CH 152

I was tired from last night’s party. I didn’t do anything special, but when Ludwig and Rutger get involved, I feel exhausted afterward. Well, as a bright side, I think it was good that I was able to introduce Margarete to Mikoto and Alexandra. Mikoto aside, everyone else probably won’t have many opportunities to interact with Elizabeth and Margarete, so I can say that was good.

Anyway, today is a special day off, but I have something to do. Caanza will start selling the pudding that was introduced at Helene’s evening party yesterday. I didn’t dare advertise it last night, so the customers who visited Caanza today will probably first find out about the pudding being sold starting today.

“Miss Flora, two guests have arrived,” Katharina called out.

“Yes, I’m going now,” I said, confirming everything was fully prepared in my full-length mirror before leaving my room.

Today, Louisa and Claudia are supposed to go to Caanza with me. Of course, there is a reason why these two are together today, and that is Louisa and Claudia often being unable to join me in events that I am invited to because of their statuses. For example, at yesterday’s evening party, it was inevitable the two would be excluded.

So to make up for that, I promised to take Louisa and Claudia with me to the castle town today.

Since Katharina lives in the same mansion as me, there’s no doubt that we’ll be together the most. After that, it was pointed out that Mikoto and Alexandra are the ones who are also often with me. Of course, Alexandra also lives in the home as me, but she was only recently rescued, so it hasn’t been a problem for the others yet.

However, it seems that Louisa and Claudia are at a disadvantage because we are often together at school or invited to evening parties and other noble’s events, leaving only the two of them behind.

““Morning, Floto,”” they said in unison.

“Good morning, Louisa, Claudia,” I replied.

“Ah!” Claudia gasped. “I’d prefer it if you call me Claudio today.”

At that, I stared intently at Claudia. If she says that, it’s for certain she’s dressed as a man. Since it’s Claudia, I don’t mind because she usually dresses like a knight, but today she’s acting in her male identity.

“Understood, Claudio,” I replied.

“All that aside, you still look so bad, Floto,” Claudio said.

“Honestly…” Louisa said. “Floto, why don’t you dress like you used to?”

As prompted, I take another look at my appearance. I look like an ordinary merchant’s daughter. I checked the full-length mirror and there was nothing strange about it.

Claudio wears a suit and pants that make him look like the son of a low-ranking nobleman or a knight. Claudio himself is a knight already so there’s nothing wrong with that.

I feel like Louisa is just a normal, slightly wealthy citizen. From the quality of the fabric, the design, and the decoration, you can tell at a glance that it is a reasonably high-end item for the commoners. Considering Louisa’s work and position, I think it would be fine to wear something a little more expensive, but it’s probably Louisa’s personality to be modest.

“What do you mean by me looking ‘bad’…?” I asked. “And what do you mean, ‘dress like I used to,’ Louisa?”

“You know, like how we met before,” Louisa replied.

Ah, I finally figured it out. In other words, I guess they mean, why don’t I dress up as a man and go as Floto again? Because when I met Louisa, I was dressed as a man and pretended to be a man.

But even if I dress like a man now, it’s impossible to pretend to be a man… first of all, I can’t hide my chest. Unlike back then, my body has grown up now, so even if I dress like a man, if my body is so feminine, I will be exposed. Compared to me, Claudio has smaller breasts and is taller and slender, so if she compresses her chest and dresses like a man, she’ll effortlessly look masculine. However, with my features and body type, that is no longer possible.

It’s not impossible to hide my figure by wearing an unnaturally large and fluffy overcoat, but you’ll still think something is wrong. It’s too unnatural to never take off your overcoat regardless of the season or situation. When I showed up at the Royal Guard Division, I used a cloak to hide my figure and deceived them, but it’s unreasonable to wear a cloak every day.

“It’s impossible for me to dress like a man anymore,” I said. “I think it’ll be too obvious and unnatural.”

“If you know that, why can’t you see that your current appearance is also unnatural and obvious?” Claudio countered.

Something’s been up with Claudio since a while ago… if you dress up as a man, will your personality and tone of voice turn rougher like a man’s?

“And what do you mean by that…?” I said. “I don’t think the three of us are that different in appearance?”

