It was an impulsive thing I spat out, caught up at the moment, but it turned out just fine.
No, it was the best.
Of course, at first, I thought I had overdone it. He’s already tied it, and now he wants to tell me how to re-tie it.
I was worried that he might be too gullible to let me off the hook.
And sure enough, Lord River looked at me questioningly. I felt a tinge of guilt at the innocent look on his face and stammered out a lame excuse.
“Do you know how to tie a knot?”
“Yes, I do, because if it gets loose I’ll have to tie it myself, and I’m not as dexterous as Sir River, and I can’t tie it as neatly as you… so I thought I’d take this opportunity to learn from someone who is…”
Did I sound too pompous?
Feeling unnecessarily stung, I squinted at him.
Lord River’s eyes fell as if he was thinking about something, and then he turned to me, blushing slightly, as if embarrassed.
“Dexterous… I’ve never heard that before, thank you.”
‘It worked!’
I cheered inwardly. I wondered if he’d be embarrassed by my sneaky comment, but he seemed flattered, even pleased. My eyes widened in surprise.
“You have never heard of it? How can you be so skillful?”
“Wow, that’s a lot of praise, that’s quite a talent…”
“Truly, few people I’ve ever seen can tie a knot so neatly, my lord. It’s quite remarkable.”
“Hmm, well, I…”
Mmph, how cute.
Of course, objectively, his skill was good, so I was just telling the truth, but there were times when I said it out loud because he was cute, blushing the more I praised him.
The shyness of a handsome man had a charm that made my heart melt.
When he realized he was blushing, he quickly cooled his face with the warmth of his hands and looked away in panic. He fumbled for a moment, then finally composed himself and muttered softly.
“…I’ll teach you well.”
My smile was so big, I could have been a ‘gum-angel.’
But I couldn’t brag to him about my healthy gums. I shyly said as I struggled down the jester, trying to climb up.
“Take care, my lord.”
And so began a cordial class date between me and Sir River.
Sir River was a good teacher, to be sure.
He demonstrated by untying the knot he had already tied and slowly tying it again in front of me.
As he explained, I had to suppress the smile that tugged at the corner of my mouth at the sound of his sweet voice.
By this time, a neat knot was already in place in front of me, and Lord River, finally taking his eyes off the knot, glanced up at me and asked.
“Do you understand?”
Looking into those expectant eyes, I felt like I had to say yes, regardless of knowing or not.
But I was a worse student than that.
“No.”
I shook my head helplessly, my eyes tearing up.
“Maybe I’m just not good at this, I can’t figure it out from looking.”
And my ruse worked.
Rubbing his chin, Lord River paused for a moment in thought, but then looked up with an idea.
“Now that I think about it, I suppose it would be confusing for Lady Dahlia to see me tie things up in the other direction.”
“What?”
“Then why don’t you look this way…”
I stared at him puzzled as he moved behind me, and then my eyes widened to the point of popping out of my head at what he was about to do.
‘What, Lord River, from behind…!’
‘Is this a hug?!’
The question came when he wrapped his arms around me in a cuddling position.
He was probably trying to teach me how to tie it from my perspective.
I wonder if he realizes that it makes my heart race even more.
No, it’s not just my heart pounding. My chest was thumping like I’d just run a hundred meters, and I couldn’t manage a straight face.
It was a good thing Lord River was standing at my back.
Otherwise, he’d have to see me roll my eyes and flare my nostrils.
‘Crazy, this is crazy!’
Dahlia Averine, are you a genius or what? Who told you to play a dog’s tricks against your instincts, huh?
‘Well done.’
And Lord River was actually quite eager to help.
I mean, who in their right mind would casually back hug someone to teach them how to tie a knot? If I were you, I’d sit next to them and show them.
But maybe that’s a good thing. I swallow hard at the warmth of his chest and the muscles that gently touch my back.
I forced myself to look ahead, but my vision was hazy, and all my nerves were focused back.
“…It’s like this. Do you understand?”
“Yeah… yeah…”
“Good, I’m glad you understand.”
And with that, my eyes snapped open as the temperature dropped.
‘Crap!’
I shook my head, mesmerized by Lord River’s body heat. I shouldn’t have stood there, I could have stuck around!
