Chapter 13

Released:

Just like Estelle, Iris found it easy to feel comfortable around Theo because of Theo’s attitude towards them.

In reality, the presence of the Crown Princess, who was second only to the Emperor in the Empire, should have been extremely uncomfortable.

Because of this, others, even if they were her peers in age, couldn’t bring themselves to relax in her presence. Instead, they would continuously offer her things, speak with excessively elevated courtesy, and ultimately reveal their expected discomfort.

Of course, Iris didn’t think this behavior was wrong.

It was only natural for people to feel that kind of unease around someone of her status.

Even so, for Iris who had just turned twenty, having at least one friend who could truly understand her felt necessary.

– We’re just an ordinary farmer’s family.

Those simple, unassuming words, which were neither exceptional nor strange in any way, had shaken Iris to her core.

That casual tone, as if he were speaking to a girl his own age whom he’d just met in the neighborhood, rather than addressing the second most powerful figure in the Empire, was what had put her so completely at ease.

…And that’s how I ended up talking about my mother without even realizing it.

The entire Empire knew that the first Empress, the birth mother of the Crown Princess, had passed away due to her frail health. However, mentioning that fact aloud with her own lips carried a completely different weight.

And yet, even though she had said such a heavy thing, Theo didn’t feel uncomfortable with it.

Without showing any reaction, he would gently steer the conversation in a different direction, and in doing so, naturally guide the flow of the discussion to something lighter.

Could this boy grow up to be a friend?

Iris who had never had a friend before began to feel a budding affection. She started to believe that she and Theo could surely become good friends.

What’s more, the fact that he was learning swordsmanship and magic to prepare for the academy’s commoner entrance exam was an even greater piece of good news.

Wasn’t it obvious?

No matter how much they might agree to be friends, there would be few chances for Theo, the son of an ordinary farming family, and Iris, the Crown Princess holding the second most powerful authority in the Empire, to meet unless they attended the academy together.

And yet, to hear he was preparing for the academy!

The fact that Theo was preparing to enroll next year, the same year as she and Estelle, made Iris wonder if this might be fate. She was so caught up in this thought that she ended up blurting out something a little hasty, like suggesting that they drop the formalities or speak more casually.

In any case, having bonded with Theo in such a way, Iris enjoyed herself so much that she almost forgot her original purpose of visiting the Saintess. But as if to remind her that dreams only last a moment, Estelle finally appeared.

“Saintess, it’s been a while. How have you been?”

“…Ah, the Moon of the Empire… Greetings. Yes, I’ve been doing really well, though that seems to have just changed moments ago.”

“Is something the matter?”

“What exactly is your relationship with Mr. Theo, Your Highness?”

“…Is your relationship with him so close that I need to explain mine?”

Estelle’s sudden entrance, accompanied by a stern face as she questioned their relationship, made Iris’s face twist in frustration as she replied.

Now that she thought about it, something about this situation felt strange.

While it was understandable that Estelle had entered the Empire illegally to teach Theo at Duncan’s request, considering her level of skill, she should have easily been able to use teleportation magic to return to the Holy Empire.

And yet, here she was, staying at Theo’s house and interrogating Iris about her relationship with him. It left no room for interpretation except that there was some sort of unusually close relationship between the two.

“Of course! Do you know how close Mr. Theo and I are? Just yesterday, we ate together and even slept under the same roof!”

At Estelle’s anxious outburst, Iris felt as if the world had turned white before her eyes.

And Theo felt the same way.

***

No, seriously, what the hell is this crazy girl even saying?

Sure, we did eat together yesterday (with my family), and sure, we did sleep under the same roof (in separate rooms), but!

She’s leaving out all the important details and making it sound like we’re in some sort of… improper relationship or something…!

Look at that Crown Princess’s face turning white.

She must be absolutely shocked.

From her perspective, it must feel like she just found out that the friend she made today is in some kind of inappropriate relationship with me!

Not that we’ve ever done anything inappropriate, though!

This is so damn unfair! If we actually had, it wouldn’t feel this unfair, at least…! No, wait, that’s not the point, damn it…!

“Estelle, that phrasing is a little misleading. Yes, it’s true that you had nowhere else to go, so you stayed at my house, and yes, we ate together, but it’s not like we shared the same room or were alone together like that, right? If you don’t explain things properly, it’s easy for people to misunderstand.”

And usually, misunderstandings like this tended to deal more damage to a royal lady like her than to a commoner like me.

“Ah, so you didn’t… share a room?”

Iris finally came to her senses and returned to the real world. She then shook her head as if to clear it and asked with visible relief.

But did she really have to act that relieved?

I mean, it’s possible for me to, you know, have that kind of relationship with a woman.

