The Pink-Haired Nuisance
The night wind whistled softly. September nights were beginning to carry a chill. Even I, who rarely felt cold and hated heat more than anything, found the air biting.
“Marine, aren’t you cold?”
I slipped off my school jacket, worried that Marine might be freezing in nothing but her uniform shirt.
“I’m not co… I’m cold.”
Marine had been about to say she wasn’t cold, but the moment she saw I’d already taken off my jacket, she changed her answer. I’d even removed my outer layer; refusing now would have been awkward, so she was clearly being considerate.
“Hmm…”
Why had such a thoughtful girl acted the way she did earlier? I could somehow understand the other incidents, but snatching away the desserts I’d given to Cani and Carden? That was pure spite with no room for excuses.
First, I draped the jacket over Marine’s shoulders. Her cheeks flushed pink with embarrassment.
“Sniff, sniff…”
Even with her reddened face, Marine was smelling the fabric. I wondered if it had an odor and asked,
“What? Does it smell?”
As far as I could tell, the jacket didn’t have any particular scent, but everyone says you can’t smell your own body odor, right? I regretted not spraying it with fabric perfume before handing it over.
“Mmm… It smells like Hendel.”
Damn it. Even while saying it smelled like me, Marine didn’t stop sniffing.
“Then… why do you keep smelling it…”
“I like Hendel’s scent.”
I brought the jacket to my own nose to check if it really smelled that good, but I couldn’t detect anything special.
“Sniff, sniff.”
Now Marine was openly burying her nose in the jacket. I couldn’t take the embarrassment anymore and reached out.
“If you’re just going to keep smelling it, give the jacket back.”
“No. Hendel put it on me. Taking back something you gave is mean.”
She hugged the jacket tightly around her shoulders as if refusing to let it go. Since she clearly didn’t want to return it, taking it back felt wrong, so I gave up.
Well, she’ll probably give it back when we get home.
Marine, clutching the jacket like a treasure, seemed to be in a much better mood now.
“Marine.”
“Yeah?”
We both looked up at the stars, which shone especially bright thanks to the clear air.
“Why did you do that earlier?”
“…”
Marine stared at the ground in silence, as if carefully choosing her words.
“To be honest, I was really disappointed by what you did back there, Marine.”
It hurt to say this to someone I cherished, but wrong behavior needed to be corrected firmly. I believed Marine’s villainess route had essentially been erased, but I wanted to block even the slightest remaining possibility.
At the word “disappointed,” Marine looked utterly shocked. Her pupils trembled. My heart wavered too. But if I softened here, it would all be for nothing.
I spoke firmly.
“Promise me you won’t act like that again.”
“…”
“Promise you’ll be kind not just to me, but to everyone else too. Marine.”
Marine’s eyes grew watery. She clearly hadn’t expected to be scolded by me.
“O-okay…”
Her voice was gloomy. Seeing her so down made my heart weaken again. I gently stroked her soft blonde hair and said,
“It’s a promise, right?”
“Y-yeah! When we get back, I’ll apologize to both of them too!”
“Good. Let’s head back.”
Marine naturally took my hand.
“…”
Now that we were academy students, I thought we were well past the age of holding hands while walking. I considered bringing it up, but swallowed the words. After scolding her so thoroughly, now didn’t seem like the right time.
As we walked back to the cafeteria hand in hand, I couldn’t see Marine’s expression since she was looking straight ahead. I glanced at the convex mirror installed on the roadside to help with carriage traffic.
Marine was smiling brightly.
The first day of the second-year first semester at the academy.
Marine was overjoyed that her long-awaited academy life with Hendel was finally beginning. Normally she only wore her uniform and refused the maids’ attempts to apply makeup, but today she accepted it willingly. Just lightly, though. Hendel had a strangely conservative side; he probably wouldn’t like her wearing heavy makeup.
“My lady, will you be wearing this skirt again today?”
The maid brought the skirt Marine had deliberately altered to be longer so her thighs wouldn’t be exposed to anyone but Hendel.
“No. Give me the short one.”
“Pardon?”
“Pardon?”
Marine hated when people responded to her orders with questions. The maid, realizing her mistake a beat too late, bowed repeatedly.
“I-I’m sorry.”
“Hah…”
Marine stared at the maid with cold eyes before letting out a short sigh. Normally she would have scolded her more, but today was the happy day she would see Hendel. She decided to let it slide just this once.
A breeze slipped between her legs from the short skirt.
