Chapter 43
No, more importantly, how did you end up getting to know the princess too?!
I'm going to be the princess's personal maid for the time being.
Claire covered her face with both hands and let out a long sigh.
She looked utterly unable to accept this reality.
Even so, the always-cheerful Princess Celestina looked around the clubroom, and when her eyes met those of the frozen members, she laughed brightly, "Ah!"
"Nice to meet you. I'm Celestina Belhart, a first-year in the Department of Magic."
Introducing herself not as a princess, but as one ordinary student in the Department of Magic, was probably her own small way of being considerate.
"I heard about it from Lunaris. I was told there are only four members, so the club is in danger of being shut down—is that right?"
"W-Well, yes, but... we're desperately short one person, so it would be really great if Your Highness could join us~"
President Silvia had already returned to her usual self and answered with a grin.
"But are you really sure about this? This place is scarier than it looks."
The playful way she said it made it sound like she was telling a truly scary story.
"We're not just telling scary stories... we even go out into the field ourselves to meet ghosts!"
"Oh, perfect!"
Princess Celestina clapped her hands, her eyes sparkling.
"I love ghost stories and adventures."
"Woooo...!"
President Silvia's eyes lit up.
She had the look of someone who'd just discovered a promising new ghost-story talent.
"You'd fit our club so well?! But..."
The president continued, glancing sideways at the escort knights who had occupied the clubroom.
"Having everyone come charging in all at once like this is a little difficult."
The ghosts would end up running away, you know.
Silvia said that with a wink.
The princess nodded readily.
"All right. Next time I come, I'll come without my escorts."
"Princess!"
The captain of the guard went completely pale.
But today's princess was extremely firm.
"Club activities are another kind of class, too."
"But, Princess, it's far too dangerous. Even this clubroom could collapse at any moment and it wouldn't be strange..."
"It's fine."
Before I knew it, the princess had already pressed herself against my side and naturally pulled me into a tight hug.
"Because Lunaris will protect me."
"Ugh, urk... can't breathe..."
With my face buried deep in her chest, I couldn't breathe.
I flailed my arms and struggled, but her grip on me only got tighter.
"Ahaha! Great! Welcome to the Ghost Story Research Society, Princess Celestina!"
"I look forward to working with you, President Silvia."
Looking at it another way, President Silvia wasn't exactly normal either.
How many people could talk so casually to the princess like that?
While the princess and the president chatted pleasantly about future club activities, I shifted my gaze away from the pair of soft mounds pressed against me.
"Ugh, no... this is insane..."
Thomas, the vice president, stood there with his face gone pale, trembling all over.
"I-It wasn't enough to be top of the class, and now even the princess... this is weird... something's weird..."
Claire kept poking fun at him from the side.
"Vice President, I'm jealous~ Isn't this basically a harem?"
"W-Whaaat?!"
"Why? You're the only man in a secluded clubroom with four girls. Isn't that totally blessed?"
"?!??!"
Thomas's pupils trembled as if an earthquake had hit them.
Right then, the princess's guard captain suddenly laid a hand on Thomas's shoulder.
Then, with a deliberately stern expression, he lowered his voice.
"It's unlikely, but if you so much as try to make a move on the princess..."
-Shing.
The sharp metallic ring from the scabbard echoed softly.
The cold blade flashed in the clubroom's dim light.
"...Rumble."
In the end, Thomas's eyes rolled back until only the whites showed.
*
"Oh my, it looks like you were just out for a bit, Princess?"
In the late afternoon, on the way back from the Ghost Story Research Society's clubroom.
I thought nothing else would happen today, but of all people, I ran right into Senior Miriel, who was drinking tea in the Rinea Hall lounge.
Come to think of it, she'd said she'd be having tea in the dormitory lounge for the time being.
As if she'd been waiting for us, Senior Miriel set down her teacup and looked over the princess and me in turn.
The corners of her lips were lifted in a faint smile.
I didn't have any special ability to read expressions, but I had enough instinct to tell she wasn't just greeting us.
"Yes. The weather was so nice, I took a little walk. Are you in the middle of tea time, Senior Miriel?"
Princess Celestina headed straight for the lounge without hesitation, walking over to where Senior Miriel was sitting.
"May I join you? If I've interrupted your alone time, I apologize."
"No, not at all. It's an honor to have the chance to spend time with the princess."