“Well, yes. That’s right.”

Estelle, however, looked strangely dissatisfied.

Judging by her pout and the sulky expression on her face, she was practically throwing a tantrum.

“Anyway, you said you came to see the Saintess, right? I’ll leave so the two of you can talk…”

“No, it’s fine.”

“What? No way!”

Wait, weren’t you two here to have a conversation?

The only reason you’re meeting here is because Estelle happened to be staying at my house, right? Seriously, you two…!

“I don’t think me being here is going to be of much help.”

“We agreed to speak casually, Theo.”

“Ah, I was talking to Estelle.”

“What? Why are you two speaking casually with each other? I want to call you Theo and speak casually too…!”

“Uh, sure. Whatever’s comfortable for you, Estelle.”

Estelle seemed to be upset about being the only one still using formal speech and suddenly shouted with a sharp voice. I resigned myself to her demand and nodded, as if to say, “Fine, do whatever you want.”

“Then you’ll speak casually with me too, right, Theo?!”

“Hah, no. That won’t do, Saintess. While it might be acceptable for us imperial citizens to strengthen our bond of friendship by speaking casually, you are a revered figure of the Holy Empire. Speaking informally and calling you by name would be completely inappropriate.”

Oh…? Now that I heard it, that did sound like a valid point.

“What kind of nonsense is that? The Holy Empire and the Empire are going to improve relations anyway! That’s the whole reason the Crown Princess and I are enrolling in the academy. Are you saying I can’t be friendly with imperial citizens? Isn’t that what would make this so-called peace treaty a fake one and undermine efforts to foster goodwill?”

…That wasn’t entirely wrong either.

“That treaty only takes effect after enrollment. Besides, the fact that you entered the Ermunt Empire without any formal notice could itself be raised as an issue…”

“W-Wait! Hold on! Iris, stop for a second!”

No, this couldn’t go on.

This definitely couldn’t go on.

No matter how you looked at it, letting this argument escalate would lead to a disastrous ending.

“Oh, Theo, I’m sorry. We got so caught up in talking to each other, we completely ignored you.”

Iris’s stiff expression immediately softened at my call.

I wasn’t sure why this person was suddenly being so nice to me, but anyway, the conversation had somehow escalated into a debate about relations between countries over whether or not I should speak formally or casually.

“I like both Iris and Estelle, so I want to get along with both of you. But when you two show such hostility toward each other, I don’t know what to do.”

Since both of them, for whatever reason, seemed to want to be close to me, I decided to express my desire to get along with “both of them equally”.

“Instead of worrying about whether someone is from the Ermunt Empire or the Holy Empire, how about we look past that and become friends based on who we really are?”

“Based on who we really are…”

“Become friends…?”

As the two tilted their heads in confusion, I forced a smile and continued explaining.

“Iris is not the Moon of the Empire, but just Iris herself. Estelle is not the Saintess, but simply Estelle. And I’m just Theo, nothing more. Between us, there’s no Empire, no Holy Empire, or anything else. Why would any of that matter between friends in the first place?”

Of course, this was the kind of idealistic thinking that would only work in modern settings when making friends.

Even though this world was relatively modern in some ways, the existence of social hierarchies made such an idea inherently unrealistic. But Iris and Estelle had been the ones to suggest putting those things aside and treating each other casually in the first place.

It was clear they wouldn’t be able to argue against what I was saying.

“What do you think? If that doesn’t work for you, then I’ll have no choice but to treat you two as the Moon of the Empire, Her Highness Iris, and the Saintess, Lady Estelle, instead of as friends.”

Though the two had become friends with me for now, in the end, they were meant to not only become friends but eventually lovers as well.

Since it seemed they didn’t have very positive feelings toward each other just yet, I decided to focus on easing the tension and balancing things out, with the goal of at least helping them become friends for now.

5 responses to “Chapter 13”

  1. RiamuP Avatar
    RiamuP

    Iris it took 2 chapters to fall form him lmao…Well i think estelle was the same

  2. JimmyJohns05 Avatar
    JimmyJohns05

    oh never mind, there is no faking, it’s just serious from the start!

  3. Pe551 Avatar
    Pe551

    Thanks for the chapter!

  4. Baku-Nawa Avatar
    Baku-Nawa

    Mc really want the Yuri ending😆

  5. Yu Mi Everybody Avatar
    Yu Mi Everybody

    Hookay, another nitpick:
    Where in the world is the Princess’ entourage during this whole exchange?
    Sure, let’s not make a fuss about the two fem leads wanting a genuine friend. But the entourage? The sidekicks brought along who were raised as nobles or high ranking people their whole lives? Come on, at least have someone address the breach in etiquette.

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