After seeing Cecilia off, I entered the classroom for my next lecture and took a seat in the very back.
"Hmm. There are hardly any people here."
But before long, I spotted a familiar face and waved.
"Lady Cecilia."
"Pardon?"
Cecilia approached me with a flustered expression, while Chloe, who had come with her, also seemed faintly surprised.
"Your Grace, why are you here?"
"I became interested in herbology."
Smiling, I offered her the seat beside me. Cecilia hesitated before sitting down next to me. Just then—
"Cecil! Wait a moment!"
"Ch-Chloe?"
Led away by Chloe, Cecilia was dragged out of the classroom, only to return shortly afterward.
"...Ahem. You said you became interested in herbology?"
"It reminded me of what you made at the estate before, Lady Cecilia."
"I see."
That was a lie, actually. While the crown prince chased after Elysia, diligent Cecilia was doing her utmost to improve herself.
Herbology was simply one of the ways she did so.
I enrolled because it was the only class shared by first-years and second-years. Looks like I made the right choice.
"..."
"Lady Cecilia?"
"Yes!"
"About what happened earlier..."
"Hello, everyone!"
A booming voice came through the classroom door. A white-haired middle-aged man, who resembled a mountain spirit from a fairy tale, waved cheerfully at the students.
"I am Professor Zion, and I will be in charge of herbology! I look forward to working with you all over the coming year!"
Professor Zion looked over the bewildered students and flashed a broad grin.
"Hahaha! No need to be so tense. My class is not that difficult, so simply keep up and you will be fine!"
As I sat blankly with my chin propped on one hand, Cecilia leaned close beside me.
"Do not be fooled."
"Eek?"
Her soft, ticklish breath made me let out a strange sound without meaning to.
"Hmm? Is that student all right?"
"Ah... yes. I am fine."
"Hahaha! Is that so? Then take your seat at once!"
I scratched my head and sat back down. Then I noticed Cecilia stifling laughter beside me.
"Lady Cecilia..."
"Hehe, I am sorry. It seems your ears are sensitive, Your Grace?"
"..."
"That was my revenge for lunchtime. What do you think?"
What do I think? Damn it, my heart is pounding.
"More importantly, do not be fooled. Professor Zion is famous throughout the Academy for assigning extremely demanding tasks."
"Ugh. Of all things."
There had been such a trap in the class I took to look after Cecilia? Was that why, overwhelmed by assignments, she had failed to keep Elysia in check properly and disaster had struck?
"Still, perhaps it will be all right if there are two of us?"
"Will it?"
"Yes. Just trust me and follow along, Your Grace."
"Oh? You are willing to guide me as my senior. I am touched."
"Hehe."
Cecilia puffed out her shoulders. The desire to scoop her up and carry her off began surging up again.
Hold on... my heart.
I could not properly hear Professor Zion’s tedious lecture from the front. All I could hear was the scratch of Cecilia’s pen as she diligently wrote down the material beside me.
Should I sit somewhere else next time?
"Next time, too..."
"Hm?"
"You will sit beside me, will you not?"
"..."
Goosebumps. Could she read my mind? Was this the gravitas of a senior?
"For the sake of the rumors, at least?"
"...Of course."
**
Once the herbology lecture ended, Cecilia left the classroom and headed to her next one. It was in the opposite direction from Viktor’s, which was disappointing, but simply having sat beside him throughout the lecture had made her feel as though she were flying through the sky.
It could not have been anything but a deeply satisfying time.
"Cecil~!"
Thump!
"Chloe."
Cecilia smiled as she looked at Chloe, who had thrown herself into her arms and linked their arms together.
"So? Did you try it the way I told you?"
"Uh... y-yes."
"How was it? The Grand Duke was flustered, right?"
"Yes. He was very flustered... But, Chloe."
"What?"
"Well... you know."
"What is it~?"
Her ears red to their very tips, Cecilia lowered her head.
"I... I do not think I can ever do that again."
