A week has passed since my encounter with Ellis, and right now I'm infiltrating my former school together with Sophia.

Sophia graduated a year ago, while I graduated half a year ago, but since there are some students that I'm familiar with, I've asked Chief Court Mage Listero to cast a transformation spell on me.

At times like this, I feel envious of the people who can use magic.

Today I'm trying to confirm the "interesting story" that Sophia told me.

Of course I can use some of my men to investigate it for me, but I believe that for things that involve emotions and people, it's better for me to see it for myself.

Right now, my hair has been changed to a dull brown color, while my face has been changed to a plain-looking one that doesn't stand out.

As for Sophia, her hair is blonde drill, and she has a chiseled face with blue eyes. Right now she looks like a villainesses that I have read in a lot of stories.

"Hey, now that I think about it, isn't our pairing rather conspicuous?"

"If you keep calm and don't think about it, we're not going to stand out."

What Sophia said was true; it looks like the students don't look at us at all. Maybe they just don't care about us.

After a while, I stopped thinking about it and followed Sophia. 

"Even so, I didn't know that the luminous tree in the backyard of the school has become a famous confession spot."

"I'm sure you didn't get called to the spot because you already had Celis as your fiancée."

"That's really good because I've been called to that place every week. Hear that "EVERY WEEK"."

Sophia says that with an annoyed look on her face.

While talking about such things, we were walking around the school building, and eventually we arrived at the back of the school building.

In the midst of a small forest lies a lone tree that shines like a crystal while its seven colored leaves beautifully illuminate the surrounding area.

"I see. That's really a good place to confess to someone you like."

This place is really peaceful; I can only hear the chirping of the birds echoing around, and it's far from the hustle and bustle of the school building.

And in the midst of the green scenery, the luminous tree glowing in seven colors looked terribly fantastic.

Right now, under the luminous tree, a man and a woman are standing, looking down shyly at each other. It seems that we have arrived at the time where someone is going to confess their feelings to the person that they like.

Seeing that scene, Sophia and I hid ourselves in the school building while peering into the two of them.

I noticed that the woman is Ellis and the other party is a handsome man with silver hair. It looks like it's Grat Admisia the son of a Duke.

"Miss Ellis. I wonder if you already have thought about my invitation of you being my partner at the welcome party for the new students."

I can't really see their expressions clearly because of the trees and the distance between us, but I can clearly hear their voices.

"Grat-sama, I'm happy that you are inviting me, but..."

"Oh, are you perhaps worrying about Cynthia? You're really kind to worry about Cynthia, even though she has been treating you really harshly."

"No, that's not what..."

Cynthia is the name of Grat's fiancée.

"I will protect you, and that's why I want you to attend the party as my partner to let the people know about that."

"But even so... that would be really rude to Listero-sama."

"That's fine, I have an idea about that, so all you need to do is stay by my side."

When Grat said that I smelled a faint citrus smell, I turned around to see where the smell was coming from, and I saw a female student with blonde hair and a slightly harsh face walking towards me.

"Please excuse me."*

After bowing in front of us, the female student walks towards the two people in front of the luminous tree.

"Oh, I do wonder what you two are doing here."

"Cy... Cynthia!"

"Ah... Listero-sama!  This is a misunderstanding!"

When the student called Cynthia called out to them, Grat was surprised while Ellis began shaking.

"Ellis-sama, I believe I've told you this before, haven't I? A lady shouldn't be alone with a man."

"That's..."

"Also, this place is a place where a man and a woman are supposed to pledge between themselves to be together in the future. What do you think would happen if a rumor spread about seeing you here alone together with a man with a fiancée?"

Intimidated by Cynthia's pressure, Grat and Ellis fell into silence, but after a while, Grat whispers something into Ellis's ears.

"I'll pick you up on the day of the party."

Sophia murmured that to me.

I was surprised when she did that. Is that lip reading? I do wonder how much more special talent this person hides from me.

"Do you really think I would tolerate that kind of attitude forever?"

When Grat said that she glared at Cynthia, after a while, he left the area.

"You should also leave."

"But Listero-sama!"

"I already told you to leave, right?!"

Ellis wiped her eyes, then bowed to Cynthia, who raised her voice against her, and she left the place.

Cynthia, who was left alone, cried while her shoulders trembled.

The sight of her suppressing her voice while looking up to the sky with resolute pride was a terribly beautiful sight to me.

"I see. You're right, this is really interesting."

When I muttered that, Sophia looked at me with a deep smile on her face without changing her expression.

"So? Knowing that, what would His Highness the tyrant do now?"

"Isn't it already decided?"

I also reply with a deep smile.

"I got it. Then we will proceed with the necessary preparations."

"Hmmm? When you said that, you meant that we are going to plan first and then prepare later, right?"

It looks like Sophia already predicted what I would do from the very beginning.*




Notes:

1. The original Japanese phrase is 失礼致しますわ which is read as Shitsurei itashimasu wa, which is literally translate to excuse me. The phrase is a kind of formal greeting and it is used when entering or leaving a meeting room, in short it's used when entering or exiting formal events.

2. She is speaking in a really formal way.

3. There are two instances where the MC called Sophia こいつ or Koitsu, literally translate to this guy.