NOVEL NEXT Chapter 36
Seria Rubetia.
I was aware that she always stuck by my side.
But I didn’t find it strange.
She was a genuine introvert who hadn’t made a proper friend until graduation in the original story, and even now, she hesitated to meet new people.
Sometimes someone would approach her, but she would fiercely chase them away.
Because of that nature, I guess she only clung to me, the one person she was close to.
I was thinking that… until…
“Se, Seria! Are you really going to let loose now?”
“Hmm? I don’t know what you mean, Lilith. I’ve always felt like this.”
“Don’t lie! Your face is completely red from embarrassment!”
“Ugh… No, it’s not….”
I couldn’t help but be flustered by her suddenly closing the distance.
What on earth happened? Honestly, it was hard to understand.
The game I was playing focused primarily on the story.
While there were multiple endings, it was designed to follow a specific path overall.
And amidst that, the protagonist never really experienced a proper romance before reaching the ending.
That was one of the notable features of the game. There was a favorability system, but no romance system.
To be precise, increasing favorability would lead to exclusive storylines, but they didn’t necessarily lead to romance.
At most, getting friendly enough to chat on the street would slightly change the script? This had led many people to clamoring for the development of dating simulations.
Anyway, knowing the content of such a game, I thought these kids had little to no interest in those kinds of things.
But… seeing this scene now, I couldn’t help but realize, no matter how oblivious I was, that she had an interest in me.
It was great that such a beauty had a good opinion of me… but honestly, it felt burdensome.
Was it because she was a princess? Because she was an important character in the game’s story?
No, if that was the case, she would have avoided drawing attention from the start.
The reason I felt burdened was… because of her age.
She was certainly mature for her age, but no matter how mature she was, in my eyes, she was nothing more than a minor.
Of course, my body was the same age as hers now… but I didn’t want to be that pathetic person using that as a shield.
No matter how captivating she was, able to charm anyone with a single smile…
“Rudion. Isn’t it nice? Having such a pretty girl following you around.”
“D-Don’t say that…”
“What’s wrong with that? She probably likes you secretly, too! Why not ask her!”
“…Rudion. Is that true?”
…Can I last through this? I was scared because I couldn’t trust myself.
Fortunately, I managed to skip answering the question thanks to the timely entry of Professor Reina.
Seria, not wanting to show that side of herself even to the professor, soon returned to her usual distance.
Afterward, as Professor Reina revealed the truth behind the recent rumors, everyone subtly glanced our way.
Perhaps because they had all just witnessed that scene… their expressions seemed less surprised and more like, ‘Well, that makes sense~.’
Yeah… this was the time when everyone liked that sort of thing.
“…Why are they reacting like this? Did something happen?”
Only Professor Reina, who hadn’t seen Seria’s antics, was left with her question.
After the class ended that day, Seria took me and led me somewhere.
I wondered where we were going, and it turned out to be the academy’s plaza we visited yesterday.
As soon as we arrived, countless gazes turned our way, but this time, the negativity from yesterday seemed to have vanished.
However, it felt like the number of stares had increased compared to yesterday… and the obvious cause was Seria.
She was simply clinging to one of my arms.
“Hey, Seria. Everyone’s staring. Could you let go a bit?”
“Hehe. Rudion, I’m not afraid anymore.”
I wanted her to let go because I was the one feeling scared.
You might not know, but there are people who secretly admire you, you know? The one who reported the incident was probably one of them!
However, she showed no intention of releasing my arm. Instead, she dragged me along more eagerly.
Normally, I would have felt overwhelmed in such a situation, wanting to escape the attention, but today, for some reason, I didn’t feel that way at all.
What a sudden change… it was quite surprising.
She pulled me to a bench in the corner of the plaza and sat down right next to me.
After sitting side by side, we spent a moment without any conversation, and as time passed, the stares looking our way began to decrease.
Just as we were about to be free from the burden of attention, Seria cautiously turned to me.
“Rudion. Thank you.”
“Suddenly, for what?”
“Just… everything. For treating me like a friend even though I’m a princess, and for trying to protect me this time.”
She seemed awkward saying this, fidgeting with her hands and feet as she struggled to continue speaking.
“When I’m with you, I naturally smile, even if nothing is happening. Thanks to you, my days have been really enjoyable lately.”
“I’ve actually been aware of these feelings for a while now, but honestly, I was controlling myself. After all, I’m a princess, and you’re a commoner, and we’re in an academy, right? I didn’t want to create rumors that would cause concern for the royal palace.”
