She's Really Kind
After basic swordsmanship training finally wrapped up, I rinsed the sweat from my body in the shower room, changed into fresh clothes, and headed for the cafeteria to fill my stomach. Meals were free by default, so I walked with a spring in my step. Not that I had to worry about money anyway—the Count family’s support was more than generous.
The original novel had mentioned it in passing, and after tasting the food yesterday, I knew the cafeteria’s quality was outstanding. Naturally, my expectations were high. I wonder what they’ll have today.
Whether in my previous life or this one, I simply couldn’t resist good food. It was the only real way I had to melt away stress. Someone might ask how much stress a person could possibly have on their second day after transmigration, but just looking at Leonhardt’s face was reason enough.
The only problem was that I’d have to eat alone. Helena had probably already gone off with her friends, and aside from her, I didn’t really have anyone I could call a friend. I couldn’t exactly ask Cain to join me, after all. Well, I don’t mind, but…
He’d clearly feel awkward about it. Still, I didn’t attach much meaning to eating by myself, so it wasn’t a huge issue. What should I get today?
The Academy offered all kinds of dishes to choose from, and the truly important part was that you could eat as much as you wanted. Extremely admirable. It would be ridiculous for an academy attended mostly by nobles to skimp on food quality or cut corners in the dining hall.
When I reached the cafeteria, only a small number of students were scattered around eating. It wasn’t even that late, but the sparse crowd wasn’t surprising. The student cafeteria simply wasn’t popular. The picky nobles apparently found the food lacking. As a result, it was used mostly by the few commoner students.
In the original story, even Cain—who normally enjoyed fine dining—used the cafeteria because of Silvia and commented that the food was decent. It was funny that the other nobles called it bad. My own tastes weren’t particularly fussy, and I found it quite enjoyable, so I didn’t pay their opinions any mind.
Maybe I’ll destroy a steak today. After training hard, I was definitely craving meat.
“Huh…? Felice?”
“Yes?”
I had just stepped into the cafeteria, licking my lips at the thought of delicious meat, when someone called my name. I turned toward the voice.
“Uh… Silvia?”
There she was, gazing at me with those sparkling blue eyes. Since Silvia was a commoner student too, it wasn’t strange for her to come to the cafeteria. Still, I had been certain she wouldn’t be here. Cain might be one thing, but I assumed Leonhardt would never allow her to eat in a place like this.
Of course, there were rare occasions when Silvia, feeling burdened by their spending, would drag them here… but neither Cain nor Leonhardt was anywhere in sight.
“Are you here for lunch?”
“Yeah. Why are you alone?”
I asked the question while walking over to collect my perfectly grilled steak. Silvia followed right behind me, apparently here for a meal as well.
“Cain said he had plans today… and Leon… well…”
“Ah, I see.”
Had they fought? Well, Leonhardt’s personality and behavior never really matched Silvia’s anyway. In the original novel they had argued a few times too. The current Leonhardt was trying to monopolize her completely. They weren’t even dating, yet he constantly tried to restrain and pressure her.
Just seeing how he’d thrown a tantrum at me simply because I confessed to Silvia made it painfully clear how much she would suffer. I accepted the mouthwatering steak, picked a random seat, and watched Silvia settle down across from me.
“Enjoy your meal.”
“You too, Felice.”
Maybe because of what happened this morning, Silvia seemed to be watching my reaction as she answered. Even though I’d told her not to worry about it, I knew she wouldn’t actually listen, so I simply started eating as if nothing had occurred.
Watching her apologize for something that wasn’t her fault—feeling guilty simply because it had happened because of her—almost made me sigh. But that was just the personality she had been born with, so there was no point in saying anything more.
Mm. It really was delicious. It wasn’t some ultra-premium cut, but they had clearly used good quality meat. The steak tasted excellent. Not that I was any kind of meat expert. I only knew because that’s how it had been described in the original novel.
“Mmm…!”
Silvia’s eyes widened in delight and she let out a soft exclamation. Her snowy-white cheeks puffed out adorably. It was a cliché comparison, but she looked exactly like a squirrel storing nuts. Before I knew it, I found myself thinking she was kind of cute.
