The whispers of the surrounding people could be heard. A lot of gazes focused on me and Yurii-sama, whose hand I was holding.
However, no one came up to us. Even though he was not one of the successors for the throne, Yurii-sama was still part of the royal family. Since one shouldn't thoughtlessly call out to them. It probably seemed strange that I'm with him.
Yurii-sama was looking around at the school that he's never been to before, completely ignoring them.
「It's smaller than the castle.」
「That's true.」
「It's much bigger than Mira's house!」
「Araa, aren't you honest?」
Even without comparing them, the school building was bigger than our tiny mansion. It's fine, it's fine. Even if someone, not just Yurii-sama, said this to me, I wouldn't be upset. Being honest is part of being a kid.
「It's my first time waking up this early.」
「When you need to go to school, it won't be good if you don't wake up around this time every day….If it's too hard, you don't have to force yourself to go to school, ok?」
I'm not blaming him at all. Besides, they say that sleep brings a child up well, so rather than having Yurii-sama study so early in the morning, I would prefer that he sleep. Alan-sama is tall, so he should grow up to be a tall and handsome young man if he has a regular childhood.
「Mira doesn't want to be with me?」
「I don't want to be separated from you, not even for even a moment.」
Children at this age grow in a blink of an eye. Even my younger cousin, every time I see him, he grows taller and taller. Dia said that for boys, a certain part grows quickly.
Of course, it is not possible for a painter to record his every moment. Yurii-sama growing bigger in a place that I don't know makes me a little sad.
「Me too, Mira!」
「Waah oof!」
I fell onto my back when he pounced on me. Well, isn't it fine? Yurii-sama, with his arms around my neck, hugged me with all his strength. Yup. it's fine like this. Aah…! The smell of baby powder is….
I couldn't be any happier that this, but we can't stay like this when we walk through the school hallways. I lifted up Yurii-sama who was clinging onto me and stood up. So light. I'm jealous.
「We're almost at the classroom.」
「Mira smells like the sun.」
Yurii-sama was giggling while his head was buried into my shoulder, giving my neck a light kiss. I have no doubt that he will be a man who makes women happy in the future. No matter what kind of girl, they will easily fall for him. So basically, he is so adorable, I could die.
「Also, this soft feeling feels nice. Yesterday's transportation smelled like sweat on top of it being hard, it was terrible.」
Yurii-sama, whose brows were furrowed, showed a wry smile. He was talking about Dia, but Yurii-sama, who was saying something like that while holding onto me with his eyes closed, did not notice it. Right in front of me was the smiling Dia who just happened to be passing by.
Really, Yurii-sama, even though you woke up early today to write a letter to Dia, you said something mean again. And you wanted to give it to Dia too. You thought that was I was asleep, but I know that there was an adorable prince who was doing his best in writing the letter.
「Good morning, Your Highness Prince Yuriel.」
Like a cat on high alert, Yurii-sama arched his back. However, he stubbornly kept his mouth shut, not replying to the greeting.
「Miss Swain, you are beautiful today as well」
「Good morning, Judias-sama. Thank you for yesterday.」
It might have been because Yurii-sama was curious about Dia and I speaking so formally that he had put more strength into his arms that were wrapped around me.
「You're welcome. It was fun. But it seems that His Highness was dissatisfied with the unrefined person who was carrying you」
「Indeed! It was bumpy and hard. Compared to you, Mira's chest is soft. I wonder if you know the difference!」
He said those kinds of things again.
「Yurii-sama was pleased with the milk candy. He eats each one with great care. Right?」
「The candy didn't do anything wrong. It couldn't be helped, so I'm eating it.」
Yurii-sama awkwardly averted his eyes while puffing out his cheeks. Really. This is the long-awaited chance to give him the letter, so take it out from your pocket!
「Judias-sama's classroom is in the opposite direction, is it not?」
「Yes, but I'm going to the student council room.」
Dia was forced to take up the position of the student council vice-president. The president was His Highness Prince Alan. It was expected of the candidate for king and the candidate for prime minister ever since they entered the school. Everyone hoped that starting this year, they would be working for the student council.
Dia said that he didn't like that he was not able to make his own decisions, but this hardworking person always didhis best, no matter what he did.
「Well then, I'm in a hurry, so please excuse me, Your Highness.」
Dia left. While I was hesitating on whether or not I should stop Dia for him, the nervous Yurii-sama called out,「Wait!」.
