A Pack of Dholes (3)
I could say this with absolute certainty: it wasn't always like this between them.
Harnie had actually gotten along wonderfully with the other young ladies her age.
There were little frictions here and there, sure, but she'd never once been caught up in any real trouble.
Back in the past, on the day of a certain tournament.
Harnie, attending a gathering, learned that one of the young ladies around her had fallen in love.
"Lady Heli?"
"Yes, yes?"
"Honestly. Where were you looking just now? We agreed to guess who'd win this tournament, remember?"
"Oh, that... ahaha."
Lady Heli, flashing an awkward smile with a flushed face, mumbled some excuse and let the moment pass.
But there was no fooling the eyes of the other ladies.
Watching Heli's gaze drift back, again and again, to that spot with a dazed expression, they all reached the same conclusion.
A girl had fallen in love.
After that, the girls teased Heli with mischievous grins.
"The way he smiles with those big, beautiful eyes... it's just so dashing."
The women erupted into a chorus of delighted squealing.
High society was, after all, a gathering of women, and so it went without saying that their favorite topic of conversation was men.
Watching the lovestruck girl's honest confession, they offered both sympathy and the same well-worn advice.
"He looks like he'll place well this tournament. Why not confess to him once it's over?"
"C-confess?"
"Of course. Lady Delina herself said no one has a claim on that young man yet."
"But..."
"I've seen him often, and he's definitely unattached. You two would make a rather lovely pair, and honestly, women who make the first move are quite fashionable these days, you know?"
Love, above all things, needed a connection to take root.
Every woman present believed without a shred of doubt that a beautiful couple was about to be born right there.
Of course, that everyone included—
"Lady Harnie will help too, won't you? You said you know that young man best of all."
"Yes. Of course."
—Harnie as well.
The tournament ended, and the brown-haired young man in lane 3 claimed the championship. Holding the sacred flame aloft, he now needed someone to receive this honor.
He would surely dedicate the flame to his parents, the women surmised.
But then, a variable appeared.
The boy was striding straight toward them.
The women clutched their chests and whispered behind their hands.
Could it be?
Oh my. Something that romantic?
Is it really going to unfold this sweetly?
Lady Heli seized her chance, stepping forward to offer him her handkerchief. She had shown her banner—declaring her feelings existed—before this whole conversation had even begun.
If he had come because he knew that, then the scene of a romance novel was quite literally unfolding before her eyes.
Lady Heli's heart was pounding with unbearable tension.
Her heart thundered in her chest.
Perhaps, just perhaps, the boy had learned of her feelings and was coming to her.
However.
"To Lady Harnie, who graced this occasion with her presence, I dedicate the glory of my victory."
The boy passed right by Lady Heli, standing beside her, and knelt before Harnie.
Worse still, this was no mere genuflection.
"I have adored you for a very long time. I know that you comforted me when I was too shy to speak, and cheered me on, telling me never to give up. That is why I meant to repay you by winning this tournament."
With a flourish—
"Lady Harnie. Please, be with me."
The boy held out the champion's flame with trembling hands.
It was a confession.
Flustered, Harnie turned her eyes toward Lady Heli.
Lady Heli's face was buried under a deep, heavy shadow.
The boy's confession was, of course, refused.
And then—
"Lady Heli! Lady Heli!"
Harnie chased after Lady Heli, who had fled the scene in tears.
"So this is where you were. Let's talk. Please?"
"Talk about what? About how you comforted me and cheered me on? And then you claim you'll help me... Honestly, what a mean-spirited prank."
"It was all a misunderstanding on his part! I gave them to every single participant—I only delivered his separately because he arrived late to register. And unlike you, Lady Heli, I never gave him any token at all!"
"Then why does he keep coming to you? What was all that talk, then? Was his claim of loving you for years a lie too?!"
Tears of fury streaming down her face, Heli rounded on Harnie in a venomous tirade.
"Ha, haha! You must have had such fun toying with me? It must have been hilarious, watching the man I enchanted fall in love with someone else."
