DTRAF 07

Chapter 7

I Won’t Give the Male Lead Love Advice!

Lord Harbor’s eyes shook violently, as if I’d struck the nail on the head.

Instead of blushing, his face turned deathly pale, and he looked at me as though asking, How did you know?

Because I can see your heart.

I blinked twice in quick succession.

Immediately, a large heart appeared above Lord Harbor’s head.

When I had complained about getting dizzy from constantly seeing everyone’s worry emoticons, Omok had adjusted the settings so that I could only see them whenever I wanted.

“W-What… how did you know?”

Even at a time like this, Lord Harbor couldn’t lie. Even his voice trembled.

“I happen to be pretty perceptive.”

“Was I that obvious?”

“Well…”

Naturally, I recalled all the times I’d seen Lord Harbor with Lysa.

To be honest, the only obvious thing he’d done was constantly hover around her and take care of all the unpleasant tasks.

To an ordinary person, it would have been difficult to recognize it as flirting.

“No. It’s just that my intuition is unusually good. The thing you bought today… it’s a gift for the person you like, isn’t it?”

“…That’s right.”

“May I ask what you bought?”

“Perfume.”

Oh, perfume.

Lysa naturally smelled wonderful thanks to her heroine buff, even without wearing any perfume, but it wasn’t a bad choice as a gift for someone you liked.

“Not long ago, she casually mentioned that she’d like to have some perfume, so I picked one out. I just don’t know if she’ll like it.”

The color slowly returned to Lord Harbor’s previously pale face.

Unlike his embarrassed expression, however, I couldn’t help tilting my head in confusion.

The Lysa I knew wasn’t interested in dressing up or things like perfume, just like most knight heroines.

Well, people’s tastes could change overnight. It wasn’t impossible.

“What kind of scent did you choose?”

“I picked one that I thought would suit her. A soft, sweet floral fragrance…”

“Huh?”

Lysa and floral perfume?

I couldn’t think of a less fitting combination.

If it were Lysa, I’d imagine something fresh and cool—a citrus scent or perhaps a light woody fragrance.

Still! Maybe that’s how Lord Harbor sees her! He’s in love, after all.

I tried my best to understand his perspective.

“Is something wrong?”

“Oh, no. I was just wondering if I was prying too much.”

“It’s fine. To be honest, I was hoping I could ask a woman for advice. Neither she nor I are very good at expressing ourselves, so it’s difficult.”

Lysa?

There wasn’t a woman in the Empire more straightforward than Lysa.

The more I listened to Lord Harbor, the more confused I became.

Something was off.

His answers were strange, and everything he said contradicted what I knew.

A terrible feeling crept over me.

“…Lord Harbor… the person you like isn’t Lysa?”

“What?!”

Lord Harbor practically jumped high enough to break through the tea house ceiling.

At the same time, his face turned even paler than before, as though I’d committed some kind of sacrilege.

His reaction confirmed beyond doubt that my intuition had been completely wrong.

“H-How could I possibly think of the vice commander that way?! Absolutely not! Did I perhaps do something that gave you the wrong idea?”

“No! I was just mistaken.”

I’d never intended to pair the two of them together in the first place, but if I misunderstood him again, Lord Harbor looked like he might actually faint.

“I have never—not even once—harbored those kinds of personal feelings for the vice commander. Please believe me.”

“I do. I believe you. I’m really sorry for saying something so ridiculous.”

The problem was that my initial assumption had been wrong from the start.

Of course, it was good news that Lord Harbor wouldn’t have to suffer heartbreak.

It just stung that I’d been barking up the wrong tree.

Still, I wasn’t the type to mope over a failed plan.

“Then… who is the person you like? As an apology, let me help make things work between you two.”

My new strategy was called ‘If there’s no pheasant, use a chicken instead.’

Besides being able to see people’s worries, I also had another ability that could be unlocked by completing hidden achievements.

Omok and Jjorong had been annoyingly secretive about the details.

Still, they’d said that matching a couple together would unlock the first additional ability, so there was no way I could just sit back.

Sure, my original plan involving the minor villain had fallen through.

But if I could help Lord Harbor find love, raise his affection level, and unlock my new ability at the same time, wouldn’t that be killing two birds with one stone?

