Unless I said something totally off base, there was no way Albert would reject a suggestion of mine. Taking the future into consideration, I didn’t want him to become a yes-man…but he appreciated the true essence of my café and seemed to be thinking for himself, so I let it slide.
“This way, we won’t need to worry about our budget for tea and refreshments, and we won’t need to hire a chef either. We’ll have to put extra effort into our costumes, but we don’t need to make that many of them anyway, so I doubt they’ll break our budget. Our café will easily get all the funding it needs, unlike clothing and jewelry shops.”
All that remained was to push the true objective of the Genius Festival on them. A victory signified superiority. I was sure lots of kids were in it to win it.
“Wow, she really thought of everything…!”
“What a smart lady…”
Thanks to the hype from Colette and Albert, nobody in the class voiced any objections to my idea. Even though I’d written it off as a flight of fancy, it felt damn good having everything go according to my design.
“Well then, do you all agree to my suggestion?” I asked for approval in a tone that was polite and gracious yet firm and unyielding—it was clear I wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
“Of course!”
“I love it!”
I shot a sweet smile at our homeroom teacher, who closed his dropped jaw and cleared his throat.
“W-well then, it’s decided. The Phoenix Class’s entry will be a café… This is the first time I’ve had a group of students choose their entry so smoothly.”
This was an academy filled with strong-willed rich kids. I was sure they usually took their time squabbling over their entry. It was a good feeling knowing that I had skillfully orchestrated it all.
“Hmm…now, what shall we do with the extra time? I wouldn’t want to do a study hall, that feels too lazy—”
“Then why don’t we assign roles?” I asked, smiling at the flustered teacher looking at the clock.
“Ah yes, that’s a good idea. Why don’t we all discuss that?”
All that remained was for me to knock out the competition one by one to get a good role assignment, and we would be golden.
“May I speak? I actually have some cooking experience. So might I humbly nominate myself for the role of dessert maker?”
My target was none other than dessert maker.
The most ubiquitous confectionary for teatime was bannocks. It was a simple quick bread that came together just by mixing the ingredients together and baking it. I could make a big batch of them, serve them with jam, and there you go—perfect teatime treats. I could make my own jam, but since it kept well, I could always just buy it. So with a wee bit of work up front, I could sit on my ass the rest of the day.
Most of these rich kids had probably never set foot in a kitchen. They’d never served guests either, but cooking was one of the basic services provided by house servants. Aside from your odd foodie, most of these guys wouldn’t know how to prepare food. They would certainly not want to do a job they knew absolutely nothing about.
And thus, the sweet and easy job was mine for the taking—or so I thought.
“Mylene…? What are you suggesting? Isn’t the whole point of this café—its entire appeal—the beautiful servers? Then I don’t see anyone more suitable to be our leading lady than you.”
I had just one miscalculation. It was Colette’s influence that I had made use of previously.
“Wha…?!”
Her sneak attack paralyzed me.
By the time I was able to form the thought What the hell is she saying?! it was already too late. Colette’s opinions, once spoken, were as good as declarations in this classroom.
“Anybody can make a few desserts. Assigning our best asset who is gifted in every way to a throwaway role is moronic. And most of all…I just want to see you in a cute costume!”
Moreover, the problem here was Colette—the de facto class leader—and her divergent feelings. If a chef heard what she’d just said, they would be enraged. Cooking was a worthy craft and a worthy profession. But Colette had no interest in that whatsoever. To her, food was nothing more than something somebody else made for you to eat.
“B-but…!”
I flicked my eyes around the room, looking for salvation, but everyone was nodding in agreement with Colette.
You spoiled little shits!
“Yes, if beauty is on the menu, we certainly can’t leave out Mylene.”
“We’re lucky to have her star in our innovative shop. I could certainly see Miss Mylene filling the role.”
“It was her idea, after all. Miss Mylene should be the star.”
It made me grind my teeth, but thanks to Colette’s impassioned declaration earlier, the servers were already dubbed the stars of our show. To make matters worse, this was a direct nomination. There was no way I could turn it down.
……I’ve got one last hope!
“P-Prince Albert…!”
Surely he’ll understand my psychic message!
Albert knows the real me. He’ll understand why I don’t want to touch that job with a ten-foot pole!
I shot him a fierce stare. I can’t keep pretending forever. Object the nomination! Object it!
“Mm…! Miss Mylene—er, well… I agree that Miss Mylene would make our perfect leading lady…!”
I knew he was gonna betray me, but still!
After displaying a wide array of expressions, Albert agreed with Colette, signifying that the decision was final.
This can’t be happening… Just because I’m used to it, doesn’t mean I like dressing like a girl. And now I have to wear a café costume on top of that?
“Nng…nnngg…!”
It’s not too late. I can order modest costumes. I’m the only one who knows how far they’re supposed to go. Instead of going with the outfits that were successful in the future timeline, I can just go with a toned-down design.
But if I did that, our business might not succeed.
After all that posturing and hyping, if my plan fails, I’ll be so ashamed, I won’t be able to show my face in public again.
“Very well… If you insist, then I certainly can’t say no.”
Depending on how ya look at it, this is nothing to cry over. I’m just playing all the cards in my deck so I can succeed—that’s all.
“However…I would be too scared playing the role by myself. Princess Colette, Prince Albert, would you consider being servants with me?”
If I’m going down, I’m taking you fuckers with me.
Ordinarily, asking royalty to be servants was unheard of, but this was only theater, after all. It was perfectly reasonable to indulge a friend’s request and play along with her.