Chapter 71
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Secret Actions Are Bound to Be Discovered. (2)
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Secret actions are bound to be discovered.
Erje's sudden appearance left not only Elena but me frozen in place as well. We were like stone statues caught mid-head-pat.
'How the hell am I supposed to get out of this...'
At worst, anything that happened between Elena and me alone could be swept under the rug of our secret friendship. We'd done it plenty of times before—just gloss over it and move on.
But if someone witnessed it? That's a whole different story. Unless I killed them, it couldn't be undone.
And the witness was Erje? Lying to her, who could read minds, was pointless. I was a cornered rat.
Of course, Elena was blissfully unaware of all that.
"She just asked me to remove something stuck in her hair."
Elena delivered the line with perfect composure, as if there wasn't a shred of deceit in it.
Her acting was so spot-on I wanted to applaud. Our protagonist really was one of a kind.
A normal person might've bought it hook, line, and sinker. Unfortunately, her opponent was Erje.
"Couldn't you just use magic to get it off? Seems faster than asking someone."
"I used up all my mana dealing with the morning rush of customers."
"Oh? Then that means Luke's developed a talent for magic. When I arrived, dishes were floating in the air."
Elena had cleared the dishes before the head-patting, hadn't she? Meaning Erje had seen everything from the start.
Did Elena realize that too? Her face flushed red as she bowed her head.
"...I'm sorry for lying."
"Was there even a reason to lie? It doesn't seem like anything problematic."
"That's..."
Elena hesitated, unable to respond easily.
All students at the Academy were equal—that was the rule. In theory, there was no issue. But in practice, people acted according to their ranks anyway.
Plus, asking someone to pet your head meant dropping all pretenses of pride. Of course she'd be embarrassed if anyone saw.
Erje seemed amused by her reaction, her lips twitching with suppressed laughter.
Satan himself might shake his head and head back to hell if he saw her. She was the devil incarnate.
"Well, a man petting a woman's hair is a bit special, isn't it?"
"N-No, it's not...!"
"Oh, so it is?"
Erje approached with quick steps, grabbed my hand, and placed it on her head. The soft touch of her fine hair transmitted through my palm.
"Go on, Luke. Give me that totally ordinary head-pat."
Elena, watching from right beside us, went wide-eyed but could only open and close her mouth silently.
Well, she'd just claimed it wasn't special—what could she say now? She'd dug her own grave.
I glanced at Elena sidelong, then sighed softly and whispered.
"Your Highness, you're being awfully mischievous."
"Oh? I haven't done a thing."
As I began stroking her hair slowly, the golden strands swayed gently under my touch.
A faint floral scent wafted up—sweet yet subtly alluring.
"Oh my, this feels pretty nice...?"
"Does it...?"
"Yes. I might start asking for it more often."
That was a major headache. If the princess demanded it, I had no way to refuse.
Just as I was about to sigh inwardly, Elena suddenly grabbed my wrist. Her impossibly soft hand trembled faintly.
"Th-That should be enough. I didn't do it that long."
"Aw, too bad. It felt good."
"Please value yourself a bit more. A servant shouldn't be petting the princess's hair."
"I don't mind if it's Luke."
"Your Highness, if I may—Luke is my servant."
Elena and Erje smiled warmly at each other. But that was just the surface. Beneath those smiles, they were growling like they were about to fight any second.
Why was Erje, who'd always played nice before, acting like this now? I had no clue, but it was clearly serious.
I had no idea what to do.
Then it happened. As if some god heard my plight, my stomach let out a loud gurgle, signaling mealtime.
Erje and Elena both turned to me at once.
"My apologies for the rudeness. It's past lunchtime, so my body reacted on its own."
It wasn't intentional, but the timing was perfect. It shifted their focus elsewhere.
I'd have to endure the embarrassment, but it was a hundred—no, a thousand—times better than them fighting.
"Come to think of it, it is lunchtime. I should've considered you both."
"I wasn't being rational either."
Erje and Elena declared a ceasefire.
Why ceasefire and not armistice? Because that's what I wanted. I never wanted to see them clash again.
'I just aged ten years...'
Breathing a silent sigh of relief, I ventured carefully.
"By the way, where's Miss Evie? I figured she'd be with you, Your Highness."
"Ah, she'll be here soon. She said she had something to discuss with brother-in-law."
Brother-in-law meant Walter Douglas, no doubt.
I had no idea what they'd talk about, but no need to worry. They'd already crossed swords and tested each other's resolve.
Then.
"Your Highness? Milady? Luke? Is anyone there?"
Speak of the devil. Evie's voice echoed from outside the kitchen.
The rest of us in the kitchen rushed out without a word.
"Evie, lunch is..."
I trailed off. Her belly was noticeably bloated.
Noticing my gaze, Evie clutched it with both hands.
"Th-This is because brother-in-law kept feeding me...! I'm not gaining weight...!"
I hadn't even said anything...
No need to voice that thought. It'd be like killing her twice.
Anyway, lunch for three it was.
"Then Your Highness and Milady should rest. I'll prepare lunch..."
"We're back—!"
Before I could finish, the door burst open and the airhead trio piled in, arms full of random prizes—everything from trinkets to oddities.
Prizes from the stalls, probably. Some booths had games with rewards.
They'd vanished while Elena was working, and now they showed up out of nowhere...
"Luke—! I want your sandwiches!"
"Yeah, one day of festival food is plenty."
"Luke's sandwiches are perfection itself."
In short, they'd gotten hungry playing around. It was so absurd I almost laughed.
Of course, I'd still make them sandwiches.
When they specifically crave my cooking, refusing feels wrong.
I whipped up sandwiches afterward, and we all gathered around the table to eat.
All except Evie, that is. Her stomach was already stuffed, so she sipped tea contentedly.
Thus ended the eventful lunch, giving way to the afternoon.
Elena, who'd worked the morning shift, left with Evie, and Erje took her place.
"My turn at last. Let's do this together, Luke."
Erje clenched her fists with spirited determination.
She might seem carefree, but she was meticulous at heart. No need to worry.
Who could've guessed? Maybe there'd be nothing to worry about because nothing would happen at all.
I learned as much about thirty minutes into the afternoon shift.
"F-F-Forgive me, Your Highness is... personally serving...?"
"Yes, I'll handle it."
"M-My apologies. Something urgent came up..."
Customers who realized Erje was waitressing bolted one after another. Even those already seated scarfed down their food like demons possessed them.
"Weren't there tons of customers this morning? What happened?"
"It's the second day of the festival. Most who wanted to visit have already come and gone."
That was just the surface excuse. Truth was, they were intimidated by Erje's presence and fled. Honestly, I wouldn't want to linger either.
Erje knew that much, so she was probably just messing around. She had a real prankster streak.
"Hmm... How about this?"
Erje scurried over and flipped the sign at the clubroom entrance to "Closed."
"If no customers are coming anyway, why not just spend time together?"
Not a good idea at all...
Hiding my thoughts, I forced a smile.
To survive, you smile. Salesman's grin.