It was the next day.

Early in the morning, a high-end carriage arrived at Count Rostri’s residence. At that moment, Laria was busy sending letters here and there when she was startled and rushed outside.

The unexpected guest who arrived at the Count’s residence without an appointment was none other than Evan.

“…Evan?”

Evan was now dressed quite elegantly unlike when he was holding a sword at the training ground yesterday. Even though he had one more year until adulthood, his stature was large, and his face was mature, making him look like a handsome man entering a wedding venue, dressed in full formal clothing.

“What brings you here so suddenly?”

“Laria.”

Evan, who had descended from the carriage, scratched his chin as if somewhat embarrassed while having the same blunt expression as usual.

“I originally planned to send a letter.”

Laria blinked for a moment, then burst into a soft laugh. It seemed he had taken her words about not receiving a letter from her quite seriously.

“What, you were pondering over what to write in the letter and then decided it would be better to come here and speak to me in person?”

“…Huh? What’s going on?”

Just then, the door to the Count’s residence opened, and Fred rushed out in a hurry. He was in such a rush that even his glasses were askew.

“Evan Icard!”

Fred’s purple eyes were wide with anger. Despite the close bond they had, as if they were real brothers in their younger years, he shouted and even pointed his fingers at him now.

“Leave, won’t you! Huh!”

In their younger years, Laria, Fred, and Evan had grown up together like real siblings. Therefore, regardless of rank or position, they always spoke comfortably and got along without any formalities. So, when Fred shouted and pointed at Evan, it was thought to be just an expression of their close relationship.

“Are you here to take Laria somewhere?! I’m going too!”

When Fred shouted and even rolled his eyes, Laria, who had been silently observing him, calmly responded.

“Brother should be attending your law classes.”

“I absolutely won’t let you take Laria away by yourselves! What if there’s a strange atmosphere!”

Upon hearing this, Evan, who had been keeping the same expression and his arm crossed, tilted his head and asked.

“What kind of atmosphere?”

“Th, th, that…”

Fred hesitated for a moment, then brushed his pink hair.

“Laria is cute, pretty, and smart! Dangerous guys who have foolish ideas are starting to cling to her, and now you…”

Evan’s initially calm red eyes began to shine ominously.

Looking at Fred seriously, he asked.

“Who are these dangerous guys you’re talking about? Are they among those foolish guys who exchange letters with Laria?”

Despite the fact that Evan was probably the most dangerous one among them, even Fred rolled his eyes as Evan quickly seemed to ask for a name. While it wasn’t to protect the names racing through his mind, it took some time because he was calculating how he could get himself out of any potential problems.

At that moment, Laria, who had been gazing at the two of them with a pitiable look, spoke abruptly.

“Go inside, Brother. The teacher has arrived, right?”

“It’s not about the class right now…”

“How much does that private class cost?”

Laria pretended to look at her watch and continued.

“Six hundred silver for ten minutes, right?”

“Iick…”

“Wow, that law teacher would probably sit quietly, have snacks, and charge six hundred silver for it. We could save a hundred silver if you go right now!”

“Th, then…”

As expected, what instinctively motivated Fred was money. He shouted as if he wouldn’t yield.

“Laria, don’t go either. I absolutely can’t leave you alone with that guy! Where on earth are you going?”

Evan shrugged his shoulders and answered.

“We’re going to a jewelry shop. I’m here to gift Laria some jewelry for her debutante.”

“….”

Evan didn’t miss the fact that Fred’s pupils were trembling.

“I’m planning to buy everything, from necklaces to earrings and even hair ornaments, all at once. Of course, I’ve made a reservation at a high-end shop.”

“….”

“Since the reservations are fully booked, we have to go right now. If we rebook, we might miss out on limited edition items…”

“…Have a safe trip.”

In the end, Fred surrendered to the word ‘limited edition.’ Of course, Laria’s threatening glare that seemed to say, ‘If you don’t let me go, I’ll kill you’ also played a role.

“So, shall we go?”

Evan, who easily defeated Fred, extended his hand to Laria.

