Apparently, Her Highness Princess wants to keep her relationship with me a secret (what does she even mean by 'her relationship with me'?) - 2-9

2-9

The idea of going to Mimosa for a meal would never occur in between fellow commoners.

It’s not that Mimosa only caters to royalty or nobles—but because, simply put, the prices are outrageously high.

“Dokki~doki…”

Passing through the arch made up of elegantly curved roses, the sight of the restaurant came into view.

On both sides of the path stretched gardens where seasonal flowers could be admired. Guests could leisurely stroll through the gardens on their way out. While at night, each petal crafted in a thin way to emit a soft glow. Aya’s eyes sparkled as she gazed at them.

“It’s like a world out of a fairy tale… Right, don’t you think so too, Itose-sama!?”

Mimosa didn’t have any strict dress code, but still the customers who visited naturally dress in their attire fit for parties.

Just like Aya, right now. Who looked like a refined young lady from a distinguished family.

“Aya, we’re not here to have fun.”

“…Itose-sama, you’re so composed. Can’t we just enjoy it a little? Mou! Now I feel embarrassed for getting excited… Fine, I understand!”

Saying that, Aya puffed out her cheeks.

Her black hair and black eyes—something quite rare in this country—always stirred a nostalgic feeling in me.

“The room reserved by Orgott-sama is the Heavenly Dragon Chamber.”

The building’s interior twisted and turned like a maze, making it impossible to count how many corners we’d turned.

“Itose-sama… those people… they’re carrying quite dangerous things…”

I placed a reassuring hand on Aya’s head to calm her.

“It’s okay, Aya. We’re customers. They won’t attack us.”

“Ugh… But it’s still too scary…”

“I won’t deny that.”

Grim-faced guards roamed inside the building.

They were there to maintain the restaurant’s peace. According to Mimosa’s management policy, bringing conflicts into the establishment was strictly forbidden.

“Young lady, peeking into rooms is bad manners. Please focus only on my back.”

When Aya curiously tried to peek into an open room, the leading employee gently scolded her.

“S-sorry!”

“Fufu. Now then, let’s proceed.”

The employees and guards occasionally glanced at us—two young people—perhaps finding us an unusual sight.

“Itose-sama, please hold my hand properly… I, Aya is not used to places like this… Eeeek… they’re looking at us…”

“Alright, alright.”

This mansion was situated in a non-interference zone, so even the kingdom couldn’t meddle here.

It became a famous spot for secret meetings—possibly stemming from the Dark Gate Incident, which I had a small part in.

“Aya, we’re almost there. Once we are inside the room, they’ll serve food worthy of the name Mimosa.”

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the mansion, Princess Emma and her fiancé were having their dinner party as well.

“Wow! Itose-sama! What’s this? There’s even a bed in the back room!”

When we were shown into our room, Aya’s face flushed as she looked around the room over and over again.

“Itose-sama, look at this! It’s a Le Doteur painting! I’ve seen it displayed at the Royal Museum!”

“Aya, you’re so knowledgeable. To me, it just looks like a tangled snake though.”

Aya was an orphan taken in by Her Excellency Westminster. Her Excellence travels around the world, picking up talented children and placing them in that shop, watching over their growth.

“Eh? A snake!? Itose-sama, you have no eye for art! Oh! That hanging scroll over there is by Duke Value! He recorded his emotions whenever he was moved during his travels—another masterpiece displayed at the Royal Museum—”

When Her Excellency Westminster first introduced me to Aya, she didn’t seem to contain something like emotion at all.

As a commoner with a rather unique magical quirk, she had been continuously used, broken, and made to live like a doll.

That’s why, seeing how she acts her age right now, was a relief.

“Waa, A–Ahm!… Itose-sama, staring at a lady excitedly prattling on like that is improper! Itose sama, aren’t you surprised by anything over here?”

“Well how should I put it, it’s not my first time here.”

When I was accepted into Westminster Academy, Her Excellency brought me here after all.

My condition for working at that shop was to enroll in Westminster Academy.

Her Excellency apparently wanted to keep me out of danger by imposing such a difficult condition—but it backfired.

I poured everything I had into passing the entrance exam.

And now, I have climbed to ninth rank in the shop’s hierarchy as Her Excellency’s prominent pawns.

“Ehhh!? Itose-sama, this isn’t your first time!? Who brought you here? Oh, I know! One of those madams who’s head over heels for you, right!”

Finally, I had climber up to the single-digit rank.

I couldn’t afford to fail the first mission Her Excellency Westminster had personally assigned to me.