Volume 2 - CH 12

“H-how could you, Lady Mylene, doing such a thing…”

“Oh my, but it looks quite good on you, does it not? Is there an issue with having you wear this outfit when it suits you this well, Your Highness?”

A short while later…

Albert finally returned to the classroom, teary-eyed and desperately cowering.

Not that it did him much good, since there was only so much he could hide.

“…It is rather frightening how well it suits him.”

Melissa muttered in quiet amazement as she looked over Albert’s current appearance.

After all, the Albert we beheld was wearing the same apron dress we were.

“Please do not stare so much… A prince like me should not be wearing something like this…”

“Oh dear, but I suppose if you act confidently enough, no one would ever suspect you are actually a boy. Besides, just imagine what our customers would think: ‘Look, Phoenix Class has a mysterious, new girl serving guests’. It would be a great way of attracting people, don’t you think?”

This was my revenge, after all: getting Albert to lend a hand.

But rather than helping out on the boys’ side, I would have him literally do what I had to do.

It was for this very outcome that I requested two specific things: for Albert’s tailcoat to be extra fragile, and for an extra apron dress of his size.

I wasn’t going to let him off so easily after sending me into this hell, and it was only right for me to return this favor — that was a personal motto of mine, after all.

“Th-this isn’t right, but… it really does look good…”

“What is this mysterious feeling? Am I…”

“Uuu… Uwaaa..! Lady Mylene! Please!”

And while the sight of Albert in the apron dress seemed to be opening new doors for some people, it was more like those people were simply awakening to an inclination sooner than they eventually would have anyway. If anything, they should be grateful to me for helping them discover it.

“It would be for the best if you accepted this and treated it like you would a joke, Prince Albert. Better still if you learned from this experience and improved for the future.”

“Was all this not Princess Colette’s idea in the first place?! For you to act as though you were completely uninvolved…!”

“No, no, not at all. I find this most terrible, indeed. However, since there is nothing more you can do about this situation, you may as well make the best of it.”

Albert shot a resentful glare at Colette, who was nodding her head in sagacious understanding.

Had we been in a different situation, I would have planned something for Colette as well, but… Well, while it was suitable revenge to have Albert share my fate in wearing these clothes that neither of us wanted, it was meaningless doing the same to Colette when she already willingly and happily wore the outfit.

And if the target — Colette, that is — wasn’t unwilling to do something I wanted to force them into doing, then it wasn’t revenge but failure.

“Let us end this conversation for now; it is almost time to open.”

“Oh is it that time already? Come on, Prince Albert, pull yourself together. It is almost time for work.”

“Noo, but I’m…”

Albert still continued complaining.

Well, it wasn’t like I didn’t understand how he was feeling, being forced to wear women’s clothing, but… those and these circumstances were different.

“Princess Colette is correct; besides, it is as everyone else has said: the clothes do suit you very well. So long as you act with confidence, nobody will realize it is you wearing those clothes, Prince Albert… So whether the others discover you are some deviant prince with a penchant for women’s clothing or simply a mysterious, unnamed beauty that happened to appear during this Festival of Sages is all up to you.”

He had come this far already, dressing up and returning to the classroom. It would be far more embarrassing if he were to shy away or quit now.

Besides, it wasn’t like Albert had never done this before; he did this twice already, so he shouldn’t be complaining now.

“We are opening now! There are already plenty of people already waiting outside!”

Unfortunately, even as Albert was paralyzed in confusion, another cry came through the classroom.

Ironically, we were actually in a better position overall this way, and now that it was time to begin, it would be a huge waste if we didn’t take advantage of it for even better results.

“Here we go then! The Phoenix Class’s Cafe Aurora is now open!”

With the announcement of our rather exaggerated name, the door to our classroom opened, revealing an already growing line of students.

It was as though the entire student body, minus the ones handling their own class, had come to our classroom.

…We needed to get fired up, too. I glanced over at Melissa and Colette before shooting Albert a quick glare.

Melissa and Colette nodded. Albert still showed slight hesitation.

“Welcome to Cafe Aurora!”

But we still gave a beautifully synchronized greeting.

And we spread our arms wide, like we were affectionately welcoming them in.

There were a few bewildered gasps at first, but countless charmed sighs quickly drowned them out.

“Welcome! And how many are in your party?”

“Um, uh… err, f-four people…”

I understood why they were so enraptured, but I had to keep them moving; our business turned over fairly small profit margins — though we did charge more than the average teahouse — so we needed to quickly cycle through as many customers as we could to maximize our earnings. Rather than a respectful one, I used a more lively tone — one that matched our cafe’s atmosphere — as I guided the first group of dumbfounded boys to their table.

