CH 5

TBTPL Chapter 5

(Wow... Dietrich. He's real too...)

While Sylvia was alone and touched by the joy of meeting the man she had come to see, Dietrich had came over and immediately complained to Arthur.

“I have found you at last. Please don't run away, no matter how reluctant you are.”

“It's no use. I can't help it. But you've interrupted me at the most opportune moment, haven't you?”

”?”

Sylvia almost tilted her head for a moment when she saw that Arthur's tone was different from before, and then nodded her head yes.

Come to think of it, the honorific tone he just used was only when he was in knight mode.

When someone finds out that he was not a knight but a prince, he would change his tone back to his original one.

(Oh, yes. I see, there's a part of reality that's with the game... That might be a relief in a way.)

Too many different developments had happened from the beginning, so it was rather a relief to see things as they were originally set up.

“So you have apologised, but who is... this Lady?”

I was convinced, and before I knew it, the subject had shifted to me.

Dietrich and Arthur both looked at me, and I almost winced.

Sylvia was neither bashful nor confident enough to withstand the glittering beauty of the two male leads.

...Though I had the spirit.

Sylvia managed to hold back the urge to scream and smiled.

“My name is Sylvia Lievert. Please make my acquaintance.”

I bowed my head politely.

It was a completely different story to the one I had met, and I wanted to cry inside, but I was determined to make up for it.

After hearing Sylvia's introduction, Dietrich nodded.

“Ah, the daughter of the Marquis of Lievert, I see. I beg your pardon. My name is Dietrich Vingston.”

“Yes, I am aware of Mr. Dietrich's reputation.”

Then Sylvia smiled elegantly.

In fact, as a knight-errant to the prince, Dietrich was very well known.

This knight was often seen in place of the prince, who was rarely seen, and was the object of admiration of the noble ladies.

He had a gentle appearance, no rumours of a relationship, and no fiancée.

In all honesty, there was only one thing that made him irresistible.

In fact, the event of meeting Dietrich begun in his typical calm way, when I accidentally dropped my handkerchief on my way to the lavatory and it was picked up by someone who told me that I had dropped my handkerchief—

But he was not the only one—

Remembering all this, Sylvia froze. She had just realised something important.

(Oh, no! I forgot to drop my handkerchief!)

I wanted to bury myself underground.

...That was why the event never happened.

If I didn't have a chance to talk, then no matter what I did, I would never be able to trigger an event with him.

(Oh God, this is the worst failed dating event... Definitely...)

Sylvia felt like crying because she deserved it so much.

Oh, I would go back an hour or so if I could. Then I'd be foolish enough to say to myself, “Don't forget to drop your handkerchief! It's basic!”

I'd like to scold myself for thinking it was easy because it was an easy game a while ago.

No matter how simple the game was, if the conditions weren't right, there was no way for events to happen.

(But... the rules of the game should have worked, even if the handkerchief dropped by itself...)

I thought it was too convenient, but in the end I knew that whatever I did was my fault.

I was stupid enough to forget about the event, even though I had tried to be careful.

(Uh... Game over... Haha, I didn't think it would be over before it even started...)

If the encounter event didn't naturally happen, the subsequent events wouldn't trigger either.

I thought for a moment that I could give up Dietrich and go to another character, but I didn't think that's going to happen.

First of all, there was no point in playing this game if I didn't have events occur with the characters I met.

Second, there was no other character I was willing to capture.

(Oh, yeah. That's enough. Let's give up.)

Sylvia came to that conclusion easily, as she had originally planned to back out if it didn't work out.

If I couldn't get to Dietrich, the game was practically over.

Then it would be right for me to leave before I got into any more trouble with them.

I thought it would be a good idea to go back to my house and go about my daily life as usual.

“I'm sorry to have disturbed you. I'll leave you to it.”

I was about to leave, but for some reason Arthur stopped me.

“Wait a minute. You don't have to worry about this my Lady. As I was saying, I'll take you to the venue.”

“No, thank you...”

Even though I clearly said no, Arthur didn't back down.

“Don't be shy. I'll just leave you here.”

“Huh? Well...”

“—You keep your mouth shut.”

Dietrich was confused, but Arthur glared at him and continued to talk as if he had something to say.

“What sort of a turn of events is this? Didn't you come here because you didn't want to go near the ballroom?”

“Things have changed. Do you enjoy interfering with me?”

“So I'm in your way? And there's no way...”

Arthur glared at Dietrich in frustration, while Dietrich faltered.

Sylvia sensed that their conversation was getting heated, and she quietly stepped back to avoid making a sound.

If they were arguing, she thought, let's get out of here while we can.

But things didn't go as planned. Arthur, noticing Sylvia's movement, quickly reached out and grabbed her arm.

“Sylvie. Please don't go.”