Just the Two of Us

“...Your Highness.”

“What is it?”

“...Those points. What are they?”

It was the third day of the Hunt. For reasons unknown, Cecilia had broken from her usual routine first thing that morning and declared that we were heading out of the cave together. She even added that starting today, she intended to participate properly.

Considering we had done nothing but lounge about in utter idleness through the first two days, I naturally could not help feeling a swell of eager excitement. I had cleaned myself up with a cleansing scroll, straightened out my slightly crumpled maid uniform, and stepped outside with high hopes.

Yet as we walked side by side, something caught my eye.

“...Why on earth do you have so many points?”

My gaze had drifted down to Cecilia’s wrist. Her arm was swinging as she walked, making it a bit difficult to track, but the glowing numerals displayed on her bracelet were unmistakable. The score had already blown past 1,500.

I did not even need to ask why.

It was glaringly obvious that while I had been dead to the world, she had slipped out alone to enjoy all the fun by herself!

Ever since the first day, I had nagged her repeatedly to get out there and take part in the event. And yet, Cecilia had somehow abandoned me. She had left me sound asleep in the cave—completely and utterly deserted—while she went out to have a blast all on her own!

“How could you do this to me?”

“...Excuse me?”

“You said you were going to rest too, Your Highness! Why did you sneak out by yourself?!”

I froze in my tracks right in the middle of the woods, blurting out the accusation.

I truly had not expected this in the slightest. I had simply been taking a peaceful nap! What was worse, I had only slept because she had explicitly given me permission to do so. To think she had let me doze off just so she could slink away into the forest and rack up points having fun without me!

“And here I trusted you, Your Highness!”

“...Why are you talking like some tragic, heartbroken heroine?”

“Because I really, truly trusted you! I thought we were just taking it easy until yesterday, and that today would be the first time we'd head out together to properly participate.... But you went off having fun behind my back while I was asleep! How could you be so unfair?”

“Well, who told you to fall asleep in the first place?”

“Y-Your Highness gave me permission...!”

“I gave you permission, yes. But you were yawning non-stop and looked dead on your feet. How was I supposed to drag you along like that?”

“Th-that's...!”

She was not entirely wrong, but still! I had genuinely been looking forward to tackling the event as a pair with her. Sure, keeping watch over her through the night was far more important to me than playing some academy game, but even so....

“Urrgh...”

“...Tsk. Why are you sulking over nothing? Anyone watching would think we came out on a romantic date instead of an academy exercise.”

“It's not that, but... I still wanted to see you take things seriously, Your Highness.”

“......”

I meant it. Most of the time, Cecilia acted like a lethargic slacker, but the rare glimpses of her competent, regal self were genuinely impressive. I had been eagerly anticipating seeing more of that side of her during this practical exercise. And yet, she had gone and done it all behind my back.

“*Haaah*.... Fine. I get it. Stop standing there like a statue and just follow me.”

“...Yes, Your Highness.”

“......”

Truth be told, I could have chosen to dig my heels in right there. I could have ignored her, marched back to the cave, slipped into my sleeping bag, and given my exhausted body some well-deserved rest after another long night on sentry duty. But in the end, I listened to her and stepped forward to match her pace.

I often grumbled about Cecilia’s prickly personality, but at her core, she was neither wicked nor cruel. Today's secret outing was almost certainly just another case of her usual breezy mindset—thinking, 'Eh, it'll probably be fine.' Though it had only been about two months since I entered her service, I had come to understand that much about her.

“...Once this entire exercise is over, I'll buy you a nice dessert,” Cecilia murmured, keeping her eyes forward. “If there's anything you want, order whatever your heart desires.”

“...That's not really what I was asking for.”

“Even so. Now stop pouting with your lower lip sticking out, and stop glaring at me with those vicious little eyes. Look at me properly.”

“...Ye-e-es.”

“Answer like you mean it.”

“...Yes.”

Still, hearing the promise of sweets did lift my spirits just a fraction. Despite being blunt to a fault and rarely caring about how her words affected others, Cecilia was surprisingly awful at apologizing. Offering to buy me dessert was effectively her way of saying she was sorry.

“I'm going to order the most expensive thing on the menu.”

“Go right ahead. It won't even make a dent in my royal stipend anyway.”

“Understood.”

With the tension defused, our stroll returned to its usual comfortable rhythm. In retrospect, I had let myself react far more emotionally than usual, which was honestly a bit embarrassing for an adult. Well, Cecilia was technically an adult too, but unlike her, I had gone through university, military service, and years in the corporate grind. Acting like a spoiled child over a missed game had left my cheeks burning slightly once I cooled down.

“By the way, Your Highness... where on earth did you gather 1,500 points? I don't know the exact rules, but aren't you supposed to hunt monsters or wild animals?”

