Book 2: Chapter 8: Sheep's Clothing

While holding her arm, Felix led her to the archive room where was right next to the student council room.

They're lockable beautiful cabinets where documents were packed tightly inside.

"The cabinet on the back is the name list of previous students, next to it is the name list of current students, and next to that is the name list of our teachers. And this is all the event-related documents."

Felix explained what was stored on each of the cabinets, and stopped in front of the rightmost shelf.

"Here is the accounting cabinet."

Felix pulled a bunch of keys out of his jacket pocket, unlocked a cabinet, then took out some documents.

In that place, some desks and chairs have been placed in for working. Felix put the documents there then looked at Monica with a smile.

"I wanted to ask you to review our accounting records for the past five years."

Most people would have frowned at him, wondering why they had to do that.

But Monica couldn't help but itch for those accounting records in front of her.

After all, the works that had been piling up in her mountain cabin were being assigned to other people by Louis Miller.

So right now, Monica was hungry for numbers.

"Um, a-am I really allowed to do this…?"

Hearing her eager voice with unconcealed joy, Felix nodded and said, "Of course" to her.

"If you're worried about your class, I can talk to your teacher. I hope you could finish it before lunch… so is that okay if I leave it all to you?"

"Yes!"

As soon as she replied, Monica started flipping through the ledger with enthusiasm.

It's been a long time since she does this, so her eyes were shining brightly right now.

＊ ＊ ＊

Well then…

After looking at Monica who began to review the ledger from the side, Felix casually dropped the bundle of keys from his pocket.

There was a slight clinking sound, but Monica didn't seem to notice. But he thought since he had dropped it at the place between the work desk and the file cabinets, she would surely notice it when she was moving to the cabinets.

So Felix left the student council room, leaving Monica in the archives.

In the hallway, Cyril Ashley was waiting earnestly right outside the door.

The student council room has been designed to be soundproofed, so for one to be eavesdropping was difficult, but even so, he had already expected Cyril knew some of their conversations after sticking his ear to the wall.

"Your Highness, that little girl…"

"I assigned her one task."

The moment Felix said those words, Cyril's taken aback with his eyes widened to their limit. When Cyril was not talking, he's actually quite charming, if you combined it with a cool and intelligent face, but his emotions were too volatile.

"Your Highness, if there's a job to be done, why did you have to ask such a little girl… If you give me an order, I, Cyril Ashley, will certainly complete it."

"Do you have any confidence to review all those records of five years' worth by lunchtime?"

Cyril choked on his words with a grunt but quickly answered with a tightened expression.

"If that's what Your Highness ordered…"

Both Felix and Cyril know the sheer volume of those records. If they started working on it now, they would just barely be able to finish by lunchtime.

Those who were used to managing student council documents might be able to make it, otherwise, they would need at least another half day.

"Your Highness, could it be that… are you sure you want someone, not from the student council like that little girl to review our accounting records?"

Cyril's brow furrowed in confusion, but he soon seemed to realize something, and then his face lit up.

"I see! So this is punishment for that little girl who disrespected you, Your Highness! If she doesn't make it in time, she can be subject to punishment for disobeying your orders!"

Felix neither said it was right or wrong, but he only calmly instructed Cyril.

"I think she would not be able to attend her morning classes. Could you please inform Miss Monica Norton's homeroom teacher that I will be borrowing her for a moment?"

"At once!"

Cyril, who had been ordered to do his job, headed for the staff room with a nimble gait that made him look like he was about to skip.

While Felix was watching him off with a smile, a small little voice came from his chest.

"Are you sure about this?"

From Felix's breast pocket, a small lizard peeked out with only its head. The lizard had white scales with a light blue tint and dark blue eyes. It's a color that would never be possible for a normal lizard.

Moving only his eyes, Felix looked down at the lizard in his breast pocket.

"Are you having any doubts?"

The lizard moved its smallmouth and whispered to Felix.

Felix chuckled through his throat.

"Will, what do you think of Miss Monica Norton?"

"I think she's an odd little girl."

"Well, that's true, but… what's important is which side is she on."

Monica Norton had gone into the off-limits old garden and even saw Felix sneaking out of the boys' dormitory at night. It's hard to believe that she was just a regular person who happened to be there.

"I can think of three possibilities. The first is that my grandfather sent her to look after me. Second, His Majesty sent him to protect me. Third, she was an assassin who came to kill me."

"I have some doubt with the first and second options. Also, Duke Crockford and His Majesty won't send someone like that to look after you. After all, she was… well, you know…"

Yes. anyone who saw her would think of her as a clumsy person.

And Duke Crockford would never use such an incompetent. Neither would His Majesty the King.

Therefore, the most plausible was the third option—Monica Norton was the assassin who wanted to kill Felix…

"For a person who had targeted my life, the way she did her acts is way too crude."

"Indeed…"

"She didn't even know what I looked like in the first place."

If Monica Norton was an assassin who wanted to kill Felix, she should have attacked him when they met in the old garden.

To top it all off, when Monica saw Felix sneaking out of the boys' dormitory, she made a huge slip of the tongue and said, "I thought you were an assassin who tries to kill His Highness."

"Your Highness, what if… she's really just a schoolgirl who doesn't know anything?"

"I still inspecting her at the moment."

If Monica Norton has come to this school for any purpose, she will surely try rummaging the documents in the archives using the key that Felix had dropped.

"All the doors of those file cabinets in the archives are covered with ultra-thin threads on. If she tried to open its door, I'll know it right away."

If Monica had used the key she had picked up to rummage through the documents in the cabinets, Felix would know immediately which documents Monica after.

That's why Felix told Monica exactly what the documents were in each cabinet.

"Well, let's wait for lunchtime, shall we? Once lunchtime comes, we'll be able to shed her hide."

"What if it doesn't come off?"

When the white lizard asked, Felix, narrowed his blue eyes and smiled.

"I'm rather fond of small animals. Wouldn't it be fun to have one in the student council room?"

It's hard to tell if Felix was joking or serious when he said it, but the white lizard slipped into the back of his pocket, then…

"…I might not able to turn you into a small animal. But I will try my best to turn you into a similar one."

Felix laughed aloud which was unusual for him, then left the place with a light step.