I May Be A Villainess, But I Won't Live My Life That Way - Chapter 15

Chapter 15

“Is there something urgent?”

I had thought that if Ricardo wasn’t at the Duke’s residence without any notice, what should I do? Fortunately, he was home.

“No, it’s not anything urgent.”

“You come here without any urgent matter?”

Ricardo seemed a bit surprised by the unexpected visit.

Well, even I would have felt the same. If Ricardo suddenly came to find me without any prior notice, I would have been similarly surprised.

We weren’t so close that we would casually visit each other like this.

Despite promising to spend our lives together, we still needed to make an effort to respect each other’s boundaries.

“I just had a sudden thought and wanted to propose something to you.”

I said it casually, as if it were nothing significant.

“I stopped by since I happened to be passing by.”

“Is that so?”

He had a slightly suspicious expression, but Ricardo just nodded his head slightly.

“What kind of proposal is it?”

He asked, raising his teacup leisurely.

“I hope you can join me on Saint George’s Day.”

Ricardo’s hand, holding the teacup, paused for a moment. I could feel his gaze piercing through me across the teacup.

“St. George’s Day?”

“Yes.”

“But I already have a prior commitment on that day.”

Ricardo lowered his teacup with a vague end to his sentence. It seemed like he hadn’t even taken a sip.

“A prior commitment?”

I furrowed my brows slightly at the mention of a prior commitment.

A prior commitment? With whom? Could it be that he had already made plans to meet Maria…?

No, upon further thought, that wasn’t the case. Since the destined meeting on St. George’s Day had yet to occur, he couldn’t have met Maria beforehand.

“With whom?”

“With whom? What do you mean?”

“You mentioned having a prior commitment on that day; I’m curious who it is with.”

“Is that what you’re curious about?”

“Yes.”

I responded firmly.

He needed to be with me on that day to prevent any possible encounter with Maria.

“I have a prior commitment with the orphanage children. We promised to go together to see the festival.”

“Oh, I see.”

I inwardly sighed with relief at the mention of a commitment to the orphanage children.

“Can I accompany you to that commitment then?”

“You?”

“Yes.”

In truth, what I wanted to do was keep Ricardo tied up inside the house all day to prevent him from going anywhere. However, that was impossible. So, the only option was to be with him and block any potential meeting with Maria.

It looked like this.

Thinking that way, I felt more determined to follow him.

“But what if I go with you?”

“That place doesn’t seem to suit you very well.”

“I don’t mind.”

Although I said it as if it were nothing, Ricardo made a subtly complex expression.

It seemed a bit awkward and, at the same time, somewhat pleasing.

“The children would probably like it if I went with you, especially Lara.”

Thinking of the lovely brown eyes of Lara, I mentioned.

Certainly, she would be delighted to go with the princess.

“Yeah, the kids will definitely like it.”

Ricardo nodded, seemingly agreeing with my opinion.

“Then there shouldn’t be any problem with me joining you on Saint George’s Day, right?”

I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of finally being able to keep an eye on Ricardo that day.

“Are you happy?”

“What?”

“Just now, you smiled. Are you happy to spend Saint George’s Day with me?”

Ricardo hesitated slightly and spoke. It seemed like he was carefully asking, as if hoping his guess was correct.

“Yes, I’m happy.”

I honestly expressed my feelings. Considering the sudden visit, it was quite a satisfactory outcome.

“I didn’t know you’d want to spend St. George’s Day with me. It’s something I never thought about before.”

Ricardo chuckled and spoke.

It wasn’t a laugh of disbelief or an incredible laugh. To put it another way, it was a somewhat shy laugh.

Ricardo and shyness. The words didn’t seem to match at all. It seemed like I might have seen something wrong because I was in a good mood.

“And there’s something I wanted to say to you.”

“What is it?”

“The words you said at the Wensbury-sponsored ball.”

Suddenly bringing up the events from a few days ago, I involuntarily tensed.

Although emotions were heightened that day, looking back, my actions weren’t right.

It wasn’t the behavior of an elegant lady.

“And when you said I treated you like a pebble in my pocket.”