"Lady Heli!"
"You spiteful witch...!"
Harnie protested desperately, insisting over and over that it wasn't true, that it could never be true—but the conversation went nowhere.
From that day on, the incident became the hottest scandal in high society, and Harnie became the enemy of every woman in the empire.
Her explanations accomplished nothing.
No matter how she insisted on her innocence, that she had never once loved a man, all she received in return was retaliation from the malicious and the sneering laughter of Heli, standing at the center of the pack.
Having dredged up her grievances from years past, Harnie let out a long, heavy sigh.
"After that, the ugly rumors began to spread, little by little. That I was flirting with other men, that I seduced men and then set the other women on them—stories like that were passed around."
"There was no definitive evidence to prove otherwise?"
"There was."
"Then you could have simply shown it."
"...I couldn't show it. That was the problem."
"Pardon?"
"Honestly. Who just pulls out love letters and waves them around? Can you imagine? Here, look at these?"
"...Ah."
Of all the evidence it had to be.
It was proof of a kind that existed but could never be displayed. Showing it might well have poured fuel on the fire instead.
"In any case, even with evidence in hand, I couldn't show it. I tried to clear my name by insisting I loved no one, but it was useless."
"I see."
What came after was easy to imagine.
She must have been through absolute hell.
The ostracism alone would have made setting foot in high society unbearable.
Any hint of a man in the conversation and scandal would latch onto Harnie instantly, followed by more of that vicious, retaliatory cruelty.
Exaggeration and distortion come standard with gossip.
Inflating and twisting a story is hardly difficult, and with an entire pack openly hostile toward her, turning that tide would have been impossible.
And somehow, I can relate to every bit of this.
It was a strange moment indeed, finding his own torment from his school days unexpectedly useful.
"The reason you asked me to play your lover today—because you ran into those women on the street. Or rather, I'd wager you already knew they'd be here."
"Yes. Shaking off the arranged marriage and snaring the men went well enough, but I didn't think it through. I should have tracked their movements in advance and given you warning too..."
"So it was too late."
"...Yes."
Harnie didn't deny it.
The late news was, on reflection, understandable.
The largest Snowflower Festival in history is being held—of course she'd be run off her feet.
She was trying to break away from the Theresia Marquisate, after all. With the festival throwing the nobility into such an uproar that they were staging fake fireworks, it was obvious her side would be just as overwhelmed.
"Um... Lord Karsein?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you. For... helping me."
Harnie pressed her hands together and offered her thanks with utter sincerity.
Good grief. I really can't get used to this.
It was a gratitude with nothing else attached—clean and pure.
As Karsein, and as Kim Minhyuk.
He had never once managed to adjust to things like this.
"That's... a considerable debt, then. If trouble ever finds you, don't hesitate to tell me. I'll help however I can, within my means."
"I hardly think it's that serious."
"No. It truly is, truly an enormous debt. I can't tell you why—circumstances—but it is."
Her attitude made it clear she intended to repay any help in full.
In that case...
Karsein decided to push this bargain one step further.
"Then from now on, just tell me about things like this."
"Pardon?"
"When I said we were in the same boat, I didn't say it idly. Now that I know your circumstances, helping you helps me too—if I can manage it, that arrangement is far better for everyone."
"But that..."
"That year is precious time for me as well. Since it has to be a complete success, nothing can go wrong on your end either."
Harnie's violet eyes widened rapidly.
She was silent for a long while after that, and then a faint smile crossed her lips.
"You're right. Helping each other is far better."
She glanced quickly around, checking for listening ears, and spoke again.
"But there's something I still have to say."
And from the lips of that faintly smiling girl came, once more, a word she wasn't used to saying.
"Thank you, Karsein."
***
The conversation with Harnie wrapped up without incident.
No one had been eavesdropping, and the work had showcased House Bagrand's power just enough—nothing to worry about there.
Still, I judged that heading back like this might leave things feeling unfinished between us.
