It must have been my imagination. My sense of perception must have been out of touch.
I shifted gears and issued instructions to everyone while striking my hands.
Today was the opening day of the school festival.
The preparations for my cafe went perfectly.
“Aright, it’s the first day of the school festival. Give it all you’ve got, fellas. Also, you two ladies shouldn’t forget to take a proper break and enjoy the school festival.”
Once I said that, Daniel and Raymond gave a boorish complaint.
The two were in charge of the kitchen behind the curtains.
“Do you really expect us to work the whole time?”
“We demand you make this a part-time job, then.”
In contrast, the girls seemed tense.
“Anjie, I’m nervous.”
“I too am inexperienced with something like a cafe. However, I think it’ll be a bit fun, so──”
When I saw the two waitresses seemingly having fun chatting, the door opened and a bell installed near it rang.
I made my best smile and faced the guest.
“Welcome to──”
“Anjelica, you’ve been called by the executive committee.”
I thought it was a customer, but it was a busy teacher who came to summon Anjie.
Anjie tilted her head.
“They have business with me?”
“Yes, they said it was urgent. Please head to the main office soon.”
The teacher went away, and left towards wherever they were going next.
Anjie was troubled.
“Sorry. I’ll take care of this business quickly and come back.”
We had set up a mood that had gotten everyone psyched, and yet she got summoned soon afterwards.
How pitiful it must have been for Anjie.
Livia clenched her fist.
“It’ll be fine! I’ll do my best until you come back, Anjie!”
Seeing Livia’s determination made her seem a bit divine to me somehow.
I wanted a photograph of her raising her hands into the air to cheer everyone on.
I’ll ask Luxon for it later.
Anjie let out a smile. With that smile, she started heading out.
“In that case, I’ll also do my best to come back here as soon as possible. Leon, don’t do anything too rash.”
In this case, she meant not to do anything cruel towards the customers.
She somehow came to the conclusion that I was going to do that.
“Do you not have any faith in me?”
Anjie laughed.
“You overdo things too quickly. I’ll be back.”
Anjie was no longer in the cafe.
Livia was surprised at what she saw past the door.
“H, huh? Leon, I can kind of see a line being made.”
What a coincidence.
I could also see one.
There was a long line leading towards the neighboring classroom.
â—‡
“My Queen, I’ll be troubled if you say something that absurd.”
The one who Anjie was meeting while wearing a maid uniform turned out to be Milaine, who seemed to be simple-mindedly enjoying the school festival.
Milaine apologized to Anjie by saying “My apologies.”
“However, please bear with my selfishness for today. It was quite tough for me as well to bring myself here and ask something from you. It’s about that baron you’ve been keeping your eye on.”
When hearing that, Anjie went silent.
Milaine hugged Anjie while enjoying the atmosphere of the school festival.
“This is my first time at a school festival! Also, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you in a maid dress, Anjie. I’m only used to seeing it since you were studying under me in the past.”
“I, I’m very grateful for the many things that happened back then.”
When Anjie was studying manners through apprenticeship at the royal palace, she was practically Milaine’s attendant.
Though, she made many blunders as a young child at that time.
She was more of a child back then compared to how she was now, so she had a fierce personality and many extreme sides to her.
(Recalling those days is embarrassing.)
When she was very young, she didn’t understand the world, took the wrong attitude, and caused all sorts of trouble for Milaine.
Her embarrassing memories having resurged, Anjie averted her gaze away from Milaine. Milaine seemed delighted seeing Anjie like that. It appeared that she was teasing her.
(I don’t think I’ll ever be a match for this person in my entire life.)
Then, she turned her attention towards her surroundings.
Milaine’s guards monitored them while dressed as guests, blending into the school festival.
“At any rate, the academy is amazing. My motherland didn’t have one.”
While Milaine seemed to be having fun, Anjie talked to her.
“Is that so?”
Milaine was a queen who originally came from another country, but marriage brought her to the her current one.
She would normally have a modest position, but her resourcefulness allowed her to obtain power within the royal palace.
Anjie’s formal engagement to Julian was by Milaine’s approval.
Milaine looked at Anjie’s face.
“It seems your complexion is a lot more peaceful than how it was at the title-bestowing ceremony. You’ve definitely improved now.”
(It seems she can easily see another’s naivety. What a frightening person.)
Anjie replied while thinking about how she was no match for this opponent.
“I’ve been enjoying my student life, after all.”
Milaine thought for a bit and then asked a question.
“Could it perhaps be because of Leon, the one you’re meeting afterwards?”
Anjie slightly blushed and answered.
“That’s not it. Leaving that aside, did you really come here incognito just to meet Leon?”
“Of course not. Julian’s disinheritance was by his own decision, but as his parent, I’d like to at least give a word of complaint. It’s also a problem that he chose to participate in the duel so quickly. However, what I don’t like was what happened. It was so cruel, I couldn’t say a word.”
“I’m sorry about my representative.”
What Leon did during the duel was cruel to the point that Anjie apologized for it.
He forced Julian and the others to yield using his overwhelming power, and to make matters worse, he went as far as to chastise them.
