Chapter 4: Love Interest #2

 

 

 

Chapter 4: Love Interest #2

 

THE tea party was held at the palace garden, a spacious area reserved exclusively for special events. The land was flat and a sweeping vista extended as far as the eye could see. At the center was a large pond, surrounded on all sides by carefully placed shrubs, a babbling brook, and even a little man-made waterfall—symmetrical and beautiful to an exact degree, like a formal French garden.

The spring sun shone down through the leafy tree branches, highlighting the fields of bright white flowers at Iris’s feet, probably in reference to HanaKoro’s subtitle: When the Pale Petals Fall.

How thematically appropriate.

Iris found Prince Reseda surrounded by a coterie of high-born young ladies. As Iris and Nigel approached, the girls all scrutinized her as if assessing her threat level. As for her brother, he was the handsome heir to a long legacy of knights, so it came as no surprise that they were interested in him, too.

Amazing! It’s just like the game! Iris had never experienced anything like this in her past life, and part of her was thrilled.

“Hey there, Nigel.”

“Allow me to introduce my twin sister, Iris.”

Reseda and Nigel were peers in sword training; their informal rapport had all the girls staring. And since Iris was standing right next to them, their eyes all bored into her as well.

They want a villainess? I’ll give them a villainess! The girls watched in disgust as Iris performed a flawless curtsy. Then she smiled despite herself. It was all so cliché… Apparently Iris was born with a talent for villainy. And it was actually kind of fun!

As Reseda stood there, surrounded by noble girls on all sides, he smiled brightly. Sure enough, he was nice to anyone and everyone, just like in the game…and knowing what Iris knew, it was downright frightening.

“It’s truly a pleasure to meet you, Lady Iris. Nigel has told me all about you. How are you feeling on this fine day?” he asked, his smile unwavering.

“Terribly grateful for your concern, Your Highness. I imagine Nigel has told you everything you could possibly need to know, so I won’t waste your time by repeating it.”

Just like that, Iris brought the conversation to a screeching halt. All the other girls were scandalized by her impropriety, but she paid them no mind—Iris needed him to hate her as much as possible, but without doing anything that would constitute a punishable offense. And thanks to her memories of HanaKoro, she knew this level of rudeness was something Reseda was willing to tolerate. Still, her heart thumped in her chest.

As Iris turned to make her exit, one of the girls standing behind Reseda called out to her, her mouth concealed behind a fan. Before Iris contracted soilpox, she had met with this girl at tea parties a handful of times in the past, but naturally, once Iris got sick, she never heard from the girl again.

“My, what stunning gloves you’re wearing. I’d love to see them up close.”

At this, all the girls giggled and Iris knew why. In her elbow-length opera gloves, she was conspicuously overdressed for the occasion. They must have intuited that Iris was hiding her soilpox scars, and now, they were having a laugh at her expense. Scowling internally, Iris instead donned a soft smile.

“Certainly, by all means.”

Iris gracefully offered the girl her left hand. The girl hesitated for a moment. Then she reluctantly pinched the tip of the glove between her fingers, using the fabric as a shield to avoid touching any part of Iris’s body, as if suggesting she was unclean.

This was the sort of hostile treatment Iris had endured prior to HanaKoro’s start. She must have used Camille as an outlet for her own insecurities.

Rage welled up within Iris. Now that her symptoms were gone and she had recovered, she was no longer contagious. Didn’t the girl know that? Or was she treating Iris like a germ on purpose? Either way, it was incredibly cruel.

Iris pulled her left arm out of the glove, leaving it to fall from the girl’s fingers. The other girls shrieked as Iris’s soilpox scars came into view.

Iris pulled off her right glove and held it out, sneering defiantly like the villainess she was. “If you find them so charming, you may keep them. I’ve no real use for them myself.”

The girl flung Iris’s right glove to the ground and stormed off. Likewise, the other girls awkwardly shuffled away, some of them chasing after their angry friend.

“Hmph,” Iris scoffed. That was an impressively villainous display just now, if I do say so myself. High-handed arrogance came naturally to her, it seemed.

A young maid ran over and picked up Iris’s gloves.

“I’ll have this servant wash them and return them to you posthaste,” Reseda declared.

“Oh, that won’t be necessary. You may simply dispose of them,” Iris told her.

The maid stared at her in shock. Iris smiled at her. It was an understandable reaction, considering what the gloves were worth.

“Or I’ll give them to you instead, if you would be interested. Perhaps you have no use for gloves, but surely you could make something of the fabric? I assure you, you won’t get sick from touching them…but if the thought frightens you, by all means, throw them in the fire.”

“N-No, my lady, I’m not frightened in the least!” The maid eagerly clutched the gloves to her chest.

“I sincerely apologize for the scandal I’ve caused, Your Highness,” Iris said to Reseda.

“It’s fine.”

He smiled back at her so sweetly, it made Iris recoil. Smiles as charming as his were lethal weapons in their own right. Uh-oh…is he mad at me?

Iris had figured she was fine, seeing as he never got upset with “Iris” in HanaKoro, but maybe he only let her off the hook because she was his fiancée… If so, then she had possibly just earned herself a scathing rebuke. After all, nothing could possibly be more shameful than making a scene at the royal palace!

Oh god, oh god, oh god! What if I get myself killed way before any of the game’s routes ever have the opportunity?!

With one final apology, Iris hastily retreated to a bench near the pond. Her brother came running after her. “Iris, are you all right?”

“G-Good question…” Iris started to worry that they might charge her with lese-majesty.

“I’ll have a servant bring you some new gloves.”

“Oh, you mean this? It might bother other people, but it doesn’t bother me,” Iris replied, waving her left arm around. After the scandal she caused, there was no point in trying to hide it any longer. Instead, she was going to lean into it. “Do you think Father will be terribly upset?”

“If it doesn’t bother you, I don’t think it will bother him.” Nigel shrugged.

“What about you? If it shames you to see that your sister’s been punished by God, I’ll gladly hide it again.”

“No, I don’t mind it.” Smiling, he took her scarred left hand. “I’m just happy you survived.”

Awwww! Nigel, you little cinnamon roll! How could they give a sweetheart like you such a horrible, cruel ending?! Don’t you worry—I’m going to protect you!

“Thank you, Nigel.”

“Besides, it’ll work like bug repellent,” he continued with an impish grin.

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it: anyone who’d take issue with your scars will stay far, far away.”

“Now that you mention it, you’re completely right! Oh, Nigel, you’re a genius!”

Surely, Reseda must have seen her ugly scars during that exchange. Starting today, everyone would decide that Iris was “damaged goods” unworthy of His Highness. Suffice it to say, any hope she had of engagement to the prince was now snuffed out! YES!!!

In HanaKoro, Iris’s scars were her greatest flaw, but for me, they’re the ultimate weapon. Iris cackled in delight. Nigel shot her a weird look.

“But Iris…shouldn’t you be trying to win over Prince Reseda?” he asked stiffly.

“Father wants that, not me. But with scars like these, no royal family member would take me!” she exclaimed, holding up her left arm.

“You sound pretty happy about that,” Nigel snickered.

Neither of them noticed the young prince watching them as he stood surrounded by girls.