The Demon Prince goes to the Academy - Chapter 263

Revolutionary Forces is another one, and it’s a completely different problem, so I didn’t know where to spend my time.

Charlotte has been staying at the palace instead of her dormitory for a while now, but someone has died in the Empress’s palace.

Sarkegaard said he learned about it during his espionage work, so most people probably don’t know about it.

Does Bertus know this?

Bertus and I only share an integration class, but Charlotte and I share a psychic class.

Charlotte has no idea what she’s doing because she’s in a class by herself.

Where is the focus of the problem.

An assassination attempt on Charlotte? Or is it something else entirely?

I could see Charlotte.

But I couldn’t read anything in Charlotte’s expression.

If Sarkegar hadn’t told me that, I would have assumed that Charlotte was fine.

Managing facial expressions is as natural to Bertus and Charlotte as breathing, which is why I never saw any concern, worry, or anxiety in Charlotte’s expression.

Wednesday.

After the superpower class.

I caught up with Charlotte as she was heading back to the palace after class.

If I didn’t know anything, I wouldn’t know, but if I did know something, I couldn’t let Charlotte go.

“Yes, Reinhard. Why?”

Charlotte shook her head as I casually slid in next to her.

What’s wrong with you.

That’s dangerous.

What can I say?

I didn’t know what to say to break the ice. Because if you know it’s dangerous, there’s nothing you can say to the question of how you know.

I didn’t know what to say in front of Charlotte’s plain face.

So.

I grabbed Charlotte once, but I couldn’t say anything, I was just staring at her face.

Eventually.

“Are you busy?”

I said that like I was some kind of manipulative bastard.

Charlotte stared at him for a long moment, then looked dumbfounded when he suddenly said that.

“……?”

“Are you busy?”

I don’t know.

Fuck this!

Let’s just call it a dump!

Charlotte smiled at the absurdity of it all.

“When you’re not busy?”

“Play with me.”

“……?”

Charlotte’s lips twitched in disbelief.

“He……. He, uh……. um…….”

Charlotte rolled her eyes in confusion and gave a short sigh.

He smiled gently.

“……I have a few minutes to spare, anytime.”

It was a smile that looked even more slurred than usual.

* * *

We could share our concerns about the revolutionary forces, but for now, while that was urgent, Charlotte’s safety was more pressing.

I’m not sure, but I think there’s a high probability that Charlotte’s life is in danger.

I don’t know what else I could do if I knew that, but I didn’t want to be in the dark.

We could at least talk about it.

Charlotte would consider me a friend, but her presence is a little more special to me than the word friend.

He was the first person to make me realize that I could risk my life to do something, and Charlotte’s survival is the result of that.

So, I want to keep it.

The imperial court is noisy with internal problems, and Charlotte is involved.

That’s why they don’t realize that the Orbis class issue is actually a very dangerous thing that could lead to the overthrow of the empire.

Of course, it’s entirely possible that this is all wrong, and that you’re right.

The story Sarkegar heard about the death of a man in the Empress’s palace may have been a rumor after all.

But, somehow, I feel strangely confident.

It’s not going to happen.

Charlotte’s eagerness to play, as if she’d decided to make a big deal out of it.

It gives you that confidence.

I didn’t, and couldn’t, get to the point.

Charlotte walked me out of the temple. She asked me to hang out, and she was heading somewhere, but what was she going to do?

I don’t know about Bertus, but Charlotte didn’t seem to have any fear of going outside unescorted.

If she’s just walking down the street, I’m sure she’ll get into trouble, but Charlotte didn’t this time, although she was wearing a hoodie the last time we went out together.

“Don’t people just recognize it?”

I don’t think Charlotte’s face is particularly recognizable.

He shrugged and showed me a bracelet.

“I just picked up a new artifact.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a cognitive disruption spell. It doesn’t make you invisible, but it fades your presence, roughly speaking, so you’re less likely to be seen unless you’re deliberately approaching.”

When I think I might be recognized and bothered, I activate the magic on my bracelet. Of course, since I’m a companion, I’m immune to cognitive impairment.

I thought it was a magical item for celebrities.

“So let’s go.”

Charlotte triggered the cognitive disruption and led me off somewhere. As if I could take a quick stroll with my classmate in my spare time before returning to the palace.

Upon arrival, I was left speechless.

“…….”

“……Why?”

“Oh, no, nothing!”

Charlotte brought me to the shores of the Irine River.

I was here a few days ago with my kids!

But I knew it would disappoint Charlotte, so I didn’t say anything about it. I don’t know what’s going on, but she’s giving me her precious time, and she’s going to be upset.

You can’t trample on the empress’s consideration like that. Charlotte looked at me and shook her head.

“Don’t you like flowers?”

“I love it! Ugh! I love it!”

