I stopped by the Academy on my way back from the Royal castle. I was headed towards a section in the lined up clubrooms, located in the best area. The lights were on in the room that Lady Sophia's faction used when I appeared in the building that she owned. When I dropped by to see who was inside, Alicia and Pala were happily drinking tea together.
“Oh, Cyril, didn’t you go to the Royal castle?”
Alicia noticed and she lightly waved her hand while greeting in an innocent tone. Beside her, Pala nodded at as if to say ‘Hello.’ Compared to Alicia, it was a rather reserved gesture… No, for a young Lady, this was the norm.
“I am on my way back. I just stopped by to deal with so business and will be returning ho shortly. More importantly, it’s quite unusual to see you two having tea together.”
“I had sothing to consult with Pala today. But it’s not really that unusual, is it?”
Puzzled, Alicia sought backing from Pala, and Pala, in turn, nodded in agreent along with her friend.
“Have you two t previously?”
“Of course we’ve t, we’re often together at Lady Sophia’s tea parties.”
“Yes, we are often seated next to each other at the tea parties, just like in class. I have always been on good terms with Miss Alicia.”
Apparently, they had beco friends since they started middle school. The heroine of the first work, ‘Espressivo of Light and Darkness’, and the heroine of ‘The Eve of the Festival’, were here together. I got wary about this eting and might have been a bit too high-strung. As these thoughts went through my mind, Alicia lifted her index finger and placed it next to her face.
“By the way, Cyril.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“Who did you et with at the Royal castle?”
“………….”
Unconsciously, I fell silent. Whether I liked it or not, and considering the scornful look that Alicia turned my way, I realized that she had misunderstood . She probably thought that I had a clandestine eting with Fol at the Royal castle. It was as if I could hear her voice questioning , ‘You’re fooling around even though you have Lady Sophia…?’
At the very least, I prayed that the voice wasn’t saying: ‘You cannot fool around with anyone else but , got it…?’
For the ti being, this misunderstanding should be cleared if I answered that I had gone to et Teacher Tristan. But I didn’t really want people to know that I was in contact with him too much.
How should I answer…?
“I’m sorry, that was a very personal question.”
The aura of darkness around Alicia faded away quickly, and she laughed impishly. She seed to have noticed that she was putting in a tough spot. It was precisely because she knew when to quit that I couldn’t dislike her.
“Please don’t worry about it. By the way, Lady Pala, do you have anything to discuss with ? It seems to that you’ve been wanting to tell sothing since earlier.”
After closing the conversation with Alicia I turned my gaze to Pala, who had been watching this whole ti.
“Ah, no, I was just thinking that I owed you a thank you.”
“A ‘thank you’?”
“Yes, you taught my maid how to prepare black tea, didn’t you? Thanks to that, we are now able to drink delicious tea at ho as well. My parents are delighted, too.”
‘We are able to drink delicious tea at ho as well.’ This sentence wasn’t to be taken literally; she was probably saying that Count Ford was glad that Pala joined Sophia’s faction.
“I will definitely inform my Lady of this.”
“No need, I have already conveyed my thanks to Lady Sophia. But you were the one who put in a good word for us when it ca to the matter with the potatoes, correct? That’s why I wanted to express my thanks to you as well, Cyril.”
“I don’t deserve such high praise.”
Since that was the case, I accepted her words of gratitude
Similarly, Alicia thanked right after as well. It seed that the two of them—or rather, their parents—were quite grateful. It was likely that they were delighted to have been able to establish a connection with Lady Sophia, the sole daughter of a Marquis.
More importantly, I thought as I compared the two young Ladies, Alicia’s feelings were… how to put it? They were easy to read from her expressions. anwhile, Pala only seed to be thanking normally. It didn’t seem likely that I would find myself in the First Prince’s position after having already accidentally taken the Second Prince’s, after all.
That being the case, I returned ho after so light small talk. When I returned to the mansion, Rouché ca out to greet . This pattern of behaviour made guess that Lady Sophia was going to be waiting for in my room while striking a daunting pose, but, apparently, that wasn’t the case today.
“She’s assisting Roy and Emma with their waiting training?”
“Yes. She said that it’s better if they acquire practical experience.”
Roy and Emma were the slum children Lady Sophia had beco a guardian of.
I guess that, since, in na, Lady Sophia was their guardian, she had offered to assist them with their training. Normally, young Ladies wouldn’t do sothing like this, but Lady Sophia was more caring than one would expect.
