The Invincible Aloof Yandere Princess Falls in Love with Her Younger Court Mage's Fatherly Warmth! ~She Clung to Him So Much That the King Fired Him. When He Made Marriage His Official Reason for Resigning Under Royal Order, the Light Vanished from the Princess's Eyes~ - Volume 2 - Chapter 36

Chapter 36: The Next Selfish Request

Right in front of me, these two are bickering back and forth all cute and loud—the princess, first princess of the Atlas Kingdom, and Suu-san, division commander of the Great Lion Knights’ “Shield of the Mane.”

Both of them are young, super talented, called geniuses, beautiful, and insanely important people in the kingdom.

…But, uh, the timing on this one was kinda bad, huh.

“—Haaah, tomorrow’s gonna be so much fun. What should I wear? Where should we go? Hehe, since we’re dating and all… maybe we could even, y’know, kiss or something! Kyaa!”

“No way! That’s obviously a no!? Something so—so impure…! Without even asking my permission!?”

“Oh? And why exactly do you need permission, Your Highness? Go on, tell me. —But make sure you’re mindful of the people around us, okay?”

“!”

Suu-san shot a playful glance my way. And the princess followed her gaze.

…Ah. My squad members.

“—Excuse us! We’ll leave the rest to the squad leader!”

They said it in perfect unison, then vanished at lightning speed. I was really hoping to show the princess how hard they’d been working, too.

…But.

“Princess. You noticed us right away and stopped yourself from saying it. Good job.”

“! Y-yeah, that’s right! I’m super observant, after all…!”

She properly caught sight of Ignatz-san and the others and stopped herself from saying “because I’m Papa’s daughter.” That’s not something just anyone can pull off.

“There it is… Al-kun’s been getting softer and softer with Her Highness lately.”

“Huh? You think so?”

“Yeah, totally. Since Al-kun’s my master too, I want you to spoil me properly, y’know.”

Suu-san said it in that half-joking, playful tone of hers.

I took it as a joke. I was about to laugh it off like light banter, nothing serious.

But apparently someone here couldn’t just let it slide as a joke.

Yeah, that someone was—

“—Scarlet’s Papa’s lover. Asking for anything more than that… that’s asking for divine punishment…”

The princess’s eyes as she looked at us were cloudy somehow, dark and heavy.

Both Suu-san and I instantly made the exact same “oh crap” face.

“Y-yeah, that’s right, haha! I mean, I do have a special relationship with Al-kun, so maybe pushing for more would be kinda tacky! Right, Al-kun!”

“Uh, y-yeah, sure?”

Super awkward. We’re still keeping up the lie so the princess doesn’t start carrying me around like some dangerous trophy… but lying to her like this really doesn’t feel good.

And making Suu-san pretend to be my girlfriend? I feel awful about that too.

This messed-up situation really needs to get fixed soon, I was thinking, when—

A knock came from outside the door.

“—It’s Maguire. May I enter, Your Highness?”

Maguire-san…! Sweet, timely rescue. But I was wondering what he wanted when—

“…Come in.”

“Alright then… Oh, looks like everyone else is already here. Albert, Division Commander Clay too.”

Already here, huh. Meaning Maguire-san already knew we’d all be in this room today—me and Suu-san included.

And Suu-san didn’t look surprised at all to see him. Wait… did everyone except me already know about this?

“Papa, sorry, okay…? I thought if I told you ahead of time what we were gonna talk about, you might run away…”

“I told her there was no way you’d do that. But Her Highness wouldn’t listen. She even started saying she wanted to push this meeting to tomorrow, so I had to let her know you were already booked tomorrow.”

“I didn’t want you bragging about it… I just wanted you to tell me normally…”

“Bragging? …Hehe, it’s just the truth, though…!”

The princess glared. The awkward air came right back.

“Hahaha, these two are still completely obsessed with Albert, huh. Must be rough, but anytime you need advice from your cool older knight senpai, I’m here for you, yeah?”

“I’m seriously gonna take you up on that.”

“Leave it to me. The big brother of the knights? Yeah, that’s me…!”

Maguire-san laughed brightly and easily.

He’s the only older guy who actually knows my whole situation—the thing with the princess, the fake relationship with Suu-san. No exaggeration. If he’s offering, I might really end up talking to him…

While I was quietly making that decision on the side,

I steered the conversation back and asked the princess,

“So anyway. What exactly are we here to talk about with this group? Princess.”

Her shoulders jumped with a little flinch. She took a long, deep breath.

Was it really something to be that nervous about? I was wondering when—

She slowly opened her mouth and said it.

“The policy for improving Papa’s position… it’s been decided.”

That sounded like something so big she had to announce it all formally like that?

From the way she was exchanging looks with Suu-san and Maguire-san, it seemed like everyone else had already gotten on the same page without me.

What could possibly need this much buildup…? I waited.

“—Karen. Come here.”

“…Yes! My lord!”

Karen-san dropped down from the ceiling. Okay, now the group just got bigger.

The princess brought Karen-san right in front of me, then looked up at me with anxious, wavering eyes.

The other three were all staring at me too.

—And then they said it.

“—Um, Papa. Please don’t hate me for this, okay…? I thought really hard about this… for your sake…!”

“Yeah, what Her Highness is saying is true. We all thought about it together, and we really want you to try your best with this, Al-kun.”

“…Pfft. Ahh, exactly what the two of them said, Albert! This is for your own good! It’s a whip of love…!”

“Savor the joy of being loved by your master, and quietly accept your bonds! This little one shall accompany you on the journey…!”

Uh-huh.

So what exactly are all of you planning to do to me? And Karen-san’s coming along for the ride too?

Nobody’s actually saying anything specific, so… what’s gonna happen to me…?

Still. Even with all these questions,

…there wasn’t a single speck of fear in my heart.

Because the princess and Suu-san thought about this so hard. And even though Maguire-san and Karen-san talk like that, deep down they’re good people.

I could tell—no matter what the actual request was—that listening to what everyone racked their brains over would be the best thing to do. I didn’t even need to hear the details to know that.

So.

I put on a smile and looked at each of them in turn.

Finally I let my gaze settle on the princess’s amethyst-like purple eyes.

And then—half-teasing, I said,

“Please, tell me. —What selfish little request do you have for me this time, my cute Killriera?”