Charlotte didn’t react right away that day. Duh.
Of course, all the kids were together at mealtime.
In fact, it wasn’t just during meals; we were almost always together. Sure, there were times we were alone in our rooms, but usually we lived in the living room.
How could someone say such things while we were all sprawled out on blankets, watching TV? Sigh.
Charlotte didn’t even give a hint that she was paying attention to me. All the kids in this place were observant. If they had glanced my way even once, they would have figured it out instantly.
So, it was probably the next day when Charlotte finally brought it up.
“Charlotte, between jjajangmyeon and jjamppong—”
“Hold on, let’s talk about something, okay?”
I opened the door to ask about the menu for ordering from the Chinese restaurant, but Charlotte grabbed me and pulled me inside.
It felt like I was being taken by some closet monster. Of course, I was the one being taken.
Thud.
The door closed—
“…Was that on purpose?”
“Are you referring to the choice of Chinese food for lunch? If you don’t want that, I can choose something else.”
“…”
Seeing Charlotte glare at me slightly, I decided it would be dangerous to joke around further.
“Yes, it was on purpose.”
I admitted it straightforwardly.
“Why is that? Is it because you want to tease me?”
Well, of course I wanted to tease her. If there’s someone who’s playing a role, isn’t it more fun to strip away that role?
Just like what had happened to me.
…I absolutely wasn’t feeling wronged or anything.
“I don’t particularly want to tease you.”
Of course, I couldn’t say that for real. Charlotte was already looking at me with narrowed eyes.
“I just thought, wouldn’t it be nice to relax here without worries?”
I raised my hand slightly to open the closet door, continuing my explanation.
“Of course, I understand that you want to maintain a certain face in front of foreign nobles and royalty here.”
Thanks to the fact that we had known each other since the academy, I sometimes forgot, but Charlotte was indeed a foreigner. In other words, her nationality was different from the rest of us living here.
No matter how friendly we were, there could still be a sense of awkwardness, and even when we chose food together, she could feel out of place. Admittedly, Charlotte hadn’t shown any blatant signs of that yet.
But probably, Charlotte’s desire to keep a minimal facade in front of us also contributed to that wall.
Even though she shyly called me her friend from that other world, no one can be perfectly honest with everyone, right?
…Still, I found it extremely unfair that my internet black history got exposed in this case, but I decided not to dwell on it further.
“So, being honest ‘without others noticing.’”
“…Honest without others noticing?”
Alright.
Charlotte was slowly coming around.
“You want to wear the princess dress, don’t you?”
“I—”
The moment Charlotte opened her mouth, blushing from my words—
Click.
The door creaked open, and we both simultaneously shut our mouths and looked at the door.
Mia’s face peeked through the slightly open door.
“Uh… Were you having an important conversation, by any chance?”
“No, not at all. Charlotte was just choosing the menu. Do you want to add something?”
“Well, um, can I have an extra portion of jjajangmyeon, please?”
Mia spoke with a cheerful face while gently opening the door and squeezing her body inside.
“Of course.”
I smiled and manipulated my smartphone to show Mia.
“Thank you!”
Mia, in high spirits, carefully closed the door again.
“…”
“…”
As we quietly listened to Mia’s footsteps fading away,
“I never did something like that!”
Charlotte opened her mouth first.
“Didn’t you definitely try on some magical girl outfits?!”
“I-I wasn’t planning on wearing it!?”
Charlotte’s voice was nearly a scream. Of course, she tried to keep it low enough not to be heard outside the door.
“Do you even know what event I was talking about?”
“I know! I searched it last night!”
Charlotte pulled out her smartphone, showing me with a slightly annoyed expression.
There were various photos there. People wearing all sorts of colorful wigs and posing in character outfits against the backdrop of the event hall, or people lined up in front of the entrance.
“W-What? Wearing that in front of this many people…!”
“That’s a bit strange, though.”
I said a little more seriously.
“Are you saying those people in the pictures are dressed weirdly?”
“Not saying that…!”
“And we’ve already done a broadcast in such outfits.”
“Well, it wasn’t like people could see our faces…!”
“Moreover, I even danced a really embarrassing dance in that outfit; I had no idea you were looking at me like that. As a friend, I’m truly saddened.”
“…”
Charlotte’s eyes narrowed again.
Oh dear.
“…Perhaps it would have been better if you hadn’t said that last part about being sad as a friend.”
This was definitely a judgment call from a real princess raised in a political house.
I quickly erased the sad expression I had on my face and spoke.
“In any case, it’s actually easier to cosplay here without much worry.”
“…You don’t even plan on making excuses. How shameless you are.”
“Don’t you really want to try on the princess dress?”
“…”
When I completely ignored Charlotte’s response and asked again, she closed her mouth and looked deep in thought.
“Again, everyone here is on your side, Charlotte. Ultimately, if we go to that event, we’ll be dressed like that. No one will know that you secretly admire that, and even if they did, there’s no way we’d blab about it to anyone in this world.”
“Well… I know that.”
“Well then, wouldn’t it be nice to enjoy yourself here completely carefree, just like you’ve always wanted? Especially since you’ve grown up in such a strict household since childhood. It’s a wonderful opportunity. Just look at Alice.”
Thinking of how scatterbrained Alice had become, Charlotte’s expression slightly loosened. It seemed like she had entered a bit of a sage moment.
“And.”
“And?”
“You haven’t chosen what you want for lunch yet.”
As I said this to Charlotte while handing her my smartphone, she ended up chuckling.
*
Despite how proud Charlotte was, she knew well that refusing alone in this situation would spoil the fun. In fact, since she had grown up watching others, that feeling must be even more pronounced.
Just as I argued, Charlotte finally begrudgingly chose a costume.
And that costume was of a princess from a super famous animated movie.
A princess in a blue dress casting magic with a wand.
“Oh!”
And Claire’s eyes lit up when she saw Charlotte come out in that outfit.
“Did you deliberately choose that princess?!”
Since Claire was the one who enjoyed watching movies or cartoons the most among us, she definitely recognized whose outfit it was.
The princess character had silver hair. The same silver as Charlotte’s.
“W-Well, of course.”
Charlotte said to Claire.
“Since this princess has the same hair color as me. If I’m going to dress up, wouldn’t it be better to dress up as someone resembling me?”
And she made a pretty good excuse.
“True. It really suits you well.”
When Claire said this, Alice and Mia nodded eagerly.
“If you just learn English, you could even appear as the protagonist in a live-action movie!”
“W-Well, it’s not like it suits me that well…”
I thought she would fit perfectly as a real princess. Although if it was for a movie shoot, it would take at least a few months, and we would need to return to our world, so it was a bit of a stretch.
Well, since she didn’t seem to have any intention to really star in it, I guess it didn’t matter.
“I’m glad it suits you. I’ll go change and come back. After all, I can’t just stay like this today.”
Charlotte said that and went back into the room.
“I’m glad Charlotte likes it. Right?”
“Yes!”
I nodded at Claire’s words.
“I could tell she was really moved by the cartoon. It was a different vibe from when she watches other movies.”
Hearing Claire excitedly talk, I almost burst into laughter.
Well, it’s not like I knew it as accurately as she did,
But, Charlotte, I think you’ve already been found out.
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