The problem was what came next.

“Lise, we need to talk, don’t we?”

As soon as I entered the room, Felicia and Silke charged at me.

“……”

“Lise.”

“I have nothing to talk about.”

“What? Hey, stay right there!”

Sensing danger, I fled, and the two sisters chased after me. Their faces were horrific, especially Felicia, who had reconciled with me just minutes ago but was now charging at me as if she wanted to kill me.

“Don’t chase me! I didn’t take anything!”

“Don’t lie! We know you have a box behind you!”

“Exactly!”

I had hidden the box, but it was useless. Both seemed to have been watching Yurik and me and already knew about the box. Though I was running away, the sisters had longer arms and matured bodies.

Just then, someone suddenly appeared in front of me and intercepted my box. Swell looked at me with a smirking face and opened the box without giving me a chance to stop him. I was in trouble!

“Don’t look! It’s filled with gunpowder!”

“What kind of stupid… Ahh!”

Ignoring my lie, Swell tried to look inside the box, so I threw myself at him.

“Lise, Swell!”

With Bernard’s scream, Swell and I toppled to the floor.

Though my body was sore, I had protected the box. I seized it back from Swell and kept it securely in my arms. Swell seemed even more betrayed by my desperate actions.

“Hey, Lise! What’s your relationship with that guy? Huh?”

“We’re friends!”

“His gaze seemed very strange, as if he’d even give his soul for you! And what’s this about gunpowder? It seemed like there were roses and a ring in there!”

He was right.

Felicia grabbed Swell’s shoulder as I became alert.

“Swell, stop it. Lise clearly doesn’t like it. And can you imagine Yurik Fenton giving roses and a ring to Lise? Even if they’re close, we’re talking about the Marsens and the Fentons. Also, the eversoproud Yurik would never gift flowers and a ring to someone.”

He was wrong. The box contained a ring and roses.

“……Even you tried to take the box.”

“What. I would never do something so barbaric.”

Swell, now seemingly the only bad guy, grumbled. I was also puzzled by Felicia’s sudden change of tone.

“Lise, I won’t try to snatch or peek into the box. Instead, will you tell me the story of how you became close to Yurik? Every little detail, without skipping a thing. Okay?”

“A story like a play?”

Swell reacted to Felicia’s words. Felicia clasped her hands and smiled shyly.

“Think about it, Swell. Remember the play we watched last year? A daughter and son from families that didn’t get along fell in love away from the eyes of the adults. The process was so beautiful and touching, wasn’t it? They almost had a tragic end, but ultimately they shared perfect love.”

“Why bring that up now?”

“Stupid Swell! There’s an actual story like the play, and it’s about my own sibling!”

The moment Felicia finished speaking, Swell’s gaze turned to me. It was a look that asked if I had such a relationship with Yurik. Before I could deny it, Felicia approached me.

“Lise, just answer my questions with yes or no.”

“……”

It seemed there would be dire consequences if I didn’t respond.

“Don’t worry. I won’t ask sensitive questions. First, did you have a bad first impression of Yurik?”

“……Yes.”

“And you became close through some incident?”

“Yes.”

“Do Roger and Yurik know each other?”

“Yes.”

“So, are Roger and Yurik on bad terms? Are they not jealous and competitive with each other?”

“……I’m not sure, but it seems so.”

The play about the romance between aristocratic young men and women was also something I had seen. It was a storyline that I had seen frequently, so it was more memorable. That play was about the daughter and son of feuding families.
The first meeting between the two was neither fated nor pleasant. It was only natural, as the families didn’t get along. Their emotions began on their third encounter, but not just their families—the childhood friend who had a crush on the female lead, Lise Marsen, also posed an obstacle.

“How similar to a play. Lise, for the record, I like romantic love and won’t interfere with yours. Perhaps my role is similar to ‘Lata’? Swell might be closer to the role of ‘Porta’.”

Lata is an accomplice who helps the female lead with her love, while Porta was like her older brother by two years, an antagonist who interfered with his sister’s love.

Felicia was engrossed in that play and the reality like that play. She showed her will to block all upcoming crises and trials, as if she became the character Lata.

“Hey, Lise. Where are you going?”

Swell caught me as I tried to sneak out.

“I’ll go to my room for a bit.”

“Lise, you’re really not involved with Yurik in that way, are you?”

“No, don’t worry, even if it’s true.”

“……?”

“Reality is not a play.”

Having said that, I returned to my room, pondering where to hide the box.

‘Only here, I guess?’

I opened the bottom drawer. Pushing the inner wall made the wooden board rotate, revealing a new space.

It was a mechanism I had created to hide books or items from Isabelle. I planned to store the ring there without wearing it.