Chapter 12

Chapter 12

“Cecile-san, do you have a partner yet?”

“…… Not yet.”

I look up and see a teary pair of eyes staring down at me out of an adorable face…. Leila Morton’s face.

“I see you already know who I am.”

“Well, you are so beautiful, and Sarah has mentioned you to me a few times before so…. I’ve actually wanted to try talking to you for a long time now.”

I’m sure Sarah must have been systematically playing me up to Leila, trying to get her interested in me.

“This might be kind of impudent of me, but Sarah has already found a different partner and I don’t really have any other friends….. so would it be possible to ask you to be my partner? Would you mind so terribly…..?”

This ‘partner’ that Leila has been talking about is for the practical skills test that is coming up next month.

Up until now, our magic professors have been very lenient with us, allowing us to just play around and get used to our own magic. Unfortunately, even at that level I found myself to be struggling. And now that we have entered our second year at the academy, there’s going to be no more fun and games. Next month, in groups of two, we will be participating in a comprehensive test where we will have to showcase all of the magic skills that we have cultivated thus far.

In order to evaluate our abilities, each pair will be putting on a show of their magic in front of a panel of teachers. For instance, last year Gray-Senpai and one of his classmates put on this amazing magic flower demonstration. Gray-Senpai was in charge of using wind magic to scatter the flowers around so he created a swirling breeze that twirled around in patterns in the air while his partner stood in the middle of it. His partner’s job was to magically compel flower seeds to grow and once they had bloomed, he used a duplication spell to increase the number of flowers and scatter the petals into the breeze, every few seconds changing their colors. Together they created an absolutely amazing multicolored whirlwind of petals. Apparently they got a great score on the test for not only having a unique idea but also for their skillful fusion of a multitude of lower level spells all at once.

Since this skills’ evaluation test is open to all students at the academy, I also got to see their display. It felt like a moment straight out of a fairy tale, and I can attest that it fully deserved the praise that it received.

The test is not only to evaluate our skills though, but is also used as a means to divide all the students into different skill level groups. After each pair performs, they will be placed in classes A through D depending on how well they did. And it goes without saying that Senpai was placed in class A of course. Each of the classes have a slightly different curriculum, so for the students who manage to get into class A, they no longer get to fool around with low level daily magic spells, but are now expected to learn new and more difficult magic.

And since partners will have the same score, they will inevitably end up in the same class together, which is why I would really like to refuse to be Leila’s partner.

It seems like Sarah has already anticipated this fact, and has already taken measures to avoid that awful fate.

“I’ve also heard a few things about you from Sarah. I’m sorry, but magic is really not my forte. So I was planning on not taking the test this time….”

The school doesn’t actually allow students to opt-out of taking the test, so when I said I wasn’t planning to do so, what I actually meant was that I was planning to skip that day. If you skip the test, then you are automatically placed into class D.

If we are talking about my actual skill level, according to Ashley or Senpai I should probably be placed into class A, or at the worst class B, and I do actually want to test out my skills…. But not at the stake of my own life. Maximizing my chances of surviving through my school years will always have to remain my top priority.

And with that in mind, I am always doing my best to be careful, especially in regards to Leila Morton… So how I could have ended up sitting here alone with Leila coming at me head on like this is beyond me!

It happened like this: Ashley and I had come to the dining hall to find some lunch. We found a table, I sat down, and Ashley went off to go get our food. Pretty normal. I hadn’t even caught a glimpse of Leila up until this point. But the moment that Ashley left me alone, I don’t think even 10 seconds had passed by before Leila appeared out of seemingly nowhere! Just where did she come from!? And did she just have to wait until Ashley had left me alone to finally make her appearance??

I glance around looking for Sarah, hoping she might be able to save me, but I can’t find her anywhere. Ugh, my impression of that girl has been falling more and more recently. She’s turning out to be the worst! Sure, for me cuteness means justice… but her brand of calculating cute is definitely not my type. Every single time she sees even a glimpse of me, she sics Leila on me and then turns tail and runs in the opposite direction. Usually, I just pretend not to notice her advance on me and use my feigned ignorance to make my own hearty escape but….