Incidentally, I had heard from Teacher Tristan that Roy and Emma appeared in ‘The Eve of the Festival’ as well. More precisely, they were a part of a side story that was included with the original work’s characters.
It seed that Roy and Emma running out in front of the carriage that day was a set event after all. But, because the original work’s Lady Sophia was bullied by a maid, she had co to hate commoners. Therefore, she ended up chasing the two slum children away.
Having been driven away, Roy and Emma were brought back to the Dark Guild. Emma was forced to take custors and Roy was forcefully sent back to their parents, but he later joined as a mber of the Dark Guild on his own wishes.
Afterwards, ti passed and Emma managed to procure a certain piece of information: the one about Lady Sophia’s plan to hire a thug in an attempt to take Alicia’s life.
Following the course of events in the first ga, even though I negotiated with No Na and hired a thug, I was betrayed by him and the evil deed ended up being exposed…
According to ‘The Eve of the Festival’s side story, Roy and Emma would be involved in acquiring this information. In other words, this ant that Lady Sophia had smashed one of the flags of destruction herself.
The young Lady, who was supposed to be the object of Roy and Emma’s revenge in the original work, was now adored by them and the young Lady herself cared for them dearly. This proved my Lady’s growth, as well as providing evidence to the fact that she walked a path different from that of a villainous daughter.
I felt that it was incredibly moving, and, with emotions constricting my chest, I dropped by the dining room where they were practising.
Although Rouché had said that they were doing waiting practice, it seed that they were actually serving dinner. There were warm dishes lined up before Lady Sophia. However, one of them didn’t have any side dishes, while all the other main and side dishes were beautifully garnished. The exception was a dish made up of mixed potatoes and at. When Lady Sophia picked up the porcelain bowl that had this dish inside, Emma was acting visibly anxious. She had probably cooked that dish.
Lady Sophia reached out to the food Emma prepared with her chopsticks.
Incidentally, chopsticks weren’t originally used in the Ephenear Kingdom. It was a custom that got imported here from a neighboring country—naly, from the Flafield Empire. When it ca to culture, it felt as if the customs of my holand from the previous world had been split between both of these countries.
Anyway, when Lady Sophia brought the potatoes and at to her mouth using her chopsticks and started chewing on them elegantly, her eyes narrowed in happiness as she showed a small smile. Her smiling face that made one feel relieved just by catching a glimpse of it properly showcased Emma’s hard work.
“The at’s flavour has completely perated through the potatoes, but they haven’t beco mushy either. It’s perfectly balanced and very delicious. Emma, you’ve done well.”
“…Thank you very much.”
Just like a waitressing maid, Emma expressed her happiness subtly. But her small hand was grasping the hem of her skirt tightly. It seed that, after she worked at a diner for her Social Studies class, she was working much harder.
Moreover, Roy gazed at Emma, who had just been praised, with a sowhat frustrated or envious look on his face. These siblings were on good terms, but it seed that, despite that, they had beco rivals.
“Oh my!” Lady Sophia exclaid as she tried to place her chopsticks back on her bowl and missed. The chopsticks rolled across the table and tumbled down onto the carpet. Lady Sophia pushed her chair back in a panic, trying to pick the chopsticks up.
“I will pick them up for you, my Lady.”
Roy politely stopped her before imdiately picking up the fallen chopsticks and placing them away. After that, he placed replacent chopsticks in front of her. After seeing this, Lady Sophia smiled once more.
“Roy, you were able to respond well too. Not even a year has passed, yet the two of you seem to be working and studying so diligently. I am very proud of you.”
She did sothing ill-mannered – trying to pick up the fallen chopsticks by herself – on purpose. Everything from the mont her chopsticks fell had been a performance byLady Sophia. Likely, she had been creating an opportunity for not just Emma, but for Roy to receive praise as well. By dropping her chopsticks for Roy’s sake despite it being improper, she was acting just like a caring big sister.
“They’ve all grown up so much…”
“It’s all thanks to you, Cyril.” Rouché, who followed after silently, replied to my low murmur.
“And not just Roy and Emma. Lady Sophia is working hard every day to return the favour to you as well.”
“She is working hard, just like you said, but she’s not trying to return a favor or anything like that.”
