"Why on earth am I so flustered?!"
Rie exclaimed upon returning to her dormitory.
"Ugh...!"
She threw the teddy bear that was beside her onto the bed.
Then, she began to fiercely pummel the stuffed animal with her fists.
"Rie Von Ristonia, you idiot!"
Her plan.
To woo Rudy.
It had been ruined a long time ago.
Now, her concerns were entirely different.
"How did I act around Rudy again...?"
Rie hadn't seen Rudy's face for two weeks.
And so, she had forgotten how she used to interact with him.
Before, everything had felt so natural, but after not seeing him for so long, it felt strange.
A certain discomfort, a prickling sensation.
She wasn’t used to this feeling.
Still, Rie had stayed in the student council room, trying to get accustomed to it.
She assumed this feeling would be temporary.
But seeing herself still feeling out of place even after several days made her feel utterly foolish.
Rie picked up the teddy bear lying on the floor.
Gazing deeply into its button eyes, she muttered as if speaking to a person.
"What should I do? What should I possibly do..."
She pouted and complained.
It looked as if she was throwing a tantrum at the teddy bear.
With a sigh, she embraced the stuffed animal once more.
"Ah... I feel like I have more work coming up..."
Lately, Rie had been juggling her thoughts about Rudy and her student council duties.
The upcoming Homecoming Day.
There was a lot to prepare for the event.
Additionally, she had another investigation ongoing.
The Saint, Haruna.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})She had been investigating her.
Yet, no matter how deep she dug, she couldn't find anything.
Where Haruna came from, how she entered the temple, and why she held the position of the Saint.
Other than the fact that she could see the future, there was little else known about her.
Even using the royal secret service yielded barely any information.
She had momentarily let go of her investigation, but upon hearing about the upcoming Homecoming Day, she resumed her pursuit of Haruna's background.
This time, not only was she using the secret service of the royal family, but she also employed the resources of the student council.
She even sought help from Astina.
Rie thought that since Astina had conversed with the Saint during the last Homecoming Day and had gained her trust, Astina might know something.
With that investigation ongoing and her responsibilities as the vice president for the Homecoming Day preparations, her plate was full.
But thoughts of Rudy kept invading her mind, making her even more melancholic.
She didn't want to be apart from him.
The two weeks without him had been torturous.
She didn't want to endure that again.
Hugging the teddy bear close, Rie lay down on her bed.
"Sigh... What should I do?"
Between investigating the Saint and preparing for Homecoming Day...
"Ugh... What am I even doing?!"
Frustrated, Rie flung the teddy bear aside and abruptly sat up on her bed.
"Right, moping around like this just isn't like me. Yes."
Rie clenched her fist.
Wallowing in solitude was not her style.
She believed in facing problems head-on.
Confronting them squarely and breaking through.
That was the First Princess of the Empire, Rie Von Ristonia.
"Yes, everything will eventually be alright if we're together! Just the two of us!"
Rie made up her mind.
To tackle everything at once.
The preparations for Homecoming Day and the awkwardness of being with Rudy.
She was determined to address both these matters simultaneously.
“Dessert?”
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})“Yeah, let’s pick out desserts for Homecoming Day.”
On Homecoming Day, a place is provided for graduates to gather and drink tea.
The academy couldn't prepare the desserts needed for the occasion.
There was a lot to prepare, and given that many of the academy graduates were of high status, there was concern over the potential embarrassment if the quality was poor.
So, they made an arrangement with a bakery outside the academy to supply the desserts.
Hearing Rie's suggestion, Rudy tilted his head.
“Why don't we just send someone else? Emily seems fit for the job. She’s good with such tasks.”
From beside Kuhn, Emily interjected,
“Should I handle it?”
However, Rie gently shook her head.
Although she acknowledged Emily's capabilities, especially when it came to financial matters, this wasn’t the task for her.
“Emily isn’t part of the student council. We can’t always rely on her.”
Rie said, patting Emily’s back, as if feeling sorry for her.
Emily was always in the student council room as if she was one of them.
She often worked at the student council office with Kuhn, especially when Rudy was there, even if she had her research to attend to.
But that wasn't the real reason.
Rie simply wanted to go out with Rudy.
“Let's just go out for a while. It’s been some time since we had a break.”
Rie suggested.
Rudy gave her a puzzled look.
Both Kuhn and Emily alternated glances between Rudy and Rie.
Sensing the tension, Emily stood up.
“Seniors, take a short break! You must be feeling a bit stiff from being in the student council room all the time!”
With a soft smile, Rie said.
“Alright, Rudy, let's step out for a bit.”
