Early Dismissal

Thump-thump.

Her Highness the Princess approached with the sound of footsteps.

I stared blankly at her, then realized she was naked and turned my back.

A soft laugh could be heard.

“What’s wrong? Haven’t you gotten used to it by now?”

“…Of course not.”

To be honest, I’d seen it so many times that simply seeing her naked didn’t make me feel embarrassed anymore.

However… other memories kept resurfacing, making my face flush hot.

And on top of that… recalling my disgraceful behavior from a little while ago….

I could understand why Her Highness the Princess would think that.

Meanwhile, Her Highness the Princess’s hand, which had approached, rubbed my hand.

“You’ve gotten quite a lot off, haven’t you? This is enough to share and still have plenty.”

“Th-there’s no need to do that….”

“If we can save, we should save. It’s all the sweat and blood of the Empire’s people.”

“….”

Imagining what the atmosphere would be like if I said no made my body tremble slightly.

Perhaps misunderstanding my reaction, Her Highness the Princess began to rub my body with foam, her voice filled with concern.

“Your, Your Highness?”

“It would be best to rinse off quickly and get into the water. I shall help you. And also… to apologize for earlier.”

“N-no, really, it’s fine!”

“Nonsense. There’s no need to refuse. When else would you experience something like this?”

Her words were valid, and it wouldn’t particularly matter, but there was one problem.

Every time Her Highness the Princess’s long, slender hands touched my body, I kept trembling.

When her fair hands stroked my lower abdomen, it felt as if a soft thumping sound was coming from deep inside me.

It must be the lingering effects of what happened just a moment ago.

My breathing naturally became ragged, and my thighs trembled.

“Ah ha….”

Her Highness the Princess seemed to understand, letting out an exclamation of understanding before removing her hands.

Her silence made my face flush even redder.

…I quietly lathered my body, thoroughly washed, rinsed off, and then submerged myself in the hot water again.

As I relaxed my tense body, Her Highness the Princess entered the tub with a splash.

Her face held an expression of apology.

Other things kept coming to mind, and I unconsciously turned my head away.

I felt Her Highness the Princess draw closer.

“Hmm… are you feeling better now?”

“…Yes, thanks to your concern.”

“Good. I’m glad to hear that….”

After that, we remained in the tub in silence for a while.

As time passed, my ragged breathing calmed, and the urge that had been nagging me also subsided.

As I took a small deep breath, Her Highness the Princess spoke.

“About the clothes you wore.”

“Ah….”

…I wore them because they were the best I had.

What should I tell Veronica?

Maybe I could say I spilled food and had to change….

“First, we’ll have them laundered here, so please wear something else today. I’ll have it prepared for you.”

“…Thank you for your consideration.”

“It’s only natural. But….”

Unusually, Her Highness the Princess seemed to hesitate.

My face flushed hot at the words that carefully left her lips.

“As for the underwear… it seems difficult to find the same kind… I suppose those are-“

“N-no, it’s fine! Just normal ones! No, in fact, normal ones are better!”

“Is that so? They looked quite expensive….”

“Ah, I, I was in such a hurry this morning….”

“Hmm… if you say so, I understand.”

…Thinking about the underwear I wore makes me want to die from shame.

Even I, who am quite open-minded due to my past life’s memories, was horrified.

If someone else had been wearing them, wouldn’t I have thought they were a pervert?

Why on earth did someone put such things in the dressing room?

…Is it Veronica’s hobby?

Is learning a friend’s… tastes this painful…?

“And today… please go home early.”

“…Thank you.”

For some reason, I felt good.

I’d been cooped up in the workshop until late every night, so I hadn’t realized that leaving work could be this enjoyable.

My lips must have unconsciously curved into a smile, as Her Highness the Princess chided me.

“…Are you that happy?”

“Ah, th-that… *ahem*….”

“Even I feel a bit disappointed.”

“…I apologize.”

Lately, it felt like all I did was apologize.

Not just to Her Highness the Princess, but to others in various ways.

…How did it come to this?

Indeed… I felt that outside the workshop was dangerous.

I had achieved my purpose in coming to the Capital, so I should return soon.

Though I didn’t know when Her Highness the Princess would let me go.

After somehow finishing my bath and emerging, the clothes I would wear back were prepared.

The underwear and outfit were generally feminine, but considering what I had worn that morning, it didn’t matter.

I carefully put on the clothes, bid farewell to Her Highness the Princess, and hurried outside.

I had a lot of time left since I had left work earlier than expected.

Despite that, fatigue washed over me, and just as I turned to head back to Veronica’s workshop,

Cecil, who had been clinging to me and sleeping that morning, came to mind.