“While there is only one item on our menu, you can choose among the jams we have available to go with your tea cakes.”

“Uh, then.. I’ll have the st-strawberry…”

“M-me too…”

There was one thing on the menu: the tea set. The only choice our customers could make was the kind of jam they wanted with their bannock.

We wanted to make everything as simple as possible, and so we decided to only serve the most basic tea and cake — the kind that often appeared during a young lady’s etiquette lessons.

But nobody had yet to complain about the price, which was about twice as much as it would be anywhere else.

“Just now, did you see that..? That… that was Miss Mylene’s smile..!”

“She’s so beautiful, but I was always too scared to try approaching her… I never knew she could smile like that…”

That increased price paid for the service our customers would receive.

As a former man, I understood very well how these boys were feeling; there was a strange sort of attractive charm in seeing a cute girl act completely different compared to how she usually did.

The enraptured looks on their faces told the whole story — that they were in a lost in an ecstatic, waking dream of their own making.

“One blueberry jam with marmalade. Will that be all?”

“Y-yeah!”

“And your order is three blueberry jams. Understood.”

“Y-yes!”

The others seemed to be getting positive responses, too.

That is, both the younger-looking, innocent Melissa as well as the dignified and elegant Colette were.

And for any tables Colette handled, the customers probably felt any price was worth it if they in turn got to experience being served by royalty.

Actually, speaking of being served by royalty…

“Th-three strawberry jams. Th-thank you for your order…”

Albert seemed to be doing well.

Normally it was inacceptable behavior that he practically ran away from tables after taking their order, but…

“Hey, about that girl that took our order… you guys ever seen her before?”

“I’m not sure, but… man, she sure is cute…”

“And so precious…”

His shy, skittish behavior was a major hit with some of the other boys.

Well, it was best for them to enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime dream as much as they could; it was sure to end a bittersweet memory after today.

And really, it all just proved how perfect Albert looked while wearing women’s clothing; if they weren’t told the truth — well, no, even if they were told the truth, Albert still looked like a cute girl.

So everyone seemed to be doing fine; I didn’t need to keep an eye out and could get back to performing my role.

“Thank you for waiting! Here you are, four Aurora Tea Sets with strawberry jams. Enjoy!”

I returned to my table and began serving the ready-made tea and cakes with their specified jam.

The boys gave a cheer of excitement as I handed each set out.

…I was aware of how well my face suited this role, and most men would react this way if a woman wearing such stylish clothes smiled at them.

They excitedly but deliberately dug into their tea cakes, eating slowly; it was unlikely they even tasted it in the first place.

Now all we had to do from here was to keep the flow of customers moving, sending the finished diners out while welcoming the new ones in. It was easy enough to handle once we got used to it.

“Thank you very much for coming! Next guests, if you would, please come this way!”

We kept alternating between seeing off guests and bringing in more; the constant movement kept us all quite busy.

But that just meant we were making a good bit of money; it wasn’t bad at all to see how well our business was flourishing, either.

“Ahh… Her usual, dignified expression is great, but this…”

“That same smart Lady Mylene is…”

What more did I have to add? Actually, being able to lead people around like this felt quite unexpectedly good.

Of course this was all just a bit of roleplay, but as someone who was once pushed around with a bit of money, there was a kind of dark pleasure in being able to push back against similar nobles myself.

Still, it wasn’t like I could suppress all of my embarrassment, so I didn’t think this kind of thing was for me.

I shook my head lightly to refocus on my task.

The number of customers coming and going never let up, but soon it came time to change shifts.

“Mylene, it’s time to switch. We can stop for now.”

“Of course. Let us go then.”

I turned to Colette with a smile and heard disappointed sighs from all around.

Well, Romelda and Elmira, who would be taking over after us, were beauties in their own right. Of course, it wouldn’t have been as remarkable as being served by royalty or more prominent nobles, but they, together with the boys, should still do quite well.

“No way! Lady Mylene is going away?!”

“Oh no, is Princess Colette leaving too?!”

Surprisingly, there were quite a few girls here when I, Colette, Melissa, and Albert were working — that is, a group that appealed more to the boys.

“Fufu, it makes me happy to know you were looking forward to our service, but we cannot spend all of our time working; today is the Festival of Sages, so we want to have time to ourselves for that, too. We will return later, however, so please come visit again.”

“Y-yes! Of course..!”

“We will come back later for sure!”

…Huh, Colette was really getting into her role. I hadn’t expected that much out of her.