And so—
"We should probably enjoy the festival a bit."
"Shall we enjoy the festival a bit, then?"
—we reached that conclusion.
It was a little absurd, watching her pout and ask why I was parroting her own words, though.
"I'm about to try borrowing the guide's power, so what should we enjoy first?"
"Hmm..."
Truthfully, I had no idea either.
But in the Memorials holding Karsein's memories... this particular street had seemed fairly popular.
We walked straight down it, and soon came upon the very shop where Flora had won her teddy bear earlier.
The shopkeeper recognized me and called out.
"Well, well. If it isn't the young lord who won the prize earlier, back again! And the lovely lady beside you... don't tell me...?"
Harnie squeezed her eyes shut.
Well, someone had to say it. What else could I do?
"She's my fiancée."
"Ohhh...!"
At the word fiancée, the man's eyes lit up in an instant.
"You gave a gift to your little sister earlier, and now you're here to win one for your fiancée?"
"Huh? Prize? What do you mean?"
"Ah, you see, my lord—for your little sister earlier, you took her penalty upon yourself and created a chance for her, with your own two hands!"
"Good heavens... Karsein, you...?!"
"And not content with that, when your sister had lost all her chances, you spent your very last one to win the prize and tucked that teddy bear into her arms—it's the talk of the street, truly!"
As the moved man sniffled and recounted the story of how I'd handed the bear to Flora, Harnie looked at me like she couldn't believe a word of it.
"And here I thought you were a sly old serpent. I was wrong, wasn't I?"
"What exactly do you take me for?"
"I told you already. A sly old serpent."
Excuse me.
You do realize we're playing lovers right now, don't you?
How can you say things like that?
I shot her a signal with my eyes, and only then did Harnie shrug with a look of utter innocence, as if it had nothing to do with her.
"So it's the lady's turn this time, is it? My, my."
I hadn't actually said I'd play again, but it seemed I wouldn't be leaving this spot right away after all.
Harnie's eyes were already sparkling, her attention entirely fixed on the game.
Left with no choice, I explained the game to her.
"Ooh, this looks fun! A few of them caught my eye, so I'll have to win one before we go!"
"...Did you actually hear a word I said?"
"Of course. I just have to control the marble well, right?"
She hadn't heard a word.
Fine. I'd just let her suffer through it.
A short while later.
Harnie burned through both of her chances without winning a thing.
"How can this beee..."
"There you go! One fish cake, as ordered."
"Ugh."
Eating her last fish cake, Harnie continued to glare laser beams at prize number four.
Unlike Arina and Claire, who had breathed fire from their tongues over the spiciness, Harnie ate fairly well, so I wasn't worried on that front.
Except—
"I have to win it..."
Harnie, it seemed, had her heart set on that prize.
Number four, huh...
Well, no helping it.
"Would it be possible for me to eat the fish cake in her place and receive the chance instead?"
"Pardon?"
"The young lord, you say? Hm..."
The merchant studied me and Harnie in turn for a long moment, then—
"I believe that could be arranged. But I'll have to attach one condition?"
"Which is?"
"The two of you must split the fish cake between you."
He set down his condition.
Split the fish cake? Share it?
It wasn't as though he was asking one person to eat two.
The spice genuinely didn't suit the imperial palate—quite a few people had given up their chances rather than eat it as a penalty, after all. So the "split it" condition made a rough sort of sense.
But that rule doesn't apply to me.
And Harnie ate spicy food fairly well too.
This was, for all intents and purposes, just handing us a free chance.
"That's it? Easy enough."
"What?! W-wait just a moment! K-Karsein?!"
I picked up the fish cake and ate the first half without ceremony.
Then, after chewing down exactly half, I held out the rest to Harnie.
"Eat just this and you get the chance, right? Trust me and go on."
"Wh—no, I... um..."
"Is there a problem?"
"What on earth goes on in that head of yours...!"
What now. What is it this time.
What in the world could possibly be the problem?