After Crown Princess Ashillya’s banquet, I was a bit troubled by the attention I was receiving from those around me.

In fact, when I was with Sylvia and Helena, I already attracted a lot of attention, but after attending the banquet, even more eyes were on me.

The problem was that these gazes weren’t positive.

“Isn’t he the one…”

“Ah, the harem own–Mmph!”

“Hush! He can hear…”

It’s not like that…!

I would inwardly scream in frustration every time I heard such comments.

Sylvia had a boyfriend named Cain, Helena liked me but we weren’t in that kind of relationship, and Crown Princess Ashillya wasn’t in that kind of relationship with me to begin with.

But there was nothing I could say. Even if I tried to explain, it was obvious they wouldn’t believe me.

Today again, I sighed as I headed to the training ground. Today was the day for joint training class.

The class itself was originally important for the future, but it became even more crucial as the midterm exams were approaching.

“Sigh…”

I let out a small sigh as I heard the whispers of students and felt the gazes directed at me, even though I was alone.

The attention was particularly burdensome today, so I started checking my equipment alone in a corner.

Helena had another class before this one, so she would arrive just in time, and Sylvia said she had a separate schedule. As for Conan… I had no idea.

By the way, I knew this already, but my circle of friends is quite small.

At the beginning of the semester, I seemed to get along well with the boys in the class, but after unexpectedly becoming friends with Sylvia, a strange distance started to form.

They probably see me as a threatening competitor…

Wake up, you guys.

With Cain by her side, do you think she’d look at you?

Anyway, while I thought I should fix these human relationships, I wasn’t particularly uncomfortable, so I didn’t feel like making the troublesome effort to change things.

As I was passing time by checking my well-maintained equipment, I turned my head, feeling someone approaching me.

“…Huh?”

“Pfft.”

I widened my eyes and then blinked slowly as I discovered an unexpected person.

Finding my reaction amusing, Ashillya let out a soft laugh and looked at me with an unchanged expression.

“It seems you don’t have many friends.”

“…Crown Princess?”

Ashillya was a senior, one year above us, so there was no reason for her to be here.

Nevertheless, seeing her standing here as if it were natural, I unknowingly rolled my eyes around trying to grasp the situation.

But no matter how much I looked, I couldn’t figure out why Ashillya was here, so I had no choice but to ask her directly.

“Why are you here?”

“Is there any reason I shouldn’t be here? I’m a bit hurt.”

“…Of course you shouldn’t be here. Aren’t you in a different year from us, Crown Princess?”

As Ashillya spoke as if she were hurt, I became a bit dumbfounded and muttered that. She burst into laughter again.

“I’m hurt. We even danced together.”

“You know that’s not what that meant…”

“I’m joking.”

When I first saw Ashillya, she gave off the impression of a cold, noble ruler, but now she seemed to laugh more often in a strange way.

Her appearance, as if she was enjoying this situation, was a bit unfamiliar yet beautiful.

“I’m here to take part of this class for a day on behalf of Leonhardt.”

“…On behalf of Leonhardt?”

Does that make sense?

I understand that one team would be at a disadvantage because Leonhardt was absent.

Even if he didn’t participate well in class, the difference between having one person and not having them was quite significant.

But it didn’t make sense for Ashillya to participate even for ‘one day’.

What would they do during the actual exam, and since Ashillya was a senior one year above us, it wouldn’t be of much benefit to the team she joined.

As I tilted my head in doubt, she didn’t answer.

She just smiled meaningfully. Looking at her with a puzzled expression, I suddenly became curious and asked.

“…Aren’t you busy with your schedule?”

“Hm? Are you worried about me?”

“I’m just asking.”

Her attempt to tease me was obvious, so I grumbled softly. Ashillya smiled and shook her head.

“If you’re asking if I’m busier than before, not particularly.”

She became the Crown Princess, but it’s the same as before?

That didn’t mean Ashillya was slacking off, but rather that she had been handling an enormous amount of work even before this.

As I clicked my tongue in surprise after understanding the meaning of her words, Ashillya just smiled.

I didn’t know why someone so swamped with work came all the way here, but I felt it wasn’t for a trivial reason.

