Why, why only me….

“I, I am Shaa….”

I racked my creaking, poorly-oiled brain and ultimately chose to conceal it. After all, there’s no way they’d recognize me.

Even Master-nim only barely admitted it after spilling a whole embarrassing past. Veronica was a special case, though.

Now that I think about it, I felt like even if I told Claudia that I was Asha, she wouldn’t believe me.

So it should be fine.

“Do you not have a surname?”

“…Yes.”

The Princess-nim smiled sweetly, and her blue eyes turned towards me. Nervous, I gulped. Somehow… I felt hot and a little tipsy. I thought the taste was familiar, and it turned out to be the chocolate I’d eaten just last night. The one with alcohol in it.

I blinked my blurry eyes and lowered my gaze from the Princess’s eyes, seeing her ample breast. Thinking this wouldn’t do, I completely lowered my gaze to the floor, when warm, soft fingers lifted my chin.

“Why are you avoiding my gaze?”

“…H-how could I dare look you in the─”

“I removed the other eyes so you wouldn’t have to do that, so there’s no need.”

…Only a novel’s protagonist would shout ‘Yes!’ and smile brightly in such a situation. But continuing to avoid her gaze wouldn’t do either, so I awkwardly smiled and lifted my head. I could feel my lips trembling.

The Princess-nim, who had been chuckling and looking at me, parted her crimson lips.

“So… what is your relationship with the Astarote Family?”

Would this be what it felt like if my heart dropped to the floor? I felt my heart, which had plummeted to the floor, pound violently, spewing blood everywhere. Even if I wanted to pretend to be calm, my tired body couldn’t properly execute my brain’s commands.

The Princess-nim didn’t mind my state and continued speaking. Rather, in a gentle voice, as if trying to reassure me.

“To be precise… yes, I want to ask what your relationship is with the Astarote Family’s troublemaker… no, the heretic. I have no intention of harming you, so calm down.”

My head cooled down. Despite that, the haziness remained, but the nuance that she didn’t seem to know who I was made me snap back to reality. I’d already been found out, but… I should find out why.

I don’t know why, but for now… she seems favorable… so it might be okay. From what I observed from afar during my Academy days, she wasn’t a particularly eccentric person.

So, confidently.

“Um… why do you th-think there’s a connection… May I ask… Ah, of course, if it’s, if it’s troublesome─”

What the hell.

I wasn’t like this before! Why am I suddenly like this?! Be confident!

Suddenly, I felt a hand stroking my head. It wasn’t just a feeling; the Princess-nim was stroking my head and smiling. Her face was benevolent. She also looked somewhat wistful.

“You… remind me of Melka. Your timid flinching is very similar.”

“M-Melka, you say….”

…Somehow it sounds like a dog’s name, is it just my imagination?

The Princess-nim just chuckled and didn’t say what it was. Instead, she pulled me into her embrace and began stroking me. From her ample breast, a sweet, refreshing scent and a fragrant body odor wafted up. It was smooth and warm.

“If you stay like this for a moment, I’ll tell you what you’re curious about.”

“…Ah, understood.”

At my answer, she smiled as if pleased, scratched my chin, then laid me on her lap and stroked me.

…She’s treating me like a dog, isn’t she?

Well, I mean… I, I like it, but… I accepted her touch obediently, thinking I absolutely must not be found out. Meanwhile, it felt good.

The Princess-nim, who had been vicariously satisfied for a moment, opened her mouth.

“Lady Kaltz… that is, Lady Veronica. I thought that anyone who associated with her and also had ties to magic would be the Astarote heretic. But lo and behold? I didn’t expect there to be such a cute young lady.”

…My fears had come true. Though… in a slightly different way.

A slender hand patted my back. Somehow, I felt like I was being subdued.

“So… what is your relationship with Astarote Asha? I called you because I wanted to ask that. I also have some personal questions.”

I felt strange, as if I was being treated like a puppy, but I was relieved that it wasn’t the worst-case scenario I had imagined. And… in times like this, I had a prepared answer.

“I… am her disciple.”

“Hah, to think that clumsy person has such a cute disciple.”

…Do you… know me well? It seems like we’ve barely exchanged words a few times? The Princess-nim, looking at my face, chuckled and said.

“As you know, your Master-nim is quite capable.”

Ahem, ahem. The Princess-nim’s face as she uttered those words was… well, it was an expression I couldn’t quite define. She looked like a child who couldn’t get the toy they wanted, or like someone angry because things weren’t going their way.

Honestly… I was a little… flustered. Because we didn’t have much contact. I’d only seen her face during the freshman orientation speech and occasionally passed by her.

…Should I be glad she’s like this? Somehow, I had an ominous feeling.

After that, she didn’t say anything particularly substantial.

As if finally getting to the main point, the Princess-nim stopped stroking me, helped me up, then opened a box and pulled out a familiar-looking item.

