Chapter 47

Saying he had things to take care of and would see me tomorrow, Laplace left, leaving me standing there in a daze, unable to move. He was like a storm.

How do you have to be raised to turn into someone that eccentric…? It almost makes me want to ask if he’s really a noble.

As I stood frozen with my textbook still in hand, someone gave my shoulder a gentle tap. I pretty much already knew who it was.

“Bell, let’s head back. By the way, what was up with that guy?”

“……We became friends.”

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”

I could only offer a bitter smile at Aria’s words. It feels like I’ve been hearing the word “friend” a lot lately.

“So? You actually went and made a friend?”

“Well, yeah, I didn’t really have any reason to turn him down.”

“Hmph. Well, whatever. Let’s hurry back. Here, all the stares are so annoying I have to keep up a front.”

Aria lowered her voice slightly and raised an eyebrow with an expression of displeasure. True enough, with Aria being angelically gorgeous and me being the fiancée of Lord Dylan, people couldn’t help but notice us whenever we were together.

I gave a single nod and briskly walked out of the classroom.

As I walked down the long, wastefully luxurious corridor, a familiar figure came walking toward me from the opposite direction. Spotting me, he let out an “Ah.”

“It’s been a while, Lady Bertia. I’m glad I didn’t miss you.”

“It’s been a while, Lord Schwarz.”

Pitch-black hair and dark-red eyes shone with intellect from behind his glasses. I was seeing Schwarz after a full year, too. As expected, his aura of sex appeal had grown even stronger. Incredible.

Schwarz glanced briefly at Aria standing next to me, but immediately went back to flipping through the documents in his hand.

I can only pray that I was the only one who heard Aria mutter, “So unfriendly.”

“Actually, there is something I would like to tell Lady Bertia.”

“What might that be?”

“Tomorrow after school, would you mind coming to the student council room?”

Schwarz reached into his documents and pulled out a card made of thick, black paper with gold lettering. It looked kind of like a black credit card.

“You as well.”

Saying that, Schwarz handed a black card to Aria as well. After a brief moment of deliberation, Aria accepted it.

Wait, the student council room means Lord Dylan is going to be there too, right? Judging by Schwarz’s demeanor, he seemed like he belonged to the student council as well.

“Tomorrow after school. Understood.”

“I appreciate it. Please make sure you come. Without fail.”

Without changing his expression, Schwarz emphasized his words to make sure we understood. I nodded repeatedly, just vigorously bobbing my head. I absolutely had to go.

After parting ways with Schwarz and heading toward the dorms, Aria frowned as she stared down at the black card.

“I really don’t like that guy.”

“You two certainly don’t look like you’d get along.”

“Right? That rude attitude! I can’t stand it!”

Aria was one to talk, considering she usually adopted a pretty rude attitude herself, but that was something I wouldn’t dare say out loud.

With a huff, Aria slipped the card into her pocket just as we reached my room.

“Are you sure you want to use my room?”

“Of course. If the prince happens to stop by and you aren’t there, it’ll be a disaster.”

Not quite following her logic, I tilted my head. Stepping inside, Aria let out an admiring “Oh, it’s pretty.” She immediately claimed my favorite chair, sitting down before anyone else could.

“Hey, that’s my favorite chair, you know.”

“Ah, really? I thought it looked wonderful!”

Aria laughed cheerfully without looking the least bit repentant. With no other choice, I prepared tea for Aria and myself, pulling up a chair on the opposite side of a small table. Even though it felt absurd for me to be sitting in the guest seat, Aria wouldn’t budge an inch, so arguing was pointless.

After watching me sit down, Aria crossed her long, slender legs beneath her skirt. Resting her cheek in her hand with an imperious look, she stared at me.

“Now, Bell. Ask me anything. I decided back in my past life that I wouldn’t keep any secrets from you. I’ll tell you everything.”

At Aria’s words, I blinked in astonishment for a fraction of a second, then let out a soft laugh. That’s right. This girl is just like that. No matter what, she always goes easy on me.

“Then, I’ll ask you about anything and everything.”

“Of course.”

“Tell me everything about this world and the game.”

“Well, naturally.”

Aria laughed and nodded, as if she had expected this. Then, dredging up memories from the depths of her mind, she opened her mouth.

“I loved this game so much that I played through every single route at least three times, not just my favorites.”

“I have to admire that tenacity. I know about Lord Dylan, since he’s your favorite, and Az, but the only detailed scenarios I know are the ones involving Az.”

Aria briefly reacted to the fact that I called the prince Lord Dylan, but she didn’t push the issue.

“Right, so let’s start with the basic capture targets. There are four routes in total: the Second Prince, the scheming glasses-wearing tactician, the puppy-like handsome knight, and the puppy-dog playboy.”

“The second prince is Lord Dylan, and the hotshot knight childhood friend is Az, right?”

