“You see, Lady Kagura is planning to ask the new international student who arrived yesterday, Lady Sakura, to join the Sky Salon. We’ve come to inform you of that and find out where you stand.”
“Excuse me?!” Mei exclaimed. “That’s not fair! Why is Lady Kagura so keen on having her for the Sky Salon—for herself? Everyone can tell that she’s perfect for the Paradise Palace!”
Setting aside the question of how all these people had gained such detailed knowledge in the span of a day, there was no denying that Lady Sakura fit the bill. One look at her was enough to know that. When Mei set her sights on someone, there probably weren’t too many salons that would try to compete with her.
Kirara replied, “That’s up to Lady Kagura to decide, so I’m afraid I have no answer for you.”
After hearing those words, Mei couldn’t say much either. She bit her lip in frustration and grumbled, “I made a tactical error. When I met you on the stairs, I should have kept going.”
Mei had a point. We had run into her at a very critical moment. That was why we’d been so forceful in getting her back to the salon.
In the end, we’d successfully done our duty and informed Lady Asuka of our salon leader’s plans. If Mei rushed ahead now, it would look like she was trying to gain an unfair advantage while Lady Kagura was hoping to get everyone on a level playing field. That would be quite bad for Lady Asuka’s reputation, especially given the well-known feelings of rivalry she had toward Lady Kagura. She’d surely want to avoid any appearance of impropriety at all costs.
“It’s too late, Mei,” she admitted. “They have Himeko on their team, so they’ll always beat us to the punch when it comes to information.”
Lady Asuka tried to pat Mei on the head to console her. At least, that was what it looked like. She couldn’t quite reach, so it ended up as more of a clap on the shoulder.
“No need to count ourselves out just yet, though. If she’s sent you two to give us advance notice, that means she hasn’t actually approached the girl, right? Am I right in thinking she wants to arrange a fair contest to decide which salon gets to have Sakura?”
“Exactly,” Kirara replied. “My mistress knew as soon as she saw Lady Sakura’s profile that the Paradise Palace—Mei, more specifically—was likely to go after her. Also, given that there’s at least one more salon who wants her—”
“Oh, is there?” She arched one eyebrow and sounded quite surprised. “Has word traveled about her that quickly when she’s only just arrived from abroad? All I know is what I heard about her from Mei. Is she famous or something?”
“Erm, in a way.”
Kirara looked a little lost when it came to answering that question. Lady Sakura belonged to a British aristocratic family who operated a media empire, so in that sense, she was famous. However, in Japan there were still few people who had heard of her. In spite of that, for reasons we still couldn’t be sure of, Lady Rosalie had learned about her and already made an attempt to get closer to her Seraph, Sara. Maybe it would have been most accurate to say that Lady Sakura had somehow become famous without knowing it herself.
“I heard all about Lady Sakura from my friend Sara and spoke to Lady Kagura about her. I can’t tell you how anyone else got their information, but we’ve gathered from Sara that one other salon is definitely going to approach her. That’s why Lady Kagura wanted us to come. We’re visiting all the salons to make sure that everyone with an interest in Lady Sakura can have a fair chance of getting her.”
“Hmm. Well, Kagura has her own reputation to uphold, so if that’s what she’s learned, I suppose she has no other way to proceed. Maybe it’ll work in our favor. Instead of sneaking around, we can go toe-to-toe with each other. In which case—Mei!”
In what looked like an unusual move, Lady Asuka put an arm around Mei and pulled her closer.
“We don’t plan on losing, do we now?”
“No! No, of course not!”
Mei, who always walked around half-lidded, was now in a state of wide-eyed shock. She looked like her nose might start bleeding at any moment.
“We’ll gladly take you on fair and square,” Lady Asuka declared. “I’m looking forward to it. I was waiting for the next Salon Struggle to exact my revenge, but if I can do it sooner, then that’s even better. The Kokonoe sisters may have tricked us, but Mei was not defeated.”
It was no wonder she was so full of confidence. During the Salon Struggle, Mei had done everything perfectly. When it came to Domestic Arts students, her skills were the best of the best.
“I’m so glad you’re in agreement,” Kirara said in response. “In that case, we’ll be on our way.”
Phew. One salon down. Relieved, I went to stand up, as did Kirara.
However, with an ominous tone, Lady Asuka stopped us. “You’re not leaving so soon, are you?”
My imagination ran away with me for a moment. What was she about to do, hold us captive?
Lady Asuka made us sit again with a scheming smile on her face. “What kind of salon leader would I be if I let guests visit the Paradise Palace without showing them proper hospitality? My reputation would be in ruins. We’ll serve you some delicious treats, so stay here and relax for a while.”
“Thank you for the kind offer, but we’re not deserving of your hospitality!”
“Exactly!” Kirara agreed. “And we have several other salons to visit, so—”
Our attempts at politely refusing were flatly denied. “Oh, don’t worry. I won’t take up too much of your time. Mei, get serving.”
“Yes, milady. Leave it to me.”
With graceful movements, Mei walked over to what looked like the kitchen.
“Is the discussion over for now?” came a sweet voice with a hint of a lisp. I knew its owner well.
When I turned to look, Lady Erisu had come over to us, as if trading places with Mei. She still looked like a beautiful porcelain doll. Her soft blonde hair was tied with a large ribbon and two rose-shaped accessories, making her look all the more doll-like. Unbelievably enough, Lady Erisu owned a restaurant on campus that was staffed by her three Exousias. At one point, it had been struggling to drum up business, but it was doing much better now, as reflected in Lady Erisu’s radiant smile.
“Good day, Lady Erisu.”
“Yes, good day, Misaki.”
She came and sat down next to me of all people. A gentle floral aroma wafted toward me; it was so sweet that I had to fight the urge to bury my face in her neck and get a good sniff.
Looking closer, I saw that she had some cake crumbs around her mouth. Those must have been the source of the sweet scent.
Her Exousias are probably at the restaurant, so I guess it would be fine for me to point it out. Even if she’s not my mistress, as a maid, I shouldn’t just leave the crumbs there, right?
“Lady Erisu, you have something around your mouth.”
“Really? Where?”
She nonchalantly turned toward me, lifting her chin. She’s a mistress all right. To her, it’s the most natural thing in the world for me to clean it off.
Still, it made my heart race for her to present her lips to me so vulnerably.
“Excuse my fingers.”
Forcing myself to keep steady so I wouldn’t be admonished for my trembling, I wiped off the cake crumbs with my thumb.
Her skin is so velvety smooth! It’s just like a child’s! Wait, that’s not what matters right now.
Touching her for too long would have been weird, so I moved my hand away, then licked up the crumbs.
Lady Erisu laughed bewitchingly and cocked her head, staring straight into my eyes. “So audacious! Aren’t you embarrassed to be eating something that was stuck to my face?”
I know she’s making fun of me, but when she pulls such an adorable gesture, I can’t help grinning.
“Hee hee. I’ll have to tell Himeko how bold you were with me.”
“Wait! Lady Erisu!”
Oh no. I forgot how fond of pranks she is. There was that time she kissed me right in front of Himeko. Now I’ve given her an opening and gotten myself into a whole mess!
“Misaki,” said a low voice from behind. “Are you enjoying getting up close and personal with Lady Erisu?”
Yup. I knew it.
I immediately knew it was Mei’s voice, but I’d never heard her speak in such a deep rumble before.