After Crown Princess Ashillya’s banquet, I was a bit troubled by the attention I was receiving from those around .
In fact, when I was with Sylvia and Helena, I already attracted a lot of attention, but after attending the banquet, even more eyes were on .
The problem was that these gazes weren’t positive.
“Isn’t he the one…”
“Ah, the harem own–Mmph!”
“Hush! He can hear…”
It’s not like that…!
I would inwardly scream in frustration every ti I heard such comnts.
Sylvia had a boyfriend nad Cain, Helena liked but we weren’t in that kind of relationship, and Crown Princess Ashillya wasn’t in that kind of relationship with to begin with.
But there was nothing I could say. Even if I tried to explain, it was obvious they wouldn’t believe .
Today again, I sighed as I headed to the training ground. Today was the day for joint training class.
The class itself was originally important for the future, but it beca even more crucial as the midterm exams were approaching.
“Sigh…”
I let out a small sigh as I heard the whispers of students and felt the gazes directed at , even though I was alone.
The attention was particularly burdenso today, so I started checking my equipnt alone in a corner.
Helena had another class before this one, so she would arrive just in ti, and Sylvia said she had a separate schedule. As for Conan… I had no idea.
By the way, I knew this already, but my circle of friends is quite small.
At the beginning of the sester, I seed to get along well with the boys in the class, but after unexpectedly becoming friends with Sylvia, a strange distance started to form.
They probably see as a threatening competitor…
Wake up, you guys.
With Cain by her side, do you think she’d look at you?
Anyway, while I thought I should fix these human relationships, I wasn’t particularly uncomfortable, so I didn’t feel like making the troubleso effort to change things.
As I was passing ti by checking my well-maintained equipnt, I turned my head, feeling soone approaching .
“…Huh?”
“Pfft.”
I widened my eyes and then blinked slowly as I discovered an unexpected person.
Finding my reaction amusing, Ashillya let out a soft laugh and looked at with an unchanged expression.
“It seems you don’t have many friends.”
“…Crown Princess?”
Ashillya was a senior, one year above us, so there was no reason for her to be here.
Nevertheless, seeing her standing here as if it were natural, I unknowingly rolled my eyes around trying to grasp the situation.
But no matter how much I looked, I couldn’t figure out why Ashillya was here, so I had no choice but to ask her directly.
“Why are you here?”
“Is there any reason I shouldn’t be here? I’m a bit hurt.”
“…Of course you shouldn’t be here. Aren’t you in a different year from us, Crown Princess?”
As Ashillya spoke as if she were hurt, I beca a bit dumbfounded and muttered that. She burst into laughter again.
“I’m hurt. We even danced together.”
“You know that’s not what that ant…”
“I’m joking.”
When I first saw Ashillya, she gave off the impression of a cold, noble ruler, but now she seed to laugh more often in a strange way.
Her appearance, as if she was enjoying this situation, was a bit unfamiliar yet beautiful.
“I’m here to take part of this class for a day on behalf of Leonhardt.”
“…On behalf of Leonhardt?”
Does that make sense?
I understand that one team would be at a disadvantage because Leonhardt was absent.
Even if he didn’t participate well in class, the difference between having one person and not having them was quite significant.
But it didn’t make sense for Ashillya to participate even for ‘one day’.
What would they do during the actual exam, and since Ashillya was a senior one year above us, it wouldn’t be of much benefit to the team she joined.
As I tilted my head in doubt, she didn’t answer.
She just smiled aningfully. Looking at her with a puzzled expression, I suddenly beca curious and asked.
“…Aren’t you busy with your schedule?”
“Hm? Are you worried about ?”
“I’m just asking.”
Her attempt to tease was obvious, so I grumbled softly. Ashillya smiled and shook her head.
“If you’re asking if I’m busier than before, not particularly.”
She beca the Crown Princess, but it’s the sa as before?
That didn’t an Ashillya was slacking off, but rather that she had been handling an enormous amount of work even before this.
As I clicked my tongue in surprise after understanding the aning of her words, Ashillya just smiled.
I didn’t know why soone so swamped with work ca all the way here, but I felt it wasn’t for a trivial reason.
