Cold and Late-Night Experiments

“I don’t… know how to break the ice.”

“Lord, why don’t you just speak normally? I bet that’s what she’s waiting for anyway.”

Every time I consult with Coote, he says the same thing. But if I could do that, I wouldn’t have any trouble. I want to make things right, too. I quit shutting myself away after a little over a month, but by then a delicate distance had formed, and I had to live with that distance. I have not had a single conversation with her since then, but living as a needle in a haystack in a strange land was enough to exhaust my mind.

The day after I consulted Coote, I caught a cold. The doctor told me that I was suffering from a lot of anxiety. I must have taken studying abroad too lightly. Stress was outside my awareness. It wasn’t enough to make me feel it, but a lot must have accumulated over time. It was probably the result of the fight with Alicia and the stress at school that inflated everything.

I think I’m a thick-skinned person. I don’t mind if students or teachers say something about me, unless they are putting Alicia or others down. I don’t mind it too much when people say things about me. But there is no doubt that Alicia is important enough to make me physically ill. I have been having trouble sleeping lately, and I’m having trouble concentrating.

“Princess… please forgive me.”

“Don’t worry about it. I didn’t know what to do either. It was my first time, so I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to talk more, I wanted to get back to the way we were before, but I didn’t have the courage to talk. I think this is a good opportunity. I look forward to working with you in the future… although I still have a bit of trouble forgiving you about tattling on me to Madame.”

Alicia also looked worried, but she seems happy that we have made up. It’s not that I’m seriously ill, and the cold itself is not an uncommon illness. The result of my self-diagnosis is just a cold and there is no concern about pneumonia or other illnesses, so I will get better after taking medicine and resting for a few days.

“… Thank you very much. Also, I heard that His Highness was caught outside the dormitory. He was worried about you and tried to break into the women’s dormitory, but was caught by the guards.”

“Leave that one alone. He should let himself be lectured for a while. When you get a chance, tell him that it’s just a cold and I will be fine in no time.”

“Understood.”

The Madame thing was passed over with a bit of a wry smile. Well, I guess Alicia’s position made it impossible for her to ignore it. I don’t know if I can forgive her for that, but it’s part of the job, so I have no choice. So I just had to avoid it on my own.

“However… I’m sorry that I brought you so much trouble, Princess.”

“That’s enough.”

Just when I thought my expression returned to normal, it darkened again. It’s not only because of the fight with Alicia. I can’t deny that I was getting sick of the school.

I guess I strained myself too much… or perhaps the life of a young lady is too stiff for me. I am disgusted by the mannerisms around everything. I am royalty, so I will have to continue this life for the rest of my life unless the country disappears, but I remembered that Arland is actually a very loose country in that regard. Arland is basically a cozy country if it is not in public places, and many people do not speak respectfully to me in private… Citizens talk to me normally, even if they know who I am.

“Take some time off. I’ll call in sick until you’re better.”

“Speaking of which, what happened to the Old Master Ignace’s matter?”

It’s been a while since we last spoke about his medical examination, but nothing has happened yet.

“That… he was hospitalized with back pain a few days before the scheduled date, and after he heals he will be giving a lecture in another country, so he just can’t make time for us. He will be back in a while, and after that he has no public engagements for a while.”

Hmm… he’s obviously an older gentleman, so back pain is probably inevitable. Besides, the lecture afterwards was scheduled before my diagnosis, so I guess he couldn’t change it. There is no rush. I can perform self-diagnosis based on the medical art of my previous life, so I have confirmed that there is nothing wrong with my body… although I don’t know how magic power affects the body since I have knowledge of a world that has no concept of magic.