Apparently, Her Highness Princess wants to keep her relationship with me a secret (what does she even mean by 'her relationship with me'?) - 4-5

The Masked Lady

The carriage receded into the distance, leaving us behind.
Surrounded by endless greenery, the sounds of unfamiliar birds and insects filled the forest. Left alone, one would quickly succumb to loneliness—but luckily, I wasn’t alone. For once.

“Itose-kun, you don’t have to carry so much… Should I help?”
“I’m fine. I can’t let Princess Emma carry anything.”

Two days of self-sufficiency.
We’d been given only the bare minimum—two days’ worth of food and water. Everything was packed in the bag on my back.

Now, standing before us was a gate. The broken lock hung loosely, and beyond it, waist-high weeds stretched toward the massive mansion in the distance—our destination.
With a grating creak, the gate opened, and we began our trek toward the building.

“Ugh, so heavy!”
“That’s… your personal luggage, isn’t it, Jina-sama?”

The bags Jina-sama carried were stuffed with unnecessary items—extra clothes, pillows, and other luxuries.
There were no beds, showers, or proper toilets here—just wilderness. Most nobles would balk at the conditions, but we were students of the prestigious Westminster Academy. This much shouldn’t faze us.

Yet…

“Let me carry half. You’ll trip at this rate. Actually—just give me everything.”
“Really? Yay! I’ll pay you back!”
“Thank you, Itose-kun, but I can carry that—”
“I’m fine. I can’t let Princess Emma carry anything.”
“…You let Jina carry her own, though.”

Why does she look so annoyed?
A baron’s son having a princess carry luggage would be unthinkable. I was trying to follow her ridiculous our relationship is a secret rule.
If we were alone, it’d be different—but Jina-sama was with us.

“Come on, Emma! Let’s go!”
“Wait, Jina! Don’t pull me—I’ll fall!”
“Then fall!”

Trailing behind the two girls, my arms weighed down with bags, I didn’t feel so bad.
I remembered the cold, distant expression Emma had before she returned to school.
And Jina-sama…
She probably had no idea how much her favor meant to someone like me—Itose Orgot, a small pawn in the cutthroat world of nobles.

“Itose-kun, you’re slow!”
“…Apologies, Jina-sama.”

Still, she waited for me.
Whether by instinct or simply because Emma was afraid of ghosts… I preferred to believe it was instinct.

“Both of you, get behind me.”

The eighth mansion stood silent. No signs of life.
Left abandoned deep in the forest, rumors claimed it was haunted by the dead.
The neglect was plain to see. No one had purchased the land from the royal family—it had been left to rot.
It wouldn’t be strange if spirits had moved in.

The girls obediently stepped back.

“Huh? Itose-kun… what do you mean?”
“Emma, you’re so slow. Can’t you tell from his face?”
“…No. He always looks expressionless.”
“Haa… hopeless. Itose-kun thinks there’s an intruder inside. Right?”
“My magical quirk is quite good.”

I set down the bags carefully.
We’d walked from the forest to this place without being seen. The gaze watching us had only started after we passed through the gate—growing stronger as we approached the mansion.
Hiding wouldn’t do any good.

I took a deep breath—

“We’re students of Westminster Academy! We’ll be staying here for two days under royal decree! This mansion belongs to the Roman Kingdom—leave if you value your life!”

“…Westminster, huh? Are you barging in knowing this is Number Eight-sama’s residence now, are you?”

…Ehh, you have to be kidding me.