n

n

n

nThe princess cafe.

nThere weren’t any customers in the room anymore, so the staff there were also taking a break.

nMarie 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.

n(Why is the evil ruler here?!)

nMilaine, the queen, wasn’t really an evil ruler, but she was an ally of the villainess in the game.

nIt was natural for Marie to think of her as a threat.

nBesides, Marie currently wasn’t someone who could compete against her.

nWhile she was hiding and looking at how the situation would progress, Kyle tugged on Marie’s skirt.

n“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.”

nMarie was irritated about her exclusive servant making such a complaint.

n(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!)

nMarie was fixated on money due to the living expenses Julian and the others needed.

nDue to the matter of Julian’s duel with Leon, his allowances were largely reduced, though not completly revoked.

nThe other four no longer had allowances.

nWith such a situation, Marie had rushed to earn quick money for their living expenses along with her own.

n“Please bear with it for just three days. Things will get easier after that.”

n“Is that really true?”

nWhile thinking about how her servant was a whiny one, Marie peeked at what Milaine and the others were doing.

nShe sat on a sofa, face to face with Julian across a low table.

n“Mother, I’m worried about you getting acquainted with Baltfault. You cannot be careless around that guy.”

nMilaine was silent, but had a sharp glint in her eyes.

n“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.”

nJulian explained how Leon was a bad person, but the expression in Milaine’s eyes further sharpened as she looked at her surroundings.

nMarie turned pale.

n(Ah, she’s definitely going to get mad.)

nMilaine’s son, Julian, served the schoolgirls and female guests. Thinking about how bad that was, Marie began to tremble.

n“──Julian, you said that your group was doing a cafe, right?”

n“Yes, a cafe. Marie was more or less the one who arranged it. What about it? Do you like it?”

nJulian boasted while in his suit. Behind him stood Jilk, sporting a similar look.

nAs a result of having to serve and cater to girls, his attire and hair were slightly disheveled.

n“Bring that girl over to here. I’d like to ask a question right away.”

nMilaine ordered him to do so with a terribly cold tone of voice.

nWhen hearing that, Julian made a sorry expression.

n“It seems you’re the same as the others, Mother. I won’t let you meet Marie with an attitude like that.”

n(Thank you, Julian! As expect of my prince!)

nContrary to Marie’s delight, Milaine glared at Julian while slamming her hand onto the low table, creating a loud sound.

nJulian and Jilk were slightly frightened after seeing that.

n“──Bring her here.”

n“I, I won’t! I’ll think about it only if you accept our relationship.”

n“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?!”

nThe menu Milaine held in her hand was unthinkable for a cafe.

n“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?!”

nIt was like a host club using the name of a cafe.

nHowever, it was highly popular amongst the girls in the academy.

n“Julian, you called Leon a coward, right?”

n“H, he is a coward.”

n“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?!”

nPerhaps no longer wanting this to go on for any longer, Jilk forced his way in.

n“My queen, his Highness is just helping us. That doesn’t mean he’s breaking his pro──”

n“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?”

n“Well, um, you see──”

nMilaine grew impatient towards Julian’s incoherence.

n“Speak clearly!”

nThe mood in the room reached its lowest once her scolding began.

nBeing aware of the atmosphere at some point, Greg ran off, while Chris and Brad were absent since they had left to go shopping.

nMarie waited for time to pass inside the room while feeling like praying.

n(What’s with this old lady?! She’s siding with that mob!)

n◇

nI sat on a chair while holding my knees under my arms. Julian had hit me in the cheek.

n“──All I said was that I liked her a lot.”

nWhile feeling bitter, a shocked Anjie criticized me.

n“What a fool you are. What kind of knight would hit on the queen of their own country?”

nRight. If only she wasn’t the queen. I couldn’t help but feel regret.

nMy mentor had left to resume his work.

nAnjie and I were in the room. Livia was there too, but she hung her head and didn’t join the conversation.

nThen inside the room, a knocking sound could be heard from the door.

n“Um~, is it okay to come in?”

nThe girl who opened the door and appeared was someone I didn’t know.

n“The cafe is closed for today over my heart aching.”

n“U, umm, that’s kind of a problem for me, though. Olivia, could you carry out my request?”

nThe girl turned to Livia for help.

nWhile I was thinking about how she might be an acquaintance of Livia, Livia raised her head and carried out the request.

n“This is Cara. She said that she wanted me to introduce her to you.”

n“I see, so I take it that you’re the middleman then.”

nWhen hearing that, Anjie had a stern look in her eyes.

nWhen Livia became frightened by that, Anjie panicked and quickly toned down her gaze. However, she turned to Cara once again tensed her gaze.

n──Were these two okay? It seemed that they had some kind of complicated relationship.

nCara entered the room while frightened by Anjie’s gaze.

n“Cara Fou Wein. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Baron.”

nCara? Wein? What did it mean?

nWhile I replied with “Oh, ok,” Anjie continued glaring at Cara from beside me. However, she silently listened while Livia explained in a panic.

n“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.”

n──Could there have been some cause to this?

nI brought down my knees from under my arms and told Cara to sit.

n“Is it okay if I ask the reason for why you chose Livia to be the middleman in this introduction?”

nLivia was perplexed after judging that my aura was different from usual.

nIn the first place, there was no need to have Livia help if it was just introducing herself to me.

nShe could have just gotten in touch with me like normal. If it had been that, I would have responded with a smile.

nHowever, 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.

nI believe it was a scene that relied on the protagonist’s lack of knowledge on the troublesome rules of nobles.

nI changed my behavior and faced Cara with a serious attitude.

n“Ah, so you understand what’s going on? As expected of the most successful classmate. You’re much different from the other boys.”

n“Why, thank you.”

nLivia 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.

nIt seemed Livia wanted to ask something from me.

n“Leon, what in the world is going on? The atmosphere here is different from normal.”

nThereupon, Cara revealed her true nature.

n“Be silent for a bit. There are some important things I’d like to talk about now.”

nShe took an attitude that bore no consideration towards Livia.

nLivia was bewildered at how her attitude was different from just a while ago.

n──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.

nAt any rate, it seems that I had gotten into some trouble.

n“Baron. Please save the Wein family, no──please save us.”

nThat was the reason why Anjie glared at Cara. It was because she realized that the girl would use me.

nI was also aware of it.

nI remembered it after hearing her full name, but it was a nostalgic feeling when realizing that such an event like this existed as well.

n