Siraiya spotted him first, standing up out of his chair in greeting. I stood up a few seconds later. Since we were at school, we didn’t need to address him with a long, formal greeting. We simply bowed to acknowledge his presence.
“Thanks, but please be at ease.”
With the crown prince’s permission, we took our seats and stared up at him.
He was the love interest featured in the game’s main route—the poster boy. Though we wouldn’t ever have a chance to say his name out loud, he was none other than Adelberd Alan Elzeria, the firstborn prince of the kingdom of Elzeria, where we lived.
He had the standard blonde hair and blue eyes that you might expect to be depicted in this kind of game. Anyone who laid eyes on his character could tell he could only be some sort of prince.
I already knew he was the most beautiful character depicted in the game, but seeing him up close like this in real life made my head spin. He was absolutely gorgeous. The living embodiment of art.
Of course, Siraiya was still the most appealing man to me in this world now, and that wasn’t going to change.
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop,” he began, “I just happened to overhear as I was passing by. Siraiya Brooke, it seems you’re not only a top student but a gifted teacher, too. Do I have that right?”
“I apologize if we were speaking too loudly,” Siraiya said. “Lady Rhuddlan thinks highly of me, but my abilities aren’t anything worthy of Your Royal Highness’ attention. I have only been able to help her because she’s already such a gifted student.”
“Yes, I’ve heard her referred to as the brilliant heir to the Rhuddlan viscounty. In that case, let me ask the brilliant Lady Rhuddlan what she thinks of Lord Brooke’s abilities.”
I hadn’t expected the crown prince to even look my way while speaking with a higher-ranking noble like Siraiya. But I certainly wasn’t going to ignore a direct question like that.
“Of course, Your Royal Highness. I’m honored to receive your praise. I believe that Lord Brooke is a very talented educator. His teaching is highly accurate, yet easy to understand,” I explained.
“I see. You were discussing a notebook, if I heard right? I won’t demand it, but if you’re willing, I’d like to take a look at it for myself,” His Royal Highness requested.
“Would you agree to that, Siraiya?” I asked.
“Of course. It’s no trouble.”
I asked his permission just to be safe, but it would be impossible to refuse a request from the crown prince without a very good excuse. Siraiya agreed, so there was no reason for me to hesitate.
“Here it is, Your Royal Highness,” I said, holding out the notebook to him.
“Thank you. I’ll be borrowing this for a minute.”
This was the notebook I’d been treasuring, making sure not to let it get a single wrinkle. I was a bit nervous handing it over, but the crown prince was gentle as he opened up the cover.
Some pages he flipped straight through. Other times, he took his time and gave them a thorough read. Once he finished with the final page, His Royal Highness closed the notebook and fell silent in thought for a moment.
“I see. You’re right, these notes are splendid. I have plenty of qualified tutors working for me at the palace, but this notebook helped me understand concepts that I couldn’t even work out with them. Be it dressage or academics, you appear to be quite the prodigy, Lord Siraiya Brooke.”
Siraiya’s shoulders tensed nervously at the prince’s candid praise. But I saw the way his cheeks went slightly pink, too. He answered with a slightly trembling voice.
“You speak too highly of me, Your Royal Highness…”
First, he was honored at the dressage race, only to now receive praise directly from a member of the royal family. Siraiya’s self-esteem had taken a beating all his life, but he was finally getting the recognition he’d always deserved.
Despite the calm expression he was maintaining, I swore I could sense the joy radiating off of Siraiya.
“What do you say? Could I join your study sessions from time to time?” His Highness asked. “You probably have a lot of people who want to study under you, Lord Brooke, so I’d gladly compensate you with a small token of my gratitude.”
But when he heard that, instead of joy, the expression on Siraiya’s face tensed. I couldn’t hide my surprise either.
I knew Siraiya was talented, but he was still a student, after all. It seemed like the crown prince was getting ahead of himself, offering to compensate Siraiya in exchange for becoming his personal tutor.
“Please, there’s no need…! A person like me isn’t qualified for such an important role,” Siraiya rushed out.
“That’s not true, based on what I’ve seen from this notebook. Frankly, I’m a little desperate for help. I want to grow to be a better student as quickly as possible, and I’m willing to try anything at my disposal.”
“Still, your grades rank highly in our class,” Siraiya pointed out. “I don’t see any pressing need for you to improve your academics at all.”
“No, I do.” His Royal Highness gave his head a firm shake. “I’m not good enough yet… I have to be better.”
“That’s… But, I…”
The elation Siraiya had just experienced was already gone, like the air deflating from a balloon. In its place, he found himself at a complete loss. The crown prince was clearly troubled by something. With neither side willing to give in, the mood in the room grew tense.
I wonder what’s going on with the crown prince?
Siraiya wasn’t mistaken—His Royal Highness earned some of the top grades in our class. He ranked within the top ten students for every single subject. His grades certainly weren’t any worse than those of other royal family members throughout history.