Chapter 171
Felix's arrival at the tea room at this particular moment made Monica go pale, but Bridget did not so much as change expression as she welcomed him with a radiant smile.
"My, how unusual it is for His Highness to visit the tea room."
"I think what's unusual is this pairing. Since when have you two become close enough to have tea together?"
"Oh, but we're both student council officers. Surely there's nothing strange about that, is there?"
The academy's handsome and beautiful stars made for a truly picturesque scene.
Yet Monica watched their probing and parrying beneath the surface with sweaty palms.
(A-amazing...!)
If she said anything, Monica felt certain she would accidentally give something away. So she silently watched the two of them converse.
"The student council general meeting is coming up soon, isn't it? I was giving her a little lecture in preparation for it."
"Ah, when Monica was invited to the club president's tea party, you were going to attend too, weren't you?"
"Yes, we were discussing preparations for that occasion."
Monica could only marvel at Bridget's smooth excuse. If it had been Monica, she would have blurted out some nonsensical excuse or fidgeted and stammered.
Felix shifted his gaze from Bridget to Monica and smiled at her.
"Are you prepared to deal with the club president?"
"Y-yes, um, er..."
As expected, Monica began to stammer, and Bridget hid her mouth behind her fan as she snickered.
"To be honest, your etiquette is a problem even before we get to negotiating with the club president. Treasurer Norton, were you not taking your tea-party lessons seriously?"
Bridget fixed Monica with a chilly gaze, and Monica instinctively shrank back.
"Eek! S-sorry, s-s-sorry...!"
"For the time being, I shall drill tea-party etiquette into you. Prepare yourself."
Ah, she's good, Monica thought, impressed.
By putting it that way, Bridget could invite Monica to tea in the future without it seeming unnatural.
Isabelle, who played the villainess, was quite an actress herself, but Bridget's performance was even more natural.
At moments like this, Monica could not help being deeply impressed all over again by what an intelligent person Bridget was. It was a feat Monica could never have pulled off.
Across from the carefree Monica, Felix watched Bridget with a wry smile.
"Your instruction sounds strict. How about I help by playing the guest if you're practicing your tea-party etiquette?"
"We have not yet reached the point where I can show you our progress, Your Highness. I do not like displaying half-finished results."
Though Bridget was all but telling him to leave, Felix merely gave her a gentle smile.
"The most important thing at a tea party is enjoying the conversation, isn't it? If so, don't you think things would go more smoothly with someone to talk to?"
How many people could refuse when the student council president, the highest-ranking student in the academy, asked them with such a kind smile?
If it had been Monica, she would definitely have been swept along by that smile.
But Bridget covered her mouth with her fan and giggled.
"Oh, no, Your Highness. Conversations between girls are, by definition, secret from gentlemen."
"A conversation you can't let me hear?"
"Yes, for example, a conversation about a gentleman we're interested in."
Bridget narrowed her eyes ever so slightly and curled her lips into a bewitching smile.
It was the sort of smile that would have left most men swooning under its seductive charm.
(A-amazing... It's like... a sparkling smile-off...!)
Even Monica wondered what a smile-off was, but watching Felix and Bridget trade smiles had brought the phrase to mind.
Both Felix and Bridget knew exactly how to use their good looks.
Wedged between the two of them, the plain Monica could do nothing but blend into the background.
Yet Felix kept directing dazzling smiles even to that background figure.
"A gentleman you're interested in? ...Monica, is there someone you're interested in?"
"Eep?!"
Caught completely off guard, Monica let out a strange shriek, and sweat poured from every inch of her body.
(What am I supposed to say to that? What does "a gentleman you're interested in" even mean? There's no way I can say, "The person I'm most interested in right now is His Highness, who has so many secrets!" Nooooooo!)
As Monica agonized inwardly, Bridget smiled with a soft chuckle.
"I was telling her about the first time I ever received flowers from a boy."
Bridget traced a finger over one of the yellow roses in the vase, then looked up at Felix meaningfully.
"...Do you remember, Your Highness? The color of the flower you first gave me when we were children."
Bridget was testing the Felix Arc Ridill standing before her.
What would Felix say? Would he pretend to have forgotten, or perhaps...?
As Monica watched with bated breath, Felix pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket.
(...A handkerchief? What is he going to do with it?)
Felix folded the handkerchief into a thin strip, rolled it up, shaped it into a rose, and held it out to Bridget.
"Unfortunately, I only have a white handkerchief with me right now... Ah, but blue really does suit you best."
Monica could not tell whether that was the right answer or not. But she saw Bridget twist her lips in frustration beneath her fan, so this must have been the correct move.
Bridget immediately put on a radiant smile and accepted the white rose made from the handkerchief.
"Oh my, you remembered? I'm so happy."
"I've gotten better at making them than I was back then, haven't I?"
"Indeed, very skillfully. You have always been dexterous, Your Highness."
"Not really. I practiced back then, as much as a child could."
To anyone watching, it was a heartwarming conversation between two people reminiscing about the past.
But Monica could feel that beneath the surface, a serious battle of nerves was being waged.
By deliberately bringing up their childhood, Bridget was waiting for him to let something slip.
As Monica watched with bated breath to see how the contest would unfold, she heard Cyril's voice calling for Felix from the hallway.
"Your Highness, are you there? There's something I need to confirm urgently..."
Felix glanced toward the door and shrugged, looking a little disappointed.
"I hope you'll invite me to the next tea party as well."
"Once Treasurer Norton has acquired passable manners, I'd be delighted."
With that exchange, Felix left the tea room.
As she listened to the door click shut, Monica let out a deep breath, despite not having done anything herself.
"...That man is as smooth-talking as ever."
Bridget crumpled the rose made from the white handkerchief into a ball and muttered resentfully. Why was an angry beauty's face so intimidating?
"Much as it pains me to admit it, that man seems to have thoroughly researched His Highness as he was in childhood."
"U-um, could it be that he really is His Highness, and that his personality changed because of an illness... or something like that?"
"Would you please tell me what sort of pathogen would have to travel to his brain to make that pure-hearted prince start scattering such creepy words and smiles?"
"..."
Apparently, Bridget had a far stronger aversion to the young man known as Felix Arc Ridill than Monica had realized.
After a brief struggle with herself, Monica opened her mouth.
"I-I, um... On Sheffield's festival day, I'm scheduled to infiltrate the Duke of Clockford's residence..."
"What did you say?"
"...If you know anything about the inside of the Clockford residence, Bridget-sama, I was hoping you could tell me..."
If Bridget's theory was correct and the real His Highness Felix was inside the Duke's residence, then the more information Monica had about the mansion's interior, the better.
That was why Monica had made the proposal, but Bridget moved right up to her and said something completely unexpected.
"Take me with you."
"...Huh?"
"I said I'm infiltrating the Duke of Clockford's residence too."
"Whaaaat?!"
Monica nearly toppled out of her chair.
This picture-perfect sheltered young lady was going to infiltrate the mansion herself? That was absurd beyond belief.
"Ah, um, the plan is for me to infiltrate it disguised as a gardener, so that wouldn't be suitable for you, Bridget-sama..."
"If I can meet the real His Highness, I'll impersonate a gardener, a stablehand, or even a traveling performer."
After that, Monica continued trying to persuade Bridget, doing her best to explain herself despite her clumsy words.
But she could not persuade Bridget, who was single-mindedly determined to meet the real His Highness.
That day, Monica learned firsthand the truly terrifying lengths a girl in love would go to.