A Snowball Rolling Endlessly
A Snowball Rolling Endlessly
After finishing lunch, I headed to the Student Council room to keep my appointment with the Crown Princess during the midday break.
Someone completely unexpected was waiting for me there.
That person was none other than Kir's own mother and the current head of the house. Aunt Schmut.
"...Huh?"
"Oh, Yune! The uniform looks great on you. Long time no see~."
"Duchess Schmut?"
A flamboyantly dressed lady waving her hand at me with a flutter.
Startled by her sudden appearance, I glanced around and spotted Kir, looking distinctly uncomfortable across the table from her mother.
I also caught sight of the Crown Princess, seated at the desk bearing the Student Council President's nameplate, watching me with a strangely expectant look.
But right now the Crown Princess wasn't what mattered, so I gave her a quick bow of the head and hurried over to the table where Aunt Schmut was sitting.
"Wow! Your Grace, what brings you here?"
"Come on, child. I told you to just call me Auntie. Mother-in-law is fine too."
"Oh, I couldn't possibly."
"It's fine, really. Here, would you like to try this? It's a mint chocolate cookie."
"Of course! Thank you so much! Aaah~."
-Chomp.
Over the past seven years, Aunt Schmut had been exceedingly warm toward me every Founding Festival.
Because of that, I'd grown remarkably close to her.
Close enough that I even accepted the cookie she offered straight into my mouth, without using my hands.
-Munch munch.
"You're like a little rabbit nibbling. How's the taste?"
"Mm... I'm not sure the mint was necessary. I feel like it would've been better as a plain chocolate cookie?"
"Really? That's the exact opposite of how I feel. I had a bite too, and it was way too sweet."
"Really? That's intere..."
"Ahem, ahem!"
Aunt Schmut had handed me the cookie so casually that I'd eaten it without a second thought.
But Kir's pointed cough from beside me snapped me back to my senses.
"Ah. Sorry, Kir. I wasn't thinking."
"No, it's fine. ...More importantly, Mother, stop trying to lure Yune with cookies. The Crown Princess is right here, what are you even doing?"
"Sorry. I was just so happy to see him. And would you look at this girl? Is that any way to talk to your own mother? Oh dear~ This is why having a daughter is useless~ I should've had a sweet little bunny like Yune instead...."
"...Mother, please!"
"Fine, fine. First she throws a tantrum, now she acts all grown up. Is that because you're in front of your fiancé?"
When Kir, visibly mortified, cut off the chatter, Aunt Schmut shook her head as though she had no choice.
She then inclined her head slightly toward the Crown Princess in apology, a lightly roguish smile on her lips.
"My apologies for the commotion, Your Highness. We from my house share such a close bond with Yune that I got carried away in conversation."
"...It's fine. Betrothed houses are allowed to be affectionate."
"As magnanimous as ever."
The Crown Princess accepted Aunt Schmut's apology with a slightly sour face.
After a quick glance around, I saw no sign of further conversation and swiftly cut in.
"More importantly, how did you get into the Academy, Your Grace? The Academy prohibits outside visitors, doesn't it?"
"As a matter of fact, the Crown Princess asked me to come. I received a permit from Her Majesty as well."
The reason I'd been so startled was that outsiders can't enter the Academy—not without the Empress's permission.
And the fact that Aunt Schmut was here naturally meant the Empress had authorized her visit.
"The Crown Princess asked...? Your Grace?"
'What could she need from Aunt Schmut?'
I tilted my head, unable to figure out what was going on, until the Crown Princess rapped the desk a few times to draw our attention.
"I'll explain from here."
Then the Crown Princess began explaining why Aunt Schmut had come to the Academy.
"Yesterday, after Yunes and Lady Kirschblüte expressed their intention to join the Student Council, I submitted the officer roster to the Chairman almost immediately. But the Chairman rejected it."
"...Ah. Was it because of the faction issue?"
"Indeed. The stated reason was that it was a selection that broke with tradition."
The roster the Crown Princess had submitted listed three names: me, Kir, and the Crown Princess.
But the Academy Chairman reportedly balked when she saw it and asked her to reconsider. Given that she was speaking to the Crown Princess, the language was likely softened; in reality, it must have been a flat refusal.
What the Chairman took issue with was Kir.
According to tradition, the officer roster should consist solely of the Pro-Imperial Faction, but Kir, a firm member of the Noble Faction, was mixed into it. The Academy's long-standing tradition couldn't be broken over something like this, or so she said.
"Of course, that was merely a pretext. In truth, she was likely worried about the political infighting that would erupt should any problem arise within the Student Council."
"Then what do we do? If you take Kir off, Your Highness's objective..."
"That's all taken care of~ I've already talked it over with the Chairman and resolved it."
"...Your Grace did?"
And that problem, Aunt Schmut said, was already settled.
Listening to her story, which seemed to pick up where the Crown Princess's explanation left off, I felt a good deal of the tension drain away.
In truth, the Chairman's opposition was something that could be easily handled by asserting imperial authority, but the Crown Princess had judged that doing so might cause political misunderstandings.
After that, the Crown Princess contacted Aunt Schmut through Kir, with whom she shared classes.
The request: the Crown Princess would persuade the Empress to issue an Academy entry permit, so could Aunt Schmut, as Kir's parent, persuade the Chairman?
"On top of that, Kir came and practically begged me to do something, saying she absolutely had to join the Student Council. ...Almost like someone with a secret hanging over her."
"Ah..."
'So my mistake from yesterday is coming back to haunt me...!!'
Hearing that much, I finally understood how things had played out.
The catastrophe from the day before, when I'd ended up with my hand right in the Crown Princess's cleavage.
