Employment Negotiations (1)

Princess Seraphine’s appearance was more than enough to instantly capture everyone’s attention in various ways.

Recently, as a member of the Martial Arts Department, Princess Seraphine had been interacting with many students for about a month, and in many ways, she had become a somewhat ‘familiar celebrity’ within the academy.

Still, she remained the Third Princess of the Argentia Empire, making her status the second highest among current academy students, next only to the Fourth Prince from the Spearmanship Department.

Thus, both Lizzie and I automatically rose from our seats and paid our respects to the royal family upon facing her.

“Greetings, Your Highness Princess Seraphine. I am truly honored that you remember my name.”

“It would be more difficult not to know the name of someone as capable as Miss Lizzie, who holds the vice-president position in the Pharmacy Department. This is our first meeting since the entrance ceremony, isn’t it?”

“It’s been a long time, Your Highness Princess Seraphine.”

“It’s been a while, Lillith… Blackwood Rosewood. I owe you one from the masquerade ball.”

“…I’m the one who owes you, Your Highness Princess Seraphine.”

Strictly speaking, our last meeting was when I left the Blackwood territory and met Ethan, but that was an unofficial encounter solely for the purpose of changing my identity.

Since it wasn’t something to discuss in front of Lizzie, I also nodded in agreement with her words.

…So, why did she suddenly show up here?

It’s unlikely she appeared just to see me, who showed no particular distinction during the Magic Department entrance exam. She probably had some personal business with Lizzie, the Pharmacy Department’s vice-president.

Honestly, that was the only plausible reason I could think of.

Given Seraphine’s stature, the only scenario where she’d act differently from the original story would be when interacting with characters who didn’t appear in it.

“By any chance, has Your Highness also come to enjoy the tea and pastries at our shop?”

“No, I simply saw Miss Lillith sitting outside while passing by and decided to come in.”

“……Me?”

“Yes, you, Miss Lillith.”

Suddenly singled out by the princess, I pointed at myself with my finger and asked again, but Seraphine simply nodded without denying it.

Left wondering why Seraphine had approached me, I tilted my head slightly and asked quietly.

“Wh-what business do you have with me…?”

“Well, if it’s not too much trouble for both of you, may I join you at the table?”

“I-I don’t mind, but we’d need Miss August’s permission…”

“I’d be delighted, Your Highness Princess Seraphine. Then, we’ll bring two more teacups for your guard…”

“Luke.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“We’ll be having a private conversation among ‘noble ladies’ for a while, so why don’t you take a stroll nearby for about thirty minutes?”

“……Understood.”

For a moment, Luke hesitated, giving me a somewhat resentful look, but eventually nodded and left the café.

Feeling oddly guilty, I averted my gaze from Luke’s eyes.

Since Luke had known me even before I became a baronet’s daughter, he might have felt unfairly treated by Seraphine’s remark about a conversation among noble ladies.

Still, it was somewhat fortunate that he was a tight-lipped person.

“One extra teacup should suffice, I think.”

“…Yes, that seems to be the case.”

Frankly, there was no need to dismiss Luke. As I mentioned, he was tight-lipped, so he wouldn’t leak anything overheard here.

Yet, the fact that she still dismissed her guard could be interpreted as a sign of Seraphine’s trust in Lizzie and me.

Whether that display was directed at Lizzie and me or other students witnessing the situation, dismissing a guard was tantamount to showing trust in the person before you.

‘Objectively speaking, it’s also possible because even if Lizzie and I attacked her together, we wouldn’t stand a chance.’

The Moon Shadow Princess wasn’t only strong during full moons. While she did become stronger than usual during full moons, her base strength was already enough to easily secure the top position in the academy’s Martial Arts Department.

Still, by temporarily sending away her shadow, Luke, she had clearly conveyed a certain message to Lizzie and me.

As she sat at the table between Lizzie and me, Princess Seraphine locked eyes with me and began the conversation.

“How has your academy life been lately, Miss Lillith?”

“Thanks to Your Highness’s concern, I’ve been doing quite well.”

“…Is that so? No one in your department bothering you, or perhaps male students making advances?”

“…No. Thanks to the incident on the first day of school, male students seem hesitant to approach me.”

“Indeed, that incident caused quite a stir. I must admit, I didn’t expect Prince Ethan to draw his sword without hesitation in that situation.”

