The princess cafe.
There weren’t any customers in the room anymore, so the staff there were also taking a break.
Marie had been in a good mood while counting the bundles of banknotes, but now she was hiding behind the curtains from a person that Julian brought in.
(Why is the evil ruler here?!)
Milaine, the queen, wasn’t really an evil ruler, but she was an ally of the villainess in the game.
It was natural for Marie to think of her as a threat.
Besides, Marie currently wasn’t someone who could compete against her.
While she was hiding and looking at how the situation would progress, Kyle tugged on Marie’s skirt.
“Master, I can’t bear this any longer. The girls keep fondling my body while saying that it’s just part of the service they paid for. I cannot offer my assistance next time.”
Marie was irritated about her exclusive servant making such a complaint.
(What are you saying?! I’m the one that has it rough trying to figure out how to earn your guys’ living expenses! At least give me a hand!)
Marie was fixated on money due to the living expenses Julian and the others needed.
Due to the matter of Julian’s duel with Leon, his allowances were largely reduced, though not completly revoked.
The other four no longer had allowances.
With such a situation, Marie had rushed to earn quick money for their living expenses along with her own.
“Please bear with it for just three days. Things will get easier after that.”
“Is that really true?”
While thinking about how her servant was a whiny one, Marie peeked at what Milaine and the others were doing.
She sat on a sofa, face to face with Julian across a low table.
“Mother, I’m worried about you getting acquainted with Baltfault. You cannot be careless around that guy.”
Milaine was silent, but had a sharp glint in her eyes.
“I’m not sure what’s going on between you and him, but nevertheless that that guy is foul. He would do anything for money. What’s more, he’s a coward. He’s a lunatic who would make a confession of love to you, the queen.”
Julian explained how Leon was a bad person, but the expression in Milaine’s eyes further sharpened as she looked at her surroundings.
Marie turned pale.
(Ah, she’s definitely going to get mad.)
Milaine’s son, Julian, served the schoolgirls and female guests. Thinking about how bad that was, Marie began to tremble.
“──Julian, you said that your group was doing a cafe, right?”
“Yes, a cafe. Marie was more or less the one who arranged it. What about it? Do you like it?”
Julian boasted while in his suit. Behind him stood Jilk, sporting a similar look.
As a result of having to serve and cater to girls, his attire and hair were slightly disheveled.
“Bring that girl over to here. I’d like to ask a question right away.”
Milaine ordered him to do so with a terribly cold tone of voice.
When hearing that, Julian made a sorry expression.
“It seems you’re the same as the others, Mother. I won’t let you meet Marie with an attitude like that.”
(Thank you, Julian! As expect of my prince!)
Contrary to Marie’s delight, Milaine glared at Julian while slamming her hand onto the low table, creating a loud sound.
Julian and Jilk were slightly frightened after seeing that.
“──Bring her here.”
“I, I won’t! I’ll think about it only if you accept our relationship.”
“What did you say that led up to the duel? Jilk, you’ve been with him, what’s the meaning of this?! Julian, come to your senses. You said a while ago that Leon was money-hungry, right? If so, what’s the meaning of this cafe?!”
The menu Milaine held in her hand was unthinkable for a cafe.
“What’s the meaning of these prices? Poor quality tea and sweets for one hundred dia? And service charges on top of that? For someone who’s the former heir of a prestigious family, what’s with that appearance of yours?!”
It was like a host club using the name of a cafe.
However, it was highly popular amongst the girls in the academy.
“Julian, you called Leon a coward, right?”
“H, he is a coward.”
“Well then, why are you here when you promised not to approach Marie anymore after losing the duel? Aren’t you the coward for nonchalantly breaking your promise?!”
Perhaps no longer wanting this to go on for any longer, Jilk forced his way in.
