“Good morning, Miss Mylene!”
“Ahh…nng, good morning, Prince Albert.”
Morning in the classroom—
Prince Albert’s voice brought me from my half-dead stupor back to sanity. I quickly donned my good-girl mask.
My fatigue was the result of a restless night in the wake of Colette’s seduction. Because Albert had seen the soulless look in my eyes earlier, his eyebrows were lowered in concern.
“Pardon my asking, Miss Mylene, but…are you all right? You look terribly tired.”
“Well, last night I… Let’s just say some things transpired.”
I was rather proud of my good-girl façade, but upon closer observation, Albert had a somber look in his eyes. Since I genuinely was exhausted, I didn’t want to bother telling him why. I gave him an exhausted smile, willing him to understand.
When you’re feeling tired, sympathy from a friend really hits you hard. I wanted to ease his worries and explain to him why I was fatigued, but it was obvious that doing so would only further complicate matters.
“Good morning, Prince Albert.”
“Good morning, Princess Colette… What is it? What’s that smug look of triumph on your face…?”
Guess there’s no point in my silence. The source of my strife will proudly and loudly blab everything to him.
I shamelessly pressed my hands to my head.
“Huh? What-what? How can you smile so proudly when poor Miss Mylene is so exhausted?”
“Why, because what transpired last night was a good thing for me. I’m just basking in bliss.”
“What…are you talking about? Is this somehow connected to Miss Mylene’s fatigue?!”
I was right on the money.
The two were locked in this strangely fierce competition. There was no way Colette would keep her juicy secret to herself if it would help her get a huge lead on Albert.
“M-Miss Mylene!”
“Kee-hee-hee…” Colette cackled like a slimy nobleman about to force himself on a poor village girl. “Why don’t you tell him, Mylene? Tell him about us.”
“You what?!” Albert hissed, taking the bait.
“Last night…there was a change of room assignments in the girls’ dormitory. Princess Colette and I now share a domicile.”
“You what?!” Albert repeated the line, but with an even bigger reaction. His eyeballs swirled in vortexes. “Th-then, the reason for your fatigue…it isn’t—!”
“Since this was our first night sharing a room, we deepened our relationship. Well…I think I’ve made my superiority quite clear, Prince Albert.”
“You what?!”
Oh, give it a rest.
With a loud sigh, I clutched my head again. My reluctance to explain the situation had only made things worse. I started to sense a collective curiosity directed at us. If the squabbling pair escalated and sparked rumors about the princess of Colorne stealing the fiancée of Eltania’s prince—well, that would be hell. It might have been too late to stop them, though…
“Let me explain to avoid a misunderstanding—nothing happened. I am your humble fiancée, Prince Albert, and naturally, Princess Colette wouldn’t disrespect that.”
“Hey! Um, thanks for the spoiler warning? You’re no fun.”
When she heard my logical and indifferent explanation, Colette looked genuinely startled by my “spoilers.”
“Heh…? Oh! Is that…true, Miss Mylene?”
“I would never lie about such a thing. I wouldn’t want a misunderstanding.”
“Oh… Th-thank goodness!”
When he saw the way Colette and I were acting around each other, Albert finally let out a sigh of relief. There were actual tears in his eyes. Way to make a guy wanna kick your puny ass… But I’ll let it slide this time. This was Colette he was dealing with—he couldn’t help but be a little puny around her.
“Oh…it’s just Princess Colette and Prince Albert up to their usual bickering.”
“I don’t envy poor Miss Mylene.”
Well familiar with their dynamic by now, the breathless, eager students in our vicinity sighed and scattered in disappointment.
Thank God they’re both dumbasses… If they were usually quiet and well behaved, the school would be a whirlpool of rumors by now.
Albert sighed and said, “Could you please refrain from such tasteless jokes?”
“Sorry, my bad. I let the devil in me get a little carried away.” Colette cackled freely. With a cold sweat beading my brow, I couldn’t exactly join in her levity.
But if I acted annoyed, that’d only make things worse… I know it’s common knowledge, but nothing good comes from griping.
“Oh, bloody hell…” As the adrenaline faded, my mask began to slip a little. But then I noticed her.
A girl was still watching us. As the other students ambled away, she just stood there. But there was more to it than that. She was on guard, appraising us with the gaze of an enemy. I sensed a faint smoldering aura and magic emanating from her.
I casually returned her gaze.
“Mmf…!”
She clearly snubbed me.
Since she had looked away, I couldn’t see the look on her face, but she was a maiden with a petite frame and soft, well-maintained golden hair.
The girl looked familiar—she was probably in our class. Right…I think she was one of the kids who gave me a good staring-down during the welcome ceremony on the first day of school.
Since she hadn’t done anything of note since then, I’d completely forgotten about her. But that didn’t mean I could rest easy. Not every friendly face could be trusted. Pearlman had taught me that lesson.
And it wasn’t like I scanned my surroundings out of habit every day, but with a death glare so obvious, I sure as hell would have noticed her watching me before.
So. If she started staring at me now, it must be because—
She’s with Gods of the Moon. Did they hire her to spy on me?
Though well aware of it, I let my gaze grow sharp and very unladylike. Forcing me to take caution of her like that was a foul move.
“What’s wrong, Mylene?”
“Something troubling you, my lady?”
The voices of my companions snapped me out of my head.
“Sorry…it’s nothing,” I answered, finally forcing my graceful, ladylike smile back onto my face.
Those two had known me a long time. They could tell I’d flipped into a different state of consciousness when they called my name. They turned dubious eyes on me, then at each other.
That was a close call. If someone from Gods of the Moon was watching us, I wanted to let them go about their business a while longer. And to do that, I couldn’t let them know that I was onto them.
“Oh, how utterly troublesome,” I murmured so quietly that not even Albert and Colette could hear me.