“But seeing you shield me without caring about others’ opinions, my thoughts changed a bit.”
Seria slowly shifted closer, pressing herself against me.
“I want to let everyone know about you, Rudion. That you’re someone who’s worthy of being alongside a princess; in fact, you’re even more incredible than that.”
“Wait, Seria, I’m not that amazing…”
“Rudion? I’m talking here, aren’t I?”
“…Yes, please continue.”
Her reaction cut off what I was about to say, and Seria chuckled before pulling out a letter from her bag and handing it to me.
“So when this incident is reported to the royal palace, I sent a letter along with it. This is the response.”
Taking the letter, I definitely noticed the royal palace’s seal on it.
“But… the person who delivered the reply told me to make sure to read it together with you.”
“…Wait a minute.”
I pointed to the letter she handed me and asked.
“Are you telling me we’re going to read this letter together after building up to it like this?”
“Building up… I’m not sure what that means, but I think it’s probably right.”
…Sigh, and here I thought she was going to make a bold confession.
Receiving a confession was one thing, but I was sweating just thinking about how to reject it. Could I even reject it?
Thank goodness. Honestly, if I were to get confessed to in this atmosphere, I might have accidentally agreed…
“Why? Were you so nervous thinking I might confess my feelings?”
…Wow, she’s a straight-up master.
“I’ll tell you honestly, I did think about it. If I pushed for it, I know you would eventually accept. But…”
Seria paused dramatically before cautiously looking up at me.
“That doesn’t mean I think it’s fair to impose my feelings on you.”
I understood what she meant. In the end, she was saying she would wait until I took the initiative.
How sincere of her… even though she could just act freely without any consequences from anyone. She had grown up well…
With that thought, I gently patted her head.
Perhaps because it was physical contact I hadn’t done even once until now, she flinched like a startled cat.
“Huuh?! Ru, Rudion?”
“Ugh… do as you wish. I’ll also do what I want.”
“…Okay!”
Now, pulling away from Seria didn’t make sense, nor did I want to, so I decided to just accept this whole situation as is.
As long as it didn’t suddenly escalate into wanting to change the relationship, I was fine with anything. Let things unfold naturally.
That part of the conversation seemed to have concluded, so I refocused on the letter Seria had given to me.
Earlier, I had just noticed the royal palace’s seal, but looking closely, the letter itself also had a very luxurious texture.
Carefully pulling out the paper inside, it had been written in very bold, red letters.
– Rudion. Stay away from our daughter immediately. If not, I will kill you.
…Oh. That’s intense.
“Hmm. I think my father is just playing around a bit.”
No way? It seems like he’s being more serious than anyone else right now, though.
Seeing that Seria herself recognized that her excuse didn’t make sense, she cautiously changed her words.
“…Should we pretend we never received this letter?”
“Do you think that’s possible?”
If you claim you didn’t receive a letter sent directly from the Emperor, do you know what kind of consequences the messenger who delivered it would face?
“Wait a minute. There seems to be another page at the back?”
“Hmm? Oh, you’re right.”
Just as Seria said, there was indeed an additional letter hidden behind the threatening one.
With minimal tension, I cautiously revealed the second letter, which, in contrast to the furious handwriting I had just seen, was written in a neat and tidy script with quite a lengthy content.
It read like a royal letter filled with all sorts of decorous phrases, but to summarize the essence in three lines, it said:
– Nice to meet you. I’m Seria’s mother. Ignore the letter from my husband.
– Since my daughter likes you so much, you should at least show your face to the family.
– After midterms, if you have some leisure, come visit the royal palace with Seria. It’s not a demand, but I hope you consider it. You understand, right?
That was it. This was a glorious royal invitation (mandatory).
“Um, Seria?”
“That sounds good! Let’s definitely go!”
“…Sure, let’s do that…”
I briefly wondered if Seria would be against it, but she had an extremely positive reaction.
With those sparkling eyes, it was hard to even make a fuss about it.
The schedule that I hadn’t even thought about was suddenly decided, but… I had no right to refuse, so I guess I had to accept it.
“…Huh?”
Now that I looked more closely at the corner of the letter, there were tiny words written.
Curiously, I read it, and it went like this.
– Rudion, right? I’ll let you off because my daughter likes you, but if you hurt her even a little, I won’t spare you. Do well.
Seria, caught up in discussing the schedule for visiting the royal palace, didn’t notice it, but I felt it best not to show her, so I slyly folded the letter in half.
…I really don’t want to go.