Charlotte smirks at me.

“You’re lying. You say you like flowers? A dog walking by would laugh.”

“Oh, well, maybe I’ll like it, whatever!”

Charlotte saw the tension in my voice and patted my arm.

“What are you trying to get at?”

“…….”

“He’s a friend, be easy on him.”

Charlotte said and walked ahead.

I don’t know what your situation is, but I know it’s serious.

Charlotte’s facial expression management was excruciatingly thorough.

* * *

I’m being me, and Charlotte is being Charlotte.

But neither of us gave any indication of that.

So we acted like we were just out at a flower show.

It really wasn’t that different.

Charlotte’s reaction wasn’t much different than the others. She was amazed that I recognized and named some of the flowers.

“What the hell do you guys think I am…….”

“You’re?”

“Oh, no.”

It’s funny that you only know about it on the level that everyone else knows about it.

But in some ways, Charlotte was different from the others.

Charlotte knew the name of every flower in the land. I was a little taken aback as she listed the names of flowers I had never heard of before.

“That’s a dahlia.”

“That’s a geranium.”

“A petunia. Isn’t it pretty? I love seasonal flowers.”

“That’s a heliotrope.”

“That’s a big name.”

“It smells amazing. Can you smell it?”

“Oh, no.”

I recalled that a while back I had described flowers as the genitalia of plants, and I backed away, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Am I crazy?

Why am I thinking about this at this time?

Charlotte is smelling the flowers!

The last time they were here, no one was really interested in flowers. But when Charlotte saw a flower, she would stop and think it was pretty, and she would walk slowly to smell it.

“What do you know so much about?”

“Because I like it.”

Charlotte smiles at me.

“If you like it, you get to know it well, and you want to know more.”

“Is that why you studied?”

“No?”

Charlotte shook her head.

“It’s just something that comes naturally to you.”

I love flowers, so I naturally know a lot of flowers without studying them. It was a little strange to hear Charlotte say that.

And smiling like that.

If nothing else, I could tell that Charlotte was really enjoying herself right now. She may not have come here to have fun, but she was definitely enjoying this moment.

Charlotte wears a perfect mask, but what expression lurks beneath that mask I can’t penetrate, but…….

I could tell that Charlotte’s brightly smiling face was not a mask.

Charlotte loves flowers.

I’m sure it’s likeable, but it felt weird to see that “likeability”.

This is the first time you’ve seen it.

“Uh……. This is pretty. It’s called……. What the hell. It doesn’t say.”

Sure enough, there was a flower I didn’t recognize.

What does the garden of Charlotte’s palace look like?

Suddenly, I was curious.

I realized that you probably have a well-maintained garden with tons of flowers that bloom in every season.

Where you come from is important, but so is who you come with.

I had obviously been here a few days before, but watching Charlotte stop and stare at the flowers, it was as if I had never been here before.

I can’t help but stare at the flowers as Charlotte does.

You’ll be able to name flowers you know and take a closer look at landscapes you’ve only seen in passing.

So this is the place.

Next to Charlotte on her flower walk, I could only offer a few comments, as I don’t really enjoy flowers.

Just stay out of the way.

“Hmph……. The pansies are already blooming.”

Charlotte squatted in front of a flower I recognized.

Charlotte knows her flowers.

If so, do you know anything else?

Luckily, I know the flower, not this one.

From what Charlotte says, it sounds like the flowers aren’t all that different from the original world.

“Don’t you know your flowers?”

“Flower language?”

“Isn’t there such a thing as a flower?”

“Oh, you know.”

But regardless of the answer, Charlotte shook her head.

“I don’t like that.”

“Why?”

“That’s someone else’s name tag.”

Charlotte runs her fingertips across the wide petals of the pansies.

“A rose may say love, but to someone else it may be sadness.”

Flowers should mean something to everyone.

That’s why I hate flowery language.

Charlotte seemed to think so. Charlotte stared at Pansy for a moment, seemed to consider, and then picked up a fallen flower. It looked like someone had plucked it and thrown it away without taking it with them.

“Do you know the flower language for pansies?”

“How would I know that?”

“Well, it was already a passing grade at Reinhardt’s level, I’d be surprised if you knew that.”

Charlotte looked up at me, holding the flower.

“Do you want it or do you think it’s garbage?”

“Even trash is a gift when you give it to me.”

“You have a knack for saying such touching things and not making the listener feel moved at all. That’s a skill.”

As Charlotte said this, she handed me a pansy.

I don’t know what Charlotte labeled her pansies in her mind, but she did.

You wouldn’t have given it to me if I said I knew the flower language of Pansy.

I lied to Charlotte.

Once upon a time.

I’ve memorized flowers and flower words for no reason.

I haven’t memorized them all, but there are some that I have.

Pansy.

As in, think of me.