“Oh no, oh no, I’m going to be late!”
Instinctively, I dodged to the side to protect Rouge, and,
“Gah!?”
The girl passed by me and collided head-on with the Idiot.
“Ouch…”
As the girl got up, her drill-like, spiraling pink hair swayed. Dressed in the Royal Academy’s white uniform with blue lines, it was none other than Rosalie Saint, the Holy Maiden chosen by the Divine Blessing Church.
“R-Rosalie!? What’s the rush?”
“Oh, Lady Rouge! And Hugh-sama too. Good morning!”
Rosalie smiled brightly at us while still straddling the Idiot.
Rosalie had just transferred to the Royal Academy yesterday. Due to various circumstances, she was transferring to the Royal Academy and would be joining our class, 1-A, starting today.
“Please wait, Rosalie-sama!”
When I turned my gaze to the voice calling out to Rosalie, I saw a woman with an impressive navy-blue bob running towards us from down the hallway. It was Cicely-san, the Holy Knight who served as Rosalie’s guard. She would also be working at the Royal Academy as Rosalie’s guard and a teacher of religious studies.
“Good morning, Cicely-san.”
“Ah, Hugh-sama and Lady Rouge. Good morning.”
Cicely-san noticed us, stopped, and bowed her head politely. She was a courteous and gentle person. She was only about five years older than us, so she would surely be popular with students of both genders.
“Oh, Cicely, you’re late. We have to finish breakfast quickly, or we’ll be late.”
“Rosalie-sama, I hate to say it, but there’s no time to eat breakfast anymore. On your first day as a transfer student, you need to complete the final procedures in the faculty room…”
“Is that so!? I’ve always longed for something called the School Cafeteria, so this is disappointing…”
Rosalie’s shoulders slumped. The dark circles under her eyes suggested she didn’t sleep well last night. Her insomnia should have improved to some extent, so she was probably just too excited about starting her school life today.
That being said,
“Lady Rosalie…! Could you please get off me!?”
“Oh, Idiot-sama. Why are you in such a place?”
“Because you ran into me!?”
The Idiot, who had been straddled by Rosalie for a while, couldn’t take it anymore and raised his voice. Rosalie finally seemed to notice and stepped off him, saying, “Forgive me.”
“Honestly… I never expected the church’s Holy Maiden to be such a tomboy… You should learn some grace from Lady Lecty.”
“Oh, it’s nonsense to stereotype and compare women, Idiot-sama. Lecty has her good points, and I have mine.”
“I wouldn’t call being restless a good point.”
“‘Rosalie is so energetic that just looking at her makes me feel better,’ my grandfather praised me. It’s a wonderful quality of mine.”
The Idiot and Rosalie glared at each other. These two had apparently been at odds ever since they first met during the incident at the Grand Cathedral, and they seemed to clash every time they met.
This was the first time I had witnessed it, but it didn’t seem as hostile as I had heard.
“You have procedures to complete, don’t you? You should go quickly.”
“I’ll do that even if you don’t tell me. Lady Rouge, Hugh-sama, see you later.”
“Yeah, see you later.”
Rosalie snorted at the Idiot, averted her gaze, and turned on her heel to walk towards the faculty room. Rouge called out to her back.
“Ah. Wait, Rosalie. Would you like to have lunch together if you’re free?”
“Oh! Oh, oh, oh! Lunch at the School Cafeteria with friends! That sounds like the perfect school life! I’d love to, Lady Rouge!”
“Okay! Then, see you later, Rosalie.”
“Yes! See you later!”
Rosalie waved her hand vigorously as she left for the faculty room. Cicely-san bowed to us and hurriedly chased after Rosalie. It seemed that our daily life would become even more chaotic from now on.
“Good for you, Rouge.”
“Yeah… Ah, hmph.”
It seemed it would take a little longer for her to get over it…
◇
“In reality, she’s a hostage, isn’t she?”
Lily, who was sitting across from me and having lunch, muttered as she watched Rosalie, who was surrounded by Rouge, Lecty, and other classmates like Ann and Brown at a table a little further away, enjoying her meal.
Rosalie’s transfer was decided through negotiations between the Divine Blessing Church’s Papal Office and Prince Lucas.
Rosalie’s reputation as a Holy Maiden had fallen to the ground after she was forced to treat patients by Malicious. Prince Lucas suggested to the church, which was finding it difficult to continue Rosalie’s activities as a Holy Maiden, that she be sheltered at the Royal Academy until things cooled down.
The church accepted the proposal, and Rosalie’s transfer was decided. Sheltered sounds nice, but… it’s still a hostage situation, isn’t it?
“Well, she doesn’t seem to mind.”
“…I’ve heard some of the circumstances from Lecty. If there’s anything you need help with, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“I appreciate it, Lily.”
“Even so… fufu. I’m glad to see Rouge and Lecty are having fun.”
Lily smiled softly as she watched the two of them laughing with Rosalie. I could somehow understand her looking at them with a parent’s perspective. Especially Lecty, I couldn’t have imagined her leaving Lily’s and my side to chat with classmates when she first enrolled.
I felt a little lonely, but more than that, I was happy as a friend to see Lecty’s growth. Lily probably felt the same way.
As I was thinking about this and looking at Lecty, our eyes suddenly met. Then, Lecty blushed and quickly averted her gaze from me.
Since the day of the incident at the Grand Cathedral, when Lecty stole a kiss from me, I hadn’t been able to talk to Lecty face-to-face.
I was probably being avoided… Of course, I understood that it wasn’t in a bad way. I felt just as embarrassed and couldn’t bring myself to talk to her.
“Hmm.”
“What is it?”
“I was just thinking that my husband is a heartbreaker.”
“Oh, come on…”
Please stop calling me husband in a place like this where there are so many people. Well, Rosalie and the others are attracting all the attention, so it should be fine…
“I don’t mind. In fact, I’d welcome Lecty. I don’t think she wants to monopolize you either.”
“Lecty might be okay with it, but…”
The problem was what Lucretia would think. ‘I love you, please marry me, and by the way, I’m planning to take two other wives’ is just too insincere. If Lucretia said she was going to marry such a scumbag, I would do everything in my power to stop it… Even though it’s me.
“If you’re worried, why don’t you just confess and ask her? If she refuses, I’ll quietly step aside.”
Lily said it so casually, she must be confident that Lucretia wouldn’t refuse.
Confess, huh…
“It’s not that I haven’t thought about it, but the timing is just not right.”
In my previous world, the classic times were events like Christmas or Valentine’s Day, right? But I don’t think there are any equivalent events in this world.
“The perfect timing is right around the corner.”
“Huh?”
“Her birthday is next month, you know?”