She was a girl, but there was a strange, masculine charm to her, too. Well, it was probably the influence of an education and upbringing focused on standing above everyone else.

And she would go on to become the empress that led one of the most powerful forces in the world, so really, all of this was just a sign of what was to come.

“So with that, everyone, we beg your pardon as we excuse ourselves. If the future permits, we shall meet again.”

“I will definitely come back!”

“Me too! No matter how many times it takes!”

…Stranger still was how I wasn’t losing to Colette in terms of popularity, either. All I had done so far was act as ladylike as possible at the Academy, and things ended up this way somehow.

It was with those unsettling thoughts in mind that I followed the others to the back of the classroom, an area behind a partition of curtains.

“So we will be counting on the two of you for the next shift, Miss Elmira, Miss Romilda.”

“Ahaha, it might be a little tough having to pick up where you left off, Lady Mylene.”

“But we shall do our very best. You need not worry about us as you enjoy the Festival.”

After seeing them off, I grabbed my regular uniform.

I didn’t plan on staying all dressed-up like I was for the entirety of the Festival, or, at least, I wanted to get out of it during my break.

“Oh, you are changing back?”

“Yes, I am. I would like to relax while not on service duty.”

“But you were so cute…”

“All the more reason.”

I quickly cut off Colette’s and Melissa’s snide remarks.

Albert remained unusually quiet for some reason until…

“Uh, um… What should I do..? I think I might… stand out too much if I went back to the men’s changing room like this…”

Heh, it looked like he was finally getting a taste of what I was feeling.

“…Well, if you want to change clothes, you will just have to do it here, behind the curtains.”

“Oh no… There does not seem to be any other choice but this…”

He couldn’t simply go into the men’s changing room looking like he did now, dressed in women’s clothing.

In other words, things were actually more difficult for Albert because he actually was a boy underneath the clothes he wore.

Well, whatever; this was exactly what he deserved.

“We will be headed to the changing room then. We will return to the classroom afterward, so we can meet back then.”

“Okay…”

By now he should have learned quite well the kinds of things that would happen if he betrayed me.

There was just something about seeing such immediate results that had me feeling real good, and it was in high spirits that I left a depressed Albert behind in the classroom.

◆

After changing clothes and meeting up with Albert, the four of us began our walk around the Academy to see the Festival.

According to the booklet I received, there were a number of stores all grouped together.

Of course, they were shops intended for nobility as customers, so I wasn’t interested in browsing them. However, considering they were our competition, it would be worth our time scouting them out.

“Ugh… That was so terrible of you, Lady Mylene. From when had you begun planning all of that?”

“Oh, that? From the very beginning, obviously. But could you really blame me? I was forced to do so after Your Highness suddenly went and pulled the rug out from under my feet.”

Unconvinced, Albert poked his fingers together in a slight pout.

In a way, I was doing it for him, and I was quite happy to have gotten him to understand a bit of my suffering.

“How very thorough. What a frightening woman you are.”

Melissa gave a scornful look, but her reproach wasn’t anything I was concerned about.

Besides, no matter how old a person got, pulling off a successful trick was always deeply satisfying.

“Yep, that’s me: a terribly stubborn, frightening woman, one you would do well not to anger.”

“True enough, and one whom others should avoid doing anything that could make you their enemy.”

“Exactly. In fact, it should be the opposite: they should be trying to build a good relationship with me.”

“On that, we both agree.”

I replied undaunted, caring not about the venom in her words.

Well, though I answered rather flippantly, the truth was that I really did want to keep a good relationship with Melissa.

After all, her power as the Oracle seemed to be real — no, it was real: I had already seen for myself what it could do. Still, it wasn’t like I wanted to get Melissa involved in any trouble I run into, but it was possible that there may come a time where I really needed her help.

…Then again, that only worked if ol’ Iltania was willing to lend a hand in the first place — like back when Colette had been kidnapped. It sure would’ve been helpful if we could’ve gotten one of those readings to learn where she had been taken, sparing us the trouble of having to figure it out ourselves.

It was good nothing that couldn’t be taken back had happened in the end, but it had been quite close; if we had been even a little later, this world would have come even closer to that future in Iltania’s ‘message’…

“So where shall we go first?”

“Hmm, browsing the shops here does not sound very interesting, so… what about performances? I would like to see what the other classes have done.”

“Ah, then how about starting with the second-year classrooms? There is a play being put on there, and it is almost time for the next showing to begin.”

…and furthermore, we would have never gotten here, laughing and having a good time together.

It was all actually quite fascinating.

As we were now, Melissa was already a part of our group, and as much as I didn’t want her to be caught up in my situation, I was sure that there would come a time when I would have to explain everything and ask for her cooperation.

