The Crown Prince’s Fiancee Was Way Too Tsundere 4
Were all the heroines in otome romance fantasy games this stupid?
No, no. That was probably just Alice being an odd one out.
Besides, it was a game that had failed even after billions of won had been poured into it… So maybe it wasn’t that strange for the protagonist to turn out like this.
I let out a sigh as I watched the social etiquette class unfold, and, more specifically, Alice botch the afternoon tea etiquette Vivian had just demonstrated.
Just copying the example would have been enough to get by, so why had she gone out of her way to tack on all that empty formality and break the rules of tea etiquette in the process?
“So, in the end, it seems I’ll be having tea with you, Brother.”
“I had been hoping it would be someone else, actually.”
I looked at Astoria sitting across from me, then lowered my gaze slightly.
After Alice’s disastrous demonstration, Vivian had told us to pair up by man and woman and have tea together.
She said that spending time over tea with people of different social standings would, in a very real sense, make this into a proper social class.
“But it can’t be helped. No one said they wanted tea with me!”
“It would be strange if the people of the Empire were eager to have tea with someone so high-ranking from the Holy Kingdom of Valentia in the first place.”
I had assumed there would be plenty of people lining up to request tea with someone like the saintess, but reality had turned out to be the opposite.
No one had volunteered, afraid they might make a mistake or be rude in front of her.
“Still, Brother, you really are kind. Were you being considerate because you didn’t want me to end up alone, drinking tea by myself?”
“Think whatever you like.”
In the end, I’d caught the Crown Prince’s subtle looks and had been forced to volunteer as the saintess’s tea partner so she wouldn’t be disappointed.
If word of something like this got back to the Holy Kingdom, it would only make the Empire look worse.
“So, so, what kind of tea or desserts do you like best, Brother!”
“I don’t really drink tea all that often, so I’ve never given it much thought. As for desserts, I prefer sweet things over salty ones.”
“I like sweet things too! Surprisingly, we’re on the same page about that, Brother!”
Astoria clapped her hands and nodded.
I couldn’t see her face, but I could tell from the way the veil she wore bobbed up and down.
Invisible though her body was, her emotions were so expressive that it was easy to read her if I paid attention.
“My favorite dessert is chocolate and honey candy! The believers sometimes bring them as offerings….”
“Ah, I see.”
For now, I decided to indulge the saintess and play along.
“The sweetness lingering on the tip of your tongue is absolutely blissful! I really do hope you’ll try it someday, Theodore Brother!”
“Is that so?”
I had started using the kind of easy little replies Koreans used all the time—“Oh, really?” “Is that right?”
“Yes! And and, I also really love chocolate cake! When I’m feeling down, having a slice gives me the strength to get through the day!”
Astoria seemed to have very little experience talking with people, because even though I was giving her little more than perfunctory replies, she went on cheerfully babbling as if she were thrilled beyond words.
The rise and fall of her voice, the way she kept nodding—it was almost childlike.
“Anyway, I hope that someday you’ll come visit the Holy Kingdom of Valentia where I live, Theodore Brother!”
“Why would you think that?”
“Because I want faith to grow in your heart as well!”
“I’ll have to decline.”
I immediately refused her offer.
My reason for not believing in God was tied to something that had happened in the real world.
“…May I ask why, Brother?”
Perhaps sensing that she had stepped on something sensitive, Astoria asked in a serious voice.
“It’s not exactly a pleasant story.”
“A secret even you cannot tell a saintess?”
“It’s not really a secret, just… something I regret so much that if God exists, I think I’d want to blame Him.”
“……”
I had just said something that might easily be taken as blasphemy by Astoria.
But I couldn’t help it.
The reason my father, who had been a police officer, died was because I had made a mistake when I was little.
That was why, after being reborn into this world, I’d tried so hard to be good to my father and brothers.
It was also why I kept my distance from the saintess whenever I could.
If I told the truth about the real world, I’d just be treated like a lunatic. I’d have to say my father, who’s perfectly alive, died.
I felt a little stifled by the fact that I had no one to whom I could even spill this sort of worry.
“I’m sorry. I brought up a heavy subject for no reason.”
“It’s all right. More than that, I’m the one who feels sorry for making the saintess uncomfortable.”
