Vol. 3 - Chapter 137 - Katariona Is Feeling Depressed
Ahh, I have a headache. It's really quite depressing.
Lately, I have felt constantly down in the dumps.
The reason being....
"Rick, are you free after school today? A new dress was released at the Sandorion. I wanted to go and see it ......"
"Of course, I'll go with you, Lottie."
"That makes me so happy! Thank you, Rick."
Charlotte wrapped her arms around His Royal Highness the Crown Prince using a sweet voice, while His Royal Highness gazed at her with a grin that was almost licentious.
Such a preposterous exchange, which takes place at the main gate of the Magic Academy, has become an everyday occurrence. The students passing by are already accustomed to it and greet each other as if nothing had happened.
However, the eyes directed at His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Charlotte are cold.
I, of course, have no intention of dealing with them either. ......
"Good day to you, Katariona-sama."
I merely bowed and tried to move past, but Charlotte called out to me.
There was no need for me to answer her, as it is polite to address the higher-ranking members first in a social setting, but this is the Magic Academy. The school rules state that there are no status barriers within the academy.
"......Good day to you, Your Royal Highness. Charlotte-sama."
I reluctantly returned the greeting, and Charlotte's eyes distorted into a sort of cynical expression for a moment.
Eyes filled with a sense of superiority.
Frankly, I'm not happy about it, because it reminds me of the time before I went back in time.
"Scary! Katariona has a scary face!"
I didn't mean to glare at her, but perhaps my feelings reflected on my face.
Charlotte let out a small scream and jumped into the Crown Prince's chest.
And His Royal Highness the Dauphin stopped to hold Charlotte and glared at me with certainty.
"Katariona-sama! Why are you glaring at Lottie? She just said hello!"
"Your Royal Highness. I am not glaring at Charlotte-sama."
"But Lottie is frightened! Give her an apology!"
Charlotte is hugging His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and if you look at her from the side, she is trembling ever so slightly. But she is merely feigning fright.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
A scene I had seen many times before my return.
In the first place, she is not the kind of person who would be intimidated by my glaring at her.
Since I kept silent, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince raised his voice.
"Why don't you apologize!"
"As I said before, I did not glare at Charlotte-sama. I have no intention of apologizing for something I did not do."
It is easy to apologize, but I have my own pride and joy.
"You don't want to apologize because of my low status! How cruel!"
Charlotte started wailing.
I couldn't get through to her at all.
I have a headache again. I'm going to leave early today.
"Katariona-sama! Even if you are the daughter of a prestigious marquis, this is the Magic Academy! Status has no relevance!"
Then, the Crown Prince paused for a moment, as if something had just occurred to him. Then, his face contorted into a smirk.
"I see. Are you jealous because I only care about Lottie?"
I cringed. What is this man talking about?
"Don't worry. Lottie is the future queen, but you will be the second queen. But if you have such an attitude, I will have to change my mind."
I would say something back, but my lips are quivering and my voice is inaudible.
While I was inwardly growing frustrated, someone blocked my view.
"Enough! Brother. How dare you, the crown prince, mock a woman? Please don't show your ugly face so early in the morning!"
Chris intervened between me and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and rebuked him.
"Chris!"
I exhaled in relief as Chris' back shielded me.
"Good day, Rio. I'm almost late for school this morning because someone else had to get there before me. Isn't that right, big brother?"
Normally, siblings come to school together in a carriage, but it seems that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince came to school alone today. The unexpected event seems to have caused the royal court to delay the preparation of the second carriage.
"Don't interrupt me! Chris. I am talking to Katariona-sama right now."
After being interrupted by Chris in his attempt to ridicule me, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince clucked his tongue and yelled at his sister.
"Talking? It didn't look that way to me. To me, it looked like you and that woman ・・・・ were abusing Rio."
Chris pulled a fan out of her uniform pocket and put it to her mouth with a deliberate "oh-ho-ho" sound.
"You call her 'that woman there'? Now even you are making fun of Lottie?"
"I have no desire to call a slut by name who embraces a man so early in the morning."
Chris humphed.
"Wha- what nonsense!"
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was furious, but Chris didn't care.
