Revolution was a dating sim. As I said before, I only cared about the male love interests insofar as they let me spend time with Claire. The romance that brought you into the most contact with Claire was the one with Thane, the second-born prince, and I was more than willing to take that route if need be—but there was a problem.
“Hey, Rae. Are you listening?” a clear baritone addressed me.
“I’m sorry… I was distracted.”
“You’re so funny. That’s all right; I forgive you.” Rod laughed, and the noble-born girls around us looked on with envy. No matter how rich their families might be, it seemed they didn’t have the courage to approach the first-born prince.
One of the early triggers for Rod’s romance route was achieving excellent results in the start-of-term tests. Checking that box got Rod’s attention and made him begin to flirt with you. That’s what was happening at the moment, and like I said, it was a problem.
When I turned to look behind me, I found Thane in the last row of the classroom looking bored out of his mind.
I did this to beat Claire, but…
If your test results were too good, Thane’s interest in you decreased. He was a tangle of inferiority complexes and not fond of people more skilled than himself. What an endearing character flaw.
“Master Rod, should you speak so casually to such a peasant? She will sully your noble blood.”
“Oh, Miss Claire!”
I brightened at the familiar pointed tone. Unlike the young women in her entourage, Claire never hesitated to approach Rod. That was natural enough, given her family’s status, but I thought it had more to do with Claire’s personality.
“She may be a commoner, but she has skills. And her reactions are interesting, too.”
“That teasing of yours is a bad habit, Rod. Rae, you don’t have to indulge him.” Yu joined us at that point. The exam results didn’t affect his route, so his behavior toward me hadn’t changed.
“I think Rae could suffer to show a little more respect for royalty,” said Misha, who was quietly studying in the next seat over. Misha was always by the heroine’s side, giving her advice. Of course, this also led to mayhem on the Yu route.
“I respect the royal family,” I said, “but my love for Claire runs far deeper than any respect.”
“What do you think about that, Claire?”
“I have no interest in the thoughts of peasants. …I do think she’s taking this a bit too far, though.”
“Yes! Please cut me down to size!”
“Why does that make you so happy?!”
Seeing Claire and I up to our usual antics made Rod laugh again. “Ha ha! You really are funny!”
Oof. This was starting to be a problem. I didn’t know what to do.
“Master Rod,” I said, my diction clear as possible.
“What is it?”
“I’m only interested in Miss Claire.”
“It sure does seem that way.”
“So, if you could please leave me be…”
“Hey, Rae!” Misha sounded flustered. She probably thought I was being too frank—that was the point! “Rod, I’m so sorry. Rae hasn’t learned how to comport herself around royalty yet.”
“Oh no, I don’t think so. Do you really think we should ignore what she just said?” Claire interjected. It was just like Misha to bandage my self-inflicted wounds and just like Claire to pour salt into them. “Ignorance is no excuse. Does she think she suddenly has status just because she did well on a test?”
“Well,” Rod mused. “Claire does have a point, but…”
“Don’t I? I beg of you to make sure her punishment is severe.”
“But this is the Academy. Here, I am merely a student. And above all else…”
“But to simply disregard what she—”
“Above all else,” Rod repeated. “I choose to forgive. This is the word of your future king. Do you disagree?”
He really did sound like a king when he spoke like that.
“Er! Understood.” Claire backed off, clearly frustrated.
“Miss Claire,” I said.
“Hmph… What is it? You must be proud of yourself for gaining Master Rod’s favor.”
“Not really.”
“Hmm?”
“You were just trying to be proper, Miss Claire. I respect you for that.”
Once again, Claire looked like a pigeon that had been nailed by a BB gun. I was sure she’d never imagined a person she was criticizing would back her up.
“Well—hmph! I still don’t like you! I will never accept you!”
“Yes! I’ll work my hardest to change your mind.”
“I’m saying it will never happen!”
“I will do my best to make it happen!”
“You two are quite a pair.”
“Yes!”
“No, we are not!”
Claire really was the cutest.