Chapter 28

“It’s rare for you to summon me to your office, Onee-sama.”

“Yui.” My rather serious tone immediately made Yui change her posture. “Has anything been happening between you and the members of the Student Council lately?”

She gave me a small, bitter smile. “Did Lady Victoria tell you?”

“No. The future emperor did.”

“Lord Ah-Rham did?!”

I nodded. “Yui, tell me what’s been happening.”

Reluctantly, she nodded and began her tale.

***

It started on our first day of school.

I didn’t think too much of it at the time because it was something I deemed insignificant, but I remember seeing Lord Cain walking to and from classes with Cederik Cullen.

I had never had the chance to properly talk to Prince Cain, and I didn’t exactly have the desire, but he approached me as we passed in the corridor.

“Good morning, Lady Yui.”

I bowed. “Greetings to his highness, Prince Cain.”

He chuckled. “You can call me Cain if you like.”

It was strange, to say the least.

Not once in my life had I ever seen or heard of Prince Cain acting this way, especially not after the event at your birthday party years ago.

He was smiling, jovial and…relaxed, despite knowing I was an Armina.

I was confused, so I wanted to leave as soon as possible, but then Cederik began to speak to me too.

“Ah, you’re the cute little sister Raena got. It’s nice to meet you. My name’s Cederik Cullen. His highness and I were just on our way to get some lunch; would you care to join us?”

It didn’t make sense.

Why would they ask that when they could see that I had clearly just left the restaurant, and with so little decorum and manners?

For most noble women our age, this would be a dream invitation and one that the future king shouldn’t give out lightly for it would show favouritism.

However, Prince Cain nodded and voiced his agreement.

I politely turned them down and went about my way.

When I caught a glimpse of Prince Cain later that day, he was back to how he always seemed.

He didn’t see me, so I just pushed the whole encounter out of my mind.

Until the next day.

As part of the work that you had assigned me, I was investigating the young women and their allies that were bullying Yuri when I stumbled upon your cousin, Marcus.

He had been out buying sweets at a bakery and spotted me discretely tailing one of Lady White’s aides.

Without warning, he came up behind me and hugged me from behind.

We hadn’t ever shared a word together.

“What are you doing?” I hissed.

He just giggled and said he felt like it and then introduced himself.

I told him I didn’t have the time for him right now and tried to send him away; he wouldn’t listen.

“Are you doing something fun? Maybe I can help you out?”

It was irritating, so I made up a lie about how he could help and sent him away like that.

Naturally, you would imagine he would be furious upon realising what I’d done.

“Good morning, Yui!” He called out to me whenever he saw me.

He joked about how he couldn’t help me with my super fun secret spy mission, and then he would appear from time to time, when we were alone, and you were far away.

Marcus, despite his personality, seems to understand that if you found out, you’d remove his hands and his head at the very least.

Lord Ah-Rahm was another strange case.

He found me in the library as I was reading during one break and took my book from me.

“Heh~ What’s this your reading?”

When I asked for it back, he grinned and held it just above my height, as if trying to incentivise me to jump up and grab it.

I didn’t.

I simply gathered my things and tried to leave the library, but he pinned me against a bookshelf.

He didn’t touch me, but he kept his arms and body in such a way that it’d be inconvenient to slip away from him.

Of course, I could have beaten Lord Ah-Rahm up, but then I would be tried for assaulting a foreign dignitary and guest of the state.

After a minute of failing to get a response from me, he seemed to come to his sense, threw the book back to me and left.

He’s never appeared before me again after that, although sometimes I did see him looking at me in a peculiar way. Like a predator preparing to hunt its prey.

If he ever tried something, then I would have taken him down myself.

Sometimes, Lord Wessex would trail off when we spoke, but he seemed puzzled himself by his own actions.

When I asked what was wrong, he said that sometimes he felt lightheaded talking to me and he didn’t know why.

These encounters only really continued for Cederik Cullen, Prince Cain and Marcus.

They would come over and speak to me, even when they were surrounded by their friends and other girls.

They would try to invite me to join the Student Council as if it was something I’d always wanted to do.

One time, Prince Cain made a comment about how unfortunate it was that you, Onee-sama, were denying me from spreading my wings and finding myself.

Little, insignificant things and larger, more annoying things kept occurring, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.

All I had to do was just ignore them and they’d eventually get called away on other business.

However, even just saying nothing and not even looking at them didn’t deter them from trying to speak with me, not even when I fully turned to face away from them.

…It was also strange how rumours of my actions and blatant lack of interest and disrespect didn’t spread around the school as rumours. Maybe they did something behind closed doors, I’m not sure.

***

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to worry you, especially not with the sensitive timeframe in which to assist Yuri and because I knew I could handle myself, but based on your expression, I can see I made a mistake.” Yui bowed to me. “I’m very sorry, Onee-sama!”

This was unexpected, to say the least, and Ah-Rahm’s confession had me worried, but there was one crucial thing I needed to confirm first.

“Yui. Did you feel anything for-?”

I didn’t need to finish my question.

The look of disgust that washed over her face told me that it was just those idiots who felt the compulsions I and Lord Ah-Rahm did.

Which then begged the question as to why.

Why us?

Why not Yui?

What about Yuri actually?

Has she experienced anything similar to this?

…

What do we do about this?

I don’t want to disturb Yuri, not while she’s in this sensitive period of her life.

So, there was only one option.

“Yui, free up some time tomorrow afternoon at school.”

“Understood, but why, Onee-sama?”

“Because we need to have a meeting with Ah-Rahm and his fiancé.”

The great Lady Claudia.