n

n

nWhen the lady and her attendant left her room, they were already almost late.

nAt first, Zoemi thought that the hair crisis would be averted but...

n...well...

nSomething unfortunate although quite expected happened.

nThe young lady Espine spotted a cute wrapping on a little package that her attendant put to the side while brushing her hair, and she instantly thought that it was meant for her as an apology for not returning for her once her date with the first prince Horeo was over.

nInstantly, her hair became meek and all seemed good.

nBut then the black-haired attendant declared that it's time to go to class and casually put down the comb and a hairbrush.

nAt that time, Miriette thought that Zoemi had simply forgotten about the package that she fully expected to be present for her, so she asked him about it...

n...and once the surprised attendant responded that it was for someone else...

nYeah...

nThat was the final nail in the coffin of Miriette's usual hairstyle.

nAnd so, Zoemi had to improvise to the best of his ability - thankfully the hair on the sides of Miriette's head was a bit more manageable than the hair on top and back – which gave Zoemi the leeway to stylize the hairdo at least a little bit.

nAn, honestly, truth be told...

nThe experimental hairstyle suited the dark-haired girl quite well.

n...but also...

n|My lady became a punk...!|

nZoemi could barely contain a chuckle since there was no such thing as a punk culture in his current world yet, but for him, the similarities were jarringly obvious.

nIt was quite the sight to behold...

nAs the two of them were walking through the hallway, other students were keeping their distance and whispering to each other looking at the two.

nZoemi felt uncomfortable, he actually thought that his master's hairstyle looked good but maybe it was too ahead of its time for this world...?

nMiriette also looked around and frowned.

n|Why are they staring at Zoemi so much? Have they realized how amazing he is...? No... that's not it...|

n

"My lady...

"

n

"...Y-yes...?!

"

nThe dark-haired girl wondered when suddenly her attendant gently grabbed her shoulder and leaned towards her.

n|Ah! How bold! He's showing that he is mine! Yes, yes, that's how you should have acted from the beginning!|

nMiriette blushed to her imagination, she was ready to instantly forgive her black-haired attendant for leaving her the previous night, as well as preparing a present for someone who wasn't her while he should care only for her.

n

"My lady, maybe we should go back and work on your hair a bit more...

"

nBut Zoemi said in a worried voice, glancing nervously at her head.

n

"...!

"

nHe completely missed which one of them the others were looking at and managed to piss off the girl even more

n|That's why he grabbed my arm!? To tell me this?!|

nMiriette pouted and her hair bristled aggressively.

n

"No! I like this style!

"

nThe dark-haired girl scoffed at Zoemi and after shaking off his hand she marched forward without looking back at him.

n

"...great...

"

nZoemi rolled his eyes and rushed after her.

n---------

nIn the classroom, the atmosphere wasn't really any different than in the hallway.

n

"...?

"

n|Huh...?|

nEveryone was glancing at Zoemi and now that he wasn't so close to the Miriette he realized that everyone was in fact has been looking at him.

n

"What's with the overconfident rabble today? Why are they all staring at Zoemi?

"

nHoreo tilted his head and asked Miriette, momentarily forgetting to keep up a benevolent act, and straight-up spoke in a way that he usually allowed himself to use only around Miriette and his two attendants.

n

"I don't know, and I don't care. Who knows? Maybe burn-scars became popular all of a sudden.

"

nMiriette shrugged her shoulders dismissively before looking away with a grumpy expression, definitely not in a mood for a chit-chat.

nThe lesson started even when thetr were a few students missing.

nFirst of all, the blond heroine was nowhere to be found - and that was definitively a bad sign for Zoemi - if Burushiitto wasn't there she might have been participating in some scripted event and messing up Miriette's perfectly planned happy life while out of Zoemi's sight and completely out of his control.

nAnother person missing was the blue-haired girl, Sifra Ralia – the one to who Zoemi wanted to apologize.

nThe third one was the red-haired capture target responsible for Zoemi's scars – Grazio - who posed as an honor student...

nThat was more surprising than Burushiitto's absence, although not as alarming...

n...although the two of them might have been skipping lessons together...

nOr it might have been that Grazio approached the heroine and offered her help or something...

n|Tsk...! It's always so annoying with that bastard since I didn't get to play through his route...!|

nThe black-haired attendant gritted his teeth glaring at the empty seat of his red-haired nemesis.

nAside from the most important trio, a few other seats were empty too – but that actually might have meant that there was an influenza outbreak at the Academy or something...

n...though it definitely wasn't a season for cold or anything of the sort...

nAt the same time, while sitting right in front of Horeo, Zoemi was feeling more and more guilty.

nAfter all, he was the one who allowed the twins to take a few days off, causing problems to the gold-haired boy.

nWhat if the heroine will use that opportunity to get closer to him!?

nLike- for example - if she'll say that she will help him do the chores around his room since she's surprisingly good at those...?

nAnd then she'll show him all her good sides...

n...like the lack of temperament and personality that apparently all the capture targets can't get enough of...!

nZoemi's master was just so much better, but since Horeo would be in the time of need he would probably welcome the helping hand.

n

"My prince, I will go check up on the twins to assure that they will be back to full health as soon as possible! My lady, I'll try to return as fast as possible.

"

n

"Huh...? Ah! Alright – I'm counting on you, Zoemi.

"

nAs soon as the first lesson finished, the black-haired boy stood up from his seat and bowed to the first prince, and excused himself to his lady before rushing out of the classroom and going straight for the dormitory to check up on Veo and Teo.

n

"...

"

n

"Breathe.

"

nMiriette clenched her fists and gritted her teeth so hard that they made a dangerous sound, at which Horeo casually patted her shoulder and advised in a calm manner.

n