Cedric also stayed in a special-grade dormitory like Cesare, so there was no reason for him to come all the way to the communal cafeteria.
I hated crowded places, so I crossed my arms while glaring at him with very annoyed eyes.
‘Handsome guys living up to their face value….’
Although no one actually approached Cedric’s side, students gathered at a distance to see him were causing congestion in the hallway.
‘No, does he really want to come out to a place like this while inconveniencing others like that? Anyway, I can’t understand those in power.’
Cedric stood cheerfully smiling beside the hallway leading to the cafeteria, greeting his classmates and sometimes juniors he knew, as if waiting for someone.
“Senior Cedric! What brings you here?!”
“Ah, Bain. Good morning. I’m waiting for someone. I thought I’d have breakfast here together while I’m at it.”
“Who?!”
“That’s… a secret.”
When Cedric, with his arms crossed, chuckled at his fellow student council junior’s words, a group of freshmen right in front of me blushed and murmured. We’d seen Cedric a few times in passing, but it was still early in the semester so this would be an unfamiliar sight to freshmen.
“Annoying.”
“Why?”
I lowered my voice and answered Cain’s question, who had come down and attached himself to me at some point.
“I don’t know if it’s an inferiority complex because I’m a commoner, but… when he clearly knows people will crowd if he comes, does he have to make others uncomfortable like this at the most bustling time?”
“Well, wherever he eats is up to Senior Cedric. Besides, he’s the crown prince.”
“No. He has his own private dining room, so why come here specifically? Cesare knows that exactly and absolutely never comes. Says he hates crowds. If he has someone to meet, he can just call them directly to the dining room, I don’t know why he has to bother people. Does he want to show off his popularity?”
When I grumbled, Cain tilted his head and then ruffled my hair while laughing.
“You’re sulking because Cesare has never once come down to the cafeteria, right? This hyung knows everything~.”
What’s this guy talking about now?
But thinking about it, Cesare really had never had breakfast with us. Since middle division, unless there was something special, I’d never really been invited to the special-grade dormitory either.
A bit annoying. I heard the food from the private dining chefs is amazing, yet he eats it all by himself. The meal costs handled at the dormitory are all paid for by the imperial family anyway, so it’s not like his money would be spent.
Tomorrow when I sing the ‘bad guy’ song, I should add lyrics about being petty too.
“You don’t want me but want to eat breakfast with Cesare? Are you sick of me?”
“That’s not what I’m saying!”
“Boo hoo. Too much, Rye. How mean. Rye is my puppy, but at some point I feel like Cesare stole the leash. Sob sob.”
Cain clung to my neck while making fake crying sounds.
“Urk! When was I ever your puppy! Kugh, kek! Cain! You were my puppy…! You bastard! That hurts!”
“Sob sob. Cute Rye. Now you’re even showing your teeth at me. So sad. Hm? If I feed you lots of omelets and milk, you’ll like me more, right?”
“Hey! Neck, neck! Fine, I’m a dog. A dog! Woof woof! So let go of this!”
“Let’s go eat without breaking the leash, woof woof!”
“Grrr! Woof! Yap yap!”
Cain put his arm through my neck and dragged me along, pushing through people and entering the cafeteria entrance. It hurt, but it was our usual banter so I didn’t feel bad. I was barking woof woof too while vigorously tickling his waist.
Even if it’s the Imperial Academy, even if we’re nobles, we were just immature high school students. Friends hitting and teasing each other was normal at this age. The me before possession was also a high school student, and since I’d been going around doing part-time jobs since middle school and didn’t have many chances to make friends, I was happy to have a friend like this.
“You there! Stop right now!”
At the sudden thunderous voice, we froze in that position in surprise and turned around. Cedric was striding toward us.
“Senior Cedric?”
“Senior Cedric…?”
As his purple eyes sparkled sharply toward us, we couldn’t say anything and just looked at each other, exchanging glances.
‘Did you do something?’ ‘No. Did you?’ ‘I haven’t done anything lately?’ ‘Then there’s nothing to be scared of, right?’ ‘Yeah. Nothing.’ Those kinds of glances. We were thinking of running away if necessary.
Cedric was in the student council, which in Korean terms was like the disciplinary committee that gave out demerits, which is why we were exchanging these glances.
Because we were villain lackeys, the academy’s delinquents. Of course, only Cain caused trouble worthy of going to the student council, and we would only fully show our colors as villains after the female lead came here.
“It’s you again, Astol. Now you’re even leading bullying in school? I see you find it fun to bully innocent students by making them imitate dogs?”
Huk. Dog imitation? Are you talking about my specialty small dog imitation?
This crown prince clearly misunderstood that Cain was bullying me. Hot-blooded Cain immediately raised his voice after hearing such nonsense, as expected.
“Bullying?! What kind of nonsense is that?!”