This time I was not so lucky. I didn’t even see Leila until she was already right in front of me. And this time Gray-Senpai isn’t around to take care of her for me.

“It won’t do for you to be negligent in your studies like that, Ojousama,” says Ashley from behind me, giving me a disapproving look. He places our trays of food on the table before walking over and guiding Leila in a gentlemanly fashion to take a seat across from me.

Just how long has he been standing behind me for him to have heard that!

But wait, more importantly than that, is it really okay for these two to be together like this?? Even if Leila wasn’t his type, seeing such a cute girl this close is bound to make anyone’s heart flutter.

“No Ashley! Don’t do it! I know I’ve been telling you that love conquers all, but that doesn’t mean you should just carelessly throw away your life like this!”

“Ojousama, I’ve long since accepted the fact that you like to make off-topic and mystifying remarks at times that I will have no way of understanding, but this time I can at least understand one thing, and on that point, I assure you, you are woefully incorrect. I have not done anything wrong, but you seem to to be planning to do just that, Ojousama. I won’t let you abstain from taking that test.”

I had stood up when I heard Ashley’s voice from behind me, but after he had guided Leila into taking a seat at our table, he also sat down leaving me to be the only one left standing so I hastily return to my own seat. I’d rather not sit next to Leila, so I make sure to sit on the opposite side of the table from her.

While I have a deep appreciation for the perfection that is her adorable appearance, considering that she practically has my life grasped in her hands, no amount of cuteness can fully offset my unease when I’m near her.

“Well, since even your servant is saying that you have to… What do you say, Cecile-san? Won’t you be my partner?”

“……? How do you know that he’s my servant?”

While he did call me ‘Ojousama’ just now, if you look at his attitude towards me, I really doubt there are many people who would just assume that he’s my servant. And the entrance ceremony was only two days ago! It’s seems highly unlikely that students not in Ashley’s grade would have already gathered information on him. Though, I’m sure two days would have been enough for all of the girls in his grade to have taken notice since he’s so good-looking.

“It’s because I’ve always been watching you. I have a pretty good understanding of the people you hang out with as well,” says Leila, smiling and giggling. Her face alone is the picture of cuteness, but somehow her expression along with her words sends a shiver down my spine.

There’s just something… off… about the way she is looking at me.

“Unfortunately, Morton-Senpai, Ojousama already has someone else in mind to be her partner.”

So Ashley already knows about Leila as well?? How? After hearing him address her so normally, I glance at him questioningly and he continues with, “I was curious about that rumor going around about you and her, Ojousama.”

“How many times do I have to deny it before people will finally believe me??”

“If it is any consolation to you, after very little inquiry I also realized the rumors were baseless….”

For just a moment, Ashley glances over at Leila.

Noticing this I secretly whisper in his ear, “And after investigating, you ended up falling in love with her, didn’t you?”

“……..”

“Hey! You’re stepping on my foot!”

Leila’s smile turns into a huge grin and instead of that cute little giggle she now laughs outright.

“I don’t mean to be rude, Cecile-san, but if I’m not wrong you don’t exactly have many friends….”

“How do you even know that?”

“Like I said, I am always watching you.”

This time the chill that ran up my spine from her words was so strong that I shivered a bit.

“So I guess I was meant to be your partner after all, seeing as you have no one else-“

“Oh! You came at just the right time, Oswell.”

The perfect time. He just so happened to be walking past our table just as Leila was pushing her invite onto me again, so I latched onto his hand without even thinking and pulled him to a stop right next to me. His friend, our new classmate (since we ended up in the same class again this year as well) who he had been searching for a table with before I stopped them, came to a halt right beside Oswell, looking utterly confused as to what was going on.