Still… hadn’t I originally planned to keep some distance from Silvia? The harder I tried, the more tangled up with her I seemed to become. It wasn’t as if I had sought her out on purpose. We were in the same class and used the same cafeteria, so running into each other was inevitable. I couldn’t exactly avoid her blatantly, either.
Of course, I could have chosen not to use the cafeteria or avoided any place she might be… but—
How the hell am I supposed to resist food this good?
I’d just have to start coming a little later from tomorrow onward. With that pointless thought in mind, I continued eating.
Both of us were lost in our own heads—me in thought, her carefully watching my mood—so we ate in silence. After savoring every bite of the steak and finishing with satisfaction, I patted my full belly. At that moment, Silvia finished as well and looked at me.
“Um… Felice.”
“…Yes?”
“I’m sorry about this morning.”
“His Highness the Prince?”
Honestly, there was no reason for Silvia to apologize. The real problem was the idiot who claimed to like her yet only did things she hated and never listened to a word she said. I gave her a faint smile that said it was fine and asked gently. Silvia’s cheeks flushed slightly as she recalled Leonhardt’s behavior and gave a small nod.
“It’s not something you need to apologize for, so it’s okay.”
Of course, Leonhardt’s actions themselves were far from okay. If they had been, I wouldn’t have pushed back against him. But it still wasn’t something for Silvia to apologize about.
“Still… it happened because of me.”
“To be exact, it happened because I confessed to you, right?”
“Eek…! T-that’s…”
“And honestly, I don’t even understand why His Highness got so angry about it in the first place.”
I knew the reason, of course. But that was only because I had read the original novel. To any normal person, it would make no sense.
“That’s true…”
Silvia gave a bitter smile and nodded at my deliberately confused tone.
“You told me before, remember?”
“…Told you what?”
“That if I don’t like something, I should say so.”
“Ah, right. Even though it was two days ago.”
“…Anyway!”
Seeing how seriously she was speaking, I threw in a playful remark to lighten the mood. Silvia puffed out her cheeks and gave a small shout in response.
“So today I told Leon too. Honestly, I asked him to stop doing that.”
“You did?”
That was unexpected. To be blunt, Silvia was the classic romance-fantasy heroine—indecisive, unable to choose clearly between the men surrounding her. Of course, as a growth-type protagonist, she would gradually improve, find her own convictions, and later the male leads would cling to her even more desperately. But right now, she was exactly that type of character.
I hadn’t expected her to actually say something like that to the reckless, selfish Leonhardt. Half impressed, half surprised, I asked again. Silvia’s eyes curved into a proud smile, as if she felt proud of herself too. But the smile quickly faded. The corners of her eyes drooped, and her shoulders slumped along with them.
“Of course… he didn’t listen to me at all…”
“That sounds exactly like him.”
If it had been Cain or one of the other male leads who hadn’t appeared yet, maybe. But the current Leonhardt would never have taken those words to heart.
“So that’s why you fought?”
“Yeah… He got angry, saying how could I take someone else’s side right in front of him…”
I let out a hollow laugh and leaned back in my chair. How on earth did a male lead like this become popular? No matter how much he supposedly changed into a gentle lamb toward Silvia later, the things he did before that were absolutely garbage. And it wasn’t just Leonhardt—male leads with this kind of personality were actually pretty common in these female-oriented romance fantasy novels.
The existence of supply meant there was demand… It was something my brain simply couldn’t comprehend. I shook my head, looked at Silvia as she let out a small sigh, and could only click my tongue.
“Still, you made an effort. Don’t be too discouraged.”
My advice had really been meant for Cain or the next Hero, but since I’d used it on Leonhardt first, Silvia probably had a lot on her mind. The only thing I could offer her was this small bit of comfort.
“Yeah… Thank you.”
Of course, it probably didn’t make her feel much better. Even so, the kind-hearted Silvia simply smiled back at me.
She’s really kind. It’s just that she has terrible taste in men.