But maybe this was just a streak.
Anymore and my rather sensitive nose might bleed once again, and I’d had enough of having my nose bleed in front of him.
Still, I couldn’t help myself and secretly savored the taste.
Lord River, who had now separated himself from me and resumed his march, asked me innocently, oblivious to my dark thoughts.
“Would you like to try it yourself, then?”
“What? Yes… of course…”
I had already said yes, so there was nothing I could do.
I tried to give in and say something, then quickly shut up.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind.
Yes, it’s too bad we aren’t done here. My idea wasn’t that of a genius student, already learning how to tie in an instant.
I looked at him, my eyes shining, ready to be a foolish, stupid student in his presence.
Then, as if I knew nothing, I asked shyly in a low voice.
“Sir River, may I tie it around your wrist?”
Needless to say, more of my shenanigans followed.
Mistaking my overly sparkling eyes for something else, Lord River assumed the appearance of an eager teacher and held out his wrist.
I feverishly pretended to tie the laces, barely suppressing the perverse desire to fondle his thick, bulging biceps.
The result was… embarrassingly sloppy.
It wasn’t that I was blinded by desire, I’d tied them on purpose.
However, as if I didn’t know any better, I cried out. Then I glanced up to meet his eyes and muttered a sobbing apology.
“I’m sorry, but even after all you’ve explained to me, I still…”
“Oh, don’t worry, it’s always hard the first time, you’ll get the hang of it after a few times.”
He seemed genuinely worried about me, and asked me to practice one more time.
But it had already been quite a while, and as the group was getting ready to leave, he looked around casually and made a suggestion.
“Why don’t we meet up during the break and practice?”
For a moment, I wanted to hop up and down with excitement, but I managed to regain my composure and smiled radiantly.
And then I said, with a little more force, like I really, truly meant it.
“Sounds good.”
With that, I finished my next date with Lord River, hummed a tune, and headed for the carriage.
The thought of riding in a carriage again made my mind wander. But I wasn’t as desperate as before.
I was excited about the enchantment stone Lord River had given me, or more precisely, about the idea of binding it and fiddling with it.
Not everything in the world has to be bad. I’m finally getting rewarded for all my hard work on the carriage.
‘That’s good, all right.’
But I didn’t know that.
After the good things that had happened to me, like having a chance to meet Lord River, the bad things would come next.
As I approached the carriage, I was about to climb in, not knowing what to expect.
If it weren’t for the dark shadow that stood beside me like a towering spirit.
‘Whoa, that surprised me!’
I screamed a muffled shriek as the figure leapt out in front of me. But whether I was startled or not, Rudrick, the master of the shadows, stared down at me coldly.
He was frozen in place and seemed to be glaring at me in a way that made me cringe, even though I hadn’t done anything wrong. Then I realized something was amiss.
‘But how long has he been doing that?’
The answer came quickly.
He asked, as if he knew everything, “How long are you going to pretend you don’t know?”
‘You’ve been watching the whole thing!’
I blushed as I remembered my stunt in hindsight. I faked a cough and quickly averted from his gaze.
“Come to think of it, how did you know I was pretending all along?”
I thought my performance was as flawless as anyone’s, so I wondered if I was faking it too much for him to see.
But as I began to ponder, there was a more direct reason.
It was when we were younger. I had once helped him tie his loose shoelaces when we were playing together.
He said, ‘Thank you,’ and blushed with embarrassment. I remembered how he had been careful not to undo the laces I had tied for him ever since.
‘I remembered how cute he was.’
I wondered how he’d turned into such a snarling beast. I stared at him bitterly and shook my head.
In response to my unintelligible reaction, his eyes narrowed even sharper, and I glared back at him, unable to hide my wicked grin.
“Until he decides to date me.”
Rudrick’s face contorted in disbelief.
After all, with that declaration, I had nothing to be ashamed of anymore.
And at the same time, I didn’t think Rudrick would stand in my way anymore.
After all, I couldn’t root for someone who had declared war on me, and nobody would dare interfere in my way.
If there was such a person, shouldn’t I call him a nemesis, not a friend?
But I never imagined that Rudrick would be one of those people. I soon regretted revealing my true feelings to him.
After my declaration of war, Rudrick’s meddling began in earnest.