Realizing that he was being called, Dia turned around, curious.
Yurii-sama looked at me as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't directly tell me that he wanted me to let him down. When I bent down to let him down, Yurii-sama puffed out his chest, slowly approached Dia, and then held out the letter that was in his pocket.
「Take this.」
And then, when he finally reached him, he pushed the letter onto Dia's stomach and then walked backed towards me again. Then he stretched out his arms, demanding another hug. Was he embarrassed? He didn't look at Dia and instead, buried his head into my shoulder once again.
Dia gave an awkward laugh, tilting his head to the side in confusion and looked to me for an explanation.
「You received the letter, so please confirm it for yourself….Yesterday, was fun, it seems.」
He guessed it somehow or another. Dia's eyes wandered a bit. Ha, it is his habit of not honestly showing that he is happy when he is happy.
Dia came over and stiffly patted Yurii-sama on the head but Yurii-sama, trembling once, did not resist. I was laughing, but that couldn't be helped. It was cute because the both of them were not used to this.
Dia soon left with an embarrassed grin filled with mixed feelings.
In the classroom, all eyes were on Yurii-sama, but as expected, no one came up to him to start a conversation. The teachers too, they wouldn't even make eye contact with him and just let sleeping dogs lie. Unlike the other Highnesses, Yurii-sama is still very young. It seems that they were afraid that if they accidentally provoked his displeasure, he would display a cruelty that was distinctive of children.
Even though he is this adorable.
When the morning classes were over, as expected, it seemed that even Yurii-sama noticed and so he tugged on my uniform.
「When I'm here, don't chat with your friends, Mira 」
Him worrying about me and not himself was one of this child's good points. And because of this, I've come to cherish him.
「Alright. In any case, I don't have any friends who talk with me in public.」
A fallen noble's reputation was not good. It is expected that social disposition be part of the purpose of a person's House. Even so, there were a few friends who understood my situation. For now, the condition to being my friend was to not think that I'm a shameful person.
I was also grateful for their reluctance in engaging with me in fear of their reputation. It’s just that, within the class, there were several friends who would sometimes appeal to me with their eyes with 「I'll explain later」, and then later, they would tell me various things.
It seemed that the clever Yurii-sama understood, 'I see', he muttered and gave a sigh.
「Are you happy being with me?」
「The one who is happy being together is Mira.」
「Yes, you are completely right.」
Was he pleased with my reply? Yurii-sama nodded and sat on my lap. This was Yurii-sama's usual place to sit. Other than when class was in session, he would always be on my lap.
His seat was either by the assignment of the teacher or was due to the pressure from Yurii-sama, but he was now my neighbor.
「Let's go eat lunch. The cuisine from the cafeteria is more extravagant that my house's.」
It probably can't compare to the castle's meals.
The expensive school tuition covered the cost of lunch, so you did not need to pay when you go eat. You could eat as much as you wanted. Since the sons and daughters of nobles wouldn't even think to do something like that, there weren't really any rules regarding that. There was no rule that didn't allow you to take food with you.
A poor noble like me was grateful for that. I can cook too, but after returning to the dorm, I need to study, so this would save me the trouble of taking the time to make something to eat.
I think that it's luxurious, but as expected, for Yurii-sama, it seemed that it was a normal flavor. His evaluation of the food was that it was「normal」. That's harsh.
After we finished eating our lunch, he said, 「Roda's food is much more delicious」. He was my house's good-natured chef. Even though we could only offer a cheap salary, he was a master chef who has worked for us for a long time. Afterwards, let's tell Roda by writing a letter home. Even I'm proud of him.
「Ok, why don't we go back to the classroom?」
「I don't think so, Yurii-sama. You still have to eat your vegetables.」
I caught Yurii-sama who had jumped down from my lap and had him sit down again.
「I'm already full.」
「Then tomorrow, will you eat today's portion of vegetables as well?」
「Uh…」
「I don't want to marry someone who still has food left on their plate.」
「I'll…eat it…」
As expected, Yurii-sama dislikes vegetables. Probably all kids, no matter who it is, dislikes them.just about everyone does. A long time ago, I also did not like to eat most vegetables, but now, it was just pumpkins that I don't like to eat, no matter how they are made. If he saw my weakness, then I'll lose. Although no one knows about the thing about pumpkins.
