CH 76

After the teachers’ greetings in each class, today’s schooling has ended. Nothing will happen suddenly on the day of the entrance ceremony. I was about to go home with Katharina, who was waiting for me outside when I was called out at the school’s garden.

“Flora! Are you done for today? Would you like to have some tea with me?”

“Prince Ludwig…” I said.

Your partner is Helene! If you have time to talk to me in a place like this, have a secret meeting with Helene!

…… No, this is probably because this is the right place to do it!

He might have made an appointment with Helene, but since I’m a dummy fiancee, he’ll talk to me like this in public and have a real date with Helene in secret. By doing so, the hate around me will accumulate and he will be able to meet his beloved Helene freely behind the scenes.

So don’t take this at face value. At this point, if I were to say, “Well then, I’d be happy to join you.”, Ludwig would think “I’m going to publicly ask my dummy to come with me, but I’ll actually have a date with Helene from now on!”

“You have someone to meet after this, right, Prince Ludwig? I don’t think you have time to worry about me. I understand the importance of ‘appearances’ to those around you, but you don’t need me to ask me such things,” I said.

Since he wouldn’t actually listen to what I had to say when we were alone, it would be fine if I just acted like we were having a casual chat. No matter how much this is just posturing, you don’t need to invite me to tea, just pretending to have a friendly conversation is enough.

“Flora? What are you talking about? There’s no one more important for me to see than you, yes? You don’t have any plans after this, right?” Ludwig asked.

Oh, how annoying! This nobleman’s speech is too troublesome! It would have been easier if I could say it straight, without any trouble or misunderstanding!

But I can’t get impatient and do something bad. If I do something poorly, I could cause trouble not only for House Caan but also for House Carruthers. As I was thinking about what to do, my eyes met the knights behind Ludwig.

Behind Ludwig are five knights. I don’t think they always accompany him in school, but he must have had an escort because he’s about to go home. Three of the guards are from the Crown Guard. Since it’s the Bonbon Knights we’re talking about, they’re not reliable in terms of fighting power. They’re just for show.

The other two are from the Royal Guard Division. These are the real bodyguards. One is a bearded old man. Horst, Commander of the Royal Guard Division. Another is a face I don’t know. A young knight with a beautiful face like a woman. That young knight with a pretty face is constantly staring at me.

However, when I looked at him, he looks away in a hurry. Does he know me? No… there shouldn’t have been such a person when I went to the Royal Guard Division for training. If there was a man with a beautiful face like that of a woman, I would definitely remember him. If I don’t know him, were they a later recruit?

“Prince Ludwig, please excuse me for a moment,” I said. “… Commander Horst, it’s been a while since we’ve met. And who is this?”

I cut off the conversation with Ludwig at random and went over to Horst and the pretty-faced knight standing beside Horst. It bothers me that I’m being watched all the time, I’m not sure how to feel about it.

“Ah~… today is a fine day, and I’m pleased your happy to chat, Princess Flora…” Horst said.

“… Commander Horst? You don’t need me to greet you like that, do you?” I said.

What happened to this bearded old man? Is he out of his mind? First of all, I’m not a princess, and we used to speak more casually when I was training with the Royal Guard Division. In the first place, it is obvious that he’s forcing himself from how awkward he’s talking. Anyway, if you’re going to cover it up, wouldn’t it be better to at least make it a little more professional than that?

“Ah? Is that so?” Horst said. “Then please, let’s talk as you see fit. Come now, you had something you wanted to say, too, didn’t you?” he said to the other knight.

Hey……. it’s too early to change topics so suddenly… it’s fine, but I don’t understand something. And when Horst spoke to the beautiful-faced knight next to him, Horst left us. Apparently, he wants this knight and me to speak alone.

“U-Um…! Floto! I’m so sorry about that time!” the beautiful knight suddenly apologized.

I don’t understand what he means. Why am I being apologized to by this knight? Who is this person, anyway? If he know- me from the Royal Guard Division, was it someone who was there while I was still training?

“Uhm… who are you? Did we meet somewhere?” I asked.

“Huh!? I-I’m…–ghh!” 1

“Ah……” I said.

The knight raised his head and was about to say something and then ran away with a crying face. What is it? My chest tingles. If there was a man with such a pretty face, I think I would definitely remember him… it’s useless. I can’t remember.

