Chapter 17

Chapter 17

“Get off of me this instant, Leila Morton.”

“Why bother playing tough? I can hear your voice shaking~”

I want to shove her away, but the future weighs too heavily on my mind. If I do anything to her, once she finds herself a yandere boyfriend, I’ll have sealed my death warrant. So as much as I might want to force her off of me, my arms remain at my sides, frozen.

“Aren’t you going to try to resist? Don’t you hate it? Being touched like this?” she whispers as she caresses my thigh, her hot breath blowing directly into my ear.

Okay, calm down. I need to think. What’s the best way for me to get out of this situation? I can’t let Leila get injured, but I feel like if I let this continue on….. I’ll end up losing something valuable.

“Do not touch me in such a foul way.”

“Oh, so you want me to touch your skin directly? That’s quite forward of you, don’tcha think?”

Without even pausing, her fingers slip underneath my skirt.

That’s the last straw. I can’t stand this for an instant longer.

“You pervert!” I screech, smacking my hand across Leila’s cheek with a loud slap. Then, while she’s still stunned, I heave her off of me and sprint for the door, running out of the room as fast as I can.

This is bad. This is bad. This is so bad!

Why is everything falling apart?

Lesbian? Yuri? Can those cute words really be used to describe this? That demon was trying to sexually assault me!

And me? I finally raised a hand to Leila Morton! Are they going to call this bullying? Am I going to be executed over this? Even after all the effort I’ve put in thus far?

No way! Why do I have to be killed because of that pervert? What is wrong with that girl!? I can’t. I just can’t believe this. Up until literally five minutes ago I had felt bad for her. I even apologized to her! And now? I just feel like such an unbelievable fool. She’s a pervert. An incorrigible molester! I may be okay with Yuri, but that is out of the question. She’s practically a sex offender!

“Because of her–?”

I’m seriously going to die because of someone like her!?

You’ve got to be kidding me!

“Oomph-…..”

As I am rounding a corner, I run headlong into someone. As we collide, I lose my balance and am flung backwards onto the floor. I immediately start to apologize but when I look up, my breath hitches in my throat.

“You shouldn’t run like that in the hallway….. Are you okay?”

Cold eyes. Short white hair. A lightly muscled, beautiful body. A hand outstretched to help me up from the floor. There can be no mistake. The one who is standing in front of me is none other than Lufrey Wood, the capture target whose bad ending was almost unanimously preferred over the good one.

I never could have imagined I would end up meeting him here like this.

I didn’t want to meet him at all. Hoping that he’ll just forget me after this, I quickly try to jump to my feet without grabbing his hand but…..

“You, you’re Cecile Alldington, Viscount Alldington’s daughter……”

Hearing him say my name, my feet end up tangling, and I’m once again on the floor.

Why does he know who I am?? …..Oh, duh. Viscount’s daughter. What a rather unfortunate familial connection to have.

“I can’t help you but….. good luck.”

“Huh?”

Lufrey reaches down once again to help me up, this time grabbing my hand and pulling me to my feet. His eyes look at me with sympathy as he claps me lightly on the shoulder. Does he know something about me?

“Ummm……”

“It’s unfortunate that you caught Morton’s eye.”

What….. was that……?

“What do you mean? Mr. Wood?”

Lufrey, being the second son of a Count, doesn’t seem at all surprised that I know his name as well.

“I was just saying that it’s unlucky that you caught that lowlife’s interest.”

Lowlife?

I mean, it’s true that Lufrey was supposed to fall in love with Leila at first sight during the entrance ceremony…. So it’s not surprising that he should know Leila already…. He should have already fallen for her…. But, what can I say? The way he’s talking about her is a bit…. It’s almost like he doesn’t have any feelings towards her at all. At least no good ones anyway.

“Aren’t you close with her?”

“Where did you hear that from?? Besides her looks, she’s got nothing good going for her.”

“So, at least based off of appearances, she’s your type?”

“The girl literally invited me to go peek on the girl’s changing room with her.”

You know, I’ve been wondering about this for a while now but, at least for Leila, couldn’t she just confidently go into the changing room? Instead of finding other means to peep?

“And to do other vulgar acts like flipping up girls’ skirts.”

Is she a middle schooler!?

“So, did you?”

“No.”

I can’t help but wonder if he’s recalling all his horrible memories with her as his usually serious face turns angry. His hands, having balled into fists at his sides, seem to tremble in his fury and indignation.