“It’s a little embarrassing to say.”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. But believe it or not… I’m Cupid.”

“Cupid?”

“Cupid is… well… an angel who brings lovers together.”

“…Is that so?”

“I’ve successfully helped quite a few couples get together.”

Well… that had been back in my previous life.

Still, I figured love advice couldn’t be all that different here.

Fortunately, Lord Harbor seemed intrigued enough to believe me.

“The person I like is… Sir Claire.”

“Ah! Sir Claire!”

Another of Lysa’s direct subordinates—better known as Lysa’s shadow.

Now I finally understood why Lord Harbor had always been glued to Lysa’s side.

Then my job now is…

System

Target Locked!

(∩๑•ㅂ•)⊃→

Will you become

Rowen Harbor’s Cupid?

Yes  No

The notification window appeared in midair as soon as I organized my thoughts.

At last, the couple-matching project had officially begun.

* * *

“So… she had tea with Rowen Harbor.”

Rihardt’s gaze settled on the photograph lying on his desk.

It showed Amelie and Rowen Harbor sitting across from one another inside a tea house.

He had worked so hard to keep Amelie Garnet away from Rowen Harbor, unsure of what scheme she was plotting this time.

Yet somehow, the two had managed to meet and talk while he wasn’t around.

“Did it seem… like they arranged the meeting beforehand?”

“No, sir. We confirmed that Sir Harbor requested permission to go out on impulse that very day.”

“Anything suspicious? Did Rowen Harbor seem uncomfortable or upset?”

“Nothing of the sort. Ah… although Sir Harbor’s complexion changed several times. He turned pale, then red, then pale again. After that, he suddenly stood up in surprise.”

Even after hearing the report, Rihardt couldn’t begin to imagine what they had talked about.

Not only had they chosen a secluded tea house, but the escort knights had been stationed outside the building, making it impossible to overhear their conversation.

“What happened afterward?”

“The atmosphere remained pleasant throughout. Even after Lady Amelie left first, Sir Harbor showed no signs of displeasure.”

“If that’s how Rowen Harbor reacted, then there shouldn’t be a problem.”

Within the Knights Order, Rowen Harbor was famous for his deep admiration of Lysa.

If even he had spoken with Amelie without any ill feelings, there was little reason to be suspicious.

But she could simply be plotting something even more cunning than before.

Had Amelie Garnet ever openly tried to make Lysa’s life difficult?

No.

She always pretended to care about Lysa, acted pitiful, and used that as an excuse to stay close to her.

Just recently, she’d even caused Lysa to get injured, then spent several days bedridden under the pretense of having a fever.

After that, she’d shamelessly demanded that Lysa come visit her.

The real problem was that Lysa always defended Amelie, and no one else knew about her wicked deeds.

She was unbelievably crafty.

“How is her reputation within the Order?”

Rihardt’s blue eyes, which had briefly softened, sharpened once more.

“It’s excellent. The drinks and snacks she personally prepares almost every day are delicious, but more importantly, she’s friendly and cheerful. Everyone seems to welcome Lady Amelie.”

“Amelie Garnet… friendly?”

Ever since their Academy days, “friendly” had never been a word anyone could use to describe Amelie Garnet.

She’d always been physically frail, timid, overly sensitive, and forever hiding behind Lysa’s back.

Yet even Rihardt had noticed that she’d changed recently.

More specifically, ever since she woke up from the severe fever.

The way she looked at him and treated him had changed completely.

She no longer tried to strike up conversations with him.

Instead, she’d grown closer to Lysa and had begun approaching other people first.

As though she had become an entirely different person.

“I never realized how precious Lysa was all this time. There’s no friend better than Lysa.”

Suddenly, Amelie’s words echoed through his mind.

People often said that surviving the brink of death could change someone.

Perhaps that midsummer fever—which supposedly even dogs wouldn’t catch—had truly brought the frail Amelie Garnet to death’s door.

Maybe she’d genuinely reflected on herself.

“…Ha. As if.”

Rihardt immediately cut off the thought.

He had endured far too much to believe in such an idealistic redemption.

“There’s no way Amelie Garnet has changed.”

“If anything, she’s simply putting on an even more ridiculous act.”

People don’t change.

Least of all those blinded by selfish, one-sided love.

That was the conclusion he had reached.