Still, I hadn’t so much as seen even a hint of those guys being around at all lately; if my worries were just baseless fears, then all the better.

Better yet, if they stayed quiet until after we graduated from the Academy, I would be able to handle them by myself then.

“Are they? I am a little curious now. Shall we go and see their play then?”

“Indeed. let us see what that class has to offer, seeing as they have chosen to provide entertainment like ours have!”

Until then, I would appreciate it if they continued doing nothing…

I cleared my throat as I watched Colette stride forward, taking the lead.

…because right now, for even a little longer, I wanted to enjoy these moments.

◆

To summarize, the play was terrible.

Well, that was to be expected; the Festival only lasted so long, so they had no choice but to shorten a script to perform throughout the day, resulting in an incoherent mess of a play, to say nothing of the unflattering skills of amateur actors.

Nevertheless…

“Ahaha! That was so bad! Especially that crying scene at the end! I should be praised for holding back my laughter!”

“And the plot progression was amazing in all the wrong ways… I did not expect a god to suddenly appear at the very end to solve everything.”

“To be honest, I could not understand what was happening at all.”

We were now resting at the dining hall, enjoying a light snack and a pleasant chat about the play we had just wasted our money on.

It was strange really; at first, I had hoped that the Festival would end faster, but now I was enjoying spending time like this. There were so many things to talk about that we wouldn’t be able to cover them all before the day was over.

“Hm, I just realized that it is just about time for us to return. We spent more time talking than I expected.”

“Oh no… I will have to put that outfit on once again…”

But of course, time passed faster in good company, and before we knew it, our break time would be ending, and we would have to return to work.

Or maybe it was better to say that time went by faster when there was something unpleasant waiting in the future… Well, not that I thought so; I really did enjoy the time I spent with Albert and the girls.

“…Fufu. It will only be for this one day, Your Highness. Why not try cutting loose and just enjoying it?”

And that was the truth: an event like this may never come again. That was why I decided I make the most of it and try acting out ridiculously for a day.

Besides, this was nothing compared to the kinds of antics drunks would get up to at a banquet. Those guys would do unspeakably embarrassing things — things that would make them never want to show their faces out in the world ever again — and yet they continued on with their lives like it was normal.

“Uh, well… m-maybe? When you put it that way, it does sound like you are correct.”

“It certainly is true that you will no longer have the chance to dress as a woman once you have returned to the palace, Your Highness.”

“Huh? Miss Melissa?! Please, if you could speak a little softer when talking about such things!”

Albert panickedly tried to quiet Melissa after hearing her remarks, but his exaggerated reaction began drawing more attention to us instead.

Nobody had realized yet that a certain mysterious beauty was actually our little prince here, but if he kept acting out like this, someone might eventually figure it out.

Well, he’s probably learned his lesson well enough by now, so I could let him off after just this much.

“Miss Melissa, may I–“

May I have a moment? — or so I wanted to ask, if not for a sudden interruption.

A roar like stone being shattered echoed through the air. A low, rumbling tremor followed it, sending buzzing vibrations across the body.

“Wh-what’s going on?!”

“What was that noise just now?!”

Students all around us began standing like something had knocked them out of their seats. They looked around, eyes swimming toward the ceiling as though trying to pinpoint the source of the sound and shaking.

…Just now, that had to have been the sound of an explosion. To be more precise, it was the sound of something being destroyed by an explosion.

“…Mylene.”

“Shh, let us wait for a bit.”

Colette was the first to notice the abnormality.

It wasn’t just for noise; there was hostile intent behind that act. Colette probably noticed it because of her upbringing as a princess of a military-focused empire, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if she had experienced something similar in training before.

As the panic began to grow, our group sat quietly with bated breath, waiting for the next sound.

…And after a short pause, a bell began to toll.

That bell was the school’s emergency alarm — the Academy had also realized it as well, that anomaly.

“Is that..?! What is happening, Lady Mylene..?”

“I do not know yet. However… It is likely that the Academy is under some sort of attack.”

That was the anomaly here: that the Academy, where the children of nobility have all gathered, was under attack.

Suddenly, another sound of an explosion came through the dining hall, sending the room into complete hysteria.

“Augh?! No..!”

“Aiiee..! Wh-what’s happening? Where are the guards?!”

Since the sound had come a second time, there was no denying it wasn’t just an accident or coincidence.

And the other students most likely came to this same conclusion, causing them to panic as the reality sunk in.

“Could it be… ‘them’?”

“I can’t say for sure. Still, we shouldn’t just stay here doing nothing like this.”

