Charlotte kept her cool while listening to my not-so-great excuse. Tsk tsk…
“So, let me get this straight,” Charlotte said in a calm tone, “you just wanted some fresh air on your day off and found Leo sitting alone over there? Is that correct?”
“Exactly!” I nodded eagerly.
“Then you accidentally spotted Sophia watching him from afar, right?” she continued.
“Right!” We both nodded for dramatic effect.
“And without even considering the situation, you dashed to your room, grabbed your battle-ready camouflage cloak, sniper scope, tactical mat, canteen, and emergency rations before heading to the roof to spy on the two of them?”
Cue awkward silence
“Uhh…” Was it really like that? I mean, come on, I was just cold! Sure, it happened to be a military-grade cloak, but I just chose it to keep my body temperature up while being practical. It’s not like I was in a military situation—better to not be discovered, right?
The mat was the same deal. Laying on concrete in this weather? Extremely cold! At least the mat is sturdy enough for that.
And I brought food and a canteen, obviously. If I left them alone out of hunger, what if those two disappeared? Gulp…
“…Sylvia.”
Charlotte rubbed her forehead. “I knew you were a bit dense in expressing emotions, but…”
“No, I’m not!”
“Watching someone you like like that isn’t exactly okay, you know? They do have a right to privacy.”
“That’s not what I…”
I tried to argue, but my words didn’t seem to sway Charlotte at all.
“And let’s be real. If you’re that worried, you should just approach them and ask for a date. Times have changed! It’s not just the man’s job to ask anymore! Even as a crown princess, I doubt anyone would think badly if you teased a dance partner at a ball.”
Definitely not happening.
Time to reverse!
What if I shifted places? I wouldn’t need to outsmart Charlotte! Alice might fall for that, but wouldn’t Charlotte catch on to my tail?
But halfway through this thought, another question hit me—
“…So, why are you here, Princess Charlotte?”
“Huh?”
Charlotte’s eyes widened for a moment after I interrupted her. I took the plunge and asked again, “You were up here, weren’t you? You didn’t come to spy on Leo, did you?”
Hoping to catch her off-guard like she did to me, but watching her release a heavy sigh didn’t thrill me.
“Well, I just…”
Charlotte sighed deeply and then took a step closer to me. “Can I take a seat on your mat?”
I didn’t answer, but I shifted to give her a spot to sit on just one part of it.
“Thank you,” Charlotte said, sitting cautiously on the mat.
“I just needed a break,” she added.
As I remained silent, Charlotte smirked, “You do know I’m somewhat of a ‘celebrity’ here at the academy, right? Kind of a ‘popular one’.”
Not that it matters, it’s not like she was doing anything significant. However, she still belonged to the student council, and as one of the few foreigners here, she kind of had an air of ‘nobility’ about her, unlike Lena or Sophia, who got in purely through skill.
“Who knows, I might even be more popular than Alice,” she continued, and I wondered what the nobles thought of her and contrary to that of Alice.
“Honestly, the noble women look down on those who purposely avoid social engagements, especially when their backer is the Emperor. If someone were to see you, they’d be thinking, ‘You think this is enough to take me on?’”
“Drama much!”
“Can you believe how many invitations to social events I’ve received from the Duke’s family? It’s absurd how many Dukes are around. Three Dukes near the Imperial Capital? The sheer number of twelve Dukes overall! Ridiculous!”
I kind of agreed. No Dukes are merely names—they all have their own strengths, whether close or distant from the capital.
“I stuck it out a few times as courtesy. It’s kind of tradition back home, but these Dukes…”
Charlotte made an exaggerated sound as she breathed out.
“Maybe they think of me as a daughter-in-law. If one day I become queen and marry a son of their family, they’d think about taking my surname ‘Velbur’ as their own! Hell, they might even want to change their country’s name!”
“Seriously? So you’ve been dodging them by coming here?”
“Pretty much, what’s the issue?”
Her pout almost made me laugh. I mean, I can’t blame her. If men kept crawling around me, I’d be annoyed too—wait, different scenario?
Regardless, I had to clarify why I was there. Charlotte is my friend; perhaps I should warn her about the war? She needed to know Sofia wasn’t even from Velbur but from the Papal State!
But that might be too direct; it could backfire on me if the emperor wasn’t thinking about war.
“I see Claire as a little sister.”
So here comes my ‘excuse’.
“And Leo is Claire’s…brother.”
Well, whether they’re siblings was still under debate; for now, I’d label it that way.
“So, you want to personally evaluate what kind of woman your sister’s boyfriend dates?”
Charlotte sounded skeptical.
“Let’s say I am Claire’s older sister. If Leo is indeed Claire’s brother, he’s technically my brother too,” I explained.
“Hmmm.”
Charlotte’s eyes became slits, her lips that were previously annoyed began to twitch a bit.
….Not buying it!
Still, it was better than having no excuse.
“Alright then.”
At least Charlotte seemed to understand, if not wholly agree.
“Then I’ll help you out. Plenty of time left!”
“…”
Right, exactly the opposite of what I wanted!
“Why do you look at me like that?”
“Are you maybe planning to help as you did last time at Northwood—”
“Oh, that time.”
Whoops! Mentioning that was a trap!
Charlotte…hmmm, she had that mischievous smirk and suddenly stood up.
Leaning playfully while smirking at me, she said, “That debt you owe me from last time still stands. Let’s consider this your repayment. Honestly, as a woman, I think I’d be more accurate than you when judging whether Sofia fits Leo or not, no?”
But while saying that, her eyes screamed something different, like ‘You’re only doing this to watch Leo, aren’t you?’
“Not true at all!”
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