Ikemen ni Tenseishita kedo, Cheat ha Dekimasenshita

84  The Future is Vague

Today’s weather was perfect for flower viewing. We had been preparing for it since this morning since the event itself would start at noon.

When I looked at central plaza, I could see that one corner of the place was partitioned with screen to prevent others from seeing the preparation. I peeked inside and saw Richard with the other attendants busying themselves with setting the tables, chairs, and cutleries.

In order to not disturb the attendants, who were happily making the preparation, I retreated and went back to the others who were waiting outside the partitioning screen. It would be a while before they were going to call us in after all. So, I could wait for them while enjoying the view of the sakura trees with the others.

Suddenly, I felt several eyes staring at us from the windows of the girls’ dorm. When I turned around, I saw a few girls looking at our direction. It seemed they have taken notice of us since we gathered here. Well, I supposed this was to be expected, we’re high ranking nobles after all.

Still, most of them were in a group, and their eyes as they looked at us was a little bit disturbing. Therefore, in the end, all of us entered the partitioned screen to hide from their gazes. Anyway, we wouldn’t disturb our attendants preparation as long as we stay in the corner out of their way, so it shouldn’t interfere with their tasks much.

I was quite happy to watch them worked though. In my childhood, when I attended parties, I couldn’t get close to the attendants who were preparing for it since my own attendant who followed me would stop me. Though, perhaps, he did that to prevent me from rushing towards the attendants who were making preparation and to prevent them from being reprimanded.

I could now see why though. Why, when the attendants couldn’t follow us to the school building back then when we entered the elementary division, it caused such a huge ruckus.

Not that I couldn’t understand why. I meant, the crown prince himself was there. Furthermore, there was also a line up of big shots such as the son of duke, marquis, and even count. Well, basically none of us were small fries. Additionally, we’re also accompanied by Katrina, who’s well known as the saint by the masses – albeit the person herself often said that she wasn’t the saint – along with Muriel and the others as the Saint’s companions.

As such, some of those students believed that getting along with any of us were the key to success in the future. Hence why, even though everyone’s fiance/fiancee was right there, those foolish students acted as if they didn’t exists.

Truly, I couldn’t even imagine just how much worse the situation would beif we didn’t have fiance/fiancee. Moreover, now that we’re older than back then, those kind of approaches would only intensify. Thinking back, I honestly had nothing but gratitude to our fathers who hadprepared a ‘reason’ to refuse those kinda of approaches.

Still, despite everything, when we entered second grade division, the lowest rank person among our group, Muriel, became a target because something along the line of ‘Cheeky girl who got engaged to a son of the marquis even though she’s just a mere viscount’s daughter.’

Even her status as Saint’s companion also got ridiculed.

Furthermore, those people who ridiculed Muriel acted all meek and gentle in front of me, but do they think that I failed to notice Muriel’s unusual state around them after getting bullied by them like that? Tearing her clothes and textbook aside, they even went as far as pushing her down from the top of the stairs. Although she was safe and sound since I was right there to catch her, but… had I not caught her, she might have died!

I tried to charge them with murder attempt, one that caused injury and property damage, but the homeroom teacher stopped me. The teacher told me that over-exaggerating this matter might cause problem for my father and that the matter that happened inside the academy should be solved inside the academy, making me incredibly pissed off.

To think that this kind of shi*t also happened in another world too… Alas, since Muriel also had no intention to pursue this matter even further, I used another mean to avenge her.

First, I banned them from my cat cafe by writing their name in the blacklist. My cat cafe had unexpectedly gained a fame as a store that was favoured by both Elliot and Katrina after all. So, by blacklisting those people from entering my cat cafe, I had basically forced them out of the trendy gathering place that society preferred.

As for what happened after that… well, it had nothing to do with me anymore.

Everyone also cooperate with me in insolating those students, so all was well. Though Rex did seem to think that I had gone overboard this time, but he finally agreed to cooperate after I explained to him about how they bullied MY Muriel just because they’re envious of her. I had to do something to protect her!