I didn’t give a clear answer to Colette’s question because there wasn’t enough information to guess, but I believed she was right anyway.

It seemed a little hasty for them to be making this kind of move now… Back then, Colette’s kidnapping apparently hadn’t been planned at all, but they hadn’t done anything to her because they were careful about making a decision too quickly. But now this? Attacking the Academy, where the children of nobility gathered for education? Those guys would be attracting the enmity of every country across the land.

The incident back then compared to now were far too different; it was such an inconsistency that I could believe this was some other group, or that those guys weren’t as monolithic as I thought.

…Well, between the two, I would have hated to know that there were other groups just as crazy as the Gods of the Moon that would do this kind of thing.

“‘Them’..?”

“…I will explain everything to you once we have settled things here.”

And if those guys really were showing themselves again, I couldn’t hide any of it from Melissa for any longer. But that would come later; now was not the time to explain.

“I will go on ahead and find out what is happening. Princess Colette, Prince Albert, could I ask for the two of you to calm everyone here down?”

It wouldn’t bring me any joy to sit around twiddling my thumbs and watching the damage spread; I would much rather find the enemy — no matter how harmless they might actually be — and beat them into submission.

But in order to do that, I first had to get the situation under control, which was why I asked Albert and Colette to handle the panicking students. However…

“What are you saying? I will be coming with you.”

“And I will do the same. It is finally time to demonstrate the results of our training!”

…I expected this to happen, that the two of them would follow me.

Damn it all.

“Might I remind the two of you that…”

“If this is about our status, then let it rot, for all it has been worth. But if you must insist on it, then consider this: is there a safer place for us to be than by your side?”

Albert nodded along to what Colette was saying.

…Ugh, it just had to happen that only when they made trouble for me did they display such good teamwork together.

But there was truth to her argument, and at the very least, both Colette and Albert should be stronger than any common riffraff, so they wouldn’t really be getting in my way.

It would be a different story if we ran into two people on Pelmann’s level, at the same time, but in that situation, I wouldn’t be able to do anything about it on my own, either.

“Fine, I get it. But we don’t have time for any arguments, so let’s get going.”

In the end, I relented and allowed them to come with me.

We needed to start moving; things would get even worse if a third explosion were to happen while we were stuck arguing over nothing.

“Ah..! Then I will also..!”

“Miss Melissa, please stay here. I know how you must feel, but please understand that we do not have the luxury of bringing along anyone who cannot defend themselves.”

“Ugh…”

But it was different for her, as well as anyone else who didn’t know how to fight.

Unable to deny my rejection, Melissa held back from speaking further and stayed quiet.

“Now, before we leave, could you do something about the students, Princess Colette? Maybe say something to calm them down?”

“Hm? Oh, of course, leave it to me… Everyone, listen up!”

Colette brought an arm forward with an exaggerated motion, like a conductor beginning to signal.

Her dignified, imposing voice cut through the chaos in the room, instantly silencing the noise.

“I understand you all must be extremely confused about what is suddenly happening! But worry not! We will be going to find a teacher! Until then, please remain calm and wait patiently for our return!”

Colette’s declaration caused another stir to ripple through the dining hall. Soon enough, even that quieted down, and silence once again descended upon the room.

For her to calm down a room full of panicking people with just a few words was a testament to how charismatic she was.

Having accomplished what I asked of her, Colette turned around to face us, with eyes gleaming proudly and head held high with a satisfied grin on her face.

“I expected no less from you, Princess Colette.”

“Fufun, this much is nothing, of course!”

It would have been a perfect performance if not for that proud puff at the end, but it would be interesting to see if that changed in the next ten years.

Still, doing this would keep the students from running away in panic and wandering needlessly.

And with that, we quickly made our move.

We left the dining hall behind and came into an empty hallway. There was something eerie about seeing this corridor, usually full of people, completely devoid of life…

“Somehow, nobody else is out here wandering around.”

“It’s smarter not to. They might have realized it’s more dangerous to come out than to stay in.”

And if something did happen to someone who had come out here, we should hear it.

The fact that we neither saw nor heard anything meant no one had done anything reckless yet.

Really it was a fortunate miscalculation that these brats were a little smarter than I gave them credit for. With that in mind, we could keep moving as planned, without worrying about being sidetracked.

“…Seems good. Let’s keep moving, but don’t let your guard down.”

“Yes.”

“Of course.”

I reminded the two of them for good measure before I started walking down the hallway.

Now then, what was waiting for us, I wondered; what would happen this time…

I reflexively clicked my tongue to vent my growing anticipation.