“A few students picked fights with me. I merely accepted their warm and generous contributions.”

“...So you mugged them.”

“They approached me first, so I simply relieved them of their scores. As for me initiating the attack to seize points... perhaps once out of every five times?”

“......”

Well, that was the entire premise of the Hunt, so it made sense. I had no idea what kind of methods she had used or what words had been exchanged before she stripped them of their scores, but since I had spent the entire morning asleep, I was hardly in a position to judge. Now that I was actually walking alongside her, I figured other students would soon try their luck and come after her points.

“Ah, speak of the devil. Here comes someone now.”

“I-It's the Imperial Princess...!”

“Wh-what should we do...? If we try to take her points, aren't we completely finished? My father used to work in the Imperial Palace...!”

“Uh, wait, but—!”

Sure enough, after walking for only a few minutes, we ran straight into a pair of students. Judging by how frantically they panicked the instant they laid eyes on Cecilia, they were likely commoners or low-ranking nobles.

“......”

“...Hmm.”

I supposed that made sense. Nearly everyone I interacted with these days belonged to the imperial family or a ducal house, making it easy to forget that to an ordinary student, the Third Imperial Princess was nothing short of a walking natural disaster. She was not someone they could casually approach, let alone challenge. Attacking royalty in an exam felt like wagering their entire family's future on a single gamble.

“B-But this is an official exercise... surely she won't hold a grudge, right...?”

“...R-Right?! You said it first, okay? You're the one who said it was fine!”

“Wait, what?!”

Watching them whisper in a frantic huddle right in front of us was almost comical. My little tantrum from earlier suddenly felt utterly dignified by comparison.

“...Your Highness, what do you plan to do?” I asked quietly, looking up at her.

I was neither an official student of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Academy nor in a position to openly attack examinees. More importantly, I had never revealed to Cecilia that I was an operative of the assassin guild.

“...Are you not coming?” Cecilia called out coolly toward the hesitant pair. “Because if you aren't, I will make the first move.”

“S-She's attacking! What do we do?!”

“We fight back! Do you know how hard we scrapped to hoard these points?! We have to survive this somehow...!”

Steel glinted through the trees as the two students drew their weapons and gathered their mana, advancing toward her. Just then, Cecilia’s hand reached out and lightly nudged me behind her back.

Was she... trying to protect me?

The protective gesture struck me as both endearing and amusing. In truth, I was far stronger than she was, but in her eyes, I was merely a tiny, fragile maid who needed sheltering.

I glanced briefly at my floating status screen, indulging in stray thoughts behind Cecilia's back before turning my focus back to the imminent skirmish.

“Rest assured that even if I am injured here, no unfortunate accidents will befall you,” Cecilia said, her tone smooth and dismissive. “So come at me with everything you have. Personally, I despise it when people pull their punches.”

“...I-In that case...!”

“L-Let's do this...! Her Highness is a mage! She's bound to be weak in close quarters! She doesn't even have a weapon!”

“Right!”

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Steeling their nerves, the two charged forward, brandishing a wooden dagger and a spear. Their coordination was a mess and their formation was full of openings. Cecilia did not even blink; relying solely on two of her familiar signature ice spells, she neutralized them with effortless grace.

Though magic was not my specialty, anyone could see how terrifyingly efficient she was. Frost erupted across the earth, instantly encasing one student's legs in solid rime to root him in place. Before the other could close the distance, she struck him squarely with a concentrated blast of freezing mana, knocking him unconscious on the spot—a far harsher finish than the measured duel she had fought against Jessica.

With a clean sweep, Cecilia claimed both bracelets, pushing her total score past 2,200 points. I had no idea where that placed her in the grand ranking, but given that she had accumulated all of it strictly through student bounties without hunting a single beast, it had to be remarkably high.

“Reverse-summon magic really is fascinating,” Cecilia remarked casually as the two incapacitated students dissolved into motes of light. “The moment you slip off their bracelets, they vanish into thin air.”

“......”

“Well? How did I look? Seeing me perform at my best, just as you wanted?”

“...Pardon?”

“Wasn't this what you were hoping ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to see?”

She turned toward me, watching my reaction with subtle anticipation in her vivid blue eyes. The sudden question caught me completely off guard. For a second, I stared at her in mild disbelief, but when I saw that expectant sparkle lingering on her face, I immediately caught on.

“Y-You were magnificent, Your Highness...! Truly efficient, elegant, and your incantation speed was astonishing...! You've become far more skilled with your magic than before!”

“Hmph. Is that so?”

“O-Of course...! That's how you've been racking up points all this time, isn't it? It's no wonder your score is so high!”

I poured on the flattery with shameless enthusiasm. Just like before, she really did love being praised. Seeing that proud, satisfied smirk bloom across her face was so different from her usual cold demeanor that it felt utterly charming—and just a little bit bewildering.