Oswell also looks quite startled as he glances down at me, but then his usual carefree grin spreads across his face and he drops his tray onto our table and takes the open seat next to me. His friend, still looking very confused, just goes with the flow and grabs the seat next to him.

“Wow, what a surprise! You actually called out to me first for once.”

“Do you have a partner for the practical skills test yet?”

Oswell’s face hardens a bit in suspicion.

“That sounds oddly close to an invitation, Miss Alldington.”

“Oh good. That had been my intention.”

“The truth is I hadn’t yet decided on a partner and I was feeling quite distraught about it. I had been worrying about that very thing when you grabbed my hand. You do seem to have impeccable timing.”

Great! I successfully avoided being Leila’s partner! Celebrating a mini-victory in my head, I turn to glance at Ashley and see that he’s glaring at me and Oswell more severely than even Leila is after she had been thus rejected. Does Ashley have something troubling him?

“Hey, didn’t you say that you’d be my partner….?” Oswell’s friend whispers frantically into his ear. His surprise at being dumped so simply came through in his voice though, making it just loud enough for me to be able to hear it too.

Oswell had probably realized I was feeling troubled and so decided to accept my request despite already having a partner. He does know that the rumor surrounding Leila and I is false, after all. He might not know all of the particulars, but he probably at least realized that me and Leila working together would be less than desirable on my part.

“Hey, you. Leila Morton. Last year we were both on the class committee, right? Remember me?”

Having been thus addressed so suddenly, Leila’s face stiffens and she gives a curt, uncomfortable nod.

“My friend was also feeling rather sad from not having decided on a partner yet. Why don’t you be his partner?” he suggests, pointing his thumb towards his buddy who had whispered in his ear earlier. Having basically forced the two into being partners, Oswell turns to his friend and with a lavish grin tells him, “Aren’t you lucky? Pairing up with such a babe.” And then, in a more subdued tone, he turns towards Leila and says, “Your kindhearted reputation precedes you. Being as nice as they say, you wouldn’t possibly be thinking of refusing, would you?” And after hearing that, Leila really had no choice but to accept.

As always, Oswell has such a way with words. He makes it nearly impossible for others to go against him.

“Well then, since that’s all settled, let us deepen our relationships. Get out of here you two. Go and get to know each other a little better.”

Wow, he’s even driving Leila away from here. Truly my hero! He’s doing such a good job with everything that it’s actually making me feel guilty for having ignored him so much up until now…. But at the same time… He’s still that frivolous, overly flirty guy that I met a year ago. One suave save cannot change my impression of him so easily.

“So is this guy your servant, Cecile?”

“Don’t point your finger at Ashley like that.”

“That name… so I am right. He is that servant you’re always boasting about.”

Seeing Oswell give him a once over, a small wrinkle starts to form between Ashley’s brows.

“Weren’t you always telling me you didn’t want to get close to any ‘ikemen’? Then what about this guy?”

“Ashley’s different.”

Hearing this, Oswell, who had been about to take a bite of food, halts his fork just in front of his mouth and snorts out a laugh, a huge smirk forming on his face.

“I’ll have you know that my Ashley is the most gentlemanly boy in the world.”

“Who are you calling ‘yours’?”

“Hey! You’re stepping on my foot again!”

“You sure are rather frivolous, Ojousama.”

“What? What makes you say that!?”

Ashley snorts and gives a derisive laugh, his expression turning into a bit of a pout in dissatisfaction. He points his index finger at my forehead and gives me a hard poke before accusing me that, “As long as they are a man, you’ll just wag your tail at anyone, huh?”

“I do not!”

This chapter is scrapped from readlightnovel.org

Having just silently watched us throughout this whole little scene, Oswell can’t help but burst out laughing.

“Someone‘s jealous.”

The wrinkle that had been forming between Ashley’s brows becomes even more pronounced when he hears this.

“Since you seem rather interested in Ojousama, you must have been ecstatic when she asked you to be her partner, Arkwright-Senpai.”

“You know me?”