“My queen, his Highness is just helping us. That doesn’t mean he’s breaking his pro──”
“What an uncouth excuse! Have a sense of shame! Furthermore, you said Leon was a lunatic? Julian, answer me this. Are you normal for throwing away your fiancee to choose another woman and thus lose your position as the crown prince? Are you really in a position to talk about Leon?”
“Well, um, you see──”
Milaine grew impatient towards Julian’s incoherence.
“Speak clearly!”
The mood in the room reached its lowest once her scolding began.
Being aware of the atmosphere at some point, Greg ran off, while Chris and Brad were absent since they had left to go shopping.
Marie waited for time to pass inside the room while feeling like praying.
(What’s with this old lady?! She’s siding with that mob!)
◇
I sat on a chair while holding my knees under my arms. Julian had hit me in the cheek.
“──All I said was that I liked her a lot.”
While feeling bitter, a shocked Anjie criticized me.
“What a fool you are. What kind of knight would hit on the queen of their own country?”
Right. If only she wasn’t the queen. I couldn’t help but feel regret.
My mentor had left to resume his work.
Anjie and I were in the room. Livia was there too, but she hung her head and didn’t join the conversation.
Then inside the room, a knocking sound could be heard from the door.
“Um~, is it okay to come in?”
The girl who opened the door and appeared was someone I didn’t know.
“The cafe is closed for today over my heart aching.”
“U, umm, that’s kind of a problem for me, though. Olivia, could you carry out my request?”
The girl turned to Livia for help.
While I was thinking about how she might be an acquaintance of Livia, Livia raised her head and carried out the request.
“This is Cara. She said that she wanted me to introduce her to you.”
“I see, so I take it that you’re the middleman then.”
When hearing that, Anjie had a stern look in her eyes.
When Livia became frightened by that, Anjie panicked and quickly toned down her gaze. However, she turned to Cara once again tensed her gaze.
──Were these two okay? It seemed that they had some kind of complicated relationship.
Cara entered the room while frightened by Anjie’s gaze.
“Cara Fou Wein. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Baron.”
Cara? Wein? What did it mean?
While I replied with “Oh, ok,” Anjie continued glaring at Cara from beside me. However, she silently listened while Livia explained in a panic.
“W, well, she’s from the regular class. When I was doing some advertising, she said that she wanted me to introduce her to Leon.”
──Could there have been some cause to this?
I brought down my knees from under my arms and told Cara to sit.
“Is it okay if I ask the reason for why you chose Livia to be the middleman in this introduction?”
Livia was perplexed after judging that my aura was different from usual.
In the first place, there was no need to have Livia help if it was just introducing herself to me.
She could have just gotten in touch with me like normal. If it had been that, I would have responded with a smile.
However, this girl didn’t do that, but instead met me through Livia. I felt that there was indeed a scene like this in that otome game.
I believe it was a scene that relied on the protagonist’s lack of knowledge on the troublesome rules of nobles.
I changed my behavior and faced Cara with a serious attitude.
“Ah, so you understand what’s going on? As expected of the most successful classmate. You’re much different from the other boys.”
“Why, thank you.”
Livia looked at Anjie to ask for help, but she soon averted her gaze. Anjie also seemed like she wanted to say something, but closed her mouth and hung her head.
It seemed Livia wanted to ask something from me.
“Leon, what in the world is going on? The atmosphere here is different from normal.”
Thereupon, Cara revealed her true nature.
“Be silent for a bit. There are some important things I’d like to talk about now.”
She took an attitude that bore no consideration towards Livia.
Livia was bewildered at how her attitude was different from just a while ago.
──Didn’t she know that she would leave a bad impression on me by treating Livia like that? No wait, I was already expecting bad things to come from the girls in the academy.
At any rate, it seems that I had gotten into some trouble.
“Baron. Please save the Wein family, no──please save us.”
That was the reason why Anjie glared at Cara. It was because she realized that the girl would use me.
I was also aware of it.
I remembered it after hearing her full name, but it was a nostalgic feeling when realizing that such an event like this existed as well.