Horst was watching him run off while scratching his head and sighing, “Aa~aah……”. Ludwig just silently watched the exchange between me and the knight, and he didn’t say anything. If he speaks softly, I can’t hear it, but if he spoke loudly or I listened carefully, I could hear it. Ludwig and Horst, who were standing at such a delicate distance, came before me again.

“Shall we go out then, Flora?” Ludwig said.

“Uh…”

Was this guy still inviting me to tea? That’s enough of that…

“Please excuse me, I have a delivery that’s scheduled to arrive later today,” I said.

I don’t know if they’ll really arrive today, but it wouldn’t be strange if Oliver and his company arrived that soon. Let’s decline the invitation because there is cargo handling to be done.

“Won’t your family servants do that even if you weren’t there, Flora?” Ludwig asked.

Ludwig really did grow up as a sheltered bonbon… and he knows nothing about women. Well, I don’t know anything about women either!

“Haa… Prince Ludwig… women have a lot of things to do, right? It’s not the same as going out to invite Lord Rutger to play and go outside. Besides, there’s also important cargo there. Because of my position, I have to do what I can by myself without being able to leave anything to others.”

I hope he got the point a bit. If you’ve male friends, it might not be a problem if you suddenly go and ask them out somewhere. But women don’t have that luxury. There’s no way I can answer if I’m going to be asked all of a sudden today even though I need to prepare in various ways.

Besides, it wouldn’t be good to leave all the cargo handling to other people. It doesn’t mean that I can’t leave my luggage to them, but it’s a natural feeling for ordinary people in modern Japan to do what they can on their own. Besides, I have my desire to put that over there or this here. If you have someone do it, you have to rework it again, which is a hassle.

“Oh, I see… I didn’t realize that. Well then, how about tomorrow afternoon after school is over?”

Hey……. do you really understand any of this? I’m saying it won’t be today, which doesn’t mean it will be tomorrow…

“My apologies,” I said. “I have plans for an inspection tomorrow…”

Whether or not I can actually go to the inspection tomorrow depends on whether or not the cargo caravan arrives today, but according to the normal schedule, it really would be tomorrow. Oliver and the others were supposed to have arrived by now, so I planned to visit the ranch tomorrow as the first item on my schedule.

If Oliver and the others don’t make it in time, the schedule will be changed, but there’s no need to bother telling Ludwig about it.

Then, the day after tomorrow, Ludwig invited me for the third time, but I refused and left without a second thought. Normally, it would be rude to refuse three invitations, but from the beginning, I’m a dummy for Helene, so this is fine.

Even if I accepted the invitation and went to tea, people would just think, “This girl actually came.” In that case, it is better to refuse from the beginning.

“Shall we go home then?” I asked.

“Miss Flora… was it right to refuse like that?” Katharina asked.

She looks troubled, but it’s fine. I’m just a dummy, aren’t I? In that case, there is no need to worry about the other side. You just have to play the roles assigned to you. While I smile ambiguously at Katharina to deceive her, we returned to the Carruthers Residence.

When I returned to the Carruthers Residence, there were many covered wagons parked at the entrance. The Caan soldiers are busily working here and there.

“Sir Floto! It’s Oliver! I’ve brought the cargo as ordered!” Oliver said, kneeling.

“Oliver…” I said. “Here, I am Flora. When will you be able to use my two names properly…?”

From Oliver’s point of view, I may be Floto von Caan, the master he serves, but my position is a delicate business, so I want him to use my two names properly. It may not be a problem here now, but if you don’t know how to properly use it on a regular basis, you might make a mistake in an emergency. I want him to have a proper awareness of that.

“No! I won’t give up on that matter! I will only report to Sir Froto after I receive my assignments! After this, I will call you Lady Flora, but this is the only thing that must never be changed!”

I see……. is it true if he says so? Does that mean that Oliver won’t just call me Floto without any thought?

Certainly, it’s not wrong to claim that Oliver, who is a subordinate of House Caan, is entrusted with the orders from and then reports to Sir Floto. Especially for soldiers, if the chain of command is not solid, it will be a source of confusion.

The fact that Caan soldiers are ordered by and reported to Flora of House Carruthers can lead to the other members of House Carruthers withholding and ordering them as well. If I was the Head of House Carruthers, this wouldn’t be a problem, but in the current situation where there are people in House Carruthers who are in a higher position than me, that would be the most extreme case of ambiguous authority.