Speaking of luxury, I’m dressed more luxuriously than Claudio and Louisa. The daughter of a wealthy merchant wears a higher-class outfit than the low-ranking aristocrats and knights, that is, Claudio’s outfit. No matter how you look at me, there’s nothing wrong with me being the daughter of a wealthy merchant.

“So you know?” Louisa asked. “That look is so strange… even if Claudio and I are dressed like this, it’s nothing strange because we’re normal, but you, Floto, usually dress like an amazing young lady, and now you’re dressed like that, it’s so weird.”

“Isn’t that just because you’re familiar with my usual appearance, Louisa?” I asked.

She’s seen me as Flora, the margrave’s daughter, so she’ll feel off when I dress as a commoner like this.

“Well, the thing is, Floto… it’s not just a matter of appearance…” Claudio said. “The way you move and behave are clearly the actions of a high-ranking aristocratic lady, but so we’re saying it’s weird you’re dressed as the daughter of a wealthy merchant, you know?”

……Oh, is that so? But even the daughter of a wealthy merchant should have received a good education. There are many cases where a person with such a status becomes a maid of a noble family that is not so high up in the ranking. That’s why she’s educated enough to be a maid of a noble family. A wealthy merchant can provide that level of education.

“Even if you continue explaining it to Miss Flora, she probably won’t understand, so it’s a waste of time…” Katharina said. “I think you should spend your time more meaningfully and head out sooner than later.”

Something about Katharina is terrible. No, it wasn’t just Katharina, it was Claudio, too. I feel like Louisa is saying something terrible, too. In the end, I don’t have any allies…

“I think so, too,” Claudio said. “Well then, let’s go.”

“Right,” Louisa said.

The two start walking while ignoring me. There’s no point in disguising yourself if you’re traveling in a luxury carriage, so today I was supposed to walk around the royal capital and aim for Caanza.

Even in the royal capital, if you walk in a bad place, you will be covered in dirt, but as expected, the aristocratic town is thoroughly cleaned. If you go out from the aristocratic town to the main street, the main street is also clean, so you can walk without getting dirty. You need to be prepared to get your feet dirty if you go into the back alleys, but you don’t have to worry about getting your feet dirty when walking these routes.

The second store is for the commoners and is located in the downtown area, so it is far from the aristocratic district. However, the first store is a high-class store for members, and the main demographic is nobles and wealthy merchants, so it’s not that far from the aristocratic district. While walking while looking at the shops on the main street, I quickly arrived at Caanza’s Royal Captial Branch #1.

If you think about it from my time in modern Japan, it’s quite the distance, but everyone in this world is a good walker. Most of the means of transportation are on foot, so if it’s a short distance, even women and children can walk calmly. The store was quite crowded as we arrived, even though it hadn’t been that long since it opened. It seems that rumors are already circulating that pudding is being sold there.

“Woah… this crowd is huge,” Claudio said. “What are we going to do now?”

“Maybe it’s better if we don’t enter after all…” Louisa said, timid.

She may be nervous for all the nobles, but does Claudio want to dodge the crowd, too?

“If you squeeze into a crowd like that, you’ll probably come into contact with the ladies in there,” Claudio said. “But, it’s so tightly packed it can’t be helped… ehehehe…”

Whoa! Claudio! You son of a bitch! You’re going to use inevitable outside forces to enjoy the touch of other ladies?

“If you want to touch women so much, wouldn’t it be fine if only you go anywhere you please alone, Claudio?” I said, huffing and turning away from Claudio.

“What is it, Floto?” Claudio said. “Are you jealous? I only love you,” he said as he reached out and touched my cheek.

I feel like it’s a messed up thing for a man to do, but I don’t feel too uncomfortable when Claudio does it.

“Even you can understand I feel the same, right, Floto?” Claudio whispered in my ear, so Louisa wouldn’t hear it.

I think he believes I have the same conflict over gender identity.

Well, from Claudio’s point of view, it might be unavoidable to think so. I don’t have a gender identity disorder, I just reincarnated as a girl from being a man, so mentally I still feel like a man…

Ah……?

What did I think just now, “mentally I still feel like a man”? Does that mean that I’ve already accepted that I’m a woman in my heart?

