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Chapter 79
Riana gave a bitter smile, and Deborah broke the silence with a question.
“Riana, aren’t you curious?”
“Huh? About what?”
“About why I said I wanted to become friends with you. It must have seemed… rather sudden.”
That was exactly what Riana had been thinking. The heroine had a good sense for these things.
“I was a little surprised. I thought you might dislike me.”
“In fact, I had a similar misunderstanding myself. I thought you might dislike me.”
Deborah closed her eyes as if recalling something, then opened them again. Her long eyelashes fluttered gracefully, captivating enough to leave one staring.
“Many people have disliked me. Some even bullied me.”
Setting down her utensils, Deborah clasped her hands together and smiled faintly.
“Of all of them, very few ever apologized. And among those, very few were sincere…”
Her gaze, filled with genuine emotion, met Riana’s.
“There was no one. Except you, Riana.”
Riana’s eyelids twitched at the sound of Deborah’s calm, honest voice.
Deborah’s unexpected sincerity left her flustered, but she quickly composed herself and replied, somewhat awkwardly:
“Thank you for saying that. In front of you, I only have memories of being a complete mess. If you saw sincerity in that… perhaps it’s because of your generosity.”
Even at Riana’s awkward expression, Deborah burst into cheerful laughter. Wiping her lips with a napkin, she smiled again and asked:
“Shall we go out if you’ve finished your meal?”
“…Yes, let’s.”
Riana got up from her seat, feeling oddly confused.
‘What a strange meal. I’m truly glad it’s over.’
They walked side by side out of the maids’ hall.
Genevieve Castle and the main building were in opposite directions, so they had to part ways. They stopped at the fork in the path and faced each other.
It felt like the right moment to say goodbye…
Both missed the timing simultaneously.
They rolled their eyes at each other awkwardly, avoiding each other’s gaze.
“This is a bit awkward,” Deborah admitted.
Riana couldn’t disagree.
“Very much so.”
“It’s my first time having a female friend, so everything is new and difficult. Even saying goodbye…”
Deborah muttered while rubbing her reddened earlobe, and Riana shrugged.
“That’s understandable. We’ll just get closer slowly, that’s all.”
Then Deborah’s eyes suddenly sparkled with clarity.
“Then shall we start by me calling you ‘Liri’ and you calling me ‘Debbie’?”
“…Huh?”
No, that’s not slow at all—that’s way too sudden…
Deborah wasn’t clumsy with women, but she wasn’t oblivious either.
Seeing Riana at a loss for words, Deborah awkwardly added:
“Is that inappropriate?”
“Well… for now, yes…? But eventually, won’t we naturally call each other comfortably?”
“Oh, I see.” Deborah nodded, her expression slightly sullen.
Riana tried to seize the moment and say goodbye quickly, but in that instant, Deborah interjected:
“Is it uncomfortable for you to be called ‘Liri,’ or awkward for me to be called ‘Debbie’? If there’s room for compromise in either, we can decide…”
Riana couldn’t help smiling at the small, timid side of Deborah.
Not for any particular reason—just that this shy version of Deborah was incredibly cute.
“Since you’re that earnest, it’s fine. Call me however you like.”
“Then will you call me by my nickname as well?”
“…I’ll try.”
They agreed, knowing there wouldn’t be many chances to use it anyway.
‘Then finally… the goodbye…’
But Riana’s uncooperative brain immediately thought to call Deborah once more.
“Ah, but um, De—”
Deborah’s eyes sparkled, fully focused on Riana’s lips.
“…Debbie.”
Riana called her nickname with a trembling voice, and Deborah’s expression relaxed, as if relieved.
“I have a question. Last time you asked me if anything came to mind regarding the ‘laboratory and the note,’ right?”
“Yes, Liri.”
“I want to hear the details of what happened.”
Riana’s expression grew serious.
At first, she hadn’t understood what Deborah meant and had ignored it. But the more she thought about it, the more unsettling it felt.
If the “note” Deborah mentioned was anything strange, Riana had already experienced something similar herself.
Deborah answered without hesitation:
“Right after the Fosberg scandal broke, I received a note saying, ‘Don’t go after my beloved.’ I wanted to know if it was from you, Liri.”
“Right after the scandal… does ‘my beloved’ mean the Duke…?”
“Maybe, maybe not. The handwriting was so messy, I couldn’t tell if it said ‘my beloved’ or ‘Gray.’”
Riana’s eyes widened as she muttered, displeased.
“So it was to test my reaction to see if I would be suspected. To verify that what I said about Gray was true and that the wording was indeed ‘my beloved.’”
“And also to check whether your ‘beloved’ was the Duke Drosch. If it was truly about Gray, it would confirm your words.”
Riana rolled her eyes.
“If I had sent the note, sure. But I didn’t.”
“I know. It didn’t feel like a reaction from Liri. I trust my instincts.”
Riana was confident she could have hidden it even if she had sent it intentionally. There was no need to mention it, so she asked instead, pursing her lips:
“Then who could have done it…”
Deborah shrugged, casually.
“Probably a fan of Duke Drosch who dislikes both me and you. They even used a maid to deliver the note. As if hoping you’d be suspicious.”
A maid?
Riana’s eyes narrowed immediately.
“You said… a maid?”
“Yes. Someone saw a woman in a maid uniform leave the note.”
Riana clenched her fist.
If this wasn’t just a socialite’s prank on a handsome, unmarried nobleman…
‘If it’s X’s doing…’
She would need to investigate further.
“Do you still have that note?”
“It’s kept in the lab, but probably in the waste bin—”
“Show it to me. It’s important. Please, Debbie.”
Deborah froze, surprised by the sudden nickname, then rubbed her neck and replied:
“…I’ll dig through the waste bin. I even learned magic for this. I can handle it.”
Riana laughed heartily, having finally seized the timing.
“Then do your world-benefiting research diligently tonight too, mage.”
Deborah seemed to sense the attempt at a goodbye and responded:
“Ah, Liri, you’ve been working hard at night too. And…”
She hesitated, then spoke in a sweet tone:
“Let’s have lunch together like this sometimes.”
It wasn’t much, but coming from the heroine, it felt like a grand confession.
Riana felt strange but couldn’t resist smiling instinctively.
In the end, they faced each other, smiling—truly a warm, pleasant scene.
Riana extended her hand.
“Let’s be sure to have lunch together again.”
“I’m already looking forward to it,” Deborah said, taking the handshake.
The moment their hands touched, soft and delicate as expected of a noblewoman,
BOOM! CRASH!
Suddenly, the sky darkened. Storm clouds poured rain down instantly.
The two women, holding hands in the middle of the street, didn’t move, letting the rain fall.
Riana stammered, a little surprised, but Deborah didn’t even flinch, her indifferent purple eyes fixed on the sky.
“Ah, I was wondering why a meeting with you, Liri, was going so smoothly.”
Riana’s mind lit up with a boastful thought.
“Oh, that’s probably because I asked Mrs. Baker to prep the steak in advance. Imagine if there were two knives between us during lunch!”
Riana shivered dramatically, and Deborah laughed softly.
The rain grew heavier, the sound of droplets hitting the cobblestones almost drowning out their voices.
“I suppose we don’t need to meet that often, right?”
Riana shouted, partly to avoid overdoing friendship, partly to convey that this advice came from genuine concern, even if her words suggested otherwise.