That was why, someone is always staying by Muriel’s side around the clock nowadays. And since boys weren’t allowed to enter the girls’ dorm, the matter of protecting Muriel was left to Katrina and the other girls. So, the bullying stopped on its own after it became widely known that bullying Muriel was equal to making an enemy of our group, which fortunately was composed of mainly the sons or daughters of big shots.

And, perhaps understanding the severity of the situation, the people who used to bully Muriel came to apologize to me with tears in their eyes.

Yes, to be exact, they apologized to Katrina and I and not to Muriel. Since they didn’t seem to realize their error, there was no reason for us to stop ignoring them. Or rather, I became even more pissed off when one of them actually had the gall to say, ‘Poor thing, you must be tricked by that viscount daughter’ RIGHT in front of my face.

At that time, Luke was so pissed off that he literally treat the one who said those words like trash. I didn’t remember what he said back then though, too deep in my own rage to properly pay attention. Anyway, in short, those people literally pissed us off so much to the point we decided to treat them as if they never existed or born.

Even Rex, who tried to protect them, became so enraged that he almost flip the table when Katrina exposed the extent of their bullying. Not only him, but the normally indifferent Elliot was also the same and didn’t try to hide his displeasure at all.

Honestly, it was only thanks to Muriel’s interference that the matter didn’t escalate even further. But well, those people aside, we didn’t do anything to them since Muriel herself has forgiven them. Still, their face paled when we told them that there was no next time.

Anyway, that was the reason why we started to use partitioning screen whenever we had a gathering. To prevent that kind of event, of having unwanted individuals from approaching our group, from repeating itself.

===

“The meals are ready,” Richard and the other attendants cued us that the preparation had finished.

Only after that we could take our seat and started the flower viewing. And I, as the first person who suggested this activity, had no choice but to do my best to act as the host even though I’m inexperienced.

“Good day, Theodore-sama,” Muriel greeted, appearing from behind partitioning screen. She would become the host along with me today.

Muriel, who had turned sixteen this year, had grown into a really adorable girl. Her big eyes with long eyelashes that sparkled as she looked at me… her small nose and pale pink lips that looked as soft as a jelly… her long, glossy, and fluffy blonde hair that gleaming like golden thread under the sunlight, not forgetting the fact that it smelt so good. She also never forgot to wear the ribbon that I personally knitted for her… not to mention her small egg-shaped face, slender but well proportioned limbs that made her looked just like a model… in short, she was a.d.o.r.a.b.l.e!

Furthermore, her height was only over 160 cm, which should make her quite tall for a girl. And yet, she was actually the shortest in the group… dammit, the people inthis group was simply much taller than the average people.

“Uhm, how does the senior high division uniform look on me?”

“It’s a perfect match! You look so adorable!”

Yup, Muriel was really cute in her new uniform. The cream colored blazer on top of her white shirt with small red ribbon on the shirt’s collar truly suited her to a tee. I could also see her beautiful, slender leg from her red checkered skirt. Perfect! On her left hand, she also wore the bracelet I made a few years ago. Truly, Muriel was so very adorable and perfect right now.

“Thank you, Theodore-sama. You also look really cool in your uniform.”

The bashful way Muriel spoke just now really hit me right in the heart. A~h, she was truly the cutest girl in the world. I was also really happy by her praise.

The boys’ uniform had the same base design as the girls’ uniform. With a cream colored blazer on top of white shirt, necktie with white, red, and navy blue strip on it complete with red checkered trousers, it truly complements the girls’ uniform to a tee.

I also brought the chick doll she gave me and put it in my blazer’s pocket. Well, not that I had any other choice. After all, these guys kept pestering me to bring them along to this flower viewing.