With slightly surprised eyes, she placed her hand in his. Although they had seen each other practically every day since childhood, this was the first time he had come to the Count’s residence himself and escorted her all the way to the carriage.

Evan’s outstretched hand was large and thick, and she suddenly realized how much bigger he was than her. He had dressed up as if he had planned it carefully. He looked elegant, with the bright morning sunlight sparkling behind him.

She felt a slight tremor in his hand.

Fred, who had been watching their joined hands, couldn’t stand it any longer and shouted as if he couldn’t take it.

“Wa, wait, stop!”

As Evan and Laria stared at him as if to ask what was going on, Fred huffed and then added.

“…Get her a bracelet too.”

* * *

The place Evan took Laria was a shop that specialized in rubies. Laria’s eyes widened as she saw such large and sparkling rubies for the first time.

“These are Avonitar’s rubies, a truly remarkable ruby-producing area. A new mine was discovered, and many high-quality rubies have entered the market.”

“Wow, they’re really pretty.”

Laria was captivated by the ruby necklace and then tilted her head.

“But do you only sell rubies here? What about emeralds…?”

At that, Evan, who had been absentmindedly looking at a pamphlet, suddenly interjected.

“Green doesn’t suit your eye color.”

“…Really? What about sapphires?”

“Sapphires look too gloomy.”

“…But Matilda’s eye color is blue.”

“Well, eye color and gemstone color are unrelated.”

Evan swiftly changed his stance, seemingly unaffected by what he had just said about emeralds not matching Laria’s eye color. He switched to an unexpressive face.

While Laria was still looking puzzled, a shop assistant smiled and showed her a pair of earrings.

“We heard that you wanted to give debutante jewelry to your lover. How about these earrings? They are made of precious rubies named ‘Promise of Love’.”

Evan placed the pamphlet down and replied.

“We’re not lovers, but let’s go with those.”

“But…”

Just as Laria was about to request to see something else, the shop assistant smiled and added, “This is the most expensive earring we have.”

“I’ll take this one.”

Before the shop assistant even finished speaking, Laria had made up her mind. And just like that, she received a set of ruby jewelry from the store labeled with adjectives like ‘limited edition’ and ‘most expensive.’

Evan offered to buy everything in the shop, but Laria refused, citing the cost to keep it.

“Thank you, Evan.”

Laria smiled brightly.

“I’ll get you a nice gift when you become an adult too.”

“What…”

Evan responded somewhat awkwardly, his gaze shifting elsewhere.

“Won’t you do your debutante?”

“Yes, I’ll do that. I haven’t decided on the jewelry yet, but that’s okay.”

The shop assistant offered to package all the jewelry and send it to Countt Rostri, but Laria declined. She had a reasonable reason that if it ended up in her father’s hands, it might disappear in some gambling den.

With the jewelry in hand, she got back into the carriage with Evan.

“Now it’s lunchtime. If it’s okay with your schedule, shall we have lunch outside?”

Evan blushed as he crossed his arms. He still avoided eye contact with her.

“Just, you know, for a simple meal… I’ve booked Estrint Restaurant here… and afterward, we can have tea time…”

“Evan?”

Laria opened her mouth in bewilderment.

“Estient Restaurant is the most famous place in the Capital, and you’ve rented it out just for a simple meal?”

She then chuckled.

“Actually, I had a place in mind for lunch, but it probably won’t do. How much is the rent? Let’s have lunch together.”

Sure, it might be even less than his weekly allowance, but it was obviously a significant amount of money.

Laria narrowed her eyes and continued.

“Though there can’t be any schedules after that. There’s really somewhere I need to go.”

“…Somewhere to go? Where is that?”

Evan looked at Laria with furrowed brows. Suddenly, he thought that the Duchy Icard’s carriage was smaller than he’d expected. Her face was too close to his.

As his ears slightly reddened, Laria answered.

“Ah, well. Still, it’s not a place you’d be interested in. It’s a card house.”

His eyes widened at her words.

A card house was a social gathering place where young nobles of Evan’s age engaged in light gambling.

__