The princess sat on the sofa opposite her, then turned to look at me and said,
"Would you like to sit next to me too, Lunaris?"
"It's fine. Having a maid sit with us would be a bit..."
I mean, it's not like I'd choke on tea or anything.
"Really? I don't mind either way."
Well... the princess might not mind, but the person sitting across from us looked like she minded a great deal.
"No wonder I hadn't seen Lunaris all day."
Senior Miriel's gaze swept up and down over me.
"It seems you've become the princess's personal maid."
"Well, that's how it turned out."
"Hmm-"
Senior Miriel set down her teacup with a meaningful little hum.
"That's odd, Princess."
Her gaze shifted from me back to the princess.
"From what I heard, you promised Lunaris that you would 'do nothing,' didn't you?"
"..."
"The moment Lunaris was disciplined, you immediately used your royal privilege to keep him under your authority. You're very proactive, aren't you?"
Princess Celestina turned her head and looked at me, puzzled.
I became a little flustered and could only give an embarrassed laugh.
Come to think of it, I'd lied in front of Senior Miriel, trying to gloss things over.
Saying the princess didn't want anything from me, and so on...
As I hesitated over how I should explain the circumstances, the princess spoke first.
"Ah. Well, I think I did say something like that."
As expected of a quick-witted princess.
She quickly grasped the gist and, her eyes shining, continued as naturally as ever.
"But seeing you working so hard as my maid was heartbreaking. I just wanted you to take a little breather, that's all."
The princess gave a small, mischievous smile, saying that although she kept me as her personal maid, she wasn't really making me do anything.
"Honestly, isn't the very idea of wanting or demanding something a little strange?"
"..."
"Between friends, I mean."
The princess turned to look at me and smiled brightly once more.
Her smile was so dazzling that I was left dazed for a moment, blinking blankly.
"Right, Lunaris?"
At the question, I finally came to my senses and gave a sheepish shrug.
"...Well, yeah."
*
"Now, would you explain things to me?"
The moment we returned to the room, the princess promptly began interrogating me.
Her smiling face sparkled with curiosity.
"What on earth did you tell Senior Miriel to make her say I wasn't going to do anything?"
"Um... it wasn't anything major."
Since I had no particular reason to lie, and making up a pointless excuse sounded annoying, I told the truth.
"Senior Miriel made something like a recruitment offer, so... I borrowed the princess's name because I didn't want it to become a hassle."
"How?"
"Something like, 'The princess said she wouldn't do anything to me.' If that upset you, I'm sorry."
The princess blinked, a little surprised, then soon chuckled and waved it off.
"No, it's fine. I don't mind. If anything, I'd say you did well."
Still smiling, she suddenly asked me in a timid voice,
"U-Um, but... did you really want me to do nothing?"
"..."
"Am I, by any chance, a big nuisance?"
A nuisance?
Hmm, to be honest...
"Well, you're a little troublesome, I guess?"
"..."
Maybe because I said it too bluntly, the princess's face quickly grew gloomy.
"But hey, isn't it okay to be a little troublesome?"
I myself would probably seem extremely troublesome to everyone around me.
"We're friends, so something like that is no big deal."
Her violet eyes slowly widened.
She kept chewing over the word "friend" again and again before breaking into a bright smile.
"So this means we're destined best friends who have no choice but to stay together forever."
"...Huh?"
No, that's a bit... too far, isn't it...
"So that means I can bother you even more from now on, right?!"
"No, that's not what I—urk."
Before I could even finish answering, my face was buried in those two mounds again.
Seriously, why does she like hugging people so much?
"Ugh... ca-can't breathe..."
"Just a little longer. Let me stay like this just a little longer."
Something damp touched the nape of my neck, exposed by the hair I'd twisted up.
For some reason, I had a feeling I shouldn't lift my head right now, so I let out a tiny sigh inwardly and patted her back as it rose and fell.
*
"-As a precaution born of needless concern, it'd be best not to get too close to the Third Princess."
The regular biweekly meeting time.
At Deputy Captain Albert's sudden piece of advice, my head tilted before I knew it.
"Didn't you once tell me to get along with her?"
"-I certainly did say that, but I didn't expect you'd get this close."
The deputy captain let out a sigh and continued.
"-There's nothing to gain from getting deeply involved in imperial affairs. Power struggles like that, once you get tangled up in them the wrong way, can turn into far more than mere annoyance."