Leon's Room

I entered my room with Ronny and sat down on the sofa, while Roger left to prepare tea.

"Leon, what do you mean, I'm a guest!?"

"I was hearing it for the first time too. Maybe it was decided when Richard-sama and Lucien-sama discussed it?"

Lucien reported to Richard-sama that Ronny, Stefan, and Martine would be visiting the ducal household this time. I wasn't there, so I don't know what they discussed.

"I see... I've been so surprised by one thing after another that I'm exhausted... and I haven't even done anything yet."

"The main event hasn't even started yet. But being treated well is a good thing, so maybe you should be happy about that?"

"Well, you're right. It's definitely better than being treated coldly, and I'm grateful for that. But I feel nervous because I have to live up to their expectations!"

Even as he said that, Ronny looked as though he had somehow come to terms with things. Maybe he was gradually getting used to it after all.

"Come to think of it, this is your room, right, Leon? I can't believe you live in such a nice room... You could at least have told me about this beforehand."

Ronny said that while looking around my room. It was true that I'd avoided telling Ronny much about the ducal household. I'd unconsciously avoided the subject because I didn't want him to find me frightening.

Maybe I should start talking about it a little more from now on.

"From now on, I'll tell you more about things at the ducal household. By the way, this is my room, but it used to be a guest room. They turned it into my room for me."

"I see... Normally, a commoner would get a servant's room, right? Giving a commoner a guest room isn't normal, is it? Is this perhaps normal in the ducal household? No, it can't be. You're definitely the unusual one, Leon. When I'm with you, I don't know what normal is anymore..."

Ronny gazed into the distance and muttered something to himself. But his voice was so quiet that I couldn't make out what he was saying.

"Ronny? What are you saying?"

"I'm just talking to myself, so don't worry about it..."

"Well, if you say so... Oh, right. We still have some time, so I'll answer any questions you have."

Just as I said that, Roger came in and brewed tea for the two of us.

We continued talking over our tea.

"You use this room all by yourself, right, Leon?"

"That's right."

"What's behind that folding screen?"

"There's a bed, and a door leading to the toilet and bath."

When I said that, Ronny gazed into the distance again.

"So you have your own private toilet and bath?"

"That's right. I was pretty surprised myself at first."

"I'm pretty surprised right now too... This isn't really a question, but can I look around the room?"

"Of course! I'll show you around."

We stood up from the sofa and decided to start by looking at the bath.

"This door leads to the bath. There's a changing room inside, and the door at the back of the changing room leads to the bath."

Ronny cautiously entered the changing room and opened the door to the bath.

"Wow, it's huge! I've never seen an actual bath before. So this is what one looks like."

"Do you want to take a bath too, Ronny? If you do, you can use it after the crepe party."

"No, I'm fine. If I use it once, I'll probably want to use it again."

"I see."

I considered telling him he could come here to bathe whenever he wanted, but decided against it.

Coming to the ducal household just to take a bath would be too much, after all. Apparently, becoming a government official would give him access to something like a public bath, so he'd probably be able to bathe then.

"Next is the toilet, right?"

I showed him the toilet next. There wasn't anything in particular to explain, so we just took a quick look inside. The Royal Academy had toilets too, so it probably wasn't all that unusual.

After that, I showed him the various decorations in my room, and finally decided to show him inside the closet.

"Are you really sure I can look? You don't have to show me the inside."

"You seemed curious about it earlier. Go ahead and look. There isn't anything particularly interesting inside, though."

"Well then, excuse me..."

Ronny said that timidly and opened the closet. It was packed with clothes and accessories. Since Roger kept it tidy, everything inside was neat and easy to see.

Some were things Richard-sama had bought for me to wear to the Royal Academy, while I had purchased others myself later.

The clothes and accessories Elisabeth-sama had given me stood out the most. They were incredibly luxurious, like something Lucien or Stefan would wear. They were too large as well, and I didn't think I'd ever have a chance to wear anything so extravagant.

"This is... incredible..."

"Most of it was given to me."

"I see..."

Ronny said little as he closed the closet.

He returned to the sofa, took a sip of the tea that had cooled a little, and then began to speak.