“To top it all off, at one point she suddenly burst out saying that all good looking guys should just die, and then hit me.”

“Had you done something to her?”

“No. Nothing…… Though that had been just after Cosgrove had confessed to me. I figured it was probably because Cosgrove is her friend but……”

Is it okay for you to say that so confidently? That someone confessed to you?And it just so happens that this confession was from someone totally unexpected! I almost can’t believe it. Since when were supporting characters allowed to lay their hand on any of the heroine’s guys? But then again, it’s hardly surprising that Sarah would want to find herself a prince charming to protect her from that type of heroine.

But for Leila to suddenly explode only after finding out about Sarah’s feelings…. Could Leila’s feelings for Sarah have been genuine? And then, because her heart had been broken…. her feelings turned to those of anger and excessive desire which was why she ended up throwing herself at me?

….Can’t really say I feel bad for her. She shouldn’t have gotten me involved!

“So, then what did you mean when you said that I had caught Leila’s eye?”

“Exactly that. It seems she’s quite interested in you.”

“And even though you called her a ‘lowlife,’ don’t you still talk to her? So are you guys actually friends? Or not?”

“She always one-sidedly comes to talk to me.”

Oh. It’s not like she has any female friends to rely on… Since they’re suspicious of her being a lesbian and all.

“Look, I have nothing against same sex relationships, but you don’t actually want to be liked by her, right?”

“But don’t you want to be liked by her?”

“Maybe I would, if there was a girl that looked like her but who actually had an ounce of common sense. But with her as she is? I’ve never wanted to have any sort of relationship with her.”

It seems like the Lufrey route has completely disappeared. So that means I no longer need to worry about being killed by him. Just knowing that much, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

But that is because Lufrey doesn’t have any good feelings for Leila. If she had raised his favorability even by a tiny bit, they could have at least gotten the normal ending. They would have ended up as friends and then I wouldn’t have had to worry about the hidden character showing up or about being killed by anyone else, either!

To top it all off, I now know that Sarah really hadn’t been exaggerating when she came to my house to talk about Leila that one time. Which is definitely not something to be happy about.

“Hey! Cecile Alldington!” I hear Leila call from behind me, running in my direction.

“She was chasing after you? Sorry for holding you up.”

“No, it’s my fault for asking you so many questions, so don’t worry about it. But I’ll be taking my leave now!” I say, sprinting off in my original direction. Although Lufrey had initially chastised me for running in the corridor, now that he knows that it’s because I’m being chased by Leila, he can’t really blame me anymore, so he watches me leave without further comment.

From behind me, I can hear Leila yell, “Grab her, Lufrey!”

“Why should I listen to you?” I hear Lufrey reply, as I slip further away.

You really didn’t manage to raise his favorability by even a millimeter, did you, Leila……

And then, as I’m rounding the next corner, this time I find myself running headlong into Gray-Senpai.

“Cecile? You, weren’t you injured?”

“Not badly enough for you to worry about. You did a splendid job guiding the students to safety, Senpai. I have a lot more things I would like to talk to you about, but for now I need to prioritize my escape!”

“From who? Ashley?”

“Leila—wah!?”

Just as I finish saying her name, Gray-Senpai suddenly grabs me and shoves me none too gently into a rather familiar classroom. And, before I can even say a word, he is already shutting the door with a slam. Even though my body is still screaming in pain, ever since a few minutes ago I haven’t been able to catch a break! I’ve been thrown onto a bed, repelled onto the floor, and now shoved into a classroom….. I just want to get back to my dorm room and sleep. I can’t take this anymore. My body can’t keep up with all of this.

I lean heavily onto the door, fighting to stay upright while trying to listen to the conversation I can hear coming from outside the classroom.

“Student Council President! Um, did you happen to see Cecile-san come this way? I’ve seen you two together rather often, so I’m pretty sure you know who I’m talking about, right?”

“Ah, if you are referring to Miss Alldington, then she ran that way a few moments ago.”

“Okay. Thank you!”

With Leila faking innocence and Gray-Senpai lying through his teeth, the conversation ends quickly and then I hear one pair of footsteps run off down the corridor.

Then, without making a sound, Gray-Senpai comes into the classroom.

“What’s going on!? You idiot! Why is Leila Morton suddenly chasing you through the halls!?”

It’s not like I asked for any of this!

“She attacked me in the infirmary! She held me down, told me to take off my clothes, and was groping my legs!”

“So she’s a lesbian!?”

