Seria Rubetia.
I was aware that she always stuck by my side.
But I didn’t think it was weird.
In the original story, she was a true introvert who couldn’t make a single proper friend until graduation, and even now, she’s hesitant to meet new people.
Occasionally, someone would approach her, but she’d fiercely chase them away.
That’s just how she is, so it makes sense that she’d stick close to me, her only close friend.
That’s what I thought, but…
“S-Seria! Are you really about to go all out now?”
“Huh? I don’t know what you’re talking about, Lilith. I’ve always been like this.”
“Don’t lie! Your face is all red because you’re embarrassed!”
“Ugh… No, it’s not…”
I couldn’t help but be flustered by her suddenly closing the distance.
What’s really going on? Honestly, it’s hard to understand.
The game I was playing was basically story-focused.
There were multiple endings, but it was designed to follow a general framework.
And in that framework, the protagonist never gets to experience a proper romance before reaching the ending.
That was kind of the game’s thing. There’s an affection system, but no romance system.
To be precise, raising affection unlocks special storylines, but they don’t lead to romance.
At best, you become closer, and the dialogue changes a bit when you talk on the street. This caused quite a stir among people demanding a dating sim.
Anyway, knowing the game’s content, I thought they weren’t interested in that kind of thing.
But… seeing her like this, even someone as clueless as me can tell. She’s interested in me.
I was grateful that such a beauty liked me, but… honestly, it was a burden.
Is it because she’s the princess? Or because she’s a key character in the game’s story?
No. If I were worried about that, I would’ve stayed under the radar since the entrance exam.
The reason I’m burdened is… her age.
Sure, she’s mature for her age, but to me, she’s still a minor.
Of course, my current body is the same age as hers, but… I didn’t want to use that as a shield and be a scumbag.
No matter how charming she is with just one smile…
“Rudion. Lucky you, huh? A pretty girl like her sticking around because she likes you.”
“D-Don’t say that…”
“What’s the big deal? She probably likes it too! Just ask her!”
“…Rudion. Is it true?”
…Can I really handle this?
I guess? I was scared because I couldn’t believe in myself.
Luckily, I managed to avoid answering the question. It was all thanks to Professor Reina Trier coming in at just the right time.
Seria must not have wanted to show that side of herself to the professor either, as she quickly returned to her usual distant demeanor.
After Professor Reina explained the truth about the recent rumors, everyone subtly glanced our way.
But maybe because they had just witnessed that scene earlier… their expressions weren’t so much shocked as they were like, “Well, that figures~”
Yeah… these kids here totally love this kind of stuff.
“…Why are they reacting like this? Did something happen?”
Only Professor Reina, who hadn’t seen Seria’s antics, was left puzzled.
After the lecture ended that day, Seria led me somewhere.
Turns out, it was the academy’s plaza we had visited yesterday.
As soon as we arrived, a lot of people’s gazes turned our way, but unlike yesterday, there were no hostile looks. It seemed like things had been resolved properly.
Though the number of stares seemed to have increased compared to yesterday… and the reason, of course, was Seria.
She was clinging to my arm like a koala.
“Hey, Seria. Everyone’s staring. Can you let go?”
“Heehee. Rudion, I’m not scared of anything anymore.”
I’m telling you to let go because *I’m* scared.
You might not know this, but there are people who secretly admire you, you know? The person who reported this incident was probably one of them.
But she showed no intention of letting go of my arm. In fact, she even dragged me forward, taking the lead.
Normally, I’d feel pressured by all the stares and want to escape the situation, but today, for some reason, I didn’t feel that way at all.
It’s like a whole new wind blew through her overnight… it was a surprisingly drastic change.
She pulled me over to a bench in the corner of the plaza, sat me down, and then sat right next to me.
We sat side by side for a while without saying a word, and as time passed, the stares gradually faded away.
When the attention on us had almost completely died down, Seria cautiously turned her head toward me.
“Rudion, thank you.”
“What’s this all of a sudden?”
“Just… everything. From treating me like a normal friend despite me being a princess, to trying to protect me this time.”
She seemed awkward saying this, fidgeting as she struggled to continue.
“Just being with you makes me laugh, even if nothing’s happening. Thanks to you, every day has been so much fun lately.”
“I’ve known about these feelings for a while, but I’ve been holding back. After all, I’m a princess, and you’re a commoner, and this is the academy, right? I didn’t want to cause any unnecessary…”
“I didn’t want the story to cause any trouble for the Royal Palace.”
