"Hey, Monica. Wake up."
She heard Nero's voice along with the soft sensation of a paw pressing against her cheek.
Opening her eyes, Monica realized that she was lying on a clean bed. Her bed was surrounded by curtains and smelled faintly of disinfectant. It was an infirmary.
Rolling over on the bed, she saw Nero, a black cat, sitting on the bedside table. Animals were strictly forbidden here, so he must have sneaked in through the window.
"Nero, I just had an amazing dream. In my dream, I was appointed as treasurer of the student council…"
"Listen to me and be surprised, Monica. What you saw there was not a dream, but a reality."
Nero then poked Monica's collar with his paw.
An unfamiliar decorative pin was pinned to Monica's lapel. It was proof of membership in the student council, similar to what Felix and the other student council members wore on their lapels.
Monica got up from the bed and stared at her collar.
"T-T-This is…"
"His Highness put it on your lapel. People love that kind of thing, don't they? The thing so-called authority."
Nodding in approval, Nero then tapped Monica's thigh with a paw.
"At any rate, you did a good job. Now, as a student council member, you can proudly stand by the prince's side."
"I-Is that so?"
Considering the fact that she had to protect the second prince in secret, her appointment as treasurer was a great blessing, but… Naturally, no one would like the idea of a dull girl like Monica being elected to the student council.
At that time, Monica was mostly crawling on the floor, so she didn't see the faces of all the student council members. Despite she was lying flat on the floor, she could still feel their cold hostility.
Especially the vice president, Cyril Ashley, who looked like he was about to use offensive magic.
"T-They would definitely harass me… like put thumbtacks in my shoes, hide my writing utensils, and pour water on my uniform… No, I really don't want to go to class anymore…"
"Oh, I've read such situations in novels! But, are you sure they would go that far?"
"Why do you look so happy?"
Just as Monica wailed in a sorrowful voice, Nero's ears perked up.
"Hey, someone's coming."
With that, Nero quickly hid under the bed.
I wonder who that might be? Could it be the infirmary staff?
As Monica was thinking about this, the curtain surrounding the bed was drawn up.
It was not the infirmary staff, but Felix.
Monica reflexively pulled the blanket over her head. She knew it was rude, but she couldn't help it because her body moved on its own. It's called defense instinct.
Felix didn't look uncomfortable but rather smiled in amusement.
"Oh, you're awake? I'm sorry for coming without notice. I thought you were still asleep."
"Tha… Tha… Tha…"
"Hm?"
"I-I think that would be disrespectful of me."
When Monica squeezed out the words with a dying look on her face, Felix only responded with "Oh,' in a smile before sat down on Monica's bed and crossed his legs.
Monica wanted to open up some distance between them, so she wrapped herself in the blanket and moved to the very edge of the bed, but… She lost her balance then fell off the bed.
"Kyaah!"
Fortunately, since she was wrapped up in a blanket, she didn't get hurt, but it still hurt.
At the same time, when Nero, who was hiding under the bed, gave her a look as if to say, "What are you doing?", it felt hurt too.
Wrapped in the blanket, she wondered if she should just crawl under the bed, but then she heard a voice above her.
"Little squirrel, why are you wrapped up in your blanket so tightly? Are you getting ready for your winter hibernation now?"
"Y-Yesh, b-because today is so c-cold."
Unfortunately, the season has just changed from summer to autumn, making it a very pleasant time to spend outside.
Still, Monica clutched the blanket and insisted desperately that she was wearing it because she was cold.
Then Felix wrapped his hand to the blanket that had been wrapped around Monica's.
"Oh, you poor thing. Okay, then let me warm you up."
Monica quickly let go of the covers and backstepped herself from Felix, but… Using an unfamiliar backstep caused her legs to tangle up before she rolled off to the floor.
Once again, her eyes met with Nero's under the bed. I want to cry.
Still, she couldn't stay crawling on the floor forever, so Monica hiding behind the bed before got up sluggishly to look up at Felix.
"Um, Your Highness…"
"You can call me student council president, Felix, or whatever you want. Because from today on, you're a student council member like me."
Felix's words brought reality to Monica's mind.
Monica touched a decorative pin from her lapel and shakily told Felix.
"T-The role of treasurer… is too much for me…"
"Are you unhappy with my decision"
His voice contained just a hint of chilliness, which made him seem much more intimidating.
Feeling like she was about to burst into a thousand pieces, Monica shook her head, but Felix held out Monica's hand while smiling then said, "Then, I take it as an acceptance."
Then he turned Monica's palm up and placed something on it. It was a baked sweet filled with nuts.
"Here's your reward for today. You did well."
"I'm afraid that would not—hmph!"
Felix picked up one of the sweets and popped it into Monica's stuttering mouth.
Remembering that she hadn't had lunch yet, Monica munched on the sweets in silence. The sweets were a little hard as many nuts there, but it was filled with honey, which was a new taste for her. It was the first time she had tasted such a delicious treat.
Monica, who has a tendency to concentrate on her food once she starts eating, forgot that she was supposed to decline his offer to become treasurer, instead, now she was focused on savoring the sweets.
"Is it good?"
