CH 131

T/N: Night Crawling is a Japanese practice of men climbing into unmarried women’s houses at night and then asking for sex. If the woman consented, they would. This was allegedly common practice for finding a spouse.

I told Alexandra about my encounters and partings with everyone. How many times has this explanation been given? I have explained it many times, so the story flows smoothly and the order is neat, so it feels like I’m reading out a script.

And that’s why I feel something is wrong. I wonder if it sounds like I’m making up a story if I talk so smoothly and without getting stuck on when to say what. But that worry seemed unnecessary.

In the first place, I decided to explain this again on this occasion to make sure that there are no lies or contradictions by speaking in a place where other people are present so that they can corroborate.

In that case, do you think that Katharina alone would have been enough? That’s wrong. It is also to prove that there was no lie in them listening to the parts they’ve heard but Alexandra has not. Until now, I was the only person who could tell Alexandra’s story. Now that Alexandra herself has corroborated her section, it proves I wasn’t lying.

“Haa… Flora… why are you like this.…? Oh, enough of that…” Alexandra said, holding her forehead and shaking her head.

What did she mean by that?

“Well, isn’t it alright in the end?” Katharina said. “Miss Flora has saved you thanks to all of this, didn’t she?”

“Ah, that’s right,” Claudia said. “Now that you mention it, it’s exactly as Katharina said. If things ended with her, we wouldn’t have stood a chance at all.”

I’m the only one who can’t keep up. Everyone nodded as if they understood, but I was the only one who had no idea what was going on.

“Certainly, thanks to Flora being like this, there is still no settlement yet, but please wait,” Alexandra said. “After me, there was Princess Mikoto Vandenlissen—no, is it supposed to be Princess Sumeragi Mikoto? You had an affair with Princess Mikoto, yes?”

Huuh!? About that… Katharina suddenly became frosty to me and then left my home, so I thought that she was tired of me. I got into a falling out with Louisa, and Claudia unambiguously dumped me. Since we were becoming codependent, I chose to drive Mikoto away in order to cure the symptoms.

Compared to them, it’s true that Alexandra and I weren’t forced apart by personal problems, and instead by something we couldn’t do anything about then. If the two of us had been lovers, it would certainly be a story like I cheated on her with each of them because we were separated but not broken up. But wait a minute.

“Hey, wait a minute! It’s true that Alexandra and I were separated by circumstances, and we weren’t separated because of some kind of personal falling out. Isn’t it strange to say that I cheated on her because I became close to her?” I said. “In the first place, Alexandra and I weren’t even dating?!”

Yes. If we were indeed dating, you could have taken it like I was cheating with local girls while in a long-distance relationship. But I don’t think Alexandra and I were dating, to begin with, so I don’t think I should be accused of cheating because I got close to another girl.

“That’s about right… well, thanks to that, it seems like I still have a chance even though we already broke up once, so that’s a relief… ” Claudia said.

“I think you’re a little too insensitive, Floto…?” Lousia said. “You don’t understand a woman’s heart, do you?”

Doki! Louisa’s words pierced me. That’s the thing. I wear the form of a woman on the outside, but I’m a man on the inside. Could it be that they know I’m a man inside…?

“Well, I wonder if Miss Flora is better like this…” Katharina said.

“That’s right. I think she’s cuter this way,” Claudia said.

“Well, I’m sure this is fine,” Alexandra said. “I understand the circumstances. In other words, the five of us should protect Flora.”

Hmm? Protect? What do you mean? It’s becoming a train of discussion that I can’t understand. I understand if I’m going to protect everyone, but will I be protected by everyone? From what?

“Miss Flora…… wouldn’t it be better for you to take a rest soon?” Isabella asked after knocking on the door.

Come to think of it, yes, it would. It’s already quite late. Claudia and Louisa have to go home, so it’s probably best to part ways soon.

Or do they want to sleep with me tonight? No matter if they’re sent out in a carriage, you can’t go outside at this time. In Japan, it’s okay for a woman to walk alone at night, but not in this world.

It’s just that their families in their homes might be worried. If you say you’re going to stay at my house for the day, anyway, it’d be fine, but if you don’t come back for a night, your family will be worried. Let’s just ask them, shall we?

“What about you two, Louisa, Claudia? It’s already late tonight, so would you like to stay here for tonight?” I asked.

“Hmm… I did say I’d be out late, but I didn’t say I wouldn’t come home today, so I wonder if my family would be worried…” Louisa said.

“I’m the same,” Claudia said. “I was planning to go home today, and I have to go to the royal castle tomorrow.”

Well, I guessed as much. Their families will be worried and it will interfere with tomorrow’s duties. It’s a little late, but it’s better to live as usual.

“Then Alexandra is the only one staying at my house,” I said. “Will you be going to your room now?”

That’s what I expected. I thought there was nothing wrong with it. Without even realizing that it was the beginning of something important after this…

“Wait a minute, Floto. What did you just say?” Claudia said.

“Will Lady Alexandra sleep in this house?” Louisa asked.

Both of them are scary. I wonder what happened all of a sudden. House Lingerburg doesn’t have a mansion in the royal capital, so considering their personal safety, they will be living here for the time being. That’s what it was…

“House Lingerburg does not have a mansion in the royal capital, and the danger of being targeted has not yet disappeared, so we will have them live together with us in the Carruthers Residence for a while,” Katharina explained in my stead.

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Hearing that, Claudia and Louisa turn their heads back mechanically and stiffly like a robot that’s run out of oil. Scary…

“If that’s the case, can I stay the night too?!” Claudia cried.

“Yes! I’d like to ask that, too!” Louisa said.