Hard work was necessary if Lady Sophia wished to conduct herself in a manner appropriate to her social standing. It was also necessary for Roy and Emma to work hard in order to protect the place they now belonged to. For, if they failed to demonstrate their abilities, they would imdiately lose their place. However, when I explained this, Rouché let out an ostentatiously long sigh.
“You don’t get it, Cyril. Roy and Emma know very well that, without your support, they wouldn’t have been saved. Lady Sophia feels the sa way.”
Rouché was probably talking about the incident of the past when Lady Sophia was bullied by so of the maids, since she was also affected by it.
But—
“Wouldn’t it be very arrogant of to think that, just because I saved soone once, they have to keep working hard to return that favour?”
“No, it wouldn’t. Of course, I’m also one of the people who wish to return a favour to you, you know?”
I glanced at Rouché, startled. She wore her usual impish smile, but her eyes were earnest and unsmiling.
“…Rouché?”
“It was because of your support that day that I’m able to stay here. Thanks to that, my family has been able to restore their business as well. I’m really grateful to you, you know?”
“I was simply fulfilling Lady Sophia’s request.”
Although I repeated once more sothing I was sure I had already said that day as well, Rouché silently shook her head.
“I know that you are that kind of a person, Cyril. However, you are influencing many people with your actions. If you don’t realize that, it can beco a big problem, you know?”
‘I took the Second Prince’s position and also the position of the heroine! It has already beco a big problem!’ Though I wouldn’t say that out loud, no matter what.
“I will keep that in mind,” I answered with a wry smile.
“Ah, Teacher Cyril!”
“Oh, teacher1? You’re really here! Teacher, did you watch waiting on the table just now?”
“I also worked hard with the cooking!”
When the two noticed , they forgot about waiting upon Lady Sophia and instead decided to fly over to . I sighed. Their service up till that mont had been very good, but doing this was a definite no-no. But Lady Sophia, who had followed after the two and was making her way towards , mouthed: ‘Please praise them.’ behind their backs, without letting out a sound.
…I have no other choice then.
“You both get a point reduction for getting distracted at the end, but…”
I smiled wryly and placed my palm on top of Roy’s head.
“In this short ti without looking after you, your movents have changed so much that I couldn’t even recognize you. Moreover, when Lady Sophia attempted to pick up her own chopsticks, you made a calm decision as well. Are these the fruits of working at the diner? You’ve done very well.”
I patted his hair in a praising motion.
Then, I turned to Emma, whose expression was now full of expectation as if saying: ‘Now it’s my turn!’
“Emma, your movents are much more refined than they were before. Also, the food–”
It looked very delicious. Watching Lady Sophia’s reaction, it was undoubtedly cooked very well, but I should at least have a taste.
“Say aah.” As if reading my thoughts, a plate and chopsticks, with the potatoes and at pinched between them, were held out to . The culprit was… Lady Sophia.
What are you doing? That’s the food you were just eating, right? Is this why you urged to praise them, by any chance?
Several retorts crossed my mind, but I imdiately abandoned these thoughts and instead took hold of Lady Sophia’s wrist, taking a bite of the potatoes and at pinched between the chopsticks held out for .
The taste of the juicy gravy perating the potatoes spread in my mouth. The taste was a little different from the dishes that were served in this world’s high society, but the flavour was a sowhat nostalgic one, making recall my previous world.
However, I wouldn’t raise any destruction flags and say stuff such as, ‘Emma will make a good bride in the future.’
“You’ve done well. It’s very delicious.”
I praised her the sa way as I did for Roy and gently rubbed her hair. Lady Sophia, who had nonchalantly stepped in between them and told to “Say aah,” probably didn’t plan on interfering any further. She looked at the happy Roy and Emma, and she was smiling pleasantly.
From ti to ti, Lady Sophia did get jealous, but she could properly distinguish such situations. It didn’t seem likely that Lady Sophia would, once again, undergo villainization after being influenced by ‘The Eve of the Festival’s story. This reassured . Lady Sophia then turned to and as if she just rembered sothing before speaking:
“That reminds . I heard that my elder brother, Ernest, has cut his study abroad short and was planning to return ho,” she said.
Thank you for reading! That's quite a line to end a chapter on, isn't it? Also Sophia doing all that just for an indirect kiss… what a mastermind lmao!
Emma calls Cyril 先生- ‘sensei’, while Roy calls him 師匠 – ‘shishou’. This term can also an ‘master’, but because that would get confusing since this novel has nobility, I will keep it as teacher.
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