It does feel a bit empty.
Marine grabbed a blanket and headed for the academy.
During the tedious class, Marine—who had already surpassed most of the professors in skill—only half-listened. The professors actually preferred it when she didn’t pay attention. If a professor’s understanding of swordsmanship was lower than a student’s, it would destroy the students’ trust. Since they spoke so many sentences in a day, mistakes or uncertain parts were inevitable. How humiliating would it be if Marine pointed them out?
Thanks to this mutual understanding, Marine spent the entire class thinking about Hendel.
“U-um… Lady Marine, I baked some cookies. Would you like to try one?”
Here we go again.
The students who had watched her for a year now knew her personality and no longer dared approach. They avoided her if anything. Marine found that convenient. The students always left the very back seat—now her exclusive spot—empty and didn’t sit beside her hoping for scraps or annoy her.
Except for one person.
Marine looked at Serina, the second-year knight department student timidly offering cookies, with an expression of pure disgust.
“You. How many times do I have to tell you? This is already the third time I’ve warned you to stop clinging to me, isn’t it?”
Serina, second-year knight department. With her pink bob haircut, it was no exaggeration to call her the greatest heretic in the knight program. A mere commoner from the market streets, she had displayed outstanding swordsmanship and entered the knight department, which was mostly filled with nobles. As if she’d taken some weak aphrodisiac, she managed to seduce the Second Prince and the next Blue Tower Master within a week of the semester starting.
But as they say, a protruding nail gets hammered down. Within just one month of the semester, she had become completely ostracized. Part of it was rejection over a commoner showing such talent, but the main reason for her bullying was the jealousy of the noble girls. Especially the young lady from the Marquis Danilen family, who had been singing that the Second Prince was hers from the very beginning of the semester, led the harassment.
Marine had turned a blind eye because as long as they didn’t touch her or Hendel, she didn’t care what they did. The problem was that those stupid girls had started crossing the line.
At first they had cautiously watched Marine’s reaction and avoided bullying in front of her, but at some point they began doing vulgar things even in the classroom—throwing rags, making her inhale chalk dust, and so on. When those idiot girls started bothering her in her presence, Marine had done what she always did: thoroughly punished them. And ever since, this annoying pink-haired girl had been bringing her freshly baked cookies every single day.
“B-but the cookies I bake are really delicious! Even His Highness the Second Prince said so!”
“Not interested. Get lost.”
She had only been annoying, not causing any real harm, so Marine had let it slide until now. But to keep bothering her even on this joyful day when she would meet Hendel? Marine’s patience snapped. She hurled the cookie basket to the floor.
Crunch. Crunch.
The rabbit-shaped cookies rolled across the ground. Serina frantically bent down to pick them up.
“Heh.”
“Haha.”
The nobles laughed at Serina as she sat on the floor gathering cookies. Marine flinched. Serina moved away from her with a gloomy expression. It bothered her a little, but she ignored it. Right now, meeting Hendel soon was far more important.
“Class is over.”
Marine, who had been sitting alone in the back spinning her pen, reflexively stood up at the announcement. She dashed out of the building at an astonishing speed.
She had already figured out all the classes Hendel had registered for. According to her calculations, if she ran straight to the magic department the moment class ended, she could meet him right on time.
Marine crossed the academy at monstrous speed. A ten-minute walking distance was covered in two minutes without stopping.
In front of the magic department building, the first vixen who dared to eye Hendel was waiting with a carriage. Fortunately, it seemed Hendel hadn’t come out yet.
“My lady?”
The red-haired maid’s eyes widened. She acted innocent, but she was a sly bitch constantly aiming for Hendel. Just looking at her was unpleasant, so Marine spoke without even meeting her eyes.
“I’ll be taking Hendel with me, so go back.”
“What? But the young master told me to wait…”
She had been scolded by Marine countless times before, yet it seemed she’d forgotten that Marine hated being talked back to even after time had passed.
“I said go.”
Marine growled at Cani. In that moment, she sensed Hendel’s presence through her mana. Instantly, Marine’s expression softened into a bright smile. She had to always show Hendel her brightest side.
As the mana reaction grew closer, Hendel appeared. He looked incredibly handsome in his uniform.
The problem was…
Who the hell is that woman next to him?
There was a woman clinging tightly to Hendel and acting all cute. Her chest looked at least three times bigger than Marine’s.
It can’t be… right?
The light of reason vanished from Marine’s eyes.