I Think My Fiancé Has Regressed

Chapter 43: You are a really annoying person (3)

“Charlotte Francis.”

Ariana’s serious voice left me speechless for a moment.

I don’t even remember what I was thinking.

Her presence was enough to make me feel overwhelmed.

There was a lot of pressure coming from such a ‘sophisticated’ Ariana, and there was no way a Young Lady, who was just starting out in the social world, could compete with her.

Oh, my God, I owe her an apology.

If I don’t apologize for the rude remark I just made, I’m going to get a bitter taste in my mouth from her, just like everyone else.

If Ariana criticized my appearance at this point, I didn’t think I could ever get back on my feet.

“You know, I have something I need to tell you.”

“It’s ………….”

Just getting the single syllable out under pressure, I felt my breath catch in my throat.

My legs weren’t off the floor, so all I could do was prepare myself.

I was nervous to see what Ariana would say to get my luck going, but what she said was a little different than I expected.

“I’m sorry about what just happened at the ball, I was just being rude.”

At the apologetic expression that came out of Ariana’s mouth, I blurted out a questioning response.

“…What?”

“When I asked if I could touch your hair, I didn’t mean it in a bad way.

It was just something I said as a compliment after seeing Charlotte’s beautiful hair, but in retrospect, I realized that I said something very insensitive. I should not have opened my mouth considering that it might hurt you….”

“…….”

“With all due respect, I hope you can forgive me for my offense….and if possible, I hope you’ll continue to be friends with me in the future.”

I was expecting to be called out for my rude comment and then walking away, but instead I got a sincere apology from Ariana.

I felt like I was finally getting to know the real Ariana, the one who had seemed so strange or scary.

“Oh, no, I’m sorry, I was just being rude….”

“Thank you for forgiving me, and I hope we can be on good terms in the future, young Charlotte.”

“I, for one, am….I’ll take care of you, young Ariana….”

And so began a friendship with Ariana that has continued to this day.

“…But are you sure you don’t want me to touch your hair?”

“It’s ……?”

Of course, it would take a bit more time before Ariana and I could call ourselves friends.

* * *

While that incident was the beginning of my relationship with Ariana, there was a defining moment that led me to call her my best friend.

To tell that story, I’d have to tell you about my fiancé, Eamon.

Now, Eamon and I are both fiercely in love with each other, and we whisper our affection into each other’s ears whenever we can.

As is often the case with arranged marriages, there was a time when we misunderstood our feelings for each other.

It’s not that I didn’t have good feelings for Prince Eamon at the time.

It’s just that the things I said to get to know him weren’t the best things to say, and the more we talked, the more the young Prince Eamon seemed to feel overwhelmed by me.

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t help but wonder if he didn’t like the way I looked, even though I hadn’t done anything wrong.

“Hah….”

So there I was, groggy, trying to sort through my thoughts and thinking about my meeting with Prince Eamon the next day.

My bed was already occupied by someone else, so I was forced to sit at my desk and try to clear my head.

“Ah, Charlotte, do you have the next volume of this grimoire by any chance?”

“Yes……..”

The sight of Ariana lying in bed, reading a spellbook I’d paid for out of my own pocket, was now so ridiculous that I couldn’t help but laugh.

Half a year ago, when she had asked me if we could be friends instead of just acquaintances, I had said yes on a whim.

Ariana had a very different idea of what it meant to be friends, one that was completely different from what I knew.

She barged into people’s homes uninvited and took books from my personal library at will.

Messing with my made bed and bothering me, apparently, was what she understood friendship to mean.

Now that she had been repeating these behaviors for almost a few months, my perception of her was slowly changing.

From someone I was grateful for seeing me in an unbiased light for the first time, I was slowly reverting back to my original first impression: annoying.

“…It’s in the second drawer of my desk.”

“Oke…thank you, Charlotte.”

And yet, I couldn’t help but feel like I was being rude to her.

After all, she’s the princess of the Ducal House of Anastasia, and the fiancée of the next king, Prince Alexandros.

It would do neither me nor my house any good to fall out with her.

Especially since Prince Alexandros’ younger brother is Prince Eamon, it could cause problems for him and my engagement.

I’ve been trying to get closer to him, little by little, and I wouldn’t feel good about breaking it off for such a trivial reason.

And then again…I still owe Ariana a favor.

The way Ariana stood up to the young ladies who were talking behind my back that day is something that, looking back on it now, I can’t help but feel good about.

Looking back on it, I might even forgive her for her current level of rudeness….

“Oops, found book 5!”

…Although, when I see her like that, I have to wonder if she’s the same Ariana from back then.

It’s kind of funny to see her enjoying books on arcane magic when the only magic she can use is dark magic in the first place.

“…….”

Come to think of it, Arianna was known for being quite close to her fiancé, Prince Alexandros.

Prince Alexandros, who doesn’t change his expression in front of other young ladies, openly shows his emotions in front of Ariana.

And Ariana, who had never been known for her manners, was forced to become a much more modest young lady in his presence.

I’m not sure what they saw in each other that made them fall in love, but they were certainly a pair to behold.

Of course, a man like Prince Alexandros is not my cup of tea at all.

He’s one of the most inscrutable people I’ve ever met, and people who are one thing on the outside and another on the inside are my least favorite kind of people.

So I was quite content, with no shortage of emotion, to discover that my current fiancé was Prince Aemon.

Because unlike Prince Alexandros, Prince Eamon is a pure person who I don’t think I could ever call a liar.

Not only is he quite cute on the outside, but the smile he sometimes shows me makes my heart feel healed.

So I’ve been trying to get to know him better, if possible, but my game plan hasn’t always worked out.

Maybe I should change my makeup or perfume. Should I actively demonstrate my competence?

Or would it be best to curry favor with Prince Eamon purely by praising him. It was a frustrating time because I didn’t know what to do.

“You seem troubled, Charlotte.”

“…Ariana?”

Ariana, who had come to stand in front of me, now that I was thinking about how to get Prince Eamon to favor me, asked me with a serious face.

“What is troubling you? Let me help you, Charlotte.”

“Don’t mind me. I don’t really want Ariana’s help.”

“Well, if it’s something that’s on your mind right now, Charlotte…Oh, is it Prince Eamon’s?”

“Yes……..”

“By the look on your face, it must be.”

Ariana’s insights, which were sometimes so spot-on despite her seeming foolishness, made me wonder if this person could really read minds.

Maybe I need to work on hiding my emotions.

I thought I was pretty good at not showing my emotions on my face, but it seems like even this much is enough to get me caught by Ariana.

“Well, so what? You don’t know Ariana, but these are normal concerns for a fiancé!”

“Well, Charlotte is quite fond of Prince Eamon, but Prince Eamon is feeling a bit overwhelmed by Charlotte, isn’t he?

I know a way to ease Prince Eamon’s pressure on Charlotte, and get her to favor him, would you like to hear it?”

“…….”

To be honest, I didn’t really want to hear it.

I hadn’t really thought that any relationship advice coming out of this innocent woman’s mouth would be any good in the first place.

But everything I’d ever done to Prince Eamon had always backfired, so I grasped at straws and listened.

“Uh, tell me about it.”

In hindsight, this could not have been a better decision.