At this point, we are both at our wits’ ends.

“Don’t increase the probability of the hidden character showing up!” he cries, as if I was the one seducing her.

“Speaking of the hidden character…..”

That’s right. I need to tell him.

That Rona Randolph……

“…….ugh–“

“What’s wrong?”

The moment I try to say Rona’s name, a sudden wave of nausea overcomes me. A clear image of his ominous smile as he watched me earlier today pervades my mind.

That man…… he truly wanted to kill me……

The thought strikes me to the core as my whole body starts to tremble.

I try to say his name again, but this time my lips refuse to even move. It seems like the terror of that moment had finally reared its head.

“I think he…. tried to…… kill me…..”

Seeming to realize how traumatized I am, Gray-Senpai gently pats my back and lightly wraps his arms around my shoulders telling me to take it slow and that everything is going to be okay.

I take in a deep, shaky breath, and wrap my arms around myself, still trembling.

“I was most likely picked up and thrown by magic….. And when I was about to be engulfed by the flames…. that’s when I met his eyes…. and he was smiling at me… and he waved at me…..”

“Who?”

Once I say his name out loud, won’t it feel that much more real? That much scarier? But nothing can be done until I say it. And this is something bigger than just me. Senpai will also be caught up in this.

“Ro….. Ro…..na Randolph….”

Senpai’s eyes go wide.

“Are you saying that he’s the hidden character?”

“Most….. likely…..”

If he isn’t, then why would he be trying to kill me? As far as I can remember, I haven’t done anything to deserve such murderous intent.

“……Don’t worry.”

“Mm……”

Senpai’s hand, which had still been patting my back, moves to lightly grasp my shoulder as he turns to look me in straight in the eye.

This chapter is scrapped from readlightnovel.org

“He’s my little brother. So I’ll do something about him. As long as I survive, then I’ll protect you.”

Wha-……

“What are you saying?? Since when were you the type of person who says things like that!?”

“………”

Woah, he’s beet red.

“Don’t get embarrassed by something you said yourself……! Then you’ll make me feel embarrassed!”

“Uh, no, it’s just, this world seems to be having a bad influence on me. Just forget what I said. Immediately.”

“How am I supposed to do that!?”

As we stand there, both of our faces equally flushed in embarrassment, the atmosphere of the room becomes rather uncomfortable. But, thanks to that, most of the leftover trepidation I had from thinking about Rona Randolph seems to have slipped away. So am I supposed to feel grateful for this awkwardness I wonder?

Since the beginning, we never actually talked about anything besides how to avoid my death flags. I seem to forget this a lot, but Gray-Senpai really is a good guy.

“It’s that. You know. That Gray-Sama of yours.”

“That’s true. You sounded almost exactly like Gray-Sama. It’s too bad you called yourself ‘ore’. Would you try saying it again, but this time use ‘watashi’?1

“No way!”

Forcefully taking control of himself, Senpai’s face turns serious again.

“So? Have you said anything to Ashley about Rona?”

I had already told him how Ashley and Rona are friends and are sharing a room together.

“No….. I’m not really sure if it would be good to tell him.”

And even if I did decide to tell him, I’m not sure what exactly I could say to him.

Especially since Ashley had such a murderous look on his face earlier when we were talking about my near death experience. I might not have said anything to Gray-Senpai about it, but I definitely haven’t forgotten! And even if I were to explain everything to Ashley, it’s not like Rona will stop trying to kill me. Come to think of it, I still have no idea why he would even want to do that in the first place! It would be so easy to say it’s just because he’s a psychopath or a yandere, but for some reason I don’t think that’s the case.

At the very least I would like to keep Ashley out of danger, but if I were to suddenly tell him to stay away from Rona, he would definitely want to know why. Plus, those two are roommates. I don’t know if he can stay away from him.

“What should I do…? How can I protect him?”

“That really is all you think about,” Gray-Senpai scoffs, somewhat amazed.

“Protect your servant? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? You’re his master. And a woman. Can’t you just trust him instead of overthinking it?”

“No, I can’t. We have no idea what sort of power the hidden character has!”

Even if Ashley excels at literally everything, if the hidden character turns out to be some overpowered last boss sort of character then there’s no hope.

“You know? You being so nice to me today like this is kind of sickening, Senpai,” I say, changing the subject.

“Do you have to be so brutally honest?”

“It’s hard to talk to you today since you are being so nice to me.”

“Just lie if you have to! Can’t you sugarcoat things properly?”