“You guys are the same as ever, eh?” Frederick suddenly came and interrupted us, who were immersed in our own world, with a dumbfounded expression on his face. He was wearing the same uniform as us, but unlike us, there was a school badge and green colored medal on his chest pocket that indicate his status as a third year student.

Incidentally, for freshmen like us, the medal we wore is red colored medal.

“Good day, Miss Muriel. It has been three years, is it? We rarely meet, but you seem to be as healthy as ever, and you have grown into such a beautiful girl on top of that. I really envy Theodore for having such a wonderful fiancee like you.”

“She’s mine. I agree with you about Muriel being so adorable though, so feel free to envy me to death.”

“Geez, please stop praising me like that, you two is going to make me embarrassed. — Ah, good day to you too, Frederick-sama. You seem to be healthy too. And congratulation for becoming the student council’s president.”

“Thank you. It’s not a big deal though. At most, I will just act as the mediator for the student body. You can even say that I’m actually doing odd-jobs considering I literally have to run around all over the place after I took office.”

“But that will become a part of your unofficial report and help you find job easier, right?”

It was normal for graduate from senior high division to find job somewhere else. While most of the girls immediately got married after senior high, the boys didn’t have the leeway to take it easy. They’d help their father in the office, became knight or politician, reviving the industries… in short, the boys had to get a job immediately.

Considering I had the cat cafe, that was running so well I could open a second branch in Goldberg’s territory, I think I was covered on that front. Though I might have to thank that fat cat’s merchandise that was sold like a hot cakes.

Then again, the reason that fat cat was very popular was because Katrina, for some reason, really like that fat cat to the point she even made illustration of him. Anyway, I was really surprised to find that Katrina could make such good painting. The deformed painting of the fat cat she made was ugly yet at the same time incredibly adorable as well.

As such, I decided to make her drawing as the signboard character of my store. Still, I was rather surprised that when I used printing technology to etch her drawing on the glass, coaster (small mat for placing tea mug), and mugs, the sales literally shot through the roof along with making the cat cafe even more widely popular.

The sales soared even further since people, who kept cat or dog as their pet, came to the store to buy the magic tool choker that could repel fleas. So, seeing the soaring number of profit, I decided to pay Luke the patent fee for the design of his collar and Katrina for her deformed illustration of the fat cat.

In short, you could say that I’m doing really well with the management of my cat cafe, so there was no need for me to worry about a job after I graduate senior high division. Especially since I also planned to learn about territorial management by helping my father’s job.

In Frederick’s case though, since he couldn’t be allowed to manage a territory after he graduated from the academy, he would need to find a job. So, you could say that his work as the president of the student council would be a great help for him in finding one after graduation.

“That might be the case for normal student. However, for me, it has been decided from the very beginning. I don’t want to cause any trouble too you see.”

“Has been decided?”

“Yes. I won’t be able to get an important management position, so don’t you think that the possibility of me being dispatched to manage frontier territory much bigger than staying in the royal capital? In that way, my influence in the central stage of the kingdom will be reduced greatly as well.”

Frederick said so while looking up at the sky with a lonely expression. I see. So His Majesty had already prepared Frederick’s future treatment.

Even from my perspective, Frederick was obviously an excellent personnel. However, if he recklessly showed his extremely high capability right in the center of political world of this kingdom, it would mean the obstacle for Elliot would only be raised higher and he would invite troublesome people to his door.

So, even if His Majesty was troubled by the fact that he had to send Frederick to some remote region, it would still be the best choice to do so since it would prevent Frederick from becoming the source of political chaos in the future. Additionally, it would also prevent people who wanted to support Frederick from raising a rebellion as well.

“― I see. Well, more reason to enjoy today’s flower viewing then. Just take it as your holiday.”

That was the only thing I could say to him with my current status as I couldn’t even poach him to work in my store due to those reasons.

“Thanks, I’ll gladly accept your kind invitation.”

Frederick himself didn’t say anything. Maybe he already had his own guess? Who knows.