I thought the guts of the Astol count family for immediately raising their voice to the crown prince was impressive, but not wanting to make a big commotion, I quickly blocked Cain.
“He, he wasn’t bullying me. We were playing. We’re friends.”
“Friends?”
Cedric stared at me intently. Glimpse. It’s a secret that I took advantage of the brief gap to glance at Cedric’s chest. He soon shook his head as if it was nonsense and grabbed my wrist.
“You must have been bullied so much that you’re covering for him as a friend in fear of retaliation. Astol, I’ll send you a message from the student council separately later.”
“What dogshit nonsense. We really are friends!”
When Cain tried to grab my arm to take me back, Cedric pulled me into his chest as if fat chance.
– Boing.
Boing. This chest was ‘boing,’ not ‘ttiyong’! While having such useless thoughts and giving a chest score of 13 points out of 10 with bonus points added, Cedric threatened Cain.
“If making someone bark like a dog and choking their neck is what friends do, then I must not have a single friend.”
No, no matter how close we are, who would be crazy enough to make the crown prince imitate a dog and choke his neck! Only clueless people like us would do that! The situation had gotten a bit serious, so I left the chest alone and tried to quickly make excuses, but Cedric firmly stopped me.
“N-no, that’s not it…!”
“Shh. I know everything. So leave this to me. I absolutely won’t let you get hurt.”
No. You don’t know. You don’t know anything! So don’t make that expression like a prince who rescued a princess from a monster! Cedric, you’re seriously misunderstanding!
“Ryeee!”
And without a chance to say anything, he grabbed my hand and strode right out of the building.
* * *
A small lecture hall that was still quiet because not many students had gathered yet. It was a very quiet classroom with only a few studious students doing dawn study since breakfast time wasn’t completely over. If only Cain hadn’t kicked the door open while entering.
– Bang!
“Cesare!”
“Cain? What brings you so early? Where’s Lionel?”
“Help me out!”
“What now.”
Cesare let out a tired sigh and crossed his arms.
“The student council confiscated my stuff again. Get it back for me.”
Cain often brought dangerous items like magic firecrackers or lewd books into the school and frequently got them confiscated, and each time Cesare, who had the status of the Yanox ducal family, would step up and use his authority to get the items back.
But Cesare, whose peaceful morning meditation had been interrupted and was in a bad mood, flatly refused.
“It’s bothersome. No.”
At the firm rejection, Cain slammed Cesare’s desk and said with a desperate face.
“No way! Rye… they confiscated my cute Rye!”
“What?”
Why is he yours, he’s my subordinate. Cesare, who almost let those words slip out, narrowed his eyes and stood up.
“They confiscated Lionel? What do you mean?”
“Yeah! They took him away saying I’m a perpetrator of academy violence! Said I bullied him by making him imitate a dog. Does that make sense?! Where is there anyone who treats Rye as well as I do! And the small dog imitation is his personal talent!”
“Student council, who?”
Cesare immediately straightened his shirt collar and fastened his cape as he asked.
How insolent. They took him away without even knowing whose subordinate he is right now? I’ll show them what happens when you touch my side. Such childish feelings kept poking out of Cesare. To Cesare in elegant attire preparing for full dress by even putting on dark navy gloves, Cain answered in a voice as small as a mosquito.
“…If you’re asking who, it’s Senior Cedric….”
“……”
In an instant, the abyss deepened in Cesare’s dark red pupils.
* * *
I was dragged to the campus community center in an instant and sat on a fancy sofa in the student council reception room. No matter how many times I shouted that Cain was my friend while being dragged, Cedric was unmovable.
Unlike me with a tearful face, Cedric sat on the opposite sofa with a very peaceful expression.
“Listen! Senior Cedric is misunderstanding somethi…!”
Before I could speak, Cedric cut me off and held out a cookie tin, asking.
“Cookie?”
Ah, I can’t resist cookies. I liked sweet things and was hungry from not eating breakfast, so I took out one and popped it in my mouth. Mmm, maybe because it’s what the crown prince eats, the way it melts smoothly with jam flowing out is exquisite.
Perhaps seeing my expression melt foolishly at the sweetness, Cedric giggled and pushed the cookie tin further toward me.
“Right. I had a feeling you’d like this kind of thing.”
Does he think I look like a pig? As expected, handsome guys look at their sculptural faces in the mirror every day, so I guess a face like mine doesn’t satisfy them.
“I asked them to send a simple breakfast here. Hmm….”
Cedric looked at me with an ambiguous smile and stroked his chin.
“Raymond?”
“……?”
“Loreon, Leon, Ludwig.”
“……”
“Lavi. Renardier? Lake.”
What are you doing, Crown Prince? I just kept crunching on cookies while watching him mutter with a pondering expression.
“I’ve been curious every day. Whenever I had a brief moment or some leisure, I always thought about it. Then time would pass quickly. It was quite good entertainment.”
