By Zephyria 
Behind the 7th martial arts training ground of the swordsmanship building, there was a narrow connecting passage that looked as if it had been omitted from the original design. Once a sanctuary for students seeking a momentary escape, it now held nothing but a few old graffiti marks left in lime powder; there were no signs of anyone having passed through recently.
I stood there, casting the longest shadow of them all. Before me stood a boy with a large frame.
The fellow with the round face, who had been summoned with a bewildered expression, now had a face flushed deep red. He dared to arch his eyebrows, grinding his teeth, spitting words with an intensity that suggested he might stomp his feet at any moment.
Filthy.
“What… what did you just say?”
“I said that since you are currently hindering Young Master Ernhardt, you should get lost.”
“I—I don’t know what Your Highness thinks he knows, but I’ve already received permission—”
“I know quite well. I know that the current Baron Brown has grown distant from Baroness Brown, and that Baroness Brown used her friendship with Seiren Ernhardt as an excuse to settle in the Duchy of Valentia. I know that you, who had been quietly shoved into a corner all this time, began flaunting your friendship with Young Master Ernhardt the moment you entered the Academy. I even know that all of this was carried out with the tacit approval of Seiren Ernhardt.”
“⋯.”
“What is it that I don’t know?”
“No, ah, no! It’s not like that… it’s just that, until now, the estate was too far. And, and I just… I really feel that Brother Mikael…”
“Really?”
“I feel like he saved my life… Just the moment I saw him, that’s what I thought.”
“Haha.”
I made the sound of laughter, but I wasn’t laughing. Bill Brown stopped his stuttering words.
I knew. He couldn’t have thought that far. This stupid, dull boy lacked the skill to arrange deep strategies or move chess pieces. This was the work of Baroness Brown. This fellow had likely grown up believing that the dream-like words he’d heard since early childhood were his own thoughts…
Or, if not, what did it matter?
The boy, who had been turning red and blue with rage, glared at me with burning eyes.
The people who dealt with me generally fell into three categories. Half were too terrified to even make eye contact, half showered me with baseless flattery, and a small portion of fools who couldn’t distinguish who they should be barking at looked at me with these rebellious eyes.
“Do… do you, Your Highness, have the right to block the area around Brother Mikael like this? I—I can handle things well on my own! I too…!”
“Is that so? How exactly do you plan to handle things well?”
“That is…”
“Do you plan to stick to Mikael’s side and insist you’re close to him with the brazenness of an Ogre, as you are now, thereby hindering his studies? I doubt the Countess Dowager Ernhardt asked such a thing of you.”
“T-that… that is…”
“If you understand, I shall leave first. I hope we never encounter each other over such a matter again.”
Tears welled up in the stuttering boy’s eyes, and the strength left his rebellious gaze. A human who had become this soft would inevitably dash in a certain direction the moment a tiny path was opened for them, out of sheer relief.
As I passed him, I clicked my tongue and muttered as if talking to myself.
“…Hah. If only he were half as capable as Young Master Claudian…”
“…!”
The boy’s head snapped toward me. I did not look back.
Perfect.
Bill Brown would now go seek out Benjamin Claudian.
Humans are creatures who immerse themselves more deeply in tasks they decide for themselves than in those they are ordered to do. If I had commanded him from the start on how to act or behave, it would have only invited unnecessary backlash. Especially with Bill Brown, who might blabber to Mikael at any time or in any manner, I had to be extra cautious.
Benjamin Claudian was the person who had seen most closely over the past year how I treated Mikael and how Mikael treated me in return. The limit of the advice such a Benjamin Claudian could give to the current Bill Brown, who wished to be favored by Mikael, was obvious.
Lower your voice, behave quietly, maintain an appropriate distance, but keep your head low to attract attention.
Yes, he would learn it all by observing me. Thus, Bill Brown, having received Benjamin’s advice, would act like me, and Mikael, seeing Bill Brown, would be reminded of me. He might even stroke his head or embrace him like a child, just as he does for me.
That was fine.
The timing was perfect. It had been a while since the crazy things I did last year entered Richard’s sight.
Last year, I intended to confess first. I thought that if Mikael knew how special I considered him, he would accept my feelings. That was why I gave him the authority to stroke my hair or brush my cheek in front of others.
But now, I want Mikael to appear special in and of himself. I wanted it known that he is a person who coaxes and dotes on anyone, not just me, and that I am merely one of many. A noisy fellow who loves to chatter like Bill Brown was perfect as a smokescreen.
With this, Mikael no longer acts as my weakness. Instead of interpreting it as me allowing such skinship because Mikael is a special existence to me, it will be interpreted as me approaching him in Mikael’s own unique way to gain the favor of Valentia.
Then Richard will also believe that I have a move that makes me bow my head to Mikael and Valentia, and he will approach conservatively. Valentia was far too large a weight to challenge without the absolute certainty that he could shake me.
Furthermore, the dull and hasty Bill Brown was not a bad choice to serve as my comparative foil.
I was confident that I could act more in accordance with Mikael’s tastes than Bill Brown ever could. I intended to make it so that when he looks at me, he thinks of me; when he looks at Bill Brown, he thinks of me; and when he encounters anything in the world, he remembers me… I decided to pave the road for Mikael to come to me.
To do that, I must solidify this first.
Leaving Bill Brown behind, I headed straight for the second-year girls’ dormitory.
Now was the time to sorrowfully report and cry that Bill Brown had been arrogant to me, or that I had done something pathetic out of jealousy. Of course, Marianne Philodendore would not believe my words at face value. She and Claudian would discuss it sufficiently and agree to maintain the current state regardless.