It was an impulsive thing I spat out, caught up at the moment, but it turned out just fine.
No, it was the best.
Of course, at first, I thought I had overdone it. He’s already tied it, and now he wants to tell me how to re-tie it.
I was worried that he might be too gullible to let me off the hook.
And sure enough, Lord River looked at me questioningly. I felt a tinge of guilt at the innocent look on his face and stammered out a lame excuse.
“Do you know how to tie a knot?”
“Yes, I do, because if it gets loose I’ll have to tie it myself, and I’m not as dexterous as Sir River, and I can’t tie it as neatly as you… so I thought I’d take this opportunity to learn from someone who is…”
Did I sound too pompous?
Feeling unnecessarily stung, I squinted at him.
Lord River’s eyes fell as if he was thinking about something, and then he turned to me, blushing slightly, as if embarrassed.
“Dexterous… I’ve never heard that before, thank you.”
‘It worked!’
I cheered inwardly. I wondered if he’d be embarrassed by my sneaky comment, but he seemed flattered, even pleased. My eyes widened in surprise.
“You have never heard of it? How can you be so skillful?”
“Wow, that’s a lot of praise, that’s quite a talent…”
“Truly, few people I’ve ever seen can tie a knot so neatly, my lord. It’s quite remarkable.”
“Hmm, well, I…”
Mmph, how cute.
Of course, objectively, his skill was good, so I was just telling the truth, but there were times when I said it out loud because he was cute, blushing the more I praised him.
The shyness of a handsome man had a charm that made my heart melt.
When he realized he was blushing, he quickly cooled his face with the warmth of his hands and looked away in panic. He fumbled for a moment, then finally composed himself and muttered softly.
“…I’ll teach you well.”
My smile was so big, I could have been a ‘gum-angel.’
But I couldn’t brag to him about my healthy gums. I shyly said as I struggled down the jester, trying to climb up.
“Take care, my lord.”
And so began a cordial class date between me and Sir River.
Sir River was a good teacher, to be sure.
He demonstrated by untying the knot he had already tied and slowly tying it again in front of me.
As he explained, I had to suppress the smile that tugged at the corner of my mouth at the sound of his sweet voice.
By this time, a neat knot was already in place in front of me, and Lord River, finally taking his eyes off the knot, glanced up at me and asked.
“Do you understand?”
Looking into those expectant eyes, I felt like I had to say yes, regardless of knowing or not.
But I was a worse student than that.
“No.”
I shook my head helplessly, my eyes tearing up.
“Maybe I’m just not good at this, I can’t figure it out from looking.”
And my ruse worked.
Rubbing his chin, Lord River paused for a moment in thought, but then looked up with an idea.
“Now that I think about it, I suppose it would be confusing for Lady Dahlia to see me tie things up in the other direction.”
“What?”
“Then why don’t you look this way…”
I stared at him puzzled as he moved behind me, and then my eyes widened to the point of popping out of my head at what he was about to do.
‘What, Lord River, from behind…!’
‘Is this a hug?!’
The question came when he wrapped his arms around me in a cuddling position.
He was probably trying to teach me how to tie it from my perspective.
I wonder if he realizes that it makes my heart race even more.
No, it’s not just my heart pounding. My chest was thumping like I’d just run a hundred meters, and I couldn’t manage a straight face.
It was a good thing Lord River was standing at my back.
Otherwise, he’d have to see me roll my eyes and flare my nostrils.
‘Crazy, this is crazy!’
Dahlia Averine, are you a genius or what? Who told you to play a dog’s tricks against your instincts, huh?
‘Well done.’
And Lord River was actually quite eager to help.
I mean, who in their right mind would casually back hug someone to teach them how to tie a knot? If I were you, I’d sit next to them and show them.
But maybe that’s a good thing. I swallow hard at the warmth of his chest and the muscles that gently touch my back.
I forced myself to look ahead, but my vision was hazy, and all my nerves were focused back.
“…It’s like this. Do you understand?”
“Yeah… yeah…”
“Good, I’m glad you understand.”
And with that, my eyes snapped open as the temperature dropped.
‘Crap!’
I shook my head, mesmerized by Lord River’s body heat. I shouldn’t have stood there, I could have stuck around!