Charlotte, who had been crying with her face buried in the crown prince's chest, turned to face us.
"How dare you call me a slut!"
"Oh? Am I wrong?"
Charlotte's face turned red in protest, but her expression changed to one of haste.
"That's right," she says. Her Royal Highness is good friends with Katariona-sama, so she must have been spreading bad rumors about me."
The fan fell out of Chris's hand, who until then had been calm and composed.
"......What....... are you saying? I don't know what you're talking about. Are you stupid?" Although I can't see Chris's expression because I am protected by her back, I can see that she is taken aback.
"Because isn't that what it's all about! I'm sure Katariona hates me because Rick loves me so much that she's talking about me behind my back."
What she's saying is utterly ridiculous. It would be useless to say anything to Charlotte at this point. I sighed softly.
"Hey! You guys, get your little behinds to class for goodness sake! The first bell will ring soon!"
A familiar, blunt voice came from behind me. It's Tojourou-san.
I looked at the clock tower and sure enough, it was almost time for the first bell to ring.
"Darn it! Chris, I'll remember this!" he said with a grim smile.
After uttering a scoundrel-like discarded line, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince pulled Charlotte along with him toward the classroom. I bowed to Tojurou-san, who was about to emit smoke.
"Thank you for your help, Tojurou-sensei. I appreciate it."
"Were you tangled up with those guys again? What bad luck."
Tojurou-san looked in the direction the Crown Prince and the others had left and stuck out his tongue.
"It's more of a calamity. I'm sorry for the delay in coming in to help, Rio."
Chris hugged me and patted me on the back with a good-natured smile.
"Chris, thank you for always helping me."
"Why are you going to school alone today? Isn't Sieg-sama and Fluffy-kun with you?"
My brother came to school early for student council business. Leon is absent due to a God conference today. They were both very worried, but I assured them that I would be fine on my own. ......
Lately, Charlotte has been tangling with me whenever there is a chance, trying to bring me down.
This has happened because His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has fallen under the spell of Charlotte's skill "Demonic Enchantment".
The anomaly occurred after the first event of my moving up to the third grade after returning from my study abroad from the country of Hinoshima.
The crown prince, who had been wearing a tiepin made of the scales of Sylphy-sama, the princess of the Dragon God King's family, who repelled all kinds of magic, was missing the tiepin.
Why was the tiepin missing?
The answer was easy to guess.
Charlotte must have learned the secret of the tiepin somehow and took it away from the Crown Prince.
Once the tiepin was gone, Charlotte's skills would not be inhibited.
So His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has been trapped by "demonic enchantment.
As a result, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is now completely captivated by Charlotte.
"But still, I can't believe they left Rio alone! I will have to give Sieg-sama and Fluffy-kun a lecture later!"
Later on, big brother and Leon will probably get a nice strong squeeze from Chris.
Imagining this, a smile appeared naturally on my face.
"You finally laughed."
"Eh?"
"You didn't notice? Lately, Rio has not been very expressive."
Chris pointed this out to me, and for the first time I became aware of it.
"Yurie has a lot of facial expressions, doesn't she? It is interesting to watch how they change from one moment to the next."
Tojurou-san looked at my face and said something rude.
"Does it change so much? I am still an aristocratic daughter, so I am trained not to show my emotions, but ......"
Saying up till now, I covered both my cheeks with my hands to check my facial muscles.
Chris and Tojurou-san exchanged a look and then burst out laughing together.
"Eh-! What's so funny?"
Why are they laughing? I don't see any reason for it.
"Rio. You don't know what you did."
Chris said, laughing, cackling with glee.
"No doubt!"
Even Tojurou-san was laughing, clutching his stomach.
"Oh come on! It's rude to laugh!"
"Ah! Look! Your cheeks are puffed out like a squirrel."
Chris giggled again.
I wonder if my cheeks are that puffed up.
I put my hand on my cheek again.
" ............."
---maybe it's bulging a little bit.
Just then, the bell rang.
"The bell rang. Both of you, hurry to your classrooms!"
Tojurou-san gave me a push on the back, and Chris and I hurried to the classroom.
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TL: Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and happy reading!