That ant if I tried to dig deeper, I might get involved in sothing unpleasant, so I kept my mouth shut obediently.
Even though I closed my mouth, Ashillya didn’t leave my side. Instead, she leaned against the wall leisurely, looking at the students with ease.
The smile she had shown earlier was nowhere to be seen, replaced by an extrely cold expression.
It was a bit scary because it was so charismatic, but thanks to that, the gazes of the students who had been whispering about naturally turned elsewhere.
It seed they didn’t have the guts to openly stare at the Crown Princess.
“…Felix?”
As I was absentmindedly staring into space for a while, I turned my head again at the sound of a voice.
“Ah, Helena… Sylvia ca with you too?”
“Yeah… we t on the way… but next to you…”
“The Crown Princess?”
At the source of the voice were Helena, who was looking at and Ashillya alternately with a shocked expression, and Sylvia, who was looking at us with a sowhat cold expression for so reason.
“Hmm, are these your friends, Felix?”
“…They’re my teammates and friends.”
“My, all of your friends seem to be won.”
Ashillya spoke, glancing at with her red eyes, completely ignoring Sylvia and Helena.
Knowing that this too was a joke, I just smiled awkwardly, but Helena hurriedly stood next to , showing proper etiquette.
“I… I am honored to et you, Ashillya Philippe Han Urlas, the sun of the Empire, a mber of the great Imperial Family.”
“Hmm, this is the academy, so there’s no need for excessive courtesy.”
Ashillya casually waved her hand, accepting Helena’s formality as if it were natural.
But despite her words, Helena just fidgeted and watched nervously.
“It’s an honor to et you, Crown Princess.”
Rather, it was Sylvia who briefly showed courtesy in line with Ashillya’s words.
But she brushed that off as if it were nothing and looked at .
“Now that your friends have arrived, I should be going.”
“…You didn’t stay by my side because you thought I really had no friends, did you?”
“It seems like you actually don’t have friends, though?”
Teasing until the end, Ashillya waved her hand lightly and moved away as if she was really leaving.
I exhaled softly as I watched her back.
“Fe… Felix…! What business did the Crown Princess have with you?”
Helena, who had been staring blankly at Ashillya’s retreating figure, asked while punching my arm.
I grabbed my stinging arm and looked at Helena with strange eyes. Doesn’t she know that I escorted Ashillya at the banquet…
‘Oh.’
As I thought about it, I realized sothing strange and let out a small exclamation inwardly.
Co to think of it, did I ever tell Helena about that? As I searched my mories, I could finally conclude that ‘I hadn’t’.
Helena, who didn’t attend the banquet, naturally wouldn’t know about it. Moreover, she also didn’t have as many friends as I did.
‘No, but even so, didn’t she encounter Ashillya a few tis?’
I think we even ate together once, so I wondered if this level of fuss was necessary.
But seeing Helena hitting my arm with increasing strength, I realized that it wasn’t just a fuss, but sothing akin to a rebuke… I smiled awkwardly and slightly moved my body away.
“The Crown Princess said she’s participating in today’s class on behalf of Leonhardt.”
As I changed the subject, Helena looked at with a dissatisfied expression. As I avoided that gaze, I saw Sylvia looking at .
“Is that why she ca?”
Seeing Sylvia’s inexplicably sharp deanor, I blinked for a mont and then nodded.
“Isn’t it?”
“…I see.”
As Sylvia muttered as if sothing was unsatisfactory, I looked at her curiously, then rembered sothing and asked her playfully with a mischievous smile.
“By the way, Sylvia, when did you and Cain get so close?”
“…Huh? What are you suddenly talking about?”
At my question, Sylvia blinked her eyes as if she didn’t understand, and I put on an even broader smile.
Oh my, pretending not to know at such a high level?
But you can’t fool . I’ve already seen everything, you know?
“You attended the banquet with Cain, didn’t you? I’m asking when you two got so close. Co on, tell .”
As I poked Sylvia’s side with an insinuating voice, she flinched and then looked at with a blank expression.
I couldn’t help but laugh at Sylvia’s expression, which seed as if everything had been exposed.
Other people’s love stories are the most interesting, after all.
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