“The Crown Princess is a bit difficult to grasp.”
“Which Crown Princess are you talking about? Alice? Sylvia?”
“Of course, I mean Crown Princess Sylvia Fanggriffon. Sure, Crown Princess Alice Fanggriffon is different from ordinary nobles, but it’s not like her way of thinking is hard to follow. She’s a good person who sets her own principles and sticks to them.”
“Your evaluation is pretty good. You’ve been observing closely.”
“……”
As Roti shot Jake a sideways glance, Jake exaggeratedly shrugged his shoulders.
“Of course, it’s because of you, young master. Since you’re hanging out with those people, I need to be aware of their tendencies—”
“Oh, so you’ve figured out Charlotte too?”
“……Young master, why don’t you listen to what people have to say until the end?”
“No, I mean, I was just.”
Jake chuckled and turned his gaze out the window.
Since they were already high in the air on the airship, almost the entire city was visible outside. At first glance, it looked like a place filled with nothing but prosperity. But Jake, being from there, knew that once you entered, you would find that many places were already starting to show signs of decay.
… From there.
Now it was called Lindbergh, but in the past, it had a completely different name. But could Jake really say ‘from there’? If the locals heard that, it would be the kind of story that gave them a pain in the neck.
“You were the one who told me to at least talk to Sylvia, right?”
Roti, hearing Jake’s words, rare for her, gently rubbed her temples with her fingers, as if convincing herself that she didn’t need to frown anymore.
“I’ve told you many times that was a joke.”
“You don’t usually joke around. So that means your words back then were either— you genuinely meant to say that Sylvia was a good person, or you accidentally let it slip and now you’re trying to cover it up by saying it was a joke.”
“……”
“So, which is it, the first or the second? Were you perhaps jealous of all the girls hanging around me back then?”
“…… It’s the second.”
“Eh?”
Hearing an unexpected response, Jake let out a strange sound for a moment.
“The second, huh?”
Jake had teased Roti many times before with the same kind of words, but this was the first time he saw her react like this. Until now, Roti had just been keeping her mouth shut in response.
“What I mean is, there wasn’t a woman among those surrounding you at that time who was suitable for you.”
At those words, this time Jake displayed a rare expression.
In simple terms, his face had turned slightly red.
“I would much rather take care of it myself than pass you onto such women.”
“…… Why are you saying that? Did you eat something funny today?”
Hearing Roti say that so openly, Jake responded with a look of near disbelief.
His face was now completely flushed. Thankfully, since there was no one around, but if they had been in a crowded lounge full of students, this alone would have become a topic of gossip.
“It’s because the Crown Princess told me to give her whatever she needs without hesitation.”
Seeing Jake’s expression, Roti spoke with a hint of satisfaction in her voice.
“So out of the Crown Princess’s command?”
“…… Not exactly.”
Roti stared at the receding city for a moment before speaking.
“I’ll say this again, the Crown Princess is a rather unpredictable person. She seems to act solely based on logic, but sometimes… a little…”
“Emotional, right?”
“That’s right.”
At Roti’s answer, Jake hummed thoughtfully for a moment.
“Well, if you think of those two sides as Sylvia’s true nature, it should be easy to understand. Everyone is like that.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah, even you. At first, you were so wary of Sylvia, but now you mention her so casually.”
“……”
“Ah, maybe not? If you had been that wary, you wouldn’t have told me to talk to her in the first place—”
“—Don’t you think it’s about time we stop this story?”
At Roti’s words, Jake closed his mouth.
“I just… can’t figure out why she’s helping me so much.”
“Ah, that.”
At Roti’s words, Jake smiled.
“That’s simple—she’s just a fundamentally good person.”
“…… Is that so?”
“Yep. But because of her position and situation, she probably has that blank expression. Think about it. Alice is a Crown Princess too, but there’s a huge difference between her and Sylvia’s status, right? You’re aware of that, aren’t you?”
The ‘real’ royalty who carry on the bloodline and the ‘Emperor’s children’, chosen to handle the dirty work among those closest to the Emperor. Alice was the former, and Sylvia was the latter.
“In reality, she’s just an ordinary, deeply caring person, but the circumstances have forced her into that image. Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense, right?”
“……”
Roti thought Jake’s words made sense.
But if that were the case—
What a tragic situation.
As Jake, seeing Roti’s silence, seemed to suddenly recall something.
“Oh, but your mother is on the airship too, right? You don’t have to be alone with her.”
“…… That’s…”
“Why, is there a problem?”
“No, that’s not it, but I’ve hardly ever been alone with my mother, so… I don’t really know what to talk about when it’s just us.”
“……”
Hearing Roti’s words, Jake was momentarily at a loss for words.
“Just be next to her. That should be enough.”
Jake struggled to think of something to say.
“Do you really think so?”
“Yeah.”
To be honest, Jake wasn’t sure.
But he thought that encouraging her was the best thing to do right now.
“You finally get to be alone together. Go and… as you stay together, some topics will pop up. And before you know it, you’ll be chatting away without realizing how much time has passed.”
“I understand.”
With a pensive expression, Roti finally nodded in response.
Then she managed a thin smile.
“Well then, I’ll go now.”
Before Jake could fully grasp and accept the situation, Roti bowed her head lightly and left.
“…… Huh?”
After a slight delay, Jake uttered a dumbfounded voice.
*
I thought I wanted to see those two getting all lovey-dovey.
To be honest, I never expected them to get this close so quickly.
Roti seemed to take my words to heart and started sticking to Jake without a care. Previously, she had followed a little from behind, but now it was like she was his girlfriend or something.
Well, if we get technical, it’s more like they’re in a relationship similar to a girlfriend.
So now all I have to do is watch them with a satisfied expression as I achieved my goal.
Watching the two enter a small meeting room, I felt a strange feeling.
That’s right. This feeling is…
Similar to that dirty feeling I had when I stepped out to the convenience store for a moment on Christmas and was overwhelmed by the number of couples wandering around outside.
I wanted to see them being lovey-dovey, but I didn’t want to witness such a massacre.
Thinking back, there’s about a two parsec distance between game characters being lovey-dovey and real-life people doing the same. In games, it’s just lines and pre-programmed motions, but reality is usually far more detailed.
“You could create one too, if you wanted, right?”
And of all people, the one next to me happened to be Alice, who could read my expressions better than anyone else in the world.
As I silently turned my gaze, there was Alice, grinning from ear to ear.
“You were the one who brought those two together. That ruckus was because of this, wasn’t it?”
“…… That’s true.”
But still, that and this are different for various reasons.
I can’t even tell what I’m saying myself.
“If you’re that jealous, why don’t you just get yourself a boyfriend?”
“…… Are you joking?”
“Oh, no, I’m serious.”
Well, yeah. I mean, for me, having a boyfriend wouldn’t be a big deal. Besides, in this world, holding a title like that doesn’t become such a heavy burden. It’s somewhat of an ‘officially recognized but unofficial’ status.
But I have no intention of dating any guys.
Not to mention I don’t even feel like dating any girls at this time.
Everyone around me is just a bunch of kids.
“Have you ever thought about that, Alice?”
“…… No, I haven’t.”
There’s really no need to look that serious.
Shouldn’t this be the timing for Tsundere Leo around this point in the original story?
As I sat there awkwardly sandwiched between the girls, watching Leo sitting all alone over there, looking like he was in a bit of a bind, I felt a strange sigh escape me.
Should I be envious of that, or not?
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