Second Arc: Twelfth Chapter

"Waaah! Y-Your Highness, here, take this! Oh dear — you're soaked through."

I hurriedly handed His Highness a handkerchief and wiped the dripping tea with the cloth I'd wrapped the potato mochi in.

It hadn't soaked through to his underwear, had it? I didn't exactly have a spare pair on me.

Lady Julia and Georg were wiping down His Highness's clothes and bag with their own handkerchiefs too.

"Ahh! Your Highness! I'm so terribly sorry…"

Priscilla, white as a sheet, swayed and wept, and the young ladies who'd been clustered around her before caught her.

"I was so frightened of Lady Cosette that I— I never meant to harm you, Your Highness, truly. Please. Please believe me."

"…Well, it wasn't hot, and I've no intention of holding a thing like this against anyone."

His Highness gave Priscilla a brief glance and answered flatly, drying his hair.

"Ahh! I thank you for your mercy!"

"More to the point," he went on, "the baseless slander against Cosette has gone too far. I heard no end of the rumors on my way here. The rest of you around her… would do well to think hard about that."

At His Highness's words, Priscilla and the members of her circle flinched and went pale.

"As you wish… I am aware His Highness favors Lady Cosette, but I can't think excessive favor does her any good."

The young lady of the circle who looked highest in rank said it bitterly, then led Priscilla — who claimed she felt unwell — out of the classroom.

"Haah… what on earth was that about?"

I muttered it under my breath while drying His Highness off, and Lady Julia's calm voice answered.

"You're always off in your own world, Lady Cosette, so you never noticed — but it seems they've thought poorly of you for a good while."

"Huh…"

"Jealousy, most likely. All that swearing loyalty to you — wasn't that just hoping to get close to His Highness through you? Whether they rushed it or were simply sloppy, it was clumsy past all excuse."

"Haah…"

Lady Julia was probably right. Still, somehow it left me deflated. And here I'd been happy thinking I might make friends with that sweet young lady.

"This is my fault. I'm sorry."

His Highness lowered his brows, looking apologetic.

"N-no, it's not your fault at all, Your Highness!"

I shook my head quickly.

"Quite so," Lady Julia agreed. "Those young ladies have been giving Lady Cosette unpleasant looks for some time now. Perhaps they were only waiting for an excuse."

Huh. So that was it. I'd only ever thought, my, what cheerful, sweet girls they are.

"Never mind that — let's eat the potato mochi!"

Georg runs as normal no matter the occasion. Instead of brains, his head is probably stuffed with potato.

"Um…"

A timid voice spoke up. I turned to find the classmates who'd kept their distance earlier standing there awkwardly.

"Is something the matter?"

So they wouldn't guess I'd been thinking about the contents of Georg's skull, I gave them an extra-bright smile. Steeling themselves, the classmates swallowed hard and spoke.

"W-we're so sorry! We never believed for a moment that you'd do such things, Lady Cosette, but… Lady Isabella is so frightening that we couldn't even speak up for you…"

"Lady Isabella…"

Now then. Was there a Lady Isabella in this class?

"Lady Isabella," Lady Julia put in. "The marquess's daughter, from the next class over."

Ah. From the next class, then. She must mean that haughty… no, that high-ranking young lady. She was a beautiful girl with rich, deep-green hair.

Which, of course, meant all I'd actually thought at the time was: the Green from Gorenjai has appeared!

"Red, blue, yellow, green… so that leaves pink or white."

"Sorry?"

"N-no, it's nothing at all! Oh-ho-ho…"

Careful, careful. My inner voice had leaked out. There was a pink one in real life, but, well… not so easy. For white you'd need someone like an old grandpa, but… fighting's a bit much to ask of a grandpa. Then again, a Sebastian, maybe…

"Lady Cosette…?"

"Ah! Oh — no, I'm quite all right. And please, none of you worry. Just knowing you feel that way is enough to make me happy."

The moment I start thinking about Gorenjai, my mind wanders right off. I smiled gently at the classmates, whose eyes were wavering with worry, and spoke to them. They let out relieved breaths, and the tension eased from their faces.

"Thank you. You're very kind, Lady Cosette."

"No, no, no, not at all, oh-ho-ho."

Don't get the wrong idea — I really just hadn't been thinking about anything.

Flustered, I went looking for a handkerchief to blot the sweat on my forehead, only to realize it was sopping with green tea. Wiping with this might at least have some antibacterial effect…

"Um! Lady Cosette! Here, use this handkerchief…!"

"Oh, this handkerchief…"

As I stared at my sodden one, a young lady with pale-blonde hair held out a handkerchief folded in crisp creases. This one looked familiar…

"It's the one you lent me before, Lady Cosette, when we were digging for bamboo shoots! I never found the chance to return it, so it's dreadfully late — I'm sorry."

"Oh my! I'd completely forgotten! Thank you for going to the trouble."

Ironed as neatly as this, she must have washed it and carried it around all this time so she could give it back. Her earnestness was so endearing that a smile slipped out of me.

"N-no, it's nothing…! Lady Cosette…"

For some reason she went red in the face and started to fidget. It was so cute that I gently pressed a piece of potato mochi into her hand.

"This is a thank-you for returning my handkerchief. Please eat it, if you'd like. And everyone — would you all care for some potato mochi as well?"

After that, the whole class gathered around the potato mochi and had a merry time of it. The big batch I'd brought vanished in no time, and I resolved to make even more from tomorrow on.