Volume 1 Chapter 31 Mean Villainess, Gaining Clues to the Dream
The first prince I saw was throwing a fit in the attendant waiting room.
Not only was he throwing a fit, but he also bothered me, insulted Rolus, and hoarded melon bread.
So, I thought he must be a selfish and troublesome guy.
Well, he did have a selfish and troublesome side, so it was as I imagined.
But the appearance I see now is just another side of him.
"Did you see it, Lady Elena? The prince is at the center of that crowd."
"I think I caught a glimpse of him."
In the direction Ms. Natalia pointed, there was a crowd of people.
Apparently, the students flocked to the prince who came here.
Well, since the prince is like a celebrity, and especially since he's a prince from a lower grade appearing in this grade's hallway, it's no wonder everyone wants to see him up close.
So, I'm casually watching the occasionally visible platinum blonde.
Speaking of platinum blonde, the person who apologized to me in that dream was also platinum blonde.
"I wonder what brings you here, Prince?"
"...I don't know."
Maybe he came to my place?
I can't help but think that.
Still, even surrounded by people, he doesn't lose his temper and shout.
He could just say, "I'm not a spectacle," like he did when I first saw him.
Well, I guess that's impossible.
Even if he's a student, it wouldn't be acceptable for royalty to hurl insults at a crowd of people.
So that day, he was throwing a fit in the attendant waiting room on purpose, I'm sure.
And I ended up being harassed for witnessing that.
Well, I do think it's questionable for royalty to harass a commoner, but I'll stop thinking too deeply about it.
In the end, he probably can hold back.
He doesn't seem to be lacking in intelligence.
However, the fact that he lashes out after holding back shows he's still a child.
"Elena! Hey, Elena!"
Calling me out loud like this shows a lack of consideration.
I guess it can't be helped since he's still a child.
...No, be quiet, I'll stand out.
"Huh? Lady Elena, do you know the prince?"
"...It's a bit complicated, but we kind of became friends through various circumstances."
Rudger looks a little exasperated upon hearing my words.
It's probably because he knows about the incident between me, the prince, and his knight, but I managed to get a proper apology and made sure he promised not to harm Rolus, so I'm okay with it.
The promise not to harm Rolus is the most important thing.
So, since I was called out so loudly, I couldn't just sit back and watch anymore.
I slowly stood up and started walking towards the crowd.
As I got closer to the prince, the students who had been gathered naturally dispersed.
"Hello, Prince."
The prince's eyes sparkled when he saw me, but he looked a bit displeased when he heard my words.
"I would prefer if you didn't call me that."
"Prince, is it?"
"Yes. I want you to call me by my name... since we're friends."
"Even if you say that, I haven't been told your name yet."
The prince widened his eyes in surprise at my words.
"You must know my name, at least."
"Of course, I know your name as a prince. I see it in the newspapers and such. However, I haven't been told your name as a friend yet."
"Ah, I see, as a friend. I'm Sven. I go by Sven Gribel here. By the way, my real name is a bit longer."
He even added a little extra information.
"Sir Sven."
"Just Sven is fine. Besides, Elena, you're my senior, so you don't need to speak so formally."
If he recognize that I'm his senior, he should be a bit more formal, I thought, but for now, I just smiled and nodded.
"So, what brings you here, Sven?"
"Ah, I have something I want to show you, Elena. How about going to the library after school?"
"Today..."
I don't have plans to hang out with Leve today, but I wanted to go buy the new game from that witch that scared Leve the other day.
If possible, I want to get the game quickly.
"You said you were interested in clothes, right? So, I borrowed a book about the history of royal clothing."
"Royal clothing?"
"It's a resource found in the library within the royal castle. I thought it might be more glamorous and interesting than the history of clothing book you were looking at."
The mention of resources in the library within the royal castle confirmed the priority.
"I want to see it."
"Got it. Then, let's meet at the café by the library."
"Understood. Thank you, Sven."
As I expressed my gratitude, Sven shyly fiddled with the tip of his nose and left the scene.
Feeling a bit cheerful, I returned to my seat, and immediately Rudger approached me.
"Elena, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I tamed him."
"Tamed him?"
"That boy seemed to want friends. ...So, I took advantage of that and made him apologize for that day when he insulted Rolus. I made him promise not to harm Rolus."
I wanted to secure a guarantee.
To secure that guarantee, I proposed a trade-off.
And I offered myself.
That's all there is to it.
"Elena..., you really care about Rolus, don't you?"
"Yeah."
Without missing a beat, I nodded, and Rudger laughed in disbelief before letting out a deliberately exaggerated sigh.
"Well, if that's what Elena wants, I have no complaints. But, you know, he's royalty, right?"
"That's true. Royalty. So I'll be extremely careful. I plan to keep my distance as much as possible. But I have to go this afternoon."
"This afternoon?"
"He said he would show me a book about the history of royal clothing in the library within the royal castle."
"Oh. ...Hmm. ...Hmm?"
Rudger rested his chin on his hand, closing his eyes as he pondered.
And on his face, it seemed like the words "interesting" were floating.
"Are you interested?"
"I am."
I knew it.
* * *
So, this afternoon, I came to the library.
Since Sven was looking for friends, I brought Rudger along, who secretly hoped that sitting next to me would earn him a new friend status.
"Elena!"
While waiting at the entrance of the library, Sven arrived accompanied by 2 knights.
After calling my name, he noticed Rudger next to me and peered at his face suspiciously.
"You are, ah, Elena's commoner friend!"
"Yes."
"Right, my friend Rudger."
Hearing Rudger, who usually only speaks casually to me and Leve, respond with "yes," I decided to step in for the moment.
"Elena's friend... I am also Elena's friend."
"Yes."
"So, I, as Elena's friend, and you, as Elena's friend, hmm. Our positions are almost the same."
"Huh?"
Sven was mumbling something unclear and seemed a bit flustered.
This must mean he is trying to become friends with Rudger as well.
"Sven, about that book you mentioned earlier, can Rudger join us to see it?"
"Of course! Well, I also have some questions I want to ask you, Rudger."
"If it's something I can answer, I will."
Rudger was trying a bit too hard to use polite language and slightly failing, but Sven didn't seem to mind.
"There's no need to be formal. Just talk to me like you do with Elena."
"Understood."
I decided to swallow the urge to point out that even though Rudger is a commoner, he is still a senior, and also the fact that Rudger was being too casual in an instant, and just accepted it.
So, with Sven's words about wanting to avoid people's gazes as much as possible, we headed to a private room in the café on the library side.
It seems the knights accompanying Sven would wait at the entrance like guards.
I asked them to let Rolus in if he came, and I took a seat.
"I have a consultation for Rudger."
"What is it?"
"Well... I also want a commoner friend. However, I feel somewhat avoided by commoners. Rudger, you are friends with Elena, right?"
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