He silently ate them, sometimes washing it down with water, and lastly, he ate the tomatoes. Yurii-sama looked at the plate that had no more food on it and then proudly looked up at me.
I laughed a little as it was like a dog who wanted to be praised. Saying something like how a prince was like a dog was extremely rude, but I didn't mean it in a bad way, so please forgive me.
When I was praising him while patting his head, someone came over.
「That's amazing, Yuriel. You were able to conquer your pickiness.」
I've heard this voice before. However, there were only so many conversations that were directed towards me. It was a wonderfully low voice that has already changed.
Dia, who was probably going to eat after this, and His Highness Prince Alan sat down across from us. That voice belonged to His Highness Prince Alan.
I sometimes greet His Highness Prince Alan who is close with Dia, so he probably has a faint memory of what I look like. But he probably only remembers me as Dia's fiance.
He doesn't really look like Yurii-sama, his hair was blonde. The thing that was kind of similar were the color of their eyes. I've heard that the dignified His Highness Prince Alan, who seemed like someone who was too serious, was actually someone who was very sincere. Dia also said that, so that should be the case.
「Geh」
Yurii-sama only made that one sound and wrinkled his eyebrows.
「Miss Swain, it seems that my brother is in your care. Is he not troubling you with his selfishness?」
His Highness Prince Alan, who was good looking but also different from the gentle Dia, asked me this as he softened his dignified expression.
「No. His Highness Prince Yuriel is a complete gentleman and helps me all the time.」
「Mira! Don't call me that.」
「I beg your pardon, Yurii-sama.」
His Highness Prince Alan was here, so I was careful with my words, but it seemed that he doesn't like it.
「Also, don't talk to this guy!」
The one Yurii-sama snappily pointed at was not Dia, but His Highness Prince Alan. Even if you said that, I wasn't in a position where I could say, "Ok, got it."
When I patted his head to distract him, Yurii-sama turned around and buried his head into my chest, tightly, holding onto me.
It seemed these siblings don't get along…but, His Highness Prince Alan was looking at Yurii-sama with affection. Was Yurii-sama one-sidedly hating him? In any case, their relationship was complicated.
「…Ara…? Di…Judias-sama, you, can already, eat shellfish?」
On the plate that the silent Dia, who was next to His Highness Alan, took was seafood pasta (the unusually large amount was common for boys at this age) and the dessert was fruits (there was also a large amount).
However, since a long time ago, Dia had always disliked shellfish. Even though he was an unpleasant child who could eat vegetables and pumpkins, it was only shellfish that he didn't like. He was swallowing it down right in front of me, stubbornly doing his best, but he was swallowing it without chewing, so it was obvious that he disliked it.
His Highness Prince Alan was silently laughing at Dia.
「You skillfully avoid the ones that you dislike and leave them」
「Your Highness…」
Dia resentfully glared at the person who had the highest chance of becoming the next king. Despite that, it seemed that these two people got along well.
「Ara…doing something so childish…」
When his real intentions were revealed just now, Dia showed a wry smile and pushed His Highness Prince Alan.
The silent Yurii-sama who was holding onto me suddenly raised his head and turned his head towards Dia.
「Mira, hates guys who don't finish their food!」
No, saying that it was to the extent of hate is….
「As I thought, I am the most suitable for Mira! Mira likes me too, right?」
I broke into a smile at the adorable child's jealousy. Was he afraid that I only cared about Dia and that the time that I spent with Yurii-sama will be reduced? Even though I won't do that. Since I can only stay with Yurii-sama for one year….
Even so, I felt kind of bad if I compared them and said that I liked Yurii-sama. And so, perhaps he noticed my conflicted feelings or maybe he didn't, but Yurii-sama rephrased his question.
「You like me the most, right?」
「Of course…!!」
Because of the angle, it was an excessively destructive force.
Sticking out his tongue at Dia and His Highness Prince Alan, Yurii-sama happily looked up at me and pulled my hand. Because he rushed me by saying,「Let's go! Hurry up!」, it seemed that His Highness Prince Alan did not win.
Afterwards, I wanted to ask him if he was close to His Highness Prince Alan, but because he displayed a kind of vigilance that wouldn't lose to a cat every time I murmured 「Your Highness Prince Alan」, I left it alone, since those who were insistent won't get an answer.