No, that’s not right…! That can’t be! I’m…

“I’m sorry Floto… I didn’t mean to bother you. I’m really sorry…” Claudio said as he hugged me tightly.

It seemed my face turned conflicted so Claudio must have been trying to soothe me.

“It’s not that I was troubled by what you said, Claudio,” I whispered as I hugged him back. “I also want to be surrounded by pretty girls.”

Now we’re talking about something else. It’s not Claudio’s fault, I just got stuck on that idea on my own.

“Wait, Floto, Claudio… if you suddenly hug in a place like this, won’t we draw attention?” Louisa asked.

“Ah, sorry,” I said as we separated.

Certainly, I get the feeling that the ladies who were rushing to the Caanza’s store are glancing at us. There are quite a few young ladies around our age, so they probably end up staring at a man and a woman hugging each other in this kind of traffic. We’re both women. But Claudia’s going as Claudio today, so it can’t be helped.

“But more importantly, let’s go back to looking at the rest of the store,” I said, taking Claudio and Louisa by the hand and dragging them with me while they protested.

I was surprised that there were already so many people even though we just started selling pudding today, but that’s no reason for us to refrain from shopping.

With the opening of the second store, it became a member-only store, so all the customers who come are supposed to be members. I also show my membership card to the receptionist at the entrance. With that, Louisa and Claudio can pass through with me, so there’s no problem.

However… even though the clerk sees our appearance, he treats us like other customers, but some of the other customers look at us and talk in hushed whispers. After all, by making it a member-only store, it seems we’ve created an environment where ordinary people would find it hard to enter.

“Floto…” Louisa said, anxiously picking at my clothes.

As if to reassure Louisa, I held her hand and lined up next to her.

“I’m sure you don’t need to worry,” I said. “But the way you’re looking at me is a little depressing, so let’s head to the back.”

At that, I ask the store clerk to let me through to the private room in the back. This store had private rooms from the beginning. If it comes to aristocrats, there will be people who don’t want to show their faces, and if it’s a large deal, there will be people who want to do it behind closed doors and away from prying eyes. Considering such a case, I thought that a private room would be necessary and prepared it.

When I entered the private room and waited for a while, Hugo came with the clerk. I had told that clerk to summon him.

“Welcome, customers,” Hugo said. “How may we help you today?”

Many of the ordinary staff still don’t know I’m the owner of Caanza, so Hugo greeted me as usual before dismissing the clerk that brought him here.

“It looks like the pudding is already the talk of the town, isn’t it?” I said.

“Yes, it is,” Hugo said. “Word is spreading faster than we expected and now we’re already on the verge of selling out.”

I see……. I was a little underestimating the speed news can travel in this world. Considering the society, I thought it wouldn’t be that fast, but the rate is actually so great that shortly after opening, we’re already about to be sold out, so I can’t underestimate it moving forward.

After that, while talking with Hugo for a while, he showed me the products we sold, I bought Louisa and Claudio a members-only scented soap, and then left the store.

It was fun having a date with Louisa and Claudio yesterday. I got some strange looks from other noble customers at the store, but other than that, there were no particular problems. No, there was a problem after all: the pudding sold out too quickly.

Even though the number is limited per day, it sells out too quickly. It is necessary to secure eggs and milk, and it is also a burden on the cooks, so it is not possible to increase it all at once, but after consulting with Hugo, it was decided to increase the number of pudding sales a little more. Today is a weekday, so sales may be slower than yesterday, but they’re increasing quickly from today, so it might be better to check the sales on the way home.

I was taking classes while thinking about such things… but Christa isn’t here today, is she? Neither the teacher nor Helene said anything. What is going on…….? I have a bad feeling. But on that day, I thought, “Sometimes, these things happen.” so I stopped by Caanza on my way home.

And the next day… Christa was absent from school, as well. I can feel my heartbeat racing and hear it thumping loudly, but I feel the blood draining from this terrible feeling. It would be bad for me to go there directly. If I went to visit Christa’s and honestly told her parents, “I’m the daughter of Margrave Carruthers.” there’s a high chance that they wouldn’t accept me. 1

I decided to ask Katharina to deliver a message to Helmut and have him visit Christa during the lunch break, hoping that this bad feeling would go away.