It was a pill, presumed to contain Cecil’s… essence. I desperately pretended not to know.

“Shaa-yang. Do you happen to know what this is?”

“Um… I’m not sure.”

“Is that so?”

I barely managed to calm my pounding heart, dokidoki. Why was this in the Princess-nim’s hands?

“These days, it’s quite popular among the noble ladies near the Capital.”

…What kind of place is the Capital, really? It didn’t seem like this when I attended the Academy.

“The supply is almost nonexistent, so its price is skyrocketing, popular to the point of being sky-high. However… it’s unknown who supplies it or how it’s made.”

The sound of her tapping the box, tok, tok, quietly echoed in the room.

“Even the Alchemists belonging to the Palace all say they don’t know. They just shake their heads.”

“I-I see.”

The Princess-nim looked at me with a strange expression.

“I was deeply disheartened and visited another place for a retreat, and I met you on my way back. At first, I thought you were Astarote Asha herself and ordered you to be brought here, but… this isn’t bad either. So, if you don’t know, then your Master-nim wouldn’t know about this medicine either, would she?”

I hastily nodded. It wasn’t a lie. I had no idea it was secretly popular in the Capital.

“Indeed… that’s a shame.”

The Princess-nim’s white hand stroked my cheek.

“By the way… where is your Master-nim now?”

The fingers that had been stroking my cheek slowly slid down and grazed my neck. Like gripping the scruff of prey.

“She doesn’t seem to be at the Workshop.”

…She went down for a retreat, right?

“Hm?”

I took a deep breath inwardly. No one had seen me change, and few people knew. So… it should be fine.

“Um… she said she was going to see her Master-nim’s Master-nim and hasn’t been heard from since.”

“…Is that so?”

Master-nim is an Elf. Although she belongs to an academic society, she is fundamentally a race that isn’t bound by anything.

…In other words, it’s the perfect excuse.

“Her Hideout… yes, then that makes sense.”

The Princess-nim, who had murmured softly, withdrew her hand from my neck. Then the Princess-nim’s gaze suddenly dropped downwards. And then her pupils began to shake widely.

I blinked and looked down, only to find my clothes soaked with leaking milk. It was completely drenched, I don’t know when it started leaking. The Princess-nim, having misunderstood something, said with a shocked expression.

“You don’t mean….”

“Th-that’s not it!”

To erase the worst possible imagination that would ruin Shaa’s and Asha’s reputations, I had no choice but to talk about the Breast-enlargement Potion. If such a misunderstanding spread… it would truly be terrible.

Not only the misunderstanding about pregnancy… but there would be quite a few people looking for Astarote Asha right away. And if the source of that information was the Princess? If I didn’t correct this now, my life might be over.

Then the Princess-nim looked intently at my breast with an intrigued expression.

“Hoo… I thought it was unusually large for your height, but that’s what it was.”

My face burned, but there was nothing I could do. Even as I stood there, the milk dripping, ttuk, ttuk, completely soaked my clothes.

“Why does it keep leaking?”

“…I’m not sure. It usually decreases when squeezed… The improvements aren’t finished yet, so it’s hard to give a definite answer.”

“Interesting. The noble ladies will love it. Not only that….”

The Princess-nim, who had been murmuring with intrigued eyes, took my hand and helped me stand up.

“First, it seems to be partly my fault, so it would be good for you to wash up. I’ll prepare some clothes for you to wear.”

“Th-there’s no need for that….”

“Don’t decline, old… yes, I just want to take care of my old classmate’s disciple. If you walk around outside looking like that, what will people think of me?”

“…Understood.”

Having no reason to refuse, I was obediently led into the Bathroom. It was a lavish and spacious Bathroom, making me wonder if I was truly on a Train. I quickly stripped off my clothes and turned on the water to wash.

Since it was still leaking, it seemed I needed to… squeeze it out a bit. It’s hard to do alone, but… what can I do? There’s no one to ask for help right now.

As I struggled to press my breast, I heard the sound of the door opening. It wouldn’t be the Princess-nim… it’s probably a Maid sent by the Princess-nim. Logically speaking.

Perhaps because I was used to doing it alone, it felt a little burdensome, but I thought it was good timing. Once I left here, I probably wouldn’t see this person ever again. If she was a commoner, there would be no reason for her to be associated with Asha. Most importantly, the Princess-nim would stop her.

The immediate embarrassment… I couldn’t help it, but I wanted to go back quickly.

“Could you please help me just a little─”

“Hoo… I thought you were a commoner, but it seems you’re quite used to situations like this?”

The Princess-nim, full of bare skin, laughed heartily as she closed the door. While I was flustered and didn’t know what to do, the Princess-nim approached.

Ah, no, what the fuck, why, why are you doing this to me?