“Yup. The scheming glasses tactician is Schwarz Rizzio, and the puppy-dog playboy is Cienoir Marcas.”

Eh!? Wait, even Schwarz was a capture target?! Still, his face was impossibly gorgeous, so hearing that he was a capture target somehow made sense.

And the golden-retriever-type flirty guy is… Cielnoir Marcas…? Marcas sounded familiar somewhere. Wasn’t that Ciel’s family name?

“Cielnoir is…”

“Eh? Ah, the flirty guy? I think his nickname was Ciel. Because he was raised with his gender denied from a young age, he utterly hates women. So he turned into a scumbag who repeatedly picks them up and tosses them away, didn’t he?”

Gender denied. Meaning he was treated like a girl. Wait, does that mean Ciel is actually Cielnoir, and he’s a guy?

“Whoa…”

“What’s wrong? Could it be you’ve already crossed paths?”

“…Seems like it.”

“Eh!? No way, that’s amazing. Well, I suppose you’re the villainess, and Bertia is present in all routes, so it’d be weird if you didn’t have any acquaintance with him. You’ve got to earn his hostility, after all.”

I glared fiercely at Aria. Stop saying terrifying things.

“Whoa, that glare is super scary.”

Aria exaggeratedly shivered and shook her head, acting scared. I let out a sharp click of my tongue and leaned back against my chair.

“You really drop all your filters around me, you know that?”

“None of your business. Hurry up and continue.”

“Yes, yes. Um, since the minute details of each route probably aren’t reliable anymore, just ask me whenever you need to. So, I guess next is about the student council?”

“Ah, I want to know about that.”

Seeing me take the bait, Aria beamed with a smug grin.

“First of all, this St. Polhymnia Academy is a bit of a peculiar school. It’s a sanctuary untouchable even by the kingdom.”

“Eh? Isn’t that kind of weird? What happens in an emergency?”

“I don’t really know the details about that. For some reason, the kingdom can’t interfere with this academy. Yet, it mandates that aristocratic children attend. Well, it’s safe to assume something shady is going on behind the scenes.”

“We’re not involved, right…?”

“Nah, it wasn’t touched upon in the game, so it’s probably just standard atmospheric set-dressing.”

Hearing Aria say that, I let out a breath of relief. Thank goodness. I definitely didn’t want to get mixed up in anything.

“Technically the headmaster is at the very top, but for some reason they’re absent. That part’s pretty sketchy too, though. Among all that, the ones reigning at the absolute peak of the school are the student council. Officially called the Student Council Executive Board.”

“Heh… Sounds like a standard trope.”

“This organization regulates teachers, students, and rules alike. Apparently, they call this academy an ‘empire’.”

“Because the kingdom can’t touch it?”

“Exactly. Because it’s their absolute domain.”

I see, I muttered, taking a sip of the tea I had brewed myself. Aria mirrored me and brought her cup to her lips.

“There are five members in the student council in total. President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and General Affairs. They each have sort of title-like nicknames, but everyone just calls them by these standard roles, so it’s fine.”

“What do their positions entail?”

“Exactly the same as what we know from our past lives. Nothing out of the ordinary.”

It was a full-blown academy setting. To be honest, the game itself had mostly focused on events centered around the academy anyway. It had enough of a distinctly Japanese flavor that you almost had to wonder why it even needed to be a medieval fantasy.

“Hey, I want to ask one thing.”

“What?”

“I’m not going to die, right?”

That was the one thing I had been constantly anxious about ever since I was born as Bertia—no, ever since I remembered my past life. I didn’t want to have my life cut short halfway through again.

After letting out a slightly surprised gasp, Aria broke into a soft smile. Just looking at that face, she really was an angel. She was a match for Will, if not better.

“You won’t die. Don’t worry. There are people who will protect you.”

Those words and the expression on Aria’s face finally allowed me to feel at ease. Hearing Aria say it made me believe it without any logical grounds.

“Thank goodness.”

“Hey, Bell.”

This time, Aria looked over at me as if she wanted to ask something.

“What?”

I echoed the exact same line Aria had used earlier. Looking a bit hesitant, Aria let her gaze drift before opening and closing her mouth for a while.

I silently waited for her to speak. The fact that Aria was hesitating to speak her mind so openly meant she was probably trying to be considerate of me. She really was acting uncharacteristically.

After fidgeting for a short while, Aria finally looked straight at me, as if she had made up her mind.

“Hey, Bell. How do you really feel about the prince?”

I know it’s not my place to pry, Aria continued.

Aria had said back in her past life that she wouldn’t keep any secrets from me. Naturally, I felt the exact same way. Regardless of what my feelings were, discussing it with her was the best course of action, just like it had been in our past lives.

After a brief moment of thought, I resolved to speak my true feelings honestly to her.