“I understand your point, Oliver,” I said. “You are correct but it can be troublesome if other people ask about it, so please be very careful about that.”

I understand that Oliver has his line of reasoning, but if someone else asks about it, it could be troublesome. Just pay attention to that distinction and then head to my room.

When I did so myself, as expected, my luggage was brought in and unloaded. The layout of the room also has a sense of style, so it may be better to leave it to someone who is good at that kind of thing. But for me, who has modern Japanese sensibilities, it’s my room, so I want to do it the way I want. So I immediately give instructions and ask them to change it.

“Please put the full-length mirror here. Chairs and table over here…”

Katharina and Isabella, who are in charge of changing my clothes, should think about the classification of the clothes in the closet. It should be easy for the people themselves to find and choose, but I want the layout of the room to be whatever I want.

I’m glad I turned down Ludwig’s invitation. If they had decided on the layout of the room on their own, it would have been troublesome to redo it later, so I would have left it as it was. Now that I can arrange it as I want, it looks like this will be the end of the day.

The day after the entrance ceremony, classes at the school begin today. When I left home early in the morning to avoid the crowds, almost no one was there yet. Even though there is still quite a bit of time until the start of class, I am the one who is surprised at how little time it took. In Japan, there should have been a fair amount of people at school or at work this early in the day, but the world here is kind of lazy.

When I was looking at the entrance from the window, it gradually started to get crowded. I see. Will it be crowded at this time? After all, it seems it’s the perfect time to arrive right. If you’re too late, you’ll end up stuck in a traffic jam and have to wait outside for nothing.

“Wha…?! Why are you already here!”

“Huh? Ah, good day to you,” I said.

When I thought someone had entered the classroom, it turned out to be the girls who got involved with me yesterday. In the hand of one of them… a container? They have a container with some liquid in it. It’s been a long time since I came here, but the people who finally came in after are quite late, relative to me.

Without answering my greetings, one of the people holding the container quickly walked over to my seat… and spilled the contents all over it.

“O~ooh my, I’m sorry. My hand slipped,” she said.

No, no… No matter how you look at it, it’s on purpose… did you purposely bring that liquid in that container just to do that? Perhaps you were thinking of coming first thing in the morning and playing a prank on me while no one was around, but I was already there so you decided to do it right in front of me.

Thinking that I was in a state of shock and dumbfounded while I was idly thinking, the five perpetrators giggled and said whatever they wanted.

“Oh dear, oh my? Did you freeze with fear?”

“That’s what happens when a margrave’s daughter gets too arrogant.”

“You should know your place.”

Hmmm… I didn’t intend to be arrogant, and I didn’t think I was in control of myself, but did I do something that bothered them? Or is it with Ludwig? If that’s the case, then I’m working great as a dummy fiancee.

But if everyone wanted Helene and Ludwig to get together, wouldn’t they have just announced their engagement to Helene without having me as a dummy from the beginning? No… that’s just what I think because I’m looking at the current situation.

Rather, it’s exactly because there was a dummy that everyone supported that relationship, thinking that Helene and Ludwig would be a better match. If there is a dummy, and if this is what they were aiming for, why wouldn’t I be the one targeted?

The group of five told me this and that, and while I was absorbed in my thoughts, the surroundings gradually became noisy. Gradually, the number of people who came to school increased and the classroom was overflowing with people.

“Wait! You savage! What did you do to Lady Sophie’s desk!”

“Huh?” I said.

If you look closely, one of the five members, Sophie Arnhardt, daughter of Marquis Arnhardt, has her desk stained with the same liquid dumped on mine. Or rather, these guys did it themselves…

“Listen to me, everyone! This savage threw something like this on Lady Sophie’s desk to harass her! When we saw it, she threw it on her own desk in a panic! The damage on this desk and us, the witnesses, are proof!”

“What? How terrible.”

“Come to think of it, she also had something against those five girls yesterday.”

No, no… no matter how you think about it, it’s strange… if it’s true that I was the one who was attacked yesterday, and they have witnesses because her comrades were watching, then you can lie against one person and win with the numbers advantage. That doesn’t make any sense as proof.

But that’s how it works in this world. It’s the same on Earth, but if you have a loud voice and make a fuss about it, you’ll win. It doesn’t matter which one is telling the truth. My classmates, who came later and were shown this tragedy, began to whisper that I was at fault.