"Why not?!"
"It is..."
"It is?"
"It is embarrassing!!"
Cecilia pointed at the romance novel in Chloe’s arms.
"I-I acted like the young lady in that novel, but..."
"Mm-hm!"
"If I do something like that again... my heart..."
"Oh, dear. Was it hard for our Cecil?"
"Y-Yes."
"But Cecil, think about it. Think about the way all the young ladies at the Academy are looking at the Grand Duke now."
"..."
"If you want to keep them in check, Cecilia needs to seem a little fox-like too."
"Fox-like... I am not like that."
"Now, now. That is how something terrible happens, you know? Listen carefully, Cecilia. From what I have heard from my married sisters and cousins, if you behave as you did in your first year, you will not be able to protect anything."
"B-But..."
Cecilia was about to say that she and the Grand Duke were in a contractual relationship, but she swallowed the words.
...Wait. I am prioritizing the contract? Then stopping the trash that approaches the Grand Duke’s side is the right thing to do...
In any case, it is one of the things a fiancée should do, right?
"Cecil?"
"It is nothing. Please continue."
Seeing Cecilia’s eyes filled with resolve, Chloe nodded.
"That is why acting fox-like is not necessarily bad. Chasing away women who enter your territory is only natural.
And are we doing anything wrong? We only want to protect your fiancé, after all."
"Mm-hm!"
"So you just add a little variation now and then. Even in swordsmanship, that kind of unpredictability determines victory."
"I see!"
"Exactly. So, Cecil, if you read this novel and blend the heroine’s behavior with your usual behavior well..."
Gulp.
Cecilia swallowed dryly and waited for Chloe’s next words.
"The day the Grand Duke falls completely for you will not be far off."
"Ah..."
Viktor, looking only at her. Viktor, loving only her. The illicit thrill of going beyond a relationship formed by contract.
"As expected of you, Chloe!"
"Hehe."
Chloe Rista beamed at her friend for accepting the advice of someone with sixteen years of experience reading romance-fantasy novels.
**
Cecilia’s behavior had left me thoroughly confused, but after attending all my lectures for the day, I was finally able to pull myself together.
But was Cecilia originally like this? It was just like...
Exactly like the way my family members in my previous life described the vixens clinging to the men they were flirting with—by which they meant the men they had unrequited crushes on.
"Hmm. I truly do not understand what is going—"
"Your Grace."
"Hm? Lady Cecilia?"
I turned toward the voice behind me. Then—
Poke.
"Mmph?"
"H-Hehe?"
"...Lady Cecilia?"
Cecilia had poked my cheek with her index finger and was looking up at me with an awkward smile.
"D-Did I surprise you?!"
"Yes. You surprised me."
"I-Is that so?"
"Lady Cecilia?"
"Your Grace!"
"Yes?"
Cecilia stared intently at my face before finally opening her mouth.
"Your Grace’s eyes are blue like a lake and... No, that is not it!"
"???"
Cecilia abruptly spun around. A moment later, she turned back and looked up at me again.
"A-Again! Your Grace’s eyes are wistful and beautiful like a crimson sunset, and they always make my heart... U-Ugh... th-this is not it..."
"Lady Cecilia?"
"Yes?"
"...What is that book?"
"W-Wait! Please wait—"
I snatched the book Cecilia was holding and checked its title.
[Tamed the Northern Grand Duke!]
"..."
"..."
"...Oh."
At a complete loss for words, I stood there blankly before turning my gaze toward Cecilia.
"Ugh... hic... uuu..."
To calm Cecilia, whose face had turned red with shame, I first sat her down on a bench.
"Lady Cecilia."
"Yes..."
"Are you... trying to tame me?"
Just as expected of a romance-fantasy villainess. Did she have such darkness hidden inside her despite appearances?
"No!! It is not that kind of book..."
"Not that kind of book?"
"...It is a romance..."
"Pardon?"