In response to Felix's question, Monica nodded her head as she munched on sweets.
Felix gave Monica more sweets to take in her hand and then quietly stood up.
"If you work hard, I'll reward you with more of these, little squirrel."
Felix waved to Monica and left the infirmary after saying "see her tomorrow."
Monica, who was left behind, swallowed the sweets in her mouth and finally came to her senses.
"Ahhhh, I forgot to decline his offer to become treasurer, what should I do Neroooo?"
"Saying that while clutching that candy won't convince me of anything."
In her sniffling, she tucked the sweets into her pocket.
Felix might not let her off the hook.
For Felix, keeping Monica by his side to keep an eye on her was the thing he wishes for since she had witnessed him going out for the night.
Speaking of His Highness's secrets…
Monica put her hand on her swollen cheek and looked at Nero with a serious face.
Monica has discovered the second prince's incredible secret.
"Nero, listen to me. I've discovered a huge secret about His Highness."
"What is it? Is it about his weakness?"
Nero's tail flicked from side to side as his eyes lit up, and Monica nodded her head with a serious expression.
"His Highness… has a paw."
"He's not."
"But just now, in the archive room, I felt a soft paw on my cheek, and when I turned around, His Highness was there…"
Monica insisted while stroking her cheek, but Nero told her in a more serious manner than ever.
"You better forget it, Monica. Listen to me. You have to forget about what happened back there, understood?"
"Eh? Oh, okay."
＊ ＊ ＊
After Felix returned to his room in the dormitory, a light blueish white lizard crawled out of the breast pocket of his uniform.
As soon as the lizard landed on the floor, its figure was enveloped in a light mist and transformed into a young man with a hair color similar to its scales. He has a good-looking face, but he's somewhat gloomy and listless. What he's wearing was a well-tailored samurai uniform. His light blue hair, a color not normally associated with humans, was combed all the way back.
The young man bowed reverently before took off Felix's jacket. Then, while putting his jacket on a hanger, he opened his mouth.
"Are you sure about that, Your Highness?"
Needless to say, what this chamberlain would like to say… is the appointment of Monica Norton as treasurer.
Felix sat down on the couch and shrugged his shoulders lightly.
"Thing is, she hadn't touched the key I had dropped on purpose in the archive room. There was no sign of the other cabinets being opened either… At this point, I can't think of any reason to fault her."
After Monica passed out, he checked all the documents Monica had reviewed in the archive room, and all her remarks were accurate. She had done all of the records for seventy years in just half a day.
Her calculation ability was perfectly fit for an accountant.
"Of course, I don't believe she's an ordinary person. I'm sure she had her reasons for approaching me."
At this point, there was no way to tell which group Monica Norton belonged to or what purpose she had for approaching him. But he was convinced that there was something about her.
He tilted his head slightly and looked up at the young man who was his chamberlain.
"Why I would make her our treasurer if I knew she wasn't a civilian, is that what you want to say?"
"Yes, Your Highness. In the first place, you've been aware of the wrongdoings of former treasurer Aaron O'Brien from the beginning, haven't you?"
Since he can't punish him severely if he let him doing frauds once or twice, so he let him do that for a year… it was so to ensure that Aaron O'Brien would be expelled from the school.
"After went to such lengths to finally get Aaron O'Brien expelled from the school… why would you want her to replace him?"
He did not immediately answer his attendant's question but reached for the chessboard that he had left out on the low table. He then picked up a white pawn from the board before playing it in his hand.
"This is just a game, Will."
"Game, is it?"
"Yes. This is a game of how to tame a timid little squirrel and get her to confess her plot."
He kissed the pawn piece and placed it on the board.
"You've seen it, haven't you? She's not interested in me at all."
"Well…"
The young attendant clammed up but didn't deny it.
He had witnessed all of them from Felix's breast pocket.
Monica, who was looking at the documents so intently, was not paying attention to Felix at all.
When he approached her in the infirmary, she turned pale before backed away then fell off the bed… She didn't do that out of embarrassment, but it was because she was really scared out of him.
"Wouldn't it be nice if an unfamiliar little squirrel would only be friendly to me?"
"However, with the election of the next king just around the corner, I think it would be wise not to play around too much."
"Will Dean."
Felix spoke his chamberlain's name—Will's true name.
Looking at Will who straightened his body, Felix spoke in a playful voice.
"My life will last until the next king is decided. If that's the case, why don't you let me have a little fun with her…"
Felix lowered his eyebrows slightly, before showing him a faint smile.
Only Will can understand the true wishes of this young man.
"Still, Your Highness…"
But Will shook his head gently then politely bowed.
"If that was your wish, then I would gladly comply."
Felix nodded in satisfaction and moved the white queen to the edge of the board.
"That little squirrel is more perceptive than I thought. Looks like I'll have to put off my plan visiting Madame Cassandra's house for a while."
"I hope you could just stick with it and refrain from going out at night."
"Well, perhaps figuring out a way to tame the little squirrel would keep me from getting bored."
Chuckled at his thought, Felix then flicked the white pawn with his finger. And the way it fell off the board was similar to when Monica fell off the bed.
Comments