After a moment’s thought, Rudy agreed.
“Fine. I had some things to buy anyway. A short break won’t hurt.”
“Things to buy?”
“Yeah, I’ve been working on something recently.”
Rie paused in thought, then muttered to herself,
"Whatever."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})"Well, we'll be back in a bit."
“Take care!”
“See you soon.”
Kuhn and Emily watched the pair leave the student council room.
Once they were out of sight, Emily turned to Kuhn,
"By the way... Weren't Rudy and Luna dating?"
“I’m... not really sure,”
Kuhn replied.
The two delved deep into thought, scratching their chins.
Rie and Rudy left Kuhn and Emily in the student council office and slowly walked outside the academy.
But there was a problem.
Although Rie had confidently invited Rudy out, she hadn’t spoken a word since.
‘What… what should I say?’
She pondered over various topics:
The correlation between magic and alchemy.
The geometric magic principles of Liberion.
The mana circuit analysis of magic swordsmen...
Yet every topic felt oddly out of place.
A topic more fitting for a debate hall.
Not between a man and a woman... No, it wasn't a topic worth discussing between friends.
Rie pondered.
'What exactly did I usually talk about with Rudy?'
Ironically, the more she pondered the topic of their conversation, the more tongue-tied she became.
Rudy looked intently at Rie.
She was lost in thought, gazing up at the sky as she walked aimlessly.
No matter how one looked, she seemed off.
Rudy was the first to break the silence.
"So which dessert shop are we heading to? The one we always go to?"
"Huh?"
Rie responded, caught off-guard by Rudy's sudden question.
Rudy frowned at her reaction.
"Did you come out without a plan?"
At Rudy's words, Rie raised an eyebrow.
"Do you think I'm you?"
Rudy smirked at her response.
"Why not that place then? It's delicious there."
"It's too pricey there. Doesn't fit our budget."
"Weren't we preparing for some premium desserts?"
Rie shook her head.
"I said we need to prepare premium desserts, not that we have to buy them from a premium shop."
Rudy narrowed his eyes at her explanation.
"What do you mean?"
"In short, even if the taste is a bit lacking, as long as it looks luxurious on the outside, that's enough."
"...Is that okay?"
"No one is going there specifically for the desserts."
"Is that so...?"
"If we prepare a lot of delicious desserts, most will go to waste. Collaborating with such bakeries is a waste of money."
Nodding, Rudy seemed to see the logic in Rie's words.
"How do you know all this even though you're a princess?"
"Because I've done this before."
"You have?"
At this, Rie smirked.
"Did you think being a princess meant I was some sheltered flower?"
"Well, not exactly."
Rudy paused for a moment and then looked intently at Rie.
"Come to think of it, it's odd. Yuni always has someone else do even the smallest tasks for her, right?"
"You're comparing me to her?"
Rie tossed her hair back, answering with confidence.
"...So what's different?"
"Yuni grew up pampered by those noble brats. That's why she turned out that way. I pushed all those disgusting guys away."
"Oh..."
Rudy let out an admiring whistle.
"So everyone becomes an enemy. Makes you care even about small things."
"I've had my fair share of enemies too, you know?"
At Rudy's words, Rie gave him a sharp look.
"You never seem to care about any of it."
"What don't I care about?"
"Do you even know how many enemies you've made that Astina and I have had to deal with?"
"...?"
Rudy furrowed his brows.
Though he said he had enemies, no one significant came to mind.
At the beginning of the term, he remembered that red-headed guy.
However, when he had that incident with that guy, he had only just met Rie.
"I can't recall anything specific. I don't particularly dislike anyone either."
“Rudy, people can harbor resentment over the most trivial of actions."
Rie remarked, clicking her tongue.
"Is that so?"
"You don't realize it, that's why you're not bothered."
Rudy, looking puzzled, shook his head lightly and continued walking.
Rie watched him and chuckled softly.
'Hmm...?'
Suddenly, Rie realized something.
They were talking quite comfortably.
She wondered, tilting her head, why their conversation was flowing so naturally.
Then, she glanced at Rudy ahead of her.
Rudy still seemed lost in his thoughts.
Observing him, a small smile crept onto Rie's face.
“Whatever.”
She then hurriedly caught up to Rudy and playfully patted his back.
Thud!
"Ow! What the—?”
Rudy, startled by the sudden slap, turned to Rie with a puzzled expression.
“Not this way. The place I've got in mind is over there. Let's go,”
Rie said, flashing a pleasant smile.
---Toggle New Ads
had some things to do last week, had to push tl-ing back. But I'll be posting the rest of the chaps later today and tomorrow!