That meant if I tried to dig deeper, I might get involved in something unpleasant, so I kept my mouth shut obediently.

Even though I closed my mouth, Ashillya didn’t leave my side. Instead, she leaned against the wall leisurely, looking at the students with ease.

The smile she had shown earlier was nowhere to be seen, replaced by an extremely cold expression.

It was a bit scary because it was so charismatic, but thanks to that, the gazes of the students who had been whispering about me naturally turned elsewhere.

It seemed they didn’t have the guts to openly stare at the Crown Princess.

“…Felix?”

As I was absentmindedly staring into space for a while, I turned my head again at the sound of a voice.

“Ah, Helena… Sylvia came with you too?”

“Yeah… we met on the way… but next to you…”

“The Crown Princess?”

At the source of the voice were Helena, who was looking at me and Ashillya alternately with a shocked expression, and Sylvia, who was looking at us with a somewhat cold expression for some reason.

“Hmm, are these your friends, Felix?”

“…They’re my teammates and friends.”

“My, all of your friends seem to be women.”

Ashillya spoke, glancing at me with her red eyes, completely ignoring Sylvia and Helena.

Knowing that this too was a joke, I just smiled awkwardly, but Helena hurriedly stood next to me, showing proper etiquette.

“I… I am honored to meet you, Ashillya Philippe Hamen Urlas, the sun of the Empire, a member of the great Imperial Family.”

“Hmm, this is the academy, so there’s no need for excessive courtesy.”

Ashillya casually waved her hand, accepting Helena’s formality as if it were natural.

But despite her words, Helena just fidgeted and watched nervously.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Crown Princess.”

Rather, it was Sylvia who briefly showed courtesy in line with Ashillya’s words.

But she brushed that off as if it were nothing and looked at me.

“Now that your friends have arrived, I should be going.”

“…You didn’t stay by my side because you thought I really had no friends, did you?”

“It seems like you actually don’t have friends, though?”

Teasing me until the end, Ashillya waved her hand lightly and moved away as if she was really leaving.

I exhaled softly as I watched her back.

“Fe… Felix…! What business did the Crown Princess have with you?”

Helena, who had been staring blankly at Ashillya’s retreating figure, asked while punching my arm.

I grabbed my stinging arm and looked at Helena with strange eyes. Doesn’t she know that I escorted Ashillya at the banquet…

‘Oh.’

As I thought about it, I realized something strange and let out a small exclamation inwardly.

Come to think of it, did I ever tell Helena about that? As I searched my memories, I could finally conclude that ‘I hadn’t’.

Helena, who didn’t attend the banquet, naturally wouldn’t know about it. Moreover, she also didn’t have as many friends as I did.

‘No, but even so, didn’t she encounter Ashillya a few times?’

I think we even ate together once, so I wondered if this level of fuss was necessary.

But seeing Helena hitting my arm with increasing strength, I realized that it wasn’t just a fuss, but something akin to a rebuke… I smiled awkwardly and slightly moved my body away.

“The Crown Princess said she’s participating in today’s class on behalf of Leonhardt.”

As I changed the subject, Helena looked at me with a dissatisfied expression. As I avoided that gaze, I saw Sylvia looking at me.

“Is that why she came?”

Seeing Sylvia’s inexplicably sharp demeanor, I blinked for a moment and then nodded.

“Isn’t it?”

“…I see.”

As Sylvia muttered as if something was unsatisfactory, I looked at her curiously, then remembered something and asked her playfully with a mischievous smile.

“By the way, Sylvia, when did you and Cain get so close?”

“…Huh? What are you suddenly talking about?”

At my question, Sylvia blinked her eyes as if she didn’t understand, and I put on an even broader smile.

Oh my, pretending not to know at such a high level?

But you can’t fool me. I’ve already seen everything, you know?

“You attended the banquet with Cain, didn’t you? I’m asking when you two got so close. Come on, tell me.”

As I poked Sylvia’s side with an insinuating voice, she flinched and then looked at me with a blank expression.

I couldn’t help but laugh at Sylvia’s expression, which seemed as if everything had been exposed.

Other people’s love stories are the most interesting, after all.