You Stay Behind
"Hey, don't play hard to get. Let's go together. Spending this beautiful day with milady would be—"
The guy reached out to place his hand on Violet's shoulder. Is this lunatic serious?
"That's enough. Can't you see milady doesn't want it?"
I swatted his hand away and pulled Violet toward me.
"Hic!"
She swallowed wrong and let out a hiccup. The guy glared at me with a savage expression and sighed.
What, you gonna hit me? That'd be scary, but... I'd thought he was just some poor kid with a late-blooming chuunibyou phase. If he was going to act like this, I had no choice but to go hostile. A nameless extra touching milady?
"You're that butler who was messing around with a noble lady the other day."
Messing around? Had I ever played around with milady in front of others...? Ah, there was that one time.
"Don't tell me you were watching us the whole time during the sparring match?"
The only incident that came to mind was when I'd teased milady with the recording pen, rolling around with her. But we'd been in a secluded corner—how could he have seen? Did that mean he'd liked milady since before then? What a shameless bastard.
"Listen, you're not my type! Get lost, you creep!"
Violet seemed to agree. She snapped at him and clung to my arm. The guy looked utterly shocked, like a boy whose unrequited love had just been crushed. The sight made me feel... really damn good.
So I'm more her type than him, huh? He was a game character too, so he wasn't ugly—actually pretty handsome. When I looked at Violet with a satisfied smile, she nervously poked my thigh.
"Y-you jerk! What are you grinning about? You're not my type either... um..."
She trailed off, and the now-blond guy looked even more shocked.
"Well, anyway, milady says she's not interested. I'd appreciate it if you stopped approaching her for no reason."
It wasn't the kind of thing a butler should say to a noble young master, but what could I do?
"Just get lost and don't come back, you annoying bastard."
Since milady didn't like him... I quickly stopped Violet as she raised her middle finger and looked ready to say more. Even so, watching him walk away with his head hung low was a little pitiful.
As we passed him, I couldn't resist teasing the fidgeting Violet.
"Milady, was that guy even a little bit your type?"
She made a disgusted face.
"Ugh, I hate guys like that! Acting all greasy and pushy... I barely stopped myself from headbutting him. Not even close to my type!"
Perfect, she took the bait.
"Then how much am I your type? I'm pretty pushy too, aren't I?"
She flinched and looked away, then muttered,
"...Honestly, I like you a bit."
She actually said it straight out. Why was she so cute lately? When I grinned and reached for her hand, she dodged a few times before reluctantly letting me hold it.
This is basically a perfect romance route, right? The developers should give me an award when this is over.
"Milady, your hands are really soft."
I led her to the back of the empty classroom and started playing with her hand. She immediately tried to pull away.
"L-let go, you jerk! I only held your hand and that's what you say—!"
When I released her hand, she fidgeted like she was a little disappointed. See? She doesn't actually hate it, but she still plays hard to get.
"Milady, so when are we officially dating?"
The professor had already started the lecture. After a pause, Violet set her pen down.
"I-I'll do it when I feel like it! You just stay still and wait until I say it's okay!"
There it was—Violet's style of romance. What a frustrating person...
Even in the late game, if you brought an elixir to the worn-out Violet and spammed the praise dialogue options, you could at least reach the "almost dating" stage. Yeah, just the "almost" part. Unlike other dateable characters, Violet kept her guard up and tried to maintain the upper hand in any new relationship.
It's a really underhanded plan, but... That was exactly why I kept teasing and pushing her—so she wouldn't have time to pull away. Thanks to that, holding hands and some light skinship had become possible without resistance. But dating won't work with this method.
By saying she'd accept when she felt like it, she was obviously assuming she'd be the one receiving the confession. And only when she was completely ready.
She's actually said she likes me a few times now, which is unusual, but... That didn't mean her pride would let her be the one to suggest dating. So what should I do?
It's simple. I just needed to make her jealous. Violet was already the jealous type with few friends. If the first person she'd opened up to started getting close to someone else—almost to the point of dating—she'd get anxious and clingy. Plus, we were already in this ambiguous almost-dating state.
If I act like I'm about to move on to someone else in this situation? She'd have no choice but to lower her guard. It felt a bit cruel to someone already carrying so many wounds, but it was the best way to break through her stubbornness.
And the most effective way to do that is... Chloe. Bringing in the person Violet was most wary of and staying close to her—that was the plan.
"You came in just a day. I didn't expect you so soon. What brings you here?"
Chloe sat on the sofa with her legs crossed and asked. Even though she'd told me to come to her for anything, coming for romance advice felt awkward. But finding someone else would be even harder. Right now, what I needed most was...
"Is it about that young lady again? What can I do for you?"
The princess, huh... As expected of the straightforward princess noona. She's the best! I didn't know what would happen if I later revealed I wasn't actually Dane's little brother, but Jerome was already dead in the story, so as long as Dane didn't return, there was no risk of being found out. And Dane had been killed by our reliable regressor.
"It's nothing big, but... could you perhaps act in front of milady?"
"Act? What kind of act?"
This was a little embarrassing to say... It felt like dragging an adult into kids' love squabbles.
"The thing is, milady keeps trying to take the lead, so..."
"You want me to pretend to be your lover or something like that?"
Chloe laughed loudly a few times before speaking.
"I knew that uncultured lady would be some kind of obstacle for you, but I didn't expect it to be like this."
She stood up with a smile still on her face and patted my shoulder.
"So I just need to sneak into the academy in disguise and act like a woman trying to seduce you?"
She turned around coolly, opened the door, and said as she left,
"We'll start tomorrow. No need to thank me. I've got a score to settle with that vulgar lady anyway."
Even if the princess had already handled all her big responsibilities, wasn't this too easy?
"Still, this is a very personal request. I should at least repay you somehow..."
Chloe closed the door again and came back in, smiling kindly.
"This is atonement for my foolish past. You just need to keep receiving it. No need to feel burdened."
No, that unconditional favor is exactly what's burdensome. When I couldn't wipe the uneasy look off my face, Chloe waved her hand.
"Just seeing you live well by my side is enough. You worrying so much is actually what's burdensome for me."
Wow, is she actually an angel? As I stared at her, half-expecting a halo to appear, the Blood Demon, who had been quiet in the glove, spoke up.
"Hey, if you keep giving everything away like that, what'll be left for you?"
Chloe tilted her head like it was obvious and answered,
"You guys will be left. What else would there be?"
Then she looked at me and continued.
"Neither I nor Dane, nor even you until now, probably got to have pretty dreams. Just look at how hard you're living right now."
Wait, what? Is she actually a goddess?
"Not being able to cherish Dane when he was here, not being able to heal his wounds, and not being able to find you—all of that was my fault and my mistake."
The in-game Chloe, who had always seemed cold, suddenly looked radiant, like she was glowing with a halo.
"So from now on, leave your worries to me and just enjoy reality in my place."
No, this wasn't just a halo. It was pure light itself, swallowing every other light source.
"I'll keep creating more foolish acts of atonement."
From this moment on, I decided to call Chloe the Light Princess.