“Wh-What happened to you two all of a sudden…?” I said.

As I saw the two of them suddenly change their appearance, I can only back down even though I’m confused. The auras radiating from them were so intense that I felt I shouldn’t have asked.

“Then I will send a messenger to Claudia and Louisa’s homes to tell them that they will be staying at the Carruthers Residence tonight,” Katharina said. “I’ll show you both to your rooms, please come with me.”

As if she knew what was going to happen, Katharina quickly proceeded to clear things up. All I could do was nod.

By the way, nothing happened that day. Katharina, Louisa, Claudia, and Alexandra seemed to have slept together in one room. I don’t know why. Concerning Alexandra, I think she’d be fine in a single room or a room with her mother, Gabriella, but I’m afraid to ask about it in detail, and it’s better not to ask.

I don’t know what the four of them were doing in one room all night, but I felt like I shouldn’t get too deep into it, so I decided to ignore it.

There was no night crawling or sneaking into rooms last night, and the morning greeted us normally. I was a little sleepy today, but everyone else was awake when I went to breakfast after doing my daily training with my parents before sunrise.

If you think about it from modern Japan’s perspective, it might feel like waking up quite early, but this is normal in this world. It costs money just to turn on the light at night. It’s not like modern Japan where electricity runs 24 hours a day and the lights turn on with the flick of a switch.

Firewood, oil, candles, etc. must be consumed in order to get light, and even then it is difficult to say that there is enough light. People in those days generally got up at sunrise and finished their errands by sunset.

Of course, it’s not that they never stayed up at night, so just because it’s dark doesn’t mean they’re going to sleep immediately. But most of them sleep without doing too much. Especially poor people who can’t secure the light can’t do anything because it will be pitch black.

That’s why everyone was up shortly after sunrise. Louisa said that after breakfast she would go to the farm once she got home. It seems that Claudia will continue to serve the royal castle. Aren’t your parents worried about you two? I think so, but it seems she will meet her father at the royal castle, so she will explain at that time.

Katharina and I are the same as usual, and Alexandra just joins us. From now on, Alexandra will also go to school with me.

“Ah! Come to think of it…” I said.

“What’s the matter all of a sudden?” Alexandra asked.

Louisa and Claudia were heading to work and we were going to take it easy before heading to school, but I couldn’t help but shout when I remembered something.

“Is it alright if you’re staying with me, Alexandra? Maybe that trio of students you have will say something rude again?” I asked. “Could it be that one of those three is a spy for House Nassam?”

Among Alexandra’s entourage, there was a trio who seemed to have quite strong personalities. Even in Carruzan, she was surrounded by odd girls like the daughter of Viscount Alco, Adele, and I wondered if Alexandra would easily attract that type of person. This may be the fate of the villainess.

That trio has been speaking ill of me behind my back since the day of the entrance ceremony. Well, I guess they said it without knowing that the person herself was in front of them, but after that, they should have had the opportunity to get to know me, but their attitude didn’t change.

It’s possible that they simply didn’t even notice that I was sitting in front of them and didn’t recall my face, but usually, you’ll find out later if the person you were talking ill about was at the entrance ceremony. Don’t you think it’d be more awkward after the realization?

And yet, far from being embarrassed, the trio even had nasty grins on their faces when Alexandra and I exchanged words on our way back from the dining hall. Even if I didn’t know who they were, I knew right away that we were an unusual pair. I was in Class 1, and even if they didn’t recognize my face, my uniform would give it away.

You can’t see it perfectly from a distance, but you can’t miss it if you look closely. They are recognizable by the number of lines on the collar and by the small lapel badges of each class. If a student in a lower class gets into a dispute with a student in a higher class, it will be a big deal, so they should definitely check what class they’re in through the lapel badges. And yet, those three had that attitude toward me, who was in a superior group to theirs.

Of course, they may have thought that I was a bullied child and that status was not enough to be afraid of me, but even so, it was too blatant. No matter how much you think you have the backing of House Lingerburg, which is a fairly high-ranking county, that is strange…

No, wait? Was that attitude precisely because they thought that Duke Nassam was with them, not Count Lingerburg? I see……. I still can’t explain it. Between duchies and margraviates, even the lowest-ranked duchies are higher than the top margraviates. Any aristocrat knows that much. If you think about it that way, that attitude might make sense.

“House Nassam uses someone else to spy on me,” Alexandra said. “I’m having a hard time dealing with that trio, but I can’t let them go and ignore them… I’m worried about what to do, even……”

Ah… Alexandra is rather shy, or rather, she’s not the type to say what she wants to say and come forward. I think Alexandra is definitely losing a lot with that face of hers, but I can’t do anything about this.

While talking like that, in the end, we rode a carriage together and came to the school. In the first place, at this time of the day, most of the people in the school are staff members, and there are only a handful of students. You are unlikely to meet anyone.

Since we were in different classes, I parted ways with Alexandra and waited in my classroom when a demon came in and sat next to me. I don’t know why it was, but she’s mad as can be. I know that much.

“Flora? Do you know why I’m mad at you?” Mikoto asked.

“Yes……” I said.

Yes… I don’t know… But if I said I didn’t understand, she’d get even angrier, so I silently listened to Mikoto, the demon sitting next to me.

T/N: I made a mistake in Chapters and Arcs. The first half of 132 fades into the next arc, the “Pudding for Royalty Arc.” 133 is entirely in that arc, no longer part of the Alexandra Rescue Operation saga.

Anyway, the Pudding for Royalty Arc introduces some really fascinating new characters, and some that have only been ever mentioned in the periphery but never made an in-person appearance.