The condition the Crown Princess set for letting that go was that both Kir and I join the Student Council.
So when it looked like Kir wouldn't be able to join, the Crown Princess must have indirectly told her:
'Things have turned out this way; I can't do anything about it. So you handle it yourself.'
From Kir's perspective, there was no way she could say, 'I need to protect Yune because he groped the Crown Princess's chest!' So it seems she threw a fit at Aunt Schmut.
My face hardened rapidly as I grasped the situation.
'...This is all because of me?'
Involving Aunt Schmut made the explanation more convoluted, but the core was simple.
My mistake had been cleaned up by Kir, and ultimately by Aunt Schmut.
The moment I realized I'd caused such enormous trouble for Kir and her mother, a belated wave of guilt crashed over me.
This was the first time a blunder of mine had ever snowballed into such a major incident.
"Ha, haha... Your Grace, could I have a word with you in private?"
"Hm? Well... sure?"
* * * * * *
After briefly excusing ourselves from Kir and the Crown Princess, we slipped out of the Student Council room and into a nearby supply closet.
I asked Kir to keep watch and closed the door, leaving only Aunt Schmut and me inside.
"So, what in the world happened? Did you slap the Crown Princess or something, Yune?"
Sure enough, she had already caught on that I was at the root of it. Once we were alone, she smiled and asked what was going on.
And then I...
"I'm deeply sorry!!"
"Yu-Yune?"
I immediately bowed at a full ninety-degree angle to apologize.
...No, was this not enough?
Feeling it fell short, I resorted to my ultimate secret technique to show just how sorry I was.
-Flop.
"...I'm terribly sorryyy!!!"
"——Yune!!?"
The secret technique was... the ultimate gesture of apology that Ryu Si-u knew. A deep prostration.
Even across a cultural divide, the message that I was truly repentant seemed to get through, as Aunt Schmut's voice instantly shot up.
"Child, what's gotten into you!? Get up this instant! I'm not into that sort of thing!!"
'...Into that sort of thing?'
I briefly tilted my head at the odd word, but I couldn't just keep lying there when the person receiving the apology was telling me to rise.
Cautiously gauging her reaction, I got up.
Then I noticed Aunt Schmut, oddly, fanning her deeply flushed face with her hand.
"Goodness... you suddenly said you wanted to talk alone, and then you just prostrated yourself like that with just the two of us. And at the Academy, of all places. If anyone saw, they'd think I was some kind of pervert."
"I—I simply wanted to show you just how sorry I was..."
"Even so, don't ever do that again. My heart nearly leaped out of my mouth..."
After that, Aunt Schmut repeatedly told me never to prostrate myself before anyone ever again. Something about my prostration possessing destructive power.
As I scratched the back of my head in awkward embarrassment, Aunt Schmut asked me with a serious expression.
"Anyway. What was it that made you so sorry? Did you really slap the Crown Princess?"
"It might be worse than that..."
So we returned to the main topic, and I began explaining the cause of this whole mess.
Aunt Schmut listened quietly to the situation that only I, the sole man among the three involved, could explain, then smacked her forehead and sighed.
"Haah... From my perspective, Yune, you're the biggest victim here. Why are you the one apologizing?"
"But I... the Crown Princess's chest..."
"Don't worry, the Crown Princess was probably grinning from ear to ear about it. Girls at that age are so predictable. More importantly, Yune, are you really all right?"
"Me? Why would I...?"
"Well... this is a bit awkward to say to a boy, but since it's just you and me, I'll speak plainly. Didn't you hate touching a woman's chest? I once read in a book that 'touching the chest of a woman you don't like is the greatest humiliation for a boy.'"
"Well, I can't speak for other boys, but something like that honestly doesn't bother me at all..."
"...Then it's fine. This whole thing is the Crown Princess's fault for making a petty fuss over something she enjoyed, so don't worry. Really, if it had been me, I would've said thank you right away."
Then Aunt Schmut insisted over and over that it was absolutely not my fault and that the Crown Princess was a hundred times in the wrong for trying to profit from an unavoidable mistake like this.
Since I couldn't bring myself to agree, I averted my gaze, and Aunt Schmut smiled gently and squeezed my hand.
"Anyway, to the Crown Princess, truly, not one bit of apology is needed. And don't be sorry to Kir either. ...No, if you really feel bad, just give her a peck or something."
"A peck...?"
"Yes. A little one on the cheek. She'd die of happiness over that, you know?"
True to form as Kir's mother, she then proceeded to share tips on how to win over Kir.
I tilted my head, wondering if that would really do the trick, then suddenly remembered I had caused great trouble not just for Kir but also for Aunt Schmut herself.
"Actually, the person I'm most sorry to is Your Grace. Then, should I give you a peck as well?"
"...Oh my!! The things this child says! I told you, I'm not into that sort of thing!!"
When I asked if I should kiss her too, Aunt Schmut started backing away just as startled as when I had prostrated myself.
Because she waved her hands so frantically, as if it must never happen, I obediently gave up and withdrew my puckered lips.
"You're so against it, Your Grace, so why only suggest it for Kir?"
"...It's not that I'm against it, my conscience just pricks me. Here at the Academy, how could I do that to a child decades younger than me—and my daughter's fiancé, no less?"
"But then, how am I supposed to apologize to Your Grace..."
I began to ponder how to make amends to Aunt Schmut.
But she smiled faintly.
"No. Thanks to Yune, I actually gained a rather nice card to play."
"...Pardon? A card?"
"Hehe. It's a secret~ Anyway, don't worry. I'll extract enough compensation for the morning I spent haggling with the Chairman."
"...?"