At that time, Julian was the crown prince. Someone looking down on such a person while criticizing him made the situation even worse. Normally, something like that would never happen.
Someone who did that would usually receive a large punishment.
However, on the contrary, Leon was proclaimed as a success that accomplished a great feat.
However, there was one thing.
(It seems the queen really is bearing a grudge.)
Anjie understood that even if Milaine had tolerated Leon’s actions in front of the public, she personally couldn’t forgive him. After all, Julian was Milaine’s son.
Leon had forced a bitter experience onto Julian.
Perhaps she didn’t let her emotions get the better of her.
(However, she’s definitely amazing. She’s able to suppress her emotions to such a degree.)
In addition, it remained unchanged how generous she was to pardon Leon in front of the public.
That was Milaine.
“Since he has been appointed as a knight in the kingdom, we will also have to bear responsibility for his actions from now on. That’s all I will say.”
“Please forgive him for his harsh language. Leon can’t help it.”
Anjie, you’ve become kind. In the past, I had talked about how you wouldn’t listen to what I would say. Or perhaps the matter regarding Julian still affects you?”
“I can’t say for certain that it doesn’t.”
Seeing how it was still affecting Anjie, Milaine spoke in a kind tone.
“I’ll apologize as his mother. I’m sorry, Anjie. All things considered, I wonder how that child was led astray. He never had that sort of behavior in the royal palace.”
Milaine could say that when in he was in the royal palace, he went as far as to be on guard against women that tried to approach him.
“According to his Highness, the aura of normality from a student is pleasing for him. He also said for us to understand that.”
Milaine was troubled when she heard that.
“I wouldn’t understand something like the normal lives of students. I’ve never been to the academy myself, after all. However, based on what I heard about the academy──it’s a cruel place.”
The cruelty Milaine referred to was the attitude of the girls.
The two could see a girl fighting in front of a stall.
“Hang on, you expect to earn money with something like this? It should be free.”
“T, that’s going to be a problem.”
Girls were leaving stalls run by boys while not paying.
To make matters worse, many of the girls brought sub-race slaves to coerce them.
As someone who came from a foreign country, it was a very strange sight for Milaine.
“This is really cruel.”
“How shameful.”
The two headed towards the Leon’s cafe while looking around the school festival.
Milaine’s expression stiffened when seeing the cafe.
“So this is the location──it seems that the neighboring cafe is doing massively well.”
There was a cafe next door that had a long line.
In contrast, despite Leon’s cafe having guests, there wasn’t a line.
Anjie was a little puzzled.
(Perhaps we can look at his Highness’ exhibit later. No wait, since we’re travelling incognito, perhaps it would be better to avoid it? His Highness wouldn’t be able to calm down if he saw me with her.)
Milaine grabbed Anjie’s hand.
“Now, let’s go and give Leon some trouble. You’ll cooperate too, Anjie.”
“Err, um, having me cooperate is a little unreasonable. I’m a waitress here.”
“It’ll be fine. It’ll be fine! Just complain about the black tea being lukewarm or something like that. At least have him remake it three times. I’ll forgive him after that.”
While Anjie thought about how there were enough troublesome guests already, the two entered the cafe to stumble upon a scene.
“The black tea is lukewarm! Remake it!”
A cup was thrown at Leon, soaking him in tea.
His clothes were quite battered and there were traces of other substances on it. At any rate, he found himself in a cruel situation.
Leon’s facial expression wasn’t visible, as he had hung his head.
Livia looked like she was going to cry.
“Leon, I’ll take care of your──”
However, Leon stopped Livia with his hand, as if telling her to step back.
Then, he faced the schoolgirls to apologize.
The other party were a group of very flashy schoolgirls and their followers.
“My apologies. I’ll go and make another one right away.”
After saying that, when Leon crouched down to pick up the tossed cup, the girls got up and trampled on the back of his head while grinning.
Daniel and Raymond casted their eyes downward in frustration while looking at the situation from the kitchen.
Although it was cold-hearted to not help out a friend, the academy was a special environment where girls held a dominant position.
Knowing that, Leon didn’t try to look at the two, nor did he try to appeal to them.
“This really is nice. We didn’t come here for the tea leaves anyways, so we’ll take our leave. Since you’ve brought out such unappetizing tea and sweets to us, we won’t be paying, okay? Or rather, shouldn’t you be the one paying us instead?”
A girl took the heels of her leather shoes and grinded them on the back of Leon’s head. Her friends and their exclusive servants laughed at him.
While Leon was being trampled down on, he took a posture that was as if he was prostrating.
“Please pay in the future.”
“Huh? How much money do you plan on ripping us off through? There are even girls who had to sell their exclusive servants to repay their debts! Get that in your head!”
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In the first place, the debts weren’t Leon’s responsibility, it was those girls’ own circumstances that led to them selling their slaves.
In shock, Milaine couldn’t even let out a voice.
She was taken aback by the overly cruel situation.
“Huh?──Huh?”
She repeatedly looked at both Leon and Anjie, wanting an explanation of what just happened.