Chapter 23

"Hey, Adi, I have something I want to ask... Is it okay?"

Adi tilted her head in response to Mary, who asked so uncharacteristically and hesitantly.

The location was the Albert family's courtyard, and the time was after dinner. As they sipped their tea and chatted elegantly, admiring the beauty of the courtyard growing darker, Mary suddenly turned her face away, as if recalling something. That was the moment she asked her question. Adi, noticing her friend's concerned and hesitant expression, as if she had made up her mind to ask, replied, "What's the matter?"

"Well... what if, just what if, by any chance at all..."

"What's the matter?"

"Just a possibility, okay? What if, despite the very low probability, it's true...?"

Adi, looking puzzled, urged her on, and Mary sighed softly, repeating, "Just what if..."

"Could it be that... that child likes me?"

Mary's words, spoken softly, made Adi's eyes widen.

"...Miss, have you finally decided to face reality?"

"No, I can't face it yet. I can only glance at it, so please give me a very gentle answer..."

Adi, seeing Mary's unusually timid attitude, sighed softly. As a servant, she couldn't avoid answering, so she began with, "I understand." Mary, frowning, waited seriously for her response. And the answer Adi gave Mary was:

"Well, it's true that you two seem to get along well, but it's probably just because you have common friends and happen to be together a lot."

This was an answer so wrapped in sugar-coating that it was hard to swallow.

"That's right. That much, right... For reference, could I also get an answer without the sugar-coating?"

"Definitely best friends."

"Ugh..."

Mary, who had been expecting a sugar-coated answer, was shocked and pressed her chest. It seemed she was quite hurt, but Adi, feeling a sense of accomplishment, put a cookie in her mouth. She even added, "Your one and only best friend," as a follow-up.

—It's not that Adi harbored any grudge against Mary; from an outsider's perspective, they were best friends. Of course, Mary still didn't stop spouting insults—

But it seemed Mary had her own reasons, and despite the damage, she raised her head and said, "To begin with..."

"To begin with, that child is the abnormal one... Yes, I'm not the one who's wrong... I'm not wrong at all, I'm properly playing the villain!"

"Even if you're not wrong, being the villain still sounds strange," Adi replied, pouring tea into an empty teacup in a monotone.

Indeed, as Mary said, she often tried to hurt Alicia. While she didn't engage in the petty harassment that game Mary did, her insults were even more severe than in the game. In the game, Mary appeared intermittently in the story, spouting the same insults like "country bumpkin" and "poor." Since 'Dora Gaku' is a dating game, more screen time was given to the hero's sweet words rather than the villain's insults, and because it was for a general audience, Mary's insults were limited. In contrast, Mary not only spouted the same insults like "country bumpkin" and "poor" but, because she spent more time with Alicia, her insults were even more severe. Normally, one would be hurt or start to dislike and distance themselves from Mary...

"Recently, that child ran up to me, so I said,

'Please don't run over like an untrained stray dog. Even our family's guard dog is more intelligent.'

What do you think she said in response?"

Mary, recalling the moment, looked both regretful and exhausted. Adi, frowning, responded. Mary's words to Alicia were harsh enough to start a fight. Even Adi would be angry if someone outside the Albert family said such things to her. That's why she couldn't understand why Mary, who had been so harsh, was now so weak, and she couldn't help but ask seriously what Alicia had said in response. Mary sighed and turned her face away, her gaze distant, as if she were looking at something far away, a look of sorrow that didn't seem to belong to a teenager.

"That child... said,

'Wow! So Miss Mary's family has a dog!'

in response..."

"That's... really...!"

"What's with the 'Wow!'? I'm the one who should be saying 'Wow!'!"

Mary, looking regretful, slammed her hand on the table. Adi, feeling sympathetic but at a loss for words, looked at her. She had always thought Mary was a bit over the top, but she hadn't expected this much. She felt a sense of pity. At the same time, she was impressed by Alicia's mental strength. However, she thought that if she told Mary this honestly, it might push her over the edge, so she encouraged her, "But you can still turn things around."

While thinking, "It's probably too late," in her heart...

"That's right... I can turn things around... Yes, I can still try. As Mary Albert, I need to hurt that child at least once!"

"That's right, Miss, you can do it! You can hurt Alicia!"

"Yes, I feel like I can do it! If it doesn't work in the end, I'll go physical!"

"Physical is not an option!"

Adi, seeing Mary's over-the-top declaration to "stab with a drill," hastily tried to stop her.

And somehow, she calmed Mary down to the point where she said, "Well, a drill is definitely not an option... and it's not even a drill," and they faced each other again. Mary cleared her throat dramatically, indicating she had something important to say. Her cheeks were slightly red, probably embarrassed by her earlier comment, but Adi, not wanting to point that out, waited for her to speak.

"Listen, tomorrow at noon, that child is going on a date with Patrick in the city."

"Really, a date? You know that well."

"I figured it out by comparing the game's story with the current situation. And I got some information from the person involved."

"Ah, so she was invited again."

"...Please don't ask."

Mary averted her gaze, and Adi, being a considerate servant, said, "I apologize, please continue," and encouraged her to go on. From her attitude, it was clear she had been invited. And given Mary's current sorrowful eyes, it was obvious she had been rejected.

"So, are you going to interfere with the date?"

"Of course! That's why we're leaving at 8 tomorrow!"

Adi, being a servant, bowed and said, "Understood," but then tilted her head in confusion.

"8? Why so early?"

There's no way I could have scheduled a post for the 9th.

...Yeah.

I failed to export the data, so there will be no update at 6 PM today.