When Ricardo unexpectedly brought up that day’s incident, I clenched my fist unconsciously.

“I want to apologize.”

Apologize? Ricardo uttering that word unexpectedly made me startled, and I looked at him.

“But the truth is, I actually have a  sapphire in my pocket.”

“Sapphire?”

“Yeah, a very beautiful sapphire.”

Understanding literary devices and metaphors, I quickly realized that he was metaphorically referring to me as a sapphire because of my eye color.

What I didn’t realize, what I couldn’t believe, even with my own eyes, was that it was Ricardo who said it.

“Thank you for making me realize something I hadn’t noticed before.”

“Oh, no need for such words.”

I wasn’t sure how things were unfolding, but I responded politely and humbly.

“Well, let’s meet at the orphanage on that day.”

“Sure.”

Ricardo smiled and rose from his seat to see me off.

Ricardo’s escort to the front door was impeccable, as were his manners as he waited with me for the carriage to arrive.

Ricardo’s escort to the entrance was perfect, and his manners, waiting together until the carriage arrived, were impeccable.

However, with a strange and indescribable feeling, I boarded the carriage.

“Something seems odd….”

Panya heard my murmur and scrutinized my face.

Whether she said something or not, I was deeply lost in thought.

Certainly, when he first came to find me, he seemed a bit bewildered, but the atmosphere wasn’t so subtle.

The change in Ricardo’s atmosphere occurred after I suggested meeting on Saint George’s Day.

Although I hadn’t explicitly invited him to meet on specific days very often, it wasn’t something that never happened.

There were instances, such as asking him to escort me to a ball I was invited to.

Even if it was Saint George’s Day, I should still be able to make such a request, right?

“Oh!”

Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.

“Panya.”

“Yes, milady.”

“I was talking about Saint George’s Day.”

“Yes.”

“In the commoners’ area, it’s also called Lover’s Day, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

To my question, Panya nodded.

“That’s because St. Georges gives free weddings to lovers in need and gives them his blessing.”

Right. It was clearly written in the book.

It was written like a hymn to Ricardo and Maria, who met on the day of St. Georges, the patron saint of lovers, and were destined to become lovers.

What I had said to Ricardo was that I wanted to spend Saint George, the day of Saint George, together.

It had been almost a formal engagement until now, and we were expected to be a formal couple in the future. So, it was perhaps natural for him to be surprised by my sudden desire to spend Lover’s Day together.

Even more surprisingly, when it was decided that we would spend it together, I smiled and expressed my happiness.

“I didn’t mean it that way….”

I muttered to myself while looking at the increasingly distant Winkaiser Mansion, but it was already too late.

Ricardo might even think that I had asked him out on a date.

“No way….”

It was unthinkable that Bianca Croft would ask a man out on a date first.

Lately, there were stories of audacious ladies proposing courtship or inviting gentlemen to dance at balls.

But I wasn’t a person who would think of doing such things.

Whenever I attended a ball, the gentlemen there couldn’t dance with me, and they were frustrated.

Furthermore, as Ricardo’s officially engaged partner, no one dared to make a courtship request to me. If I were a free lady…

No.

A woman like me, a free lady without an engagement partner, was impossible.

Whether it was a fiancé or the nobles of Sprendo, they wouldn’t leave me alone.

Therefore, it was only natural for me to wait for the other party to make a date request, not me. So, Ricardo should be the one to propose a date to me….

‘Wait.’

Something seemed strange.

A thought came to mind, and I cut off the train of thought that was extending from my mind.

A date?

Has Ricardo and I ever been on a date?

Could drinking tea together in the monthly meeting at the Winkaiser or Croft be considered a date?

During the teatime arranged to briefly inform each other about the current situation of the Empire or the events and changes that each family should be aware of?

Or could going to mandatory gatherings as partners be considered a date? Even though it wasn’t enjoyable, and the purpose was to show each other off rather than having fun?

No, we had never been on a date.

“Oh my.”

I mean, I wasn’t, but if Ricardo had his way and considered it a date, St. George’s Day would be our first date.

Ten years after our engagement.

“Smile Love”