Chapter 11
Belver arrived in front of the meeting place and grabbed Bellatrix's sleeve with a trembling hand.
Though time had passed and the day of the tea party had finally arrived, he was just as anxious as ever.
What if he caused some kind of trouble after going in? What if he made a mistake and bit his tongue with an “Eep”?
Bellatrix found Belver adorable just as he was.
“You don't have to be so nervous. The rumors have already spread as far as they can.”
“Isn't that the problem?! What if they find out we've switched…?!”
Bellatrix honestly couldn't understand him anymore.
For nearly a week now, he'd been asking her every hour what he should do.
She'd answered every time that he should just keep a blank expression and not say a word.
“I told you, just keep a blank expression and don't say anything.”
“That's not easy! How can you not answer when someone's talking to you?!”
Belver was clinging to her, now with tears welling in his eyes.
Maybe it was thanks to meeting up and going out every day for a month.
He'd learned that small mistakes were embarrassing, but could be brushed off as cute.
He was still just as scared, but right now, he was even more afraid of getting found out at the tea party.
He wished Bellatrix would do something to solve this for him.
Bellatrix couldn't understand what he kept asking her to do when she couldn't even attend.
She'd told him everything he should and shouldn't do, as thoroughly as possible.
The rest was up to Belver now.
“Then let's do this. If you mess up, let me tease you all day on whichever day I choose.”
“What benefit is there in that for me?!”
“Won't you try your best not to mess up because you don't want that?”
“You're right. Now I have a reason I have to do it.”
Whether he should call it thanks to her or because of her, Belver felt a great surge of courage.
If she hadn't gone that far, he'd have just gotten comforted and that would've been it. But now, if he messed up, she'd tease him all day.
No matter how many times he endured her pranks, he never got used to them; they still made him recoil and brace himself.
Bellatrix, however, was already plotting when and how to tease Belver as she watched him put on a serious expression.
She hadn't even considered the possibility that he wouldn't mess up.
Belver wasn't the only one who'd learned about the other over the past month.
“If you come back after messing up, look forward to it.”
“I absolutely won't. Then I'm off!”
“Have a good time.”
Belver tried to act as haughtily as possible as he got out of the carriage, but stopped and hurried over to Bellatrix.
The moment he was about to step out, his courage had deserted him.
He wanted her to give him a little courage.
Bellatrix understood what Belver was after and chuckled.
Every little thing he did, and every intention behind it, was adorable.
“You'll do fine.”
“Hehe. Thank you.”
Bellatrix patted his head without ruining the hairstyle she'd worked so hard on, then saw him off as he stepped out of the carriage.
Seeing him giggle so happily over a little praise made her heart feel warm.
She still found it amazing that she could feel this way.
She'd thought it had all frozen over.
“How can he call himself a macho man? He's a girl through and through.”
No matter how she looked at it, Belver should have been born a woman; he must have been born a man by some mistake on God's part.
***
Belver entered the meeting place, closed his eyes, and murmured softly.
It seemed no one else had arrived yet, so he should take his time and prepare himself mentally.
The courage he'd gotten from Bellatrix's praise had all been used up just getting inside.
“I can do this.”
“Do what?”
“Eep?!”
The problem was that he couldn't react to a shock he hadn't prepared for at all.
Roho had quietly come up behind him without him noticing, and the moment she spoke, he jumped and let out a chick-like squeak.
Belver realized what had happened after making the sound, but there was no taking it back now.
He gathered himself after the fright and took a step back to see where the voice had come from.
Roho was beaming, her face right beside the spot where his had been.
When had she gotten here?
Belver hadn't even noticed when she'd come so close.
“I was out picking flowers. You're early.”
“I am. Is it wrong to be early?”
“Of course not. I'm happy we get to meet like this.”
Belver responded with whatever he thought Bellatrix might say.
It was too late to follow the warning and not answer at all.
Though he had already let out a cute, dainty sound Bellatrix would never make.
Even as he spoke, he could keenly feel that it was already too late.
Even so, Bellatrix had to brazen it out.
“Shall we sit down now?”
“Sure.”