“….”

I didn’t know why she had been clinging to me, but… I felt uneasy.

Was it because of that uneasy feeling?

I changed my steps from returning and headed towards the Downtown.

To buy Cecil some sweet snacks.

She liked such things so much; she would surely be happy if I brought them to her.

Just imagining her calling my name and smiling happily as she said it was delicious already made me feel good.

After walking diligently and arriving at the Downtown… there were quite a lot of people.

I had come here occasionally before, but after becoming this body, I felt a bit overwhelmed.

Taller buildings.

Lowered line of sight.

A frail body that felt like it might be crushed if caught in the crowd.

‘…Let’s be careful.’

For some reason, I felt like people were glancing at me.

Considering the Capital’s public safety, the possibility of encountering trouble was low, but once the imagination in my head started, it kept spiraling in strange directions.

Moving my slightly trembling body, I rummaged through my jumbled memories.

After entering the Dessert Shop I remembered, my body calmed down a little.

I stood by the entrance for a moment, catching my breath.

It wasn’t unusual for me to go out alone, so I wasn’t sure why I was acting like this.

Perhaps because there was no clue about returning… I felt even more lost.

As I let out a deep sigh, I heard someone approaching.

Thinking it was an employee, I turned my head and saw a familiar face.

No, not just familiar, but the face I had seen this very morning.

“…You are.”

“…Your, Your Hi-“

She rushed over and urgently covered my mouth, which was reflexively about to say ‘Her Highness the Princess’.

“Just call me Cordelia.”

“Cordelia-nim.”

“…For now, that’s fine.”

I thought it was a blessing that she had said her name first.

And… despite what had happened, seeing a familiar face made me feel a little relieved.

Perhaps it was because the atmosphere was a bit more comfortable than with Her Highness Selina.

Anyway….

“Weren’t you returning to the Academy?”

“…Hmm.”

She hesitated for a moment, then gestured for me to follow her.

“This isn’t the place to… talk.”

“Ah….”

“I’ve ordered some things… let’s eat those.”

“Understood.”

Following Her Highness Cordelia, I found a seat in a less crowded spot.

On the table were quite a lot of desserts, too much for one person to eat.

“I ordered them in a fit of pique and was wondering what to do, so this works out well.”

“…Is that so?”

“Go ahead and sit down and wait.”

After saying that, Her Highness Cordelia swiftly disappeared.

I sat in the chair, staring blankly at the desserts, and soon she returned with teacups.

Then she placed one in front of me and one at her own seat.

“…I was originally going to get something to drink.”

“I see.”

For some reason, it was a little… awkward.

Well… we had met in an ambiguous relationship at first… and then that incident happened this morning.

As if to prove it, Her Highness Cordelia’s face was slightly flushed.

Since she had seemed cheerful and open when we first met, the contrast felt strangely impactful.

We picked at our desserts and coffee, and our eyes met awkwardly.

Unable to resist the urge to speak, I opened my mouth first.

“…Um, so why are you here, Cordelia-nim? Isn’t it time for you to be at the Academy right now?”

At that, Her Highness Cordelia’s face flushed, and she avoided my gaze.

“Because of what happened this morning, I couldn’t concentrate at all… so I skipped out. Please keep it a secret from my sister….”

“Ah….”

Since I had been introduced as someone helping Her Highness Selina, she seemed worried I would tell on her.

…Though we weren’t exactly in that kind of relationship.

“Yes… well. I will.”

“Thank you.”

Because I understood her feelings.

“By the way… why are you here…? Weren’t you here to help my sister?”

“Ah… I, I left work. There were some circumstances.”

This time, my face grew hot.

A strange gaze landed on my face. Then, *pffft*.

A laugh could be heard.

“So you ended up skipping out too, in a way.”

“…Well, y-yes, I suppose so.”

Perhaps thanks to the thought of sharing a similar experience, the subtly stiff atmosphere relaxed a little.

Then, Her Highness Cordelia whispered.

“…I have something to ask you.”

“Yes.”

Her Highness Cordelia looked around, checking if anyone was nearby.

“By any chance… do you know about… the medicine I took this morning?”

Of course, I know it well, don’t I…?

“Oh, please don’t misunderstand. You, you know I’m enrolled in the Alchemy Department, right? It’s just… it’s like… an alchemist’s curiosity, you could say… so I’m asking someone like you, who’s a very talented alchemist… yes, that’s all.”

Her flustered appearance was somehow cute.

…It might seem disrespectful, but… I somehow felt like she was a younger sister.