“Ha, hahaha…”

…Well, Seraphine’s future sight wasn’t always available. If she hadn’t seen my and Ethan’s entrance ceremony incident during her once-a-month future sight, it was only natural she wouldn’t have predicted it.

Had she seen it, she would have witnessed one of the protagonist’s main storylines. The main narrative of Luminor Academy and the protagonist would have been more important than my and Ethan’s academy life.

“I never imagined Miss Lillith would enroll in the academy as Prince Ethan’s exclusive maid…”

“…Is, is that so?”

“Yes. In fact, I had kept my exclusive maid position vacant to hire you. Even as a royal, I can only have one exclusive maid at Luminor Academy, so I needed to reserve it just in case.”

“……”

“But since Miss Lillith is already Prince Ethan’s exclusive maid, it would be difficult for you to accept my offer, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes, that’s right…”

“Is it truly impossible, no matter what?”

“……”

…What is this strange pressure I’m feeling from Seraphine?

Her words sound resigned, as if she expects me to naturally keep my position as Ethan’s exclusive maid, yet her demeanor subtly urges me to reconsider.

I should have been suspicious when she approached me first, despite Lizzie being right there-someone with higher status and better grades.

I was about to respond to Seraphine’s offer, but Lizzie spoke up first.

“I was…”

“…One moment, Your Highness Princess Seraphine.”

“What is it, Miss Lizzie?”

“Forgive me, but isn’t your action a bit sudden? I was the one talking to Lillith first.”

“Yes, I’m aware.”

“…Then, why would you…?”

“That’s why I waited three whole weeks out of courtesy, didn’t I? I gave you ample opportunity to speak first to honor the August family’s trust, but you didn’t say anything for three weeks, did you, Miss Lizzie?”

“……”

“How long do you plan to monopolize the negotiation table with Miss Lillith, Miss Lizzie?”

……Huh?

Wait, what are you two even talking about?

As Seraphine and Lizzie suddenly started talking among themselves, leaving me out, I felt momentarily dumbfounded.

But regardless of my confusion, the two of them continued their conversation with a somewhat tense atmosphere.

“…I was planning to tell her today.”

“Is that so, Miss Lizzie? But didn’t I already speak to Miss Lillith first?”

“Yes, I know. But that doesn’t mean you have the right to stop me from saying what I want to say to Lillith, does it, Your Highness?”

“…Well, I suppose not.”

They seemed to have had some kind of emotional argument without my knowledge, now turning their heads away from each other.

Before I could even finish responding to Princess Seraphine, Lizzie made a rather direct proposal to me.

“I won’t beat around the bush like Her Highness-I’ll be straightforward.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Lillith, how would you like to work as my secretary at the August Trading Company?”

“……What?”

“I know you’re currently Prince Blackwood’s exclusive maid, but given your engagement, that title is just a formality, isn’t it? But our August Trading Company genuinely needs someone like you.”

“N-no, first of all, I’m not even engaged to Young Master Ethan…”

“…I’ll add one gold coin per month to whatever amount the August Trading Company offers you.”

“……What?”

“If you agree to take the vacant position as my exclusive maid, of course. Though that would make it difficult for you to remain Prince Ethan’s exclusive maid.”

“Wait a minute, Your Highness. How can you confidently offer an extra gold coin without even knowing how much I’m offering Lillith?”

“I can roughly estimate how much you’d spend hiring a personal secretary, Miss Lizzie. Adding one gold coin to that is well within my budget.”

“…I’ll add two gold coins to whatever Her Highness offers you, Lillith.”

“Isn’t that overextending yourself? I doubt someone in your position can manage that kind of budget, Miss Lizzie.”

“…That’s none of your concern, Your Highness.”

…Seriously, why are you two suddenly acting like this?

Before I could even respond, Lizzie and Seraphine had already launched into a competition, leaving me utterly baffled.

They continued their subtle battle of wills, urging me to answer.

“So, Miss Lillith, have you made your decision?”

“Wh-what?!”

“Which offer appeals to you more, mine or Her Highness’s, Lillith?”

“Y-you want me to choose now?!”

“Yes. Choose, Miss Lillith.”

“Is it me or Her Highness, Lillith?”

“If you think about your future, staying with me rather than Miss Lizzie would be better, Miss Lillith.”

It felt like a choice prompt from 『Luminor Academy』, and for a moment, I hesitated.

But after collecting myself, I conveyed the answer that had already formed in my mind.

Objectively speaking, the answer I could give in this situation had been decided from the very beginning.