Astoria lowered her veil as she apologized.
In truth, though, I was the one who had ruined the mood of a tea time that was supposed to be pleasant.
“…Anyway, I’ll yield the desserts to you, so please have them all.”
“R-Really, I can?”
“Yes. I usually keep a close eye on how much I eat, since I’m trying to build discipline.”
I deliberately moved the tray toward her, knowing how much the sweet-loving saintess wanted it.
The tray stacked with salty-and-sweet desserts, piled from bottom to top like the ones Vivian had eaten earlier, had been catching her eye from the start.
“Saintess, I’ve been curious about this for a while, but don’t you get hot dressed like that?”
“Mmph-mmph-mmm… Hm?”
Astoria was nibbling at the dessert like a hamster, but as soon as I called to her, she shoved food into her mouth and answered.
So food became invisible the moment it entered her mouth, too.
Realizing another secret about Astoria’s transparent body, I couldn’t help but widen my eyes a little.
“It is a little warm, yes, but I think it’s worth the discomfort.”
“Is it to keep your body visible to other people as much as possible?”
“Yes! If I dress like this, other people can tell when I’m nodding, or where I’m looking!”
Just as I’d guessed, Astoria said she dressed herself from head to toe so other people could read her actions and emotions.
“...And it also delays my body becoming completely transparent, even if only by a little.”
“Wait, your body becomes completely transparent?”
“Yes. If I become anxious or panic, I make even the clothes I’m wearing, and the objects around me, transparent as well.”
So that was another feature of the saintess’s body: in certain situations, her surroundings disappeared too.
“Then I suppose it makes sense that you’d be so meticulous in getting ready.”
I felt like garbage for having briefly wondered if being naked would make her vanish completely.
“Yes. I’ve never had that happen since coming to the Empire, but… when I was little, there were times when I’d become completely transparent.”
“I see. Would you like a little more?”
Hearing about the hardships of being invisible stirred a touch of sympathy in me, and I decided to use a glitch for her benefit.
“Huh? I’ve almost finished it. How could you….”
“I happen to know a little magic.”
I laid the empty dessert plate in front of me and sprinkled it with the potion called the Blessing of Wealth.
Then, as though time itself were rewinding, the dessert began to reappear.
Originally, it had been a bug in Fantasia Island that regenerated small items like snacks and little desserts.
It had been used in all kinds of events, then hastily patched out a few hours later.
“W-Wow… how did you do that?”
“It’s a secret from everyone else.”
“Brother, you really do seem to be a person with many secrets. I’m almost a little jealous….”
Astoria said that as she looked at the replenished dessert plate.
Up until now, she’d kept every request for secrecy I’d made, so she seemed the tight-lipped type.
And yet the moment the plate was filled again, she immediately reached for the chocolate cake and cookies; she really must adore sweets.
“Saintess, would you perhaps be interested in doing something with me?”
“Hm? What sort of thing?”
“I want to improve the relationship between His Highness the Crown Prince and Lady Isabella, but… I don’t really understand a woman’s heart.”
Watching the saintess inhale dessert at frightening speed, I suddenly thought she might be the perfect person to ask for help.
If the price of her silence was more sweets like this, there would be no trouble later on.
Besides, as someone from the Holy Kingdom of Valentia’s upper ranks, she could speak about the Crown Prince without issue.
And anyway, the saintess didn’t seem like the type to use political schemes.
I had kept my distance from romance and love both in the real world and in this one, so if I wanted to improve the relationship between Isabella and the Crown Prince, I needed an ally.
Even though I’d read plenty of romance fantasy comics, understanding the heart of an actual person was another matter entirely.
“If it’s a problem like that, leave it to me, Brother!”
After swallowing the dessert in her mouth, Astoria straightened with an air of confidence.
…I was a little uneasy, but Alice might interfere, so it would be better to get help from the saintess.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“It feels like it’s been ages since we last sat across from each other and had tea like this, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
“I told you, you can just call me Saint.”
“...Saint, Your Highness.”
At that same moment, the Crown Prince was enjoying tea time with Isabella.
Like Astoria, the saintess, there weren’t many people suitable for sitting opposite him.
Why are those two hiding over there while staring this way?
Shaint had realized, at some point, that Theodore and Astoria were secretly watching him.