"I really understand it now. I said it in the carriage earlier, but I'm going to stop thinking of you as a commoner, Leon. There's no way this is a commoner's lifestyle! Even among nobles, yours is a very high-class life!"

"W-well, you might be right... But technically, I am still a commoner, you know?"

"No, you're your own status now—Leon."

Ronny said that while nodding deeply to himself. His words left me feeling unsettled, and I also felt somewhat uneasy.

What if Ronny started keeping his distance from me now...?

As I was thinking that, Ronny raised his head and pointed sharply at me.

"Leon!"

"W-what?"

"For starters, if a noble picks on me at the Royal Academy from now on, you have to help me. And if they make fun of me for being a commoner, I'm going to casually tell them about your lifestyle! Yes, I feel like most of my problems at the Royal Academy have been solved now. You should have told me sooner!"

I couldn't help laughing when I heard that.

"Leon, what are you laughing at!?"

"Sorry, sorry. I was thinking about how tough you've gotten, Ronny."

"Really? But if I have, it's definitely because of you!"

I immediately banished the foolish thought that had crossed my mind a moment earlier and answered Ronny with a smile.

"Ronny, it's fine for me to help you at the Royal Academy, but it'll make it harder for you to make other friends. The high-ranking nobles will gossip about you, and the lower-ranking nobles will be afraid of you."

"There's nothing I can do about that. Right now, every noble poses a risk of actually harming me, so just having that possibility removed is something to be grateful for. Besides... it's not like I can make any other friends..."

"There's still a chance, probably..."

"It's the same for you, Leon! You're looking at me with pity, but you haven't made any friends besides me either, have you!?"

Ouch... I'd been trying not to face that fact...

"T-that's not true. I have Lucien-sama and the others, and the upperclassmen in the research club."

"Those people don't count! Can you really call the research-club upperclassmen friends?"

"Urgh... Friends—yes. Well, I guess they're acquaintances?"

"At that level, I have some too! There's someone I sometimes make eye contact with at the cafeteria's single-person tables."

"You only make eye contact? Have you ever talked to them?"

"No, but..."

"Ronny, that doesn't even qualify as an acquaintance."

"I recognize their face, so they count as an acquaintance!"

After arguing that far, I felt laughter rising in me again. We had been arguing seriously, but it was an incredibly petty argument.

"Ronny, we're only going to hurt each other, so let's stop."

"I was just thinking the same thing."

As the two of us laughed at how ridiculous we were, we heard a knock at the door to my room. It seemed a servant had come; Roger answered the door and then came over to us.

"It seems all the luggage has been carried over."

"Thanks. Then I guess I'll head to the kitchen."

"Certainly."

I thought it would be too cruel to send Ronny to the kitchen alone, so I went with him.

Stefan had said he wanted the crepes Ronny made, but that was probably just an excuse to get closer to Ronny, so I figured there was no harm in helping.

When we arrived at the kitchen, the same space as before had been cleared for us, and the cook who had helped us during the previous crepe trial was waiting there.

"It's been a while. Are you going to help us again?"

"Yes! I'll be happy to help. The ducal family would like to have crepes for lunch today as well. Would you be able to make enough for them too?"

The cook seemed much more enthusiastic than last time. Perhaps the previous crepe-making session had earned me some recognition. I felt happy and answered with a smile.

"I see. Of course. Also, Ronny here will be leading the cooking today."

I said that as I introduced Ronny.

"I'm Ronny. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine."

After a brief introduction, we began making the crepes. Since Ronny made them at his stall every day, he worked efficiently, and the finished crepes were neat and flawless.

We had prepared eggs that had already been sterilized. In fact, mayonnaise had recently started being used in the ducal family's meals, but I sterilized all the eggs in advance.

Apparently, it would be better if people didn't learn about the sterilization magic item yet. So the cooks believed that the eggs had been prepared using a special process.

We made the crepes smoothly, and once we had finished them all, we loaded them onto a cart and headed to Lucien's room.

Stefan and Martine had apparently already arrived.

The closer we got to Lucien's room, the more clearly I could sense Ronny's nervousness. But perhaps because he'd met them once before, he seemed to be keeping it under control somehow.

We reached Lucien's room in a tense atmosphere, and Roger knocked on the door.