eyes, anticipating the fall, she found herself already in Arette’s embrace.

She felt a shock as if her heart had dropped along with her body. 

Well, in reality, her body was unharmed, making every impact resonate in her heart.