“But, seeing Rudion, who doesn’t care about others’ opinions and tries to protect me, my thoughts have changed a bit.”
Seria slowly moved and snuggled up close to me.
“I want everyone to know about Rudion. I want everyone to realize that he’s not lacking in any way to be with me, a princess, and that he’s actually an even more amazing person.”
“Wait, Seria. I’m not that great of a person…”
“Rudion? I’m talking here.”
“…Yes, please continue.”
Seria chuckled at my interrupted response and pulled out a letter from her pocket, handing it to me.
“So, when this incident was reported to the Royal Palace, I sent my letter along with it. This is the reply.”
I took the letter and saw the Royal Palace’s seal stamped on it.
“But… the person who delivered the reply said that I should definitely read it with Rudion.”
“…Wait.”
I pointed at the letter she handed me and asked.
“Did you just build up all this to read this one letter together?”
“I don’t know what ‘build-up’ means, but I guess you’re right.”
…Whew, I thought she was about to confess out of the blue and got scared.
Forget about being confessed to, I was sweating just thinking about how to reject it, or if I even could.
What a relief. Honestly, if I had been confessed to in this atmosphere, I might have just gone along with it…
“Why? Were you nervous that I might confess?”
…She’s totally got me figured out.
“To be honest, I was thinking about it. I knew that if I pushed, Rudion would eventually accept. But…”
Seria paused for a moment and then cautiously looked up at me.
“But… I thought it would be unfair to force my feelings on you.”
I understood what she meant. She’s going to wait until I make the first move.
How can she be so sincere… She could have been selfish and no one would have blamed her, but she grew up so well…
With that thought, I gently patted her head.
Maybe it was because it was the first time I had ever done something like that. She jumped like a startled cat.
“Huh?! Ru, Rudion?”
“Sigh… Do as you please. I’ll do what I want too.”
“…Okay!”
At this point, it doesn’t make sense to keep my distance from Seria, and I don’t want to either, so I decided to just accept the situation as it is.
As long as she’s not suddenly pushing for a relationship, it’s all good. Whatever happens, happens.
It seems the conversation about that part is over, so I decided to focus again on the letter Seria had handed me.
Earlier, I had only glanced at the Royal Palace’s seal, but upon closer inspection, the texture of the letter itself felt incredibly luxurious.
Carefully pulling out the paper inside, I saw that it was written in bright red letters:
“Rudion. Stay away from our daughter immediately. If you don’t, I’ll kill you.”
…Oh. That’s intense.
“Hmm. I think my father might be playing a joke,” Seria said.
Really? Because it seems like he’s dead serious right now?
Seria, realizing her excuse didn’t make sense, cautiously changed her tone.
“…Should we just pretend we never received this letter?”
“Do you think that’s going to work?”
If we claim we didn’t receive a letter sent directly by the Emperor, who knows what would happen to the person who delivered it.
“Wait a second. I think there’s another page behind this?”
“Huh? Oh, you’re right.”
As Seria mentioned, there was another letter hidden behind the threatening one.
Amidst a subtle tension, I carefully revealed the second letter. Unlike the fierce handwriting that seemed ready to tear someone apart, this one was neat and tidy, with a rather lengthy message.
It was a very royal-like letter filled with all sorts of formalities, but if I had to summarize it in three lines, it went like this:
– Nice to meet you. I’m Seria’s mom. Ignore my husband’s letter.
– If our daughter likes you so much, you should at least show your face to the family.
– Once midterms are over and you have some free time, come visit the Royal Palace with Seria. It’s not a demand, but it’d be nice if you could come. You know what I mean, right?
Yes. This was a glorious (and mandatory) invitation from the Royal Palace.
“Uh, um… Seria?”
“Sounds great! Let’s definitely go!”
“…Yeah, let’s do that…”
I glanced at Seria, wondering if she might object, but she seemed incredibly positive about it.
When she’s glowing like that, it’s hard to say no.
A schedule I hadn’t even thought about was suddenly decided… but since I don’t have the right to refuse, I guess I’ll just have to accept it.
“…Huh?”
Now I noticed there was some tiny writing in the corner of the letter.
Curious, I read it, and it said:
– You’re Rudion, right? Since our daughter likes you, I’ll let it slide for now, but if you hurt her even a little, I won’t let you live. Behave.
Seria was too busy talking about the trip to the Royal Palace to notice it, but I figured there was no need to show her, so I quietly folded the letter in half.
…I really don’t want to go.