Even when playing chess, I preferred the Caro-Kann Defense. In this love, I was clearly the weaker party and needed to proceed with the most defensive strategy possible.
Still, one thing was certain.
If Mikael comes to love me, Marianne Philodendore will eventually take my side.
* * *
Lately, I had become accustomed to gradually satisfying my greed by leaning on the rumors of a bright and cheerful boy. Mikael often stroked me and held my hand without hesitation. I endured each day by rubbing my cheek against his rough hand and occasionally hugging his shoulders or leaning my head in his embrace.
There were unexpected results as well. While Bill Brown couldn’t do anything about me, he couldn’t stand seeing other fellows acting like lapdogs and flirting in front of Mikael, so he caused quite a stir in places where Mikael’s sight didn’t reach. Thanks to the checks of this fellow, who snarled and barked like a fierce dog protecting its master, many of Mikael’s followers couldn’t even utter a word asking to be stroked and could only watch from afar.
It wasn’t that there weren’t some who occasionally challenged Bill Brown, asking who he thought he was, but those whom Bill Brown couldn’t handle were quietly called away and tidied up by Shayden Rose.
Thanks to this, the number of fellows dazed by Mikael’s touch didn’t increase, and because of the sufficient commotion, I was able to further evade Richard’s gaze. I liked it very much, so I just left it be.
I often acted spoiled, often pouted, and demanded my share of Mikael’s daily life. Then Mikael would ponder and grant about half of my requests. All without knowing what it meant to spend every weekday and every weekend with me…
Still, I didn’t feel the slightest bit pity. I didn’t have enough leeway to sympathize with Mikael.
After some time had passed, it was the third Friday of March.
I went out to see the night market with Mikael. We walked hand in hand in the bright midday sun. Because Mikael had held my hand first to escort me and didn’t let go, it would look to others as if Mikael were gripping my hand tightly. I sweetly swallowed the various gazes and misunderstandings of others directed toward us.
The meal was delicious, and the conversation was pleasant.
We also bought dolls that resembled each other. Mikael couldn’t take his eyes off a crow doll, saying it looked like me. If anyone else had done that, it wouldn’t have been enough to slap them for trying to mock me, but Mikael genuinely seemed to like that pitch-black, round ball of fur, which was truly cute.
I received a pink bear doll as a gift. It was the first time in my life that I had ever bought a doll for myself. That made it feel even more special.
This dummy. I squeezed the snout of the doll, which was stuffed with plump cotton, but then felt embarrassed realizing I was doing something ridiculous, so I just tucked it under my arm.
Mikael showed great interest in the food.
Most of the merchants who saw Mikael and me hurriedly wiped their stalls with cloths from a distance. I had been worried because the Imperial Palace soldiers had reported that the hygiene of the night market was poor lately, so I was inwardly relieved. I bought everything the child’s eyes landed on and placed it in his hands without hesitation.
Chicken skewers, ice cream, cream parfaits, orange juice…
I don’t know how so much food fits into that small body. Perhaps it’s because he’s so active. I wonder how much more he’ll grow.
Still, I hope he stays smaller than me. After all, flowy clothes suit Mikael well, so I wanted to try putting a dress on him at least once. Preferably a luxurious one with thirty layers of thin, beautiful lace.
Then, is a wedding dress the only way?
Such vain thoughts kept making me smile. Mikael, not knowing what I was thinking, smiled brightly along with me. How cute. I would have no further wishes if I could just give him a tight hug right now. I suppressed the surging, sinister imaginations.
And so, it was 8:00 PM.
It was time for the night market’s main performance to begin.
I led Mikael by the hand toward the square. The “Aria Drawing the Stars” composed by Luce Altise was quite difficult to sing due to the exceptional number of high notes, but the vocalist in the square handled it brilliantly, although they lowered the scale by a semitone.
It was a bit bothersome to see several pieces of colored glass inserted between the Type 1 lamps to save costs. The budget shouldn’t have been lacking; I wonder where the money leaked. It seemed there were half as many lights as there should have been…
Still, I liked how they wrapped magic lamps around the bodies of under-trained Ranunculus to make them fly despite the shortage. The irregular clusters of light fluttering here and there to the music added laughter to the excited crowd.
Above all… Mikael loved it.
Mikael occasionally tapped his toes to the music. His shoulders swayed like a willow tree, and he burst into laughter repeatedly. Every time he looked at the flying Ranunculus, he smiled so ecstatically that I was busy blocking the view with my body, bothered by the people around us glancing our way.
The vocalist sang three songs in a row and then began to play the harp they had been holding.
Now it was the time for lovers. As the brightness of the magic lamps dimmed, the gazes focused on us mostly disappeared. In the street where darkness had fallen, the subtle lights hung here and there flickered slowly to the rhythm of the harp. Those intoxicated by the music held each other’s hands and waists, leaning into one another.
As I always did, I slid my fingertips into Mikael’s small hand. Just as I was about to wiggle my fingertips to coax him to hold me—a certain sense of incongruity pierced through me like a bolt.
Mikael’s palm, which was always dry and soft, was damp with moisture.
I nearly stopped breathing. My heart felt as if it would burst with a sudden hope. I tried to steady my breath, but it wasn’t easy. Carefully, I hooked my finger around Mikael’s. My gaze was fixed forward, but all my nerves were focused on that small contact.
The tips of my ears burned hot. The child’s vacant gaze slowly scanned my chin and cheek. Mikael could neither grasp my hand nor push it away. He swallowed very slowly and let out a sweet sigh.
I felt a thrill from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. I clenched my teeth to hold back the laughter that threatened to erupt.
Finally, at last.
Mikael has begun to be conscious of me.
It was a romantic night.