Wait.

Oh no!

“This is bad.”

“What is?”

“Ashley….”

He had only gone to get my things. He’ll probably be getting back to the infirmary any minute. He’ll definitely be surprised if I’m not there!

“Hurry and go back! Or else he might actually kill me this time!” Gray-Senpai exclaims, guessing at my thoughts.

“And who exactly is going to kill you I wonder?”

Startled, Senpai jumps, letting out a strangled cry.

And then as one, we slowly turn to look towards the door.

“Since when have you been standing there?” I ask, worried that our previous conversation might have been overheard.

“When I was walking by this room just now, I thought I heard you call out my name, Ojousama, so I decided to come in and check. And here you are.”

He really was going to get back any minute.

Ashley, carrying two people’s worth of belongings, stares fixedly at Senpai’s hand which is still gripping my shoulder. Noticing his gaze, Senpai’s hand drops from my shoulder at the speed of sound.

“Ojousama, it seems you can’t even manage to obediently stay put and rest. At this point, I’m starting to wonder what you are actually capable of.”

“Are you mad—“

“If you can’t even see that much, then I think you should get your eyes checked.”

Oh, I see. I guess that means there’s no need for me to make an eye appointment any time soon. I can see that he looks absolutely livid, after all.

“Kaichou, this is the sort of place you choose for a licentious rendezvous?　If anyone were to find out, you might have quite the problem on your hands.”

“It was nothing like that. Miss Morton was chasing her so I was only trying to hide her here for a moment. I’ve done nothing to feel guilty about.”

“…..Morton-Senpai? I see….. I apologize. It seems we’ve troubled you.”

He believed that so easily! I mean…. If he didn’t believe that explanation, then that would have been bad, but still! I’m surprised.

“I saw Morton-Senpai through a window not too long ago. She had been leaving the building and seemed to be searching for something. Now I see that something had been Ojousama. I was careless. Through my investigations, I had already ascertained that she posed a threat as a sexual predator and that she had an inordinate amount of interest in Ojousama but…. I let my guard down since I had believed her to be asleep. This was entirely my fault. Ojousama, I will accept your admonishments later.”

Investigations? So that means that he knew she was a perverted lesbian?　That she didn’t just like girls, that she liked molesting them? He already knew she was that sort of dangerous character?

I take in a deep breath and cry, “You’re terrible! You’re so cruel, Ashley! Do you know how scared I was!?”

“That’s why I said that I’ll accept your admonishments later. And then……”

He shoves the two bags he was carrying into my hands and proceeds to take me up into his arms…. in what I believe would be called a Princess carry.

“I’ll be sure to comfort you as well. That is also part of my responsibility.”

“Jeez! If you were going to take responsibility, then why even let it happen in the first place!? Didn’t you say that you would never let anything hurt me ever again!? Not just my body but even my heart feels like it’s in tatters now. Though I can at least manage to walk by myself thank you, so you can put me down.”

“Seeing as you are both women, there’s a limit to what could have happened, so I doubt the incident was bad enough for you to be physically injured. And as my master and as someone who was struck hard enough to faint just hours ago, I cannot allow you to walk by yourself.

“But aren’t I heavy?”

“Very much so.”

“I’m as light as air, right? Rephrase your words while I’m still being nice.”

“You seem to be lighter than the couch that you like so much back at the Alldington manor.”

Is he talking about that couch? The one in the parlor that can comfortably hold three people?

“Are you picking a fight with me?”

Isn’t there anything better that he could compare me to?? And what does he mean that I seem to be lighter? He isn’t even sure!?

“I would never dream of doing something so august. I was merely trying to remain truthful.”

When did I ask you to do something august? Since when has picking a fight been something grand? And for someone claiming not to even dream of doing it, you certainly are doing a good job of provoking me.

“Kaichou. Just in case you had been referring to me earlier, let me assure you that I won’t be tempted to murder someone that easily.”

Hearing this, Gray-Senpai’s uncomfortable laughter resounds through the room, a bit too loud.

“As you might expect, Kaichou, so long as no one touches what is mine, then I will have no need to resort to violence of any sort.”

1For anyone that doesn’t know, there are a bunch of ways you can say “I” in Japanese. Gray-Senpai usually uses the masculine form of “I” (ore – 俺 – おれ) but Gray-Sama from the game uses the polite form of “I” (watashi – 私 – わたし). That’s why she wants him to say it again using “watashi” instead of “ore”.