“As her servant, I will of course make note of all of the people with whom Ojousama deigns to interact with.”

Ashley replies with an icy look, still stepping firmly on my foot.

“Well I know about you too, Ashley Carlyle. Cecile talks about you all the time…. About just how much she adores you like a little brother.”

“……..”

“Ow ow ow ow ow! That hurts, Ashley!”

Now he’s not just stepping on my foot, he’s actually grinding his heel into it!

“Are you trying to provoke me?”

“Well, if that’s how you took it, that’s fine with me.”

While it’s all fine and dandy to puff up your chest and show off your manly pride in front of the guys, can you at least stop taking out your frustrations on my poor, innocent foot first?

“Let’s go, Ojousama.”

“But I’ve barely had any of my lunc…… Ashley?”

Looking cold and stern, Ashley yanks me up and tugs me out of the cafeteria. As he stalks down the hallway, me in tow, his obvious foul mood shows enough on his face to make all of the other students dash out of the way, giving him a wide path to walk through.

“Where are we going? Ashley?”

“……..”

“Were you just walking away without a destination in mind?”

When we hit a dead end in the corridor, Ashley suddenly stops and turns towards me, jaws clenched. Bam!

“I’m going to get right to the point. I’m feeling rather unhappy right now.”

Oh, wow…… Kabe-don. This is my first time experiencing this. I guess since I feel so at ease being with Ashley, I don’t really mind this position. Honestly, if it had been anyone else though…. I wouldn’t even hesitate. I’d give ’em a nice sock to the jaw and worry about the consequences later.

“I am not your little brother, Ojousama. We are neither related by blood nor have I ever once thought of you like an older sister.”

“And I’ve never expected you to feel that way. I never said that I thought of you as my little brother, but rather that you are someone that is as precious to me as my family is…..”

“And I’m telling you that I don’t like that.”

………….. My ear?

Di-di-did he just…….?

“Ah…. Um…… A-….A-Ashley…..!?”

It didn’t hurt….. But it felt like…. he bit….? Like he lightly grabbed my ear in his teeth…. This r-r-really isn’t good for the heart…..

“Ashley! Even if no one ever comes to this part of the building, we are still in school…..”

“That’s all you want to say about this?”

No, of course not. Disregarding the fact that we are still in school, this amount of skinship anywhere is too much. This definitely oversteps the bounds of a master-servant relationship. And is this how he sees me?? As the sort of master who requires these sorts of…. services…. from her servant??

“Ah-… U-u-u-u-u-u-um… Thi-thi-this sort of thing isn’t good! Tha-tha-that’s what I’d like to say!”

“What sort of thing?”

“Umm, having this sort of…. physical contact…. with someone you don’t love….”

“So as long as you do love them, then it’s okay?”

Don’t talk to me with your mouth so close! I can feel your breath on my ear!

“If there’s love, then there’s no problem?”

…………………

………………….??

“Ashley? What did you do to me just now?”

“You don’t know? How can you not even know what a kiss is? Do I need to do it again to show you?”

That’s right. Just a few seconds ago, Ashley’s lips had touched mine.

“Uh….. I know….. what a kiss is….. so that won’t be necessary….”

“I see,” he says, while nodding his head. In the mean time, I carefully grab his arm and duck underneath it, sliding my back across the wall and edging out from in front of him, readying myself to flee. This is bad. This is really bad. Forget for a moment that I’m living inside of a game world and that game world is full of yanderes…. I can tell that this situation isn’t good just based off of pure, normal human instinct.

Ashley is now staring at me with an off-putting gaze similar to the one that Leila trailed on me back in the dining hall.

“Afternoon classes are… going to start soon…. so I’ve got to go!”

“Cecile-Ojousama.”

The Ashley that I know doesn’t talk with such a sexy, predatory voice or have such a mature, confident smile like that. With that sort of expression on his face, he actually seems a little scary.

“Your face is red.”

“…… That’s the bell! Gotta go!”