CHAPTER 48: VIOLA INVITATION

Long, silvery-gray hair and delicate features. My fiancée, Viola, was kneeling on the floor surrounded by scattered books. Judging by the scene, it looked like she’d tried to move too many at once and lost her balance.

When she noticed me, her violet eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Lord Louis...?"

"Are you alright?" I asked, stepping closer.

She tried to rise but winced sharply. "Ah..."

It was clear she had twisted her ankle—her movements were shaky and pained. Without thinking, I reached out and gently supported her arm, helping her to a nearby chair.

"Sit here. Don’t move too much."

After making sure she was seated, I went over to the counter and borrowed a first-aid kit from the librarian. When I returned, Viola looked at me with a faintly flustered expression.

"Thank you... but I’ve shown you such an embarrassing side of myself, Lord Louis," she said softly, a slight blush tinting her cheeks.

"Not at all," I replied, kneeling down to examine her ankle. "There’s no need to worry about it. Everyone trips once in a while."

She smiled faintly, though her voice was still tinged with embarrassment. "You’re kind as always."

"But, Lord Louis... are you injured? The bandage on your arm—"

"Oh, this?" I glanced at it casually.

The bandage was still visible from the duel and dungeon incident.

"It’s nothing serious," I said quickly, trying to sound nonchalant. "Just a small injury from training."

"I see..." she murmured softly, though her gaze lingered on the bandage around my arm a little longer than necessary.

"I wasn’t badly injured," I said quickly, scratching my cheek. "I received healing magic, so they said it won’t even leave a scar."

Viola gave a small nod at my words and then shifted slightly, lifting her foot to start wrapping a bandage around her ankle.

But—ah, that’s not how you do it.

Her movements were hesitant and clumsy, the bandage slipping loose each time she tried to tighten it. The wrapping was uneven and far too loose to provide proper support. Watching her fumble with it was... honestly painful.

At this rate, it wasn’t going to help her ankle at all.

"Let me do it," I said finally, unable to stand it any longer.

Before she could protest, I crouched down and gently took the bandage from her hands. My fingers moved automatically, wrapping it neatly and evenly around her slender ankle.

Her skin was warm under my touch.

As I worked, Viola tilted her head slightly, watching me with quiet eyes. Then she spoke.

"This reminds me of when we first met, Lord Louis."

"..."

Uh.

My hands froze mid-wrap.

’When we first met?’

I blinked, sweat beading at my temple. My mind immediately started racing, desperately digging through the fragments of Louis’s memories that I’d inherited.

But no matter how hard I searched, nothing came up.

"...Did I... do something wrong back then?" I asked cautiously, not daring to meet her gaze.

"...You don’t remember?"

Was it just me, or did her tone suddenly drop several degrees colder?

I kept my head down and focused intently on the bandage, pretending not to notice.

"Three years ago," she said quietly, "when we first met... didn’t you kick my ankle? I ended up spraining it, just like now."

"...Louis, you absolute idiot," I muttered under my breath.

Apparently, he hadn’t just disliked his fiancée—he’d actually gone and injured her.

Kicking a noble lady’s ankle during their first meeting? That wasn’t just rude—it was social suicide. It was a miracle he hadn’t been disowned on the spot.

’Was he trying to get the engagement canceled back then?’ I wondered silently.

Given Louis’s personality from what I remembered, it wasn’t impossible.

"...Lord Louis."

Her calm voice brought me back to the present.

"...Yes?" I answered carefully, looking up.

Viola was studying me quietly, her expression unreadable. Then she asked,

"Do you happen to have some time today?"

"I... do, actually. But why?" I tilted my head, uncertain where this was going.

She hesitated for a moment, then smiled faintly—though something in her eyes felt different from before.

"Then... would you accompany me for a while?"

An unexpected invitation.

And for some reason, I had a bad feeling that saying no wasn’t an option.

"Accompany you?" I repeated, blinking. "Where to?"

Viola tilted her head slightly, her silver hair swaying as she fastened the edge of her skirt. "You’ll see when we get there," she said, her tone light but her gaze firm. "It’s not far from here."

"...That sounds suspicious," I muttered, standing up.

"Suspicious?" She raised an eyebrow. "You make it sound like I’m about to drag you into a trap, Lord Louis."

I gave an awkward laugh. "Ah, no, of course not. I just—uh—don’t usually get surprise invitations from you, Lady Viola."

She crossed her arms and smirked faintly. "Well, consider this one a change of pace. You’ve been looking rather gloomy lately."

Gloomy? Me?

I wanted to argue, but she wasn’t entirely wrong. After the dungeon incident, Berno’s scolding, and the mountain of bandages, I probably did look like I’d been through a small war.

Still, I didn’t think she’d notice.

"...Alright," I said finally, rubbing the back of my neck. "I’ll go with you. But only because you asked nicely."

"I didn’t," she replied with a faint smile tugging at her lips.

I sighed in defeat. "Right, right. Lead the way then, my lady."

Honestly, I was a little worried. Part of me thought Viola might still be holding a grudge from that time three years ago—when I accidentally (well, mostly accidentally) kicked her ankle during sparring practice.

Thankfully, her reason for wanting to meet me wasn’t about revenge.

"You mean... old books?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," Viola nodded softly. "Didn’t you mention last time that you’d developed a new hobby, Lord Louis? As it happens, I have a book I’d like to give you as a gift."

Ah. That.

When I ran into Viola a few days ago in the library, I might’ve said something about being "interested in old books." It was just an excuse to keep her from asking too many questions about why I was lurking around the restricted section.

But apparently, she’d remembered it—perfectly.

Now, here I was, walking beside her while my brain scrambled for a way out.

’That was just a lie I made up on the spot,’ I thought helplessly.

In this world without phones or messaging spells, it wasn’t exactly easy to clarify things afterward. And even though we attended the same academy, she was in the Magic Department while I was in the Combat Division. Our schedules almost never overlapped.

In other words, the fact that we even ran into each other again was sheer coincidence.

And now she wanted to give me a gift because of a lie I’d told to avoid suspicion.

Great. Absolutely great.

’What am I supposed to do? Tell her, "Oh, that was just something I said, so I don’t actually care about old books"?’

Yeah, no. That’d be too awkward.

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Author Note:

Thank you for reading the Chapter. I hope you continue to do read more in future.

It’s my first novel, I hope you have loved it. Once again thanks.