Roho was certain after that brief exchange.
The Bellatrix of now had changed quite a lot.
The woman who'd seemed carved from the chill of an endless winter had turned into a girl like a sunflower on a spring day.
For one thing, the venom was gone from her voice; her tone had softened.
Clear emotions had begun to flow through eyes that had once seemed to feel nothing.
And above all, she'd become incredibly cute.
The way she'd softened while still using her old manner of speaking made her incredibly adorable.
In truth, the person inside had changed completely.
“What kind of relationship do you have with that person? Are you lovers, by any chance?”
“Who?”
“The man you're always with.”
“W-we're not in any kind of relationship.”
He hadn't expected her to ask so bluntly whether he was dating Bellatrix.
Belver was grateful he hadn't had tea in his mouth.
If he'd been drinking tea, he definitely would've sprayed it out disgracefully.
People did gossip among themselves because of the difference in their status, but nobody had ever asked him directly.
At the same time, the thought that they looked like lovers hit him, and his face flushed bright red.
Seeing his face turn red out of nowhere, Roho briefly wondered if she was seeing things correctly.
The mask that hadn't come off even under Bellatrix's sharp tongue had nearly slipped.
She thought this was a truly frightening change, then continued.
“Really? You two seem so lovey-dovey together, though.”
“I can't help that.”
“Hmm.”
She clearly didn't seem inclined to believe him.
Belver wanted to pound his chest in frustration.
It was a bitter regret that he couldn't honestly say their bodies had switched.
Belver didn't dislike Bellatrix—in fact, after living with her for a month, he liked her, aside from the pranks and teasing—but it would be rude to say so to her.
Belver let out a deep sigh inwardly.
So this was how painful it was to carry a secret you couldn't tell anyone.
He'd never known, since he'd never spoken to anyone at the academy except Bellatrix and her maid.
“What do you like about him so much?”
“It's not that I like him, okay?”
“Don't lie.”
“I'm telling the truth.”
He didn't give in to Roho's persistent questions.
There were countless good things he'd discovered about Bellatrix as he'd gotten to know her, but Bellatrix would surely never admit to liking him.
It was a secret that he'd almost blurted out, “I like this about her!”
Contrary to Belver's belief that he was doing well by not answering, Roho was steadily gathering information.
Depending on what she asked, cracks appeared little by little in that unyielding voice.
Whenever she asked about the mysterious man, his voice trembled slightly, and it was clear he was fighting the urge to smile.
Unless Roho was mistaken, his cheeks had also taken on a reddish flush.
‘She fell in love, and now she's a completely different person.’
Roho never imagined that the person inside had really changed.
It seemed more plausible that love had reformed her.
She looked every bit like a girl in love, which made the idea all the more credible.
‘Ah, I want to go back.’
Phew. Belver let out a quiet sigh and savored the respite that came after the barrage of questions.
Roho was so persistent that he nearly answered without thinking, out of sheer exhaustion.
It was frustrating not being able to say he liked what he liked, too.
He almost wanted to shamelessly say yes, since everyone already thought they were lovers.
Not romantically, but as a friend—he did like her, after all.
If he hadn't already messed up once, he probably would have said it, thinking it would be all right just this once.
He was only holding himself back so fiercely because he'd already messed up once.
If he messed up several times, he felt like her teasing might stop being just teasing.
But he didn't want to lie and say he hadn't, so he was being as careful as possible.
“How did the two of you meet?”
“By chance.”
“It was a fateful meeting, then.”
Belver furtively raised a hand to check his mouth.
Fortunately, his blank expression hadn't wavered.
He couldn't be sure, but it seemed he hadn't started grinning foolishly, the expression Bellatrix kept warning him about.
The problem was, he felt like he was getting caught up in Roho's rhythm.
She kept nodding as though she understood and smiling with satisfaction, which left him strangely irritated.
It wasn't like she was ignoring him, but she was looking at him like he was some cute little thing.
He was about to start wondering what he could do to change that look in her eyes
when the sound of the door opening was accompanied by a shout that nearly burst his eardrums.
“Eep?!”
“Where's Salazar!!”