The Gloomy and Timid Princess Heads to the Academy

---

“I have nothing to discuss with you.”

Of course, I had no intention of going with Ethan. Why would I follow someone who’s been stalking me so creepily until now?

Thanks to this guy, I had to take a complicated detour to talk comfortably with Dokan.

And just looking at him didn’t inspire any good feelings.

“…It seems you don’t remember. Then let me remind you. Do you know how much damage our family has suffered due to Lady Hoyun’s escort?”

Uh… is that the topic?

I thought he called me out to flirt, but it turned out to be about money.

Honestly, every time I sat at the negotiation table, I was so distracted looking elsewhere and trying not to remember who I was facing that I couldn’t recall anyone’s face.

Just that it was a woman, a man, old, or young. That was all I remembered, nothing more.

As soon as I sat at the table, my mind went blank, and I kept repeating the same remarks… probably.

If he’s asking for an apology, I was willing to give it. I had crossed the continent in a rather rude manner, after all.

But I had some excuses too. If I hadn’t done it this way, I would have been a month late to the academy.

I didn’t have time to pay calmly and go through procedures.

“…If that’s the case, fine. I will go with you.”

Still, I should apologize. If I did something wrong, it’s only proper to say I’m sorry. I’m not sure if this guy is really the victim, but… instead of rejecting his request out of suspicion and building up grudges, it’s better to just do it.

“Then this way.”

I was uneasy about leaving Dokan alone with Anastasia, but surely he wouldn’t mess up again after having apologized like that.

He’s my friend after all.

Trusting Dokan, I followed Ethan outside the library.

“…Before that, could you take a look at this for a moment?”

“What is it…”

What Ethan pulled out was something like a coin with a thread attached to it.

It was too delicately crafted to be called a coin, and its shape wasn’t perfectly round—it seemed to symbolize something.

It looked similar to the symbol I saw on the church as I passed by.

He was shaking it.

Well, what is it? Is he trying some hypnosis trick or something?

Really, no matter how much he pretends to be cultured, the essence of the Golden Sun never changes. It seems he’s trying to charm me with fancy words and some hypnosis, but it’s not going to work.

“Can you not feel anything?”

“Not feeling anything… I feel discomfort. If you called me out just to do this nonsense, you can take a hike.”

If he was simply asking for an ordinary apology, I would have delivered it, but calling me out for this kind of useless trick was unacceptable.

But here’s the thing, it doesn’t work on me.

Now, whether this guy is a true victim or not doesn’t matter anymore.

After finishing what I had to say, I turned back without looking behind and reentered the library. I thought he might be a decent guy since he absorbed the lessons well.

Still, looks are more of a science… no, that’s going too far.

But it could have quite an influence. After all, this is a novel world, so such stereotypes would probably hold some weight.

Thinking that I should be cautious based on people’s appearances moving forward, I headed to the floor where Anastasia and Dokan were.

“…What do you think about Lady Hoyun?”

If I hadn’t heard that from Anastasia, I would have arrived at their table without a thought.

However, the moment I heard her voice, I reflexively stopped.

She was probably talking to Dokan. With the topic being what it was, it felt awkward to go and, above all, I was curious.

Dokan might call me a friend, but he was nothing to others.

Without needing to dive into my experiences, it was a classic theme from stories I used to read back in the day.

So, how would Dokan respond? I was looking forward to it.

No, even more than that, I should question why he was speaking to someone else in my absence. And why he brought that kind of temptress along.

“Lady Hoyun… You mean? A precious first friend of mine. But why are you asking that all of a sudden…?”

Hmm. I was a bit afraid that I might be the only one he sees as a friend, but thankfully it turns out I’m a precious friend to Dokan.

Thinking back, maybe I don’t need to scold him that much.

After all, Dokan called her in good faith. And maybe it was she who initiated the conversation with him.

“…You. Don’t act like you know me from the Swordsmanship Club. I didn’t see you as that kind of person.”

“Excuse me?”

Now, what’s with this?

I simply said we’re friends, is there something here that could offend Anya? Thinking back to what I said earlier, I don’t think I said anything wrong.

And yet suddenly she tells me not to talk to her.

Just as I was about to get confused, I heard Hoyun’s voice.

“Hmph, I see. I heard you well. So, you considered me a friend too, huh?”

“Lady Hoyun…”

“Lady Hoyun, you’re here.”

I felt like I arrived at just the right moment.

As the flow of the conversation started to get weird, Hoyun cut in perfectly.

“Anastasia, don’t be too harsh on Dokan. He’s not a bad guy at heart.”

Though it was a bit bittersweet, I was really grateful for Hoyun defending me.

“…Lady Hoyun, why do you protect him so much…?”

Anya asked Hoyun, her face filled with confusion and suspicion. It seemed she didn’t like that I was being defended.

“Because he’s a friend.”

“For you to… really only a friend?”

I know that question isn’t directed at me, but my answer would be no.

I mean, eventually, I aim to build a harem, and for that, I can’t just consider her a friend. So I didn’t intend to stop at just friendship.

She seems like someone whose affection levels could rise easily, so I thought it wouldn’t take long.

For now, she’s a friend, but later she’ll be my main partner.

“Of course.”

Hoyun seems to be pleased with the fact that we’re friends.