But maybe this was just a streak.
Anymore and my rather sensitive nose might bleed once again, and I’d had enough of having my nose bleed in front of him.
Still, I couldn’t help myself and secretly savored the taste.
Lord River, who had now separated himself from me and resumed his march, asked me innocently, oblivious to my dark thoughts.
“Would you like to try it yourself, then?”
“What? Yes… of course…”
I had already said yes, so there was nothing I could do.
I tried to give in and say something, then quickly shut up.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind.
Yes, it’s too bad we aren’t done here. My idea wasn’t that of a genius student, already learning how to tie in an instant.
I looked at him, my eyes shining, ready to be a foolish, stupid student in his presence.
Then, as if I knew nothing, I asked shyly in a low voice.
“Sir River, may I tie it around your wrist?”
Needless to say, more of my shenanigans followed.
Mistaking my overly sparkling eyes for something else, Lord River assumed the appearance of an eager teacher and held out his wrist.
I feverishly pretended to tie the laces, barely suppressing the perverse desire to fondle his thick, bulging biceps.
The result was… embarrassingly sloppy.
It wasn’t that I was blinded by desire, I’d tied them on purpose.
However, as if I didn’t know any better, I cried out. Then I glanced up to meet his eyes and muttered a sobbing apology.
“I’m sorry, but even after all you’ve explained to me, I still…”
“Oh, don’t worry, it’s always hard the first time, you’ll get the hang of it after a few times.”
He seemed genuinely worried about me, and asked me to practice one more time.
But it had already been quite a while, and as the group was getting ready to leave, he looked around casually and made a suggestion.
“Why don’t we meet up during the break and practice?”
For a moment, I wanted to hop up and down with excitement, but I managed to regain my composure and smiled radiantly.
And then I said, with a little more force, like I really, truly meant it.
“Sounds good.”
With that, I finished my next date with Lord River, hummed a tune, and headed for the carriage.
The thought of riding in a carriage again made my mind wander. But I wasn’t as desperate as before.
I was excited about the enchantment stone Lord River had given me, or more precisely, about the idea of binding it and fiddling with it.
Not everything in the world has to be bad. I’m finally getting rewarded for all my hard work on the carriage.
‘That’s good, all right.’
But I didn’t know that.
After the good things that had happened to me, like having a chance to meet Lord River, the bad things would come next.
As I approached the carriage, I was about to climb in, not knowing what to expect.
If it weren’t for the dark shadow that stood beside me like a towering spirit.
‘Whoa, that surprised me!’
I screamed a muffled shriek as the figure leapt out in front of me. But whether I was startled or not, Rudrick, the master of the shadows, stared down at me coldly.
He was frozen in place and seemed to be glaring at me in a way that made me cringe, even though I hadn’t done anything wrong. Then I realized something was amiss.
‘But how long has he been doing that?’
The answer came quickly.
He asked, as if he knew everything, “How long are you going to pretend you don’t know?”
‘You’ve been watching the whole thing!’
I blushed as I remembered my stunt in hindsight. I faked a cough and quickly averted from his gaze.
“Come to think of it, how did you know I was pretending all along?”
I thought my performance was as flawless as anyone’s, so I wondered if I was faking it too much for him to see.
But as I began to ponder, there was a more direct reason.
It was when we were younger. I had once helped him tie his loose shoelaces when we were playing together.
He said, ‘Thank you,’ and blushed with embarrassment. I remembered how he had been careful not to undo the laces I had tied for him ever since.
‘I remembered how cute he was.’
I wondered how he’d turned into such a snarling beast. I stared at him bitterly and shook my head.
In response to my unintelligible reaction, his eyes narrowed even sharper, and I glared back at him, unable to hide my wicked grin.
“Until he decides to date me.”
Rudrick’s face contorted in disbelief.
After all, with that declaration, I had nothing to be ashamed of anymore.
And at the same time, I didn’t think Rudrick would stand in my way anymore.
After all, I couldn’t root for someone who had declared war on me, and nobody would dare interfere in my way.
If there was such a person, shouldn’t I call him a nemesis, not a friend?
But I never imagined that Rudrick would be one of those people. I soon regretted revealing my true feelings to him.
After my declaration of war, Rudrick’s meddling began in earnest.