"It is a romance novel!! I borrowed it from Chloe!!"
"Ah."
Chloe did not look like the sort of person who read books like this, but apparently she liked them.
"I see. But why..."
"Well..."
"Yes."
"...Because of the rumors."
"The rumors?"
"To get rid of the rumors surrounding Your Grace, I... I, as your fiancée, have to act."
"..."
"It is a relationship made by contract, but this way Your Grace will not be inconvenienced!!"
"Sigh."
"Ah... I am sorry—"
"Lady Cecilia."
"Yes."
"Then please tell me from the beginning."
"Pardon?"
I returned the book to Cecilia and smiled.
"Otherwise, there will be misunderstandings. It is important that we coordinate with each other, do you not agree?"
"..."
"Lady Cecilia?"
"Yes... you are right. Then, Your Grace."
"Yes, Lady Cecilia."
"Please call me Cecilia."
"...Pardon?"
"Go on."
"What is this about?"
She suddenly wanted me to remove “Lady” from the way I addressed her? What was this about?
"It is to show everyone that our intimacy has grown deeper."
"..."
"And I... hehe."
Cecilia smiled sweetly at me.
"Viktor."
"..."
"What do you think? Does it not feel as though our relationship has grown a little deeper than when I call you Your Grace?"
Looking at Cecilia smiling at me, my competitive spirit flared. You are the one who provoked me first.
Fine. I will pour every bit of my heart into this!!!
"Cecilia."
"..."
At my call, Cecilia merely stared at me blankly, like someone who had lost her tongue to honey.
"Yes, Viktor."
"...Cecilia."
"Viktor."
"Do not use ‘Your Grace.’"
"..."
"That way, it will feel even more..."
"...I should be going now."
I reached out toward Cecilia and stopped her as she tried to flee.
"Your Grace?"
"..."
"W-Well..."
"Cecilia?"
When I smiled and softly called her by name, Cecilia’s ears reddened to their tips. She nodded and said,
"Viktor..."
"..."
"Will you let this go... please? I was wrong."
I rose from my seat and nodded.
"Yes. I will let it go."
"Um..."
"Come on. Let us go."
"..."
The eyes around us gathered on the two of us.
Looks like Cecilia’s plan worked perfectly...
Cecilia stood frozen in place, so I brought my face close to her ear.
"I will take you to your dormitory. And..."
"..."
"You were cute today, Cecilia."
"...!"
Ignoring the squeals of the young ladies around us, Cecilia and I began walking toward the women’s dormitory. After seeing her off and returning to my own dormitory, the shame finally came crashing down on me, and I buried my face in my bed.
"Are you insane!!!! You could not even hold out for a single day!!!! You went and did it again!!!"
**
"Viktor..."
Back in her room, Cecilia sat in a chair, remembering what had happened earlier.
Cecilia.
The way Viktor had softly called her name was sweeter than any dessert in the world.
You were cute today, Cecilia.
"Ah..."
Even sweeter than that was the reminder that she was older than him.
"...The Grand Duke is even more of a fox than I am."
Literally. She was reaching the point where she could no longer tell whether the man before her was a wolf or a fox.
It was dangerous to let a man like that loose in an Academy overflowing with foxes, without even a leash.
"...It is the Grand Duke’s fault for being so bad."
Cecilia looked at the necklace on her desk. It was the crystallization of an obsession born from the intense stimulation of the day. She had originally expected the magical device that would reveal the other person’s location to take a week to make, but she had completed it in a single day.
"And the one connected to this necklace is..."
Looking at the necklace around her own neck, Cecilia smiled softly.
"...A couple’s necklace... Eek!"
Shaking her head sharply, Cecilia muttered to herself.
"This is... to uphold the contract... It is absolutely, absolutely not like that... So, Your Grace."
With slightly unfocused eyes, Cecilia looked toward the men’s dormitory in the distance